If you're tired of deleting the name of
every user who sends you an invitation to
peruse their XXX-rated site, tweak ICQ so
that people who aren't on your contact list
can't spam you.
Click Security and Privacy from the
ICQ menu.
Check the box in front of "Do not
accept multi-recipient messages from" on
the Ignore tab.
Select "Users not on my contact list"
from the drop-down menu and hit Save. If
you're not afraid of missing a mass
mailing from one of your buddies, you can
select "All users" from the drop-down
menu. If you're really paranoid, check the
box in front of "Accept messages only from
users on my Contact List" instead.
Disable Your Event History Logging
Your ICQ communications are never entirely
secure, so it's probably best to avoid
spilling company secrets, secret vendettas,
or anything else you wouldn't want to be
public knowledge. But if you're feeling
especially vulnerable, one way to tidy up
the data trail on your end is to disable
your event history logging.
By default, ICQ logs all your sent and
received messages. You can access this log
by clicking the My ICQ button (or the ICQ
button in ICQ 99) and selecting Message
Archive. From this window you can delete
individual messages and URLs. Here's how to
disable this logging altogether.
In ICQ 2000, click the ICQ button, go
to Preferences • Events • General
and check the "Do not log event history"
check box.
If you're using ICQ 99b or earlier,
click the ICQ button and check the box
labeled "Do not log event history" at the
bottom of the window.
Hide Your IP Address
Malicious hackers can use your IP address to
crash your ICQ client or even spoof your ICQ
ID, allowing them to send messages that
appear to be from you. To do this, they need
your IP address, so it's best not to
advertise it. To keep your system reasonably
safe from hackers, make sure you set your
ICQ preferences to hide your IP address. To
turn it off, select Security & Privacy from
the ICQ menu and check the box labeled "Do
not publish IP address" found under the
Security tab.
