Instant messaging has taken over the office - US workers spend more than 5 billion minutes a month chatting away. But those messages aren't as one-on-one as they seem. Companies have begun monitoring conversations, cracking down on leaks and risqué humor. With email and the big-league IM services under surveillance, turn to providers using the symmetric block cipher Blowfish before you mouth off.
Trillian
Named after the no-nonsense character in The Hitchhiker's Guide, this upstart uses 128-bit end-to-end based encryption, so your run-of-the-mill IT guy can't eavesdrop - as long as SecureIM is on and you're sending to AIM or ICQ addresses. Trillian is compatible with the major IM networks (so you can use their special features like mail notification and file swapping), and its XML-based skins are the slickest around. The masterminds at Cerulean Studios promise that plug-ins for stock tickers and scheduling are on the way.
Secure Instant Messaging Protocol
SIMP's encryption is so powerful, the US government has classified it as a munition (you can't download it if you're a resident of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, or Sudan). The protocol bypasses central servers by having you connect directly to your friend's IP address. There's no registration or login server, either, so no one can ever track your movements. The simple, Windows-based interface is easy to understand, but you and your buddy have to log on using the same password. To snoopers, your chat will look like gibberish.
PLAY
Virtually New York
Eye Gloss
Rinse 'n' Read
Read Me
Fighting Fire
Cyberman
Tadpole
Armitage: Dual-Matrix
Next-Gen Multiplayer Online Games
Stunt Driving From the Sofa
Turn Your PS2 Into a PC
Puppet Master
Sim Studio
Audiovent Studio
Julia Fordham
The Makers
Fetish
Setting Up Base
Instant Readouts
On-the-Fly Typing
Char Warriors
Good-Bye CD Towers
Covert IM Services
