im+

A worm is spreading via Yahoo Instant Messenger Thursday that tricks people into downloading what they think is a photo from a friend but is instead malware that installs a backdoor on Windows systems and spreads to a victim's IM contacts.

The worm arrives via a message from a contact with the word "photo" or "photos" and a smiley face icon, along with a link to a Web site resembling a Facebook page, MySpace page, or some other page where photos might reside.

If the user clicks on the link on a Macintosh system, an … Read more

After the devastating January earthquake in Haiti, which left hundreds of thousands dead, many more injured, and more than a million homeless, the country's infrastructure lay in ruins. But because Haiti's cell phone network inexplicably survived, text messaging quickly became a way for people to put out pleas for assistance.

Not long after the disaster, the country's largest cell network provider set up the shortcode 4636, allowing Haitians to text a call for help. But with thousands of texts flooding the system, and a need for many of them to be translated into English, relief workers needed … Read more

Editor's note: This is the first installment of "45 minutes on IM," a new interview series that I will be doing, hopefully weekly. Instant message is hardly the newest or hottest communication medium, but it is a very effective way to have a conversation. Because the medium is kind of contemporaneous, I've decided to maintain a bit of the on-the-fly flavor of the discussion, including the occasional "all-caps" response. But we'll skip the smileys. Please enjoy these interviews, and if you have suggestions or feedback, please let me know.

If you've been … Read more

Now more than ever our interpersonal relationships are dictated by electronic communication, which in turn depends upon some form of the written word. Text is of course a great way to express oneself, whether in an e-mail, an instant message, or a text message. However, when it comes to interacting with your friends, family, and business associates in this way, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind:

DO send a text to convey quick details, such as a time and address for meeting with a colleague or friend. Texts are also a great way to … Read more

The 404 is complete once again, forming flying Vs and throwing knuckle pucks that would make Gordon Bombay proud. The first story to mention is the return of The Red Kid (not that one, Jeff), but this time to Twitter! It's about time, Conan, but you know you're a little late to the Twitter game when you get beaten by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. It's good to have Conan back, and he might even be coming to a city near you!

The former king of late night recently finalized plans to perform a live show in select cities that will employ ex-"Tonight Show" employees and bring back classic characters from the talk show. It's good to have you back, Mr. O'Brien--we knew you couldn't stay away for too long!

Next, Jeff tells us a truly terrifying story about things that go bump in the night....keep your mind out of the gutter while you listen, but it's about his fiancee's troubled-sleep woes. The scary part is she's not the only one in the studio with serious slumbering issues! Wrap yourself in a Snuggie, climb into a Tauntaun, and prepare yourself for a collection of night terror stories that will have you reaching for the phone, and who you gonna call? THE SLEEP DOCTOR MICHAEL BREUS! Look for another appearance from The Sultan of Sleep on a future episode of The 404, 'cause this is getting out of hand.

If you're just tuning in, we should warn you that the next story should not be heard during a meal or while in a state of anger, because you might do something crazy like send your nemesis a pile of poop. Poopsenders.com lets you send your friend/enemy/frenemy a steaming pile of cow, elephant, or gorilla dung, and you can even choose the amount! Can you hear the excitement in my written voice right now? With an ace of spades prank like this up our sleeves, we dare BOL to call us out again! Just kidding guys...;)

A recent update to Digsby, a controversial multiple-protocol instant-messaging client, focuses on enhancements specific to Windows 7 and tweaks several social-networking features.

Given the problem it had last year with its CPU cycle-grabbing shenanigans, one would think that Digsby would hold back from adding another service requiring those who don't want it to go through a post-installation opt-out process. But Digsby build 76 beta, released February 11 and announced broadly on Thursday, does just that with a OneRiot trending-news service it automatically added to users' social feeds. Users can disable the service in the General & Profile menu under … Read more

If you're someone who's never had to deal with sleep apnea, as I am, it may come as a surprise to learn that the most effective--and frequently prescribed--device to treat the disorder, CPAP, is an enormous, unwieldy in-the-vein-of-a-bad-Halloween-costume mask that tends to find its way to such places as the closet, waste basket, or list of inventions to improve before you die.

So it is with great relief that I, even with my lack of sleep apnea, have been tipped off to a new technique currently being tested in Belgium that, if effective, could do wonders for those whose health can seriously suffer from sleep apnea.

ImThera, a privately funded start-up, has developed a tiny neurostimulator surgically implanted near the tongue that is programmed to essentially keep parts of the tongue awake enough to not block one's airway at rest.

Called Targeted Hypoglossal Neurostimulation (THN) Sleep Therapy, the technique consists of a small electrical device implanted under the skin near the lower jaw and along the Hypoglossal (12th cranial) nerve, then connected to a programmable implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted near the surface of one's upper chest. … Read more

As a longtime fan of Meebo, the browser-based, cross-platform instant-messaging service that requires no software and costs no money, I've been waiting forever for an iPhone companion.

The wait is over. Meebo for iPhone is here, and it's perfect. I can't envision myself wanting or using any other IM app.

Meebo supports all the major networks--AIM, Facebook, Google Talk, ICQ, Windows Live, Yahoo--and dozens more you've probably never heard of. (Batanga? Decayenne? Outspark? Guess I'm not as social as I thought I was.)

If you're already a Meebo user, just sign in; the app … Read more

Correction 1:05 p.m. PST: Boy, did I get it wrong.

Writing off available information this morning--the AIM beta download site and a few news reports--I assumed the Facebook-AOL interoperability was the result of a corporate partnership. Instead, it's because Facebook actually did open up its technology, embracing rather than neglecting the approach I called for. In this case at least, the bad instant messaging network habits from the past were not carried over.

I have to say I'm impressed with Facebook's move, and not because it makes the crow I'm eating any tastier. What … Read more