Instant Messaging: How Secure Is It?

Instant Messaging has become an extremely popular method of communication, especially among home internet users. It is rapidly making headway in the business sector as well. Many business users are putting messaging clients on their individual machines without company approval, causing companies to rush to add their own systems and attempt to maintain some semblance of control. However, before jumping on the instant message bandwagon, there are some security issues that should be considered. First, some background on the technology.