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There are several factors to consider when looking for video chat software. You need to know what your needs and preferences are in order to get the right program. Many programs offer streaming video which has to be recorded in segments and then sent. This can take some time. Other programs offer live video chat in real time that enable you to have virtual video conferences and face-to-face conversations.

Other features include customizing options for your messenger that unleash your creative powers and make the program your own. Some programs are also capable of text messaging, pc-to-pc phone calls, pc-to-phone calls, chat rooms, entertainment and more.

Whether you’re interested in chat software for yourself or your professional life, examine your needs before deciding which chat software is right for you.

Ease of Use – Video chat software should be easy to use since it is meant for everyone. You should be able to navigate through messenger windows without difficulty. Some chat programs have better interface designs than others, so check them out before you buy.

Features – Features include everything that the chat software program can do. The list includes video chat, voice chat, text messaging, instant messaging, pc-to-pc calling, pc-to-phone calling, chat rooms, and more. Emoticons, text effects and other features allow you to personalize your communication for complete self-expression. Each program differs in the types of contacts available to you. For instance, some programs only allow you to communicate with users of the same program. Others let you add your AOL, Yahoo! and MSN contacts for more expansive chatting possibilities.

Video Features – Video Chat can be one of two kinds. Streaming video means you have to first record your video and then send it. Sometimes uploading and sending the videos takes a lot of time. Live video lets you speak and act as if you were in the same room with the person to whom you are talking. Other features include the ability to adjust the video window to fit your needs.

Help/Support – Manufacturers of video chat should provide plenty of help/support through documentation and other mediums. Look for tutorials and FAQs online. You should also be able to receive one-on-one help through email and telephone support.

America Online acknowledged Tuesday that its AOL Instant Messenger client is vulnerable to a buffer-overflow attack and promised that a fix would be available within days.

The problem resides in the chat software’s “away” function, which allows people to show their friends that they’re not at the computer.

“We have been working on a resolution in tandem with iDefense for more than a month,” said Krista Thomas, a spokeswoman for AOL.

The vulnerability has been fixed in the company’s new client update beta, which is expected to go live later this week, Thomas added.

News of the vulnerability hit the Web late Monday after security companies Internet Security Systems and Secunia reported that AOL’s IM software contained a serious security hole that could allow malicious hackers to take control of a person’s PC.

Secunia described the vulnerability as “highly critical.” AOL IM has 36 million active users.

“The vulnerability is caused due to a boundary error within the handling of ‘Away’ messages and can be exploited to cause a stack-based buffer overflow by supplying an overly long ‘Away’ message” of about 1,024 bytes,” Secunia said.

Once the buffer overflow has been executed, a malicious hacker could then direct the client PC to a Web site where more code could be downloaded.

The vulnerability is triggered when an AOL IM user clicks on a malicious hyperlink included in an instant message or embedded in a Web page, according to AOL.

Version 5.5 and earlier versions of AOL IM are vulnerable to attack. The flaw affects all Windows versions of the application, even the instant-messaging software compiled with Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003 and stack protection.

AOL and iDefense have been working on the problem. The online giant and iDefense did not initially disclose the problem in order to allow time to develop a patch before the vulnerability became widely known.

The client update beta due this week will located on AOL’s Instant Messenger site. In the meantime, iDefense has provided a workaround that can be used until the new AOL IM beta version is available.

iDefense said it does not yet know of any exploits that take advantage of the vulnerability but warned that the threat should not be taken lightly.

“This is a very serious situation for AOL users at this time,” said Ken Dunham, director of malicious code for iDefense. “IM is more dangerous than e-mail. You read e-mail throughout the day. But if your buddy sends you an instant message, you read it instantly. So from a threat metric, it’s a whole lot scarier. You can have really fast worms over IM.”