It was foolish of me, naive of me. But turning off the log-saving option is no guarantee of security with instant messaging, Levy warned. Most common IM applications send data through a central server where all communications are recorded and stored. To that end, some companies, such as Mercury Prime and QuickSilver Messenger , are devising applications that can send and store encrypted instant messages. ICQ explicitly warns people not to use the application for sensitive communications.
Security experts extend that warning to all unencrypted electronic communications.
But whenever you use them, they might be used against you sometime in the future. For eFront, the exposure of the logs has placed the little-known company at the center of an Internet tempest. With a partner, Jain started Netwhirl, which merged with eFront in April 2000 to become eFront Media. Whatever good will remained among Webmasters after months of payment problems was exacerbated by the posting of the ICQ logs, according to a source close to the company who declined to be identified. Jain acknowledges that tough times called for drastic measures.