Basil is an easy to use syndicated news reader for Yahoo! Messenger. By installing the Basil plug-in, you can read news headlines from your favourite web feeds (e.g., web sites, blogs, schools, podcasters, etc.) within Messenger, then read the full story with a click of your mouse. Basil includes the following features. Automatic Notification: Basil tells you when your web feeds have new or updated content! Configurable: build your own custom list of favourite web feeds and control how Basil refreshes the headlines and alerts you to new content. Communication: while browsing headlines, set your Messenger status to link to stories you want to share, or instant message a news story to selected contacts. Intelligent Feed Discovery: drag and drop the URL of any website from your web browser into Basil to initiate a thorough search for syndicated content. My Yahoo! Integration: add web feeds discovered with Basil to your personal My Yahoo! page with the click of a button.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Basil RSS plugin for Yahoo Messenger
Basil is an easy to use syndicated news reader for Yahoo! Messenger. By installing the Basil plug-in, you can read news headlines from your favourite web feeds (e.g., web sites, blogs, schools, podcasters, etc.) within Messenger, then read the full story with a click of your mouse. Basil includes the following features. Automatic Notification: Basil tells you when your web feeds have new or updated content! Configurable: build your own custom list of favourite web feeds and control how Basil refreshes the headlines and alerts you to new content. Communication: while browsing headlines, set your Messenger status to link to stories you want to share, or instant message a news story to selected contacts. Intelligent Feed Discovery: drag and drop the URL of any website from your web browser into Basil to initiate a thorough search for syndicated content. My Yahoo! Integration: add web feeds discovered with Basil to your personal My Yahoo! page with the click of a button.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Yahoo Application Platform Release 1.9
A new release of the Yahoo! Application platform is now live on the Yahoo! homepage; on My! Yahoo!, our personalized start page; and on apps.yahoo.com!
Check out the updated apps management page where you can now browse and search for your favorite apps. Developers should note the improvements to our existing sharing flows: users can now share their apps with their contacts and their connections, leveraging their Yahoo! Address Book and enabling the entry of free-form emails. Check out the docs for yml:message to learn more.
Have a look here at some of the highlights of this release. Complete release notes will be available on the YAP documentation pages later this week.
Check out the updated apps management page where you can now browse and search for your favorite apps. Developers should note the improvements to our existing sharing flows: users can now share their apps with their contacts and their connections, leveraging their Yahoo! Address Book and enabling the entry of free-form emails. Check out the docs for yml:message to learn more.
Have a look here at some of the highlights of this release. Complete release notes will be available on the YAP documentation pages later this week.
- Updated “My Apps” page:
- Check it out: apps.yahoo.com
- New nav bar for the canvas page and the my apps page, users can now go back to their list of apps from the canvas page.
- Users can now search and browse apps on apps.yahoo.com.
- Updated share flows:
- yml:message, yml:share and the chrome share (the share button on apps.yahoo.com in the app chrome) have been updated.
- Users can now share their favorite apps with contacts in their address book and enter free form email addresses.
- Why is this a big deal? If an application can access a user’s Yahoo! Address Book, developers gain immediate access to an existing social graph, and don’t need to rely on the user to build out a social graph in order to share and extend the app.
- Improved experience and integration on Yahoo! homepage:
- Users will now be able to stay in context when interacting with a YAP application on the Yahoo! homepage.
- Developers who use yml:a in their small view will automatically get this benefit, enabling behaviors like switching the user from the small view to the full view and enabling the user to stay in the homepage when interacting with yml:a links.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Protect your Yahoo account from password phishing
A sign-in seal is a secret message or image that you select to help protect your account from fraud such as password phishing (Phishing is when a fraudster sends you an email or link, claiming to be from a legitimate company. They'll often send you to a fake website they've created, and trick you into entering your password and personal information. You're then an easy target for account theft.)
When you create a sign-in seal for your computer, you can be sure you're on a legitimate Yahoo! site each time you use your computer to sign in to Yahoo!. You’ll see the text or image you set up on your computer. If it's not there, you might have landed on a "spoofed" site.
Your sign-in seal is saved on the computer you created it on. If you log in from a different computer, you won't see the sign-in seal. If you use more than one computer or browser, you can choose to create a sign-in seal for each one.
If you don’t see your sign-in seal on the Sign-In page, the webpage you've opened is probably a fake Yahoo! Sign-In page. If this happens, please report the webpage immediately!
Important: Don't create a sign-in seal on a computer you share with strangers, such as those in libraries, Internet cafes, and other public places.
Steps to follow:
Your sign-in seal is saved on the computer you created it on. If you log in from a different computer, you won't see the sign-in seal. If you use more than one computer or browser, you can choose to create a sign-in seal for each one.
If you don’t see your sign-in seal on the Sign-In page, the webpage you've opened is probably a fake Yahoo! Sign-In page. If this happens, please report the webpage immediately!
Important: Don't create a sign-in seal on a computer you share with strangers, such as those in libraries, Internet cafes, and other public places.
Steps to follow:
- First, go to http://protect.login.yahoo.com/
- Press the start button
- Select A Sign Seal.
- Now you have your own Personal Seal. This works only on the computer where you saved your seal.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
How to Record&Save Yahoo Messenger Webcam Video
Do you want to record webcam video of video chat done through Yahoo Messenger? EatCam Webcam recorder software makes this process real easy and allows you to record video chat webcam videos also from MSN, ICQ, and AIM. You can save the output in AVI, FLV, WMV video format and play recorded videos anytime you like.Besides the video, it also records audio stream giving complete video experience. Audio can be recorded from any source including: microphone, line-in or speakers. Free edition has few limitation but works well recording video from any one messenger client among Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, MSN.
For example, if you use Yahoo Messenger, you can download free EatCam webcam recorder software for Yahoo messenger to record videos in AVI format. Download EatCame Webcam recorder to record webcam videos on the fly in few simple clicks.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Matrix Mode Chat Feature in YM for Vista
Usually you can mange multiple conversation using tabbed arrangement of chat windows. However, you still have to toggle to check latest in each chat window – NOT anymore with cool Matrix Mode Feature. With this feature you can arrange and manage Multiple chat windows as shown above.
To enable this feature, press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + b on your keyboard. This will turn your tabbed conversation window into one single window with a matrix of boxes, each showing an IM conversation.Once you are in Matrix Mode, just click on the conversation you want to jump into and start typing. A white box around the conversation indicates which one you are in. As more conversations open, the layout will adjust to accommodate them.
Very handy feature if you want to chat actively with lot of friends simultaneously. This feature is only available in Yahoo Messenger for Vista, probably they can introduce this in XP version as well.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Yahoo Messenger Pingbox on Facebook profile
Yahoo Messenger Pingbox is cool widget box that you can embed on your blog or website. It allows you to chat with website visitors without having to install or download anything. Now you can put this cool IM box on your Facebook profile. It allows Facebook users to send IM messages from your Facebook profile page. Messages are delivered to Yahoo Messenger, even when you are not logged into Facebook.
Customization tools are also available in the Facebook version like personalize your online and offline greeting, choose design etc. Stir up some activity on your Facebook page and get Yahoo Messenger in action with Pingbox app for Facebook.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Display online activity updates on Yahoo Messenger
Do you want your Yahoo Messenger friends to know about your online activities automatically? If yes, then turn ON updates features on your Yahoo profile to show your updates in a small window when you hover mouse on specific messenger contact in Yahoo Messenger. Here is simple procedure to get going:
1. Setup your Yahoo profile & enter basic information.
2. Goto Manage My Updates to enable ’share my updates’ feature and other settings. Click on Updates tab and check for Manage my Updates option.
3. On Manage My Updates page click ’show all Yahoo sources’ to select and configure updates from all or specific Yahoo services.
4. To include updates from non-Yahoo services like Youtube, Picasa – goto Show More option under Updates tab. Enter your common username associated with listed websites to get going.
5. Above steps will setup your updates on Yahoo Messenger. Now your messenger friends will know all about your online activities from uploading a picture to flickr to sending a tweet.
In case you are a private person and do not want your online activity information being shared with Yahoo Messenger friends, just goto ‘Manage My Updates’ under Updates tab and uncheck option ‘Share My Updates’. Since Yahoo messenger is for getting chatty and interactive, share my updates feature will appeal to majority of users considering it can dish out updates from both Yahoo and non-Yahoo web services.
1. Setup your Yahoo profile & enter basic information.
2. Goto Manage My Updates to enable ’share my updates’ feature and other settings. Click on Updates tab and check for Manage my Updates option.
3. On Manage My Updates page click ’show all Yahoo sources’ to select and configure updates from all or specific Yahoo services.
4. To include updates from non-Yahoo services like Youtube, Picasa – goto Show More option under Updates tab. Enter your common username associated with listed websites to get going.
5. Above steps will setup your updates on Yahoo Messenger. Now your messenger friends will know all about your online activities from uploading a picture to flickr to sending a tweet.
In case you are a private person and do not want your online activity information being shared with Yahoo Messenger friends, just goto ‘Manage My Updates’ under Updates tab and uncheck option ‘Share My Updates’. Since Yahoo messenger is for getting chatty and interactive, share my updates feature will appeal to majority of users considering it can dish out updates from both Yahoo and non-Yahoo web services.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
About Yahoo Messenger Viruses
The first time I encountered this problem was two weeks ago. I was using my PC when an instant message from my niece suddenly popped up. To my surprise, the message with some clickable link in it was written in Thai! Right there, I knew it didn't come from my niece. Ignoring the message, I closed the YM window. After a few minutes, another message popped up. Then followed by another, and another, and another... Annoyed, I removed my niece from my YM's contact list.
After a week, I received a similar instant message from my sister-in-law. This time, the message was an invitation to view some photos in some website by clicking the provided link. Since there was no other note included, I suspected that the message was not from her. My suspicion was confirmed when after a few seconds, another message was sent. Hmm, another compromised messenger account, I thought. I sent a message back and advised her to change her messenger password ASAP.
I initially thought that this was some kind of an instant messaging spam. After running a search in Google, I realized that it is even worse. There seems to be two forms of attack, one is an actual virus/worm that spreads via instant messaging and the other is a phishing attack launched against YM users. For the latter, the attack usually starts with an instant message from the user's contact list. The message usually includes a link to a Yahoo-looking site requiring visitors to login and thus revealing their yahoo id and password. The phisher then uses this information to trick other YM users in the contact list of the compromised account. Worse, the phisher also gains access to all personal information in the user's other Yahoo accounts such as emails, photos, groups, etc.
The virus/worm version is reported to take control of your messenger, and send messages with website links to your contact list without your knowledge. When the link is clicked, the virus downloads a copy of itself to the user's PC, disables the registry editor and task manager, hijacks Internet Explorer homepage, and leads users to sites that automatically install malicious softwares on their PCs. Moreover, there seems to be several variants of this virus/worm out there: Yh032.explr, w32.KMeth, Worm_Sohanad.B, etc.
Y! Messenger viruses take advantage of the program's vulnerabilities that come with Java script and VBS. You can be infected simply by clicking a link to a picture (.JPG). When the page presenting that picture loads, java scripting run's a VBS (visual basic script - works on any Windows machine) that rewrites data on your harddisk. After you get infected, the virus starts sending mass messages to all contacts in your list asking them to follow a link, like in the example bellow. The messages vary, being generated randomly from different keywords from the virus's database.
If you are already infected, the easiest way to remove the virus/worm is to use system restore if you are using Windows XP. See Microsoft Help for details. Be sure to choose a restore point before you got the virus/worm and then scan your system for any signs of the virus/worm after the restore. Update your PC regularly and use an up-to-date antivirus program. If this doesn't work, you can try to do the next steps:
1: Close the IE browser. Log out messenger / Remove Internet Cable.
2: To enable Regedit
Click Start, Run and type this command exactly as given below: (better - Copy and paste)
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
3: To enable task manager : (To kill the process we need to enable task manager)
Click Start, Run and type this command exactly as given below: (better - Copy and paste)
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
4: Now we need to change the default page of IE though regedit.
Start>Run>Regedit
From the below locations in Regedit chage your default home page to google.com or other.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
HKEY_USERS\Default\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Just replace the attacker site with google.com or set it to blank page.
5: Now we need to kill the process from back end. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del
Kill the process svhost32.exe . ( may be more than one process is running.. check properly)
6: Delete svhost32.exe , svhost.exe files from Windows/ & temp/ directories. Or just search for svhost in your comp.. delete those files.
7: Go to regedit search for svhost and delete all the results you get.
Start menu > Run > Regedit >
8: Restart the computer. That’s it now you are virus free.
I don’t know whether any removal patch that works for such Trojans/viruses. But we can easily delete them manually.
After a week, I received a similar instant message from my sister-in-law. This time, the message was an invitation to view some photos in some website by clicking the provided link. Since there was no other note included, I suspected that the message was not from her. My suspicion was confirmed when after a few seconds, another message was sent. Hmm, another compromised messenger account, I thought. I sent a message back and advised her to change her messenger password ASAP.
I initially thought that this was some kind of an instant messaging spam. After running a search in Google, I realized that it is even worse. There seems to be two forms of attack, one is an actual virus/worm that spreads via instant messaging and the other is a phishing attack launched against YM users. For the latter, the attack usually starts with an instant message from the user's contact list. The message usually includes a link to a Yahoo-looking site requiring visitors to login and thus revealing their yahoo id and password. The phisher then uses this information to trick other YM users in the contact list of the compromised account. Worse, the phisher also gains access to all personal information in the user's other Yahoo accounts such as emails, photos, groups, etc.
The virus/worm version is reported to take control of your messenger, and send messages with website links to your contact list without your knowledge. When the link is clicked, the virus downloads a copy of itself to the user's PC, disables the registry editor and task manager, hijacks Internet Explorer homepage, and leads users to sites that automatically install malicious softwares on their PCs. Moreover, there seems to be several variants of this virus/worm out there: Yh032.explr, w32.KMeth, Worm_Sohanad.B, etc.
Y! Messenger viruses take advantage of the program's vulnerabilities that come with Java script and VBS. You can be infected simply by clicking a link to a picture (.JPG). When the page presenting that picture loads, java scripting run's a VBS (visual basic script - works on any Windows machine) that rewrites data on your harddisk. After you get infected, the virus starts sending mass messages to all contacts in your list asking them to follow a link, like in the example bellow. The messages vary, being generated randomly from different keywords from the virus's database.
If you are already infected, the easiest way to remove the virus/worm is to use system restore if you are using Windows XP. See Microsoft Help for details. Be sure to choose a restore point before you got the virus/worm and then scan your system for any signs of the virus/worm after the restore. Update your PC regularly and use an up-to-date antivirus program. If this doesn't work, you can try to do the next steps:
1: Close the IE browser. Log out messenger / Remove Internet Cable.
2: To enable Regedit
Click Start, Run and type this command exactly as given below: (better - Copy and paste)
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
3: To enable task manager : (To kill the process we need to enable task manager)
Click Start, Run and type this command exactly as given below: (better - Copy and paste)
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
4: Now we need to change the default page of IE though regedit.
Start>Run>Regedit
From the below locations in Regedit chage your default home page to google.com or other.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
HKEY_USERS\Default\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Just replace the attacker site with google.com or set it to blank page.
5: Now we need to kill the process from back end. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del
Kill the process svhost32.exe . ( may be more than one process is running.. check properly)
6: Delete svhost32.exe , svhost.exe files from Windows/ & temp/ directories. Or just search for svhost in your comp.. delete those files.
7: Go to regedit search for svhost and delete all the results you get.
Start menu > Run > Regedit >
8: Restart the computer. That’s it now you are virus free.
I don’t know whether any removal patch that works for such Trojans/viruses. But we can easily delete them manually.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Is Yahoo Messenger 10 a real Skype rival?
Yahoo introduces the new Yahoo Messenger 10 that appears to put a bit more emphasis on real-time communications with several new video-related features. Folks are asking whether this might be a strong competitor to Skype. Well we will try to figure it out.
VoIP and PC-to-landline calls aren't new to Yahoo Messenger, but the icon that calls out video chats is. Most of the major IM clients support voice-over-Internet calls with Webcams. It is Yahoo's attention to video quality makes this build a closer competitor to Skype for Windows, which is a VoIP client first, enriched by chatting, file sharing, emoticons, and games. Yahoo Messenger (and Windows Live Messenger, and so on, for that matter,) are chat apps at the core that have layered on other P2P features.
Skype is still ahead in terms of total features, like screen sharing, its most recent contribution to the VoIP community. However, the Web chatting experience was good enough on Yahoo Messenger 10 in our tests that we might prefer to use it to start a casual video call if the app is already running, rather than fire up Skype. Admittedly, our tests were limited by the callers' proximity to each other, fast data connections, and strong computing configurations. We'll need to keep up the calling with a cross-section of international users to get a more accurate litmus. Since the improved video calling only works with other Yahoo Messenger 10 users, we may have to wait for further adoption to test these theories.
The call quality was clear and the videos were as crisp as our hardware allowed. Chatting and file sharing, however, slowed to a crawl as the call progressed. This seems to be the reverse of Skype, in which chatting has, in the past, often transmitted faster than the voice packets. Again, being in the same city, let alone the same country, could at least partly explain the reversal.
In addition to both parties needing Yahoo Messenger 10 on their Windows computers, there are some basic system requirements. You'll need Windows XP or better with a 1GHz CPU processor and 512MB of RAM. Your broadband internet will require a minimum of 300Kbps download speed and a minimum of 128Kbps upload (test both here). Then there's the video card. You'll need at least 96MB memory. A Webcam is mandatory to output video calls, but not to see a buddy's video. However, you will receive an alert if you don't have a Webcam. The final ingredient we'll mention is that the latest version of Microsoft DirectX must be installed.
Briefly, some of the other video features include toggling the sound on and off and shifting the position of the Webcam windows on your screen. These convenience tools worked well and gave the application some depth; we also liked being able to transfer files in full screen mode, even though photo transfers were slow.
One more complaint: The new Yahoo Messenger 10 doesn't appear to play nicely with all third-party IM clients. We noticed when chatting with a buddy who uses Digsby, that each line we type was replicated in the chat window. Odd, yes, and also irritating over time. But not all users chatting between Yahoo Messenger 10 and a different chat client will encounter problems, but if you do, let me know.
VoIP and PC-to-landline calls aren't new to Yahoo Messenger, but the icon that calls out video chats is. Most of the major IM clients support voice-over-Internet calls with Webcams. It is Yahoo's attention to video quality makes this build a closer competitor to Skype for Windows, which is a VoIP client first, enriched by chatting, file sharing, emoticons, and games. Yahoo Messenger (and Windows Live Messenger, and so on, for that matter,) are chat apps at the core that have layered on other P2P features.
Skype is still ahead in terms of total features, like screen sharing, its most recent contribution to the VoIP community. However, the Web chatting experience was good enough on Yahoo Messenger 10 in our tests that we might prefer to use it to start a casual video call if the app is already running, rather than fire up Skype. Admittedly, our tests were limited by the callers' proximity to each other, fast data connections, and strong computing configurations. We'll need to keep up the calling with a cross-section of international users to get a more accurate litmus. Since the improved video calling only works with other Yahoo Messenger 10 users, we may have to wait for further adoption to test these theories.
The call quality was clear and the videos were as crisp as our hardware allowed. Chatting and file sharing, however, slowed to a crawl as the call progressed. This seems to be the reverse of Skype, in which chatting has, in the past, often transmitted faster than the voice packets. Again, being in the same city, let alone the same country, could at least partly explain the reversal.
In addition to both parties needing Yahoo Messenger 10 on their Windows computers, there are some basic system requirements. You'll need Windows XP or better with a 1GHz CPU processor and 512MB of RAM. Your broadband internet will require a minimum of 300Kbps download speed and a minimum of 128Kbps upload (test both here). Then there's the video card. You'll need at least 96MB memory. A Webcam is mandatory to output video calls, but not to see a buddy's video. However, you will receive an alert if you don't have a Webcam. The final ingredient we'll mention is that the latest version of Microsoft DirectX must be installed.
Briefly, some of the other video features include toggling the sound on and off and shifting the position of the Webcam windows on your screen. These convenience tools worked well and gave the application some depth; we also liked being able to transfer files in full screen mode, even though photo transfers were slow.
One more complaint: The new Yahoo Messenger 10 doesn't appear to play nicely with all third-party IM clients. We noticed when chatting with a buddy who uses Digsby, that each line we type was replicated in the chat window. Odd, yes, and also irritating over time. But not all users chatting between Yahoo Messenger 10 and a different chat client will encounter problems, but if you do, let me know.
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