Yesterday Russian sources reported that at 13:00, Moscow time (10:00 GMT) users of all unofficial messenger clients that provide connection to ICQ were receiving the message that their client version is not used and unauthorized. On the official site of ICQ online subscribers could see the post that advised of that the service supports only official applications that can be downloaded from the website of ICQ.
Russian Internet users tried to find the reason of a strange behavior of their messengers. Some of them decided that the situation was similar to that of December 8, when clients ceased operating as they identified themselves as ICQ5.1 or other earlier versions. Thus Russian users tried to identify themselves under ICQ6.5. That was of little help as long as it worked only for the first time. When they made a trial to enter again the connection was denied. This means that AOL developers started taking strict measures and now their servers check the capabilities or the information about the client’s protocols. While the programmers of Russian QIP (Quiet Internet Pager), which enables connection to third party clients like ICQ and Gmail, are searching for the key to successfully pass ICQ servers’ check the issue turned to occur only in Russia and the Ukraine.
Interestingly, when Russian users tried connection via Miranda that uses American proxy server it proved successful. Besides, Internet subscribers in other countries of CIS were able to communicate via their QIP messengers without any troubles or failures. This made some observers suppose that AOL is making committed attacks on Russian alternative messengers. And really it seems very strange while ICQ states that the company is determined to change their protocol every week thus preventing alternative messengers connection so as to wither them at all, messengers that provide the same third party connection in other countries were not affected.
AOL that snapped off a huge ‘piece’ of media and entertainment industries seems to be unsatisfied with their position and conducts a rather aggressive policy against Russian instant message services. With the largest broadcasting and publishing businesses included into this enormous holding company AOL is striving to occupy as more place on the market as possible and impossible.
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