ICQ lets you communicate in real time.

Question: A lot of people at work are into ICQ. Could you explain what it is and what it’s used for? Is it secure to send company information over it? – S.V.Z.

Answer: ICQ is a program that, once installed on an Internet-connected computer, acts as a communications device that, in the electronic world, is the equivalent of a mailbox, a pager, a courier, and a text-based telephone, all rolled into one.

Here’s how ICQ (“I Seek You” – get it?) works.

In ICQ, a user – let’s call him Akbar – can indicate whether or not he is open for communication. Akbar can set ICQ to broadcast that he is at his computer and ready to receive messages, he’s busy, or he’s completely unavailable.

Another ICQ user, we’ll call him Jeff, can find Akbar using the ICQ on-line directory to see if Akbar’s available. Jeff simply searches for Akbar’s ICQ number and adds it to Jeff’s ICQ address book. ICQ watches the directory server – across the Internet – for a change in Akbar’s status.

As soon as Akbar indicates he’s available, ICQ shows Jeff that Akbar is ready to communicate. If Jeff wants to contact Akbar, he can jot a quick note to him in ICQ and it will show up as a message on Akbar’s ICQ program.

Jeff can also request a live chat with Akbar. If Akbar agrees, Jeff can type him a message in real time. ICQ transmits keystrokes as they are typed (in all their misspelled glory, by the way).

If Jeff just wants to send Akbar a message, he can type a quick note to him and send it immediately or set it for transmission at a later time.

Jeff can also send data files to Akbar. If Akbar is part if a larger group, say a group of fez-flogging sales people across the country, and Jeff is the Fez Inc. sales manager, he can also broadcast a message to all of the sales people at once. Jeff can even engage them all in a simultaneous live conversation.

One of the more appealing features of ICQ is the ability to randomly find someone to talk to, anywhere in the world.

A random test to see who was available for chatting during the writing of this column revealed Jaime, an 18-year-old chatter from Scotland, Andra from The Netherlands, and someone called Kris whose personal message reads: “Bring it on, baby! Conquering my shyness and feeling good! If you wanna talk, just send me a message. Although I do have to sleep sometimes, I am online a lot. Just give it try!” It was tempting, but I left Kris to her slumber.

While the program has some remarkable low-brow appeal, it is a heck of a business tool. The ICQ program is free while it is being beta-tested. That is to say, when a final version of the program is created, there will probably be a charge to use the software. In all likelihood, Mirabilis will continue to offer a version that is free, but will add a feature-rich, fee-based product.

The program is currently available for both Windows-based and Apple computers. ICQ versions for handheld computing units are also in development. Release versions of ICQ for the Palm III from 3Com and for Windows CE devices will be also be available shortly. My guess is that it will arrive just in time for the release of the wireless Palm VII, which rolls out in Canada in the latter half of the year. Imagine it … real-time chat communication with anyone from a wireless palm-sized device.

ICQ does come with a downside for anyone who is concerned about data security. Mirabilis, which was acquired by U.S. on-line service America Online last June, recommends that the program not be used for mission-critical applications or to convey content-sensitive material.

The company also says the program shouldn’t be used “if the risk of exposure to objectionable material is unacceptable to you or if you don’t want to expose your ICQ status or IP address (a computer’s electronic network address) to other people.”

The program does offer some privacy functions that force people to obtain consent from a user when they want to add them to their address list.

ICQ can be downloaded from the Web at www.mirabilis.com/download/ for the time being, although with the AOL acquisition of Mirabilis, expect a merger of ICQ with AOL’s competing software Internet Messenger.

Another free program you might want to download that includes ICQ can be found in our TechnologyTips Software Library here.