Ads by TechWords
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Mike Elgan's picture
Mike Elgan

The World Is My Office

Free New AIM Plug-In Sends IMs that Self-Destruct

ATHENS, GREECE -- A company called BigString Corporation today rolled out a new plug-in for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) that lets you send messages that self-destruct and are impossible to copy or capture, according to the company. Users can also send IMs from the company's web site without using AIM.

Called BigString IM, the free but advertiser-supported service enables the sending of messages that leave no trail or copy on Internet servers. The sender can choose how long after sending the message self-destructs -- "Mission Impossible" fans will no doubt favor the "five seconds" setting. Users can also choose visual effects to add drama to the self-destruction.

Get it here.

What People Are Saying

Rate this
Rated -1
283 Votes

BigString IM

This BigString.com service is potentially dangerous. I personally know of some people that have received e-mails sent through this service, and the subject of these e-mails comes down to harassment, although you can't trace it back to the sender.

BigString says you can't capture their e-mails, but we found a way, even if we can't prove who they came from. BigString guarantees your anonymity too, so short of deleting anything you get from a BigString user without opening it, you can be subject to all sorts of harassment with no recourse.