ICQ rejects not "authorized" clones.

[PryGuy]

Hey there! ICQ just did it, I just got the following message

=============================
System Message
=============================
The version you are using is not supported by ICQ. Download a free authorized ICQ version from ICQ's official website.
But they just do not have Linux/MacOSX versions! I've been using ICQ for 11 years, I'm lost for words... What a silly move they did!

[howefield]

Working fine in Pidgin. (for now ;)

[PryGuy]

Not for me. Will google it. I've heared that they gonna ban Russian IPs only. Have no idea why.

[bash]

Because you are all evil drunken communist hackers. Obviously! ;)

But I thought ICQ used to do this regularly in the past. As did Microsoft with their Live Messenger when it was still called MSN Messenger.

[PryGuy]

Because you are all evil drunken communist hackers. Obviously! ;)No, seriously... That's what I would call genocide. I have a very bad feeling about it.

[Polygon]

they could of just changed the version number, usually how these work is the program sends a version number or a string to the server to let them know what client you are using, and they could of disabled the one that pidgin was using. If thats the case, some pidgin dev will decompile the offical icq client, find the version number/string and then stick it in the next pidgin update =)

[Grant A.]

ICQ is a dying protocol that has been superceded by AIM and MSN.

[Polygon]

icq and aim are basically the same thing now anyway.

[spupy]

Hey there! ICQ just did it, I just got the following message

But they just do not have Linux/MacOSX versions! I've been using ICQ for 11 years, I'm lost for words... What a silly move they did!

It has happened before, worldwide. Promptly someone wrote a patch for pidgin.

[Bölvaður]

just get jabbar and tell your friends to do that or get google talk to talk to you :)

[zolookas]

Try connecting using XMPP: http://wiki.jabber.org/index.php/AOL_Alpha
About banning russians, there might be a few reasons:
1) A lot of russians as far i know use ICQ and a lot of them use unofficial clients (which don't display those annoying ads and don't make money for ICQ).
2) There were a lot of hacks, exploits and oher dirty stuff used with 3rd party clients. Try searching for russian Xakep journal article about ICQ.

[PryGuy]

Here's some info in English about it (http://www.robsageek.com/2009/01/21/icq-bans-3rd-party-clients-in-russia/) I have found so far... And I'm now on Jabber. ;)

[Johnsie]

ICQ/Mirabilis was an Israeli company. I wonder if Russia's support for Iran has anything to do with it.

Anyway, the ICQ system was good in the early days of popular internet, but nowadays the idea of having a long UIN number is laughable. MSN is now by far the most used IM where I live. I've always like Yahoo though (the voice chat rooms are fun).

If they lock people out they will die. The software has gone downhill since the 90's anyway,

[PryGuy]

The sarcasm of this story lies in a fact that Mirabilis founders were two Israeli citizens that emigrated from USSR.

[forrestcupp]

Lol.

I thought this was going to be some story about discrimination against human clones! They can't help it; they didn't make themselves that way. :)

[notwen]

I thought this was going to be some story about discrimination against human clones! They can't help it; they didn't make themselves that way. :)

lawl