Google Talking

368_GT_FM.qxd 11/10/06 4:47 PM Page i Visit us at www.syngress.com Syngress is committed to publishing high-quality...

Author: Joshua Brashars | Johnny Long | Brian Baskin

166 downloads 2332 Views 8MB Size Report

This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!

Report copyright / DMCA form

DOWNLOAD PDF

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page i

Visit us at www.syngress.com Syngress is committed to publishing high-quality books for IT Professionals and delivering those books in media and formats that fit the demands of our customers. We are also committed to extending the utility of the book you purchase via additional materials available from our Web site.

SOLUTIONS WEB SITE To register your book, visit www.syngress.com/solutions. Once registered, you can access our [email protected] Web pages. There you may find an assortment of value-added features such as free e-books related to the topic of this book, URLs of related Web sites, FAQs from the book, corrections, and any updates from the author(s).

ULTIMATE CDs Our Ultimate CD product line offers our readers budget-conscious compilations of some of our best-selling backlist titles in Adobe PDF form. These CDs are the perfect way to extend your reference library on key topics pertaining to your area of expertise, including Cisco Engineering, Microsoft Windows System Administration, CyberCrime Investigation, Open Source Security, and Firewall Configuration, to name a few.

DOWNLOADABLE E-BOOKS For readers who can’t wait for hard copy, we offer most of our titles in downloadable Adobe PDF form. These e-books are often available weeks before hard copies, and are priced affordably.

SYNGRESS OUTLET Our outlet store at syngress.com features overstocked, out-of-print, or slightly hurt books at significant savings.

SITE LICENSING Syngress has a well-established program for site licensing our e-books onto servers in corporations, educational institutions, and large organizations. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

CUSTOM PUBLISHING Many organizations welcome the ability to combine parts of multiple Syngress books, as well as their own content, into a single volume for their own internal use. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page ii

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page iii

Google Talking

™

Brian Baskin Joshua Brashars Johnny Long Technical Editor

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page iv

Syngress Publishing, Inc., the author(s), and any person or firm involved in the writing, editing, or production (collectively “Makers”) of this book (“the Work”) do not guarantee or warrant the results to be obtained from the Work. There is no guarantee of any kind, expressed or implied, regarding the Work or its contents.The Work is sold AS IS and WITHOUT WARRANTY.You may have other legal rights, which vary from state to state. In no event will Makers be liable to you for damages, including any loss of profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out from the Work or its contents. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you. You should always use reasonable care, including backup and other appropriate precautions, when working with computers, networks, data, and files. Syngress Media®, Syngress®, “Career Advancement Through Skill Enhancement®,” “Ask the Author UPDATE®,” and “Hack Proofing®,” are registered trademarks of Syngress Publishing, Inc. “Syngress:The Definition of a Serious Security Library”™, “Mission Critical™,” and “The Only Way to Stop a Hacker is to Think Like One™” are trademarks of Syngress Publishing, Inc. Brands and product names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. KEY

SERIAL NUMBER

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010

HJIRTCV764 PO9873D5FG 829KM8NJH2 38K9G6DF67 CVPLQ6WQ23 VBP965T5T5 HJJJ863WD3E 2987GVTWMK 629MP5SDJT IMWQ295T6T

PUBLISHED BY Syngress Publishing, Inc. 800 Hingham Street Rockland, MA 02370 Google Talking

Copyright © 2007 by Syngress Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, with the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed in a computer system, but they may not be reproduced for publication. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 ISBN-10: 1-59749-055-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-59749-055-9 Publisher: Andrew Williams Acquisitions Editor: Erin Heffernan Technical Editor: Johnny Long

Page Layout and Art: Patricia Lupien Copy Editor: Darlene Bordwell Cover Designer: Michael Kavish

Distributed by O’Reilly Media, Inc. in the United States and Canada. For information on rights, translations, and bulk sales, contact Matt Pedersen, Director of Sales and Rights, at Syngress Publishing; email [email protected] or fax to 781-681-3585.

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page v

Acknowledgments Syngress would like to acknowledge the following people for their kindness and support in making this book possible. Syngress books are now distributed in the United States and Canada by O’Reilly Media, Inc.The enthusiasm and work ethic at O’Reilly are incredible, and we would like to thank everyone there for their time and efforts to bring Syngress books to market:Tim O’Reilly, Laura Baldwin, Mark Brokering, Mike Leonard, Donna Selenko, Bonnie Sheehan, Cindy Davis, Grant Kikkert, Opol Matsutaro, Steve Hazelwood, Mark Wilson, Rick Brown,Tim Hinton, Kyle Hart, Sara Winge, C. J. Rayhill, Peter Pardo, Leslie Crandell, Regina Aggio, Pascal Honscher, Preston Paull, Susan Thompson, Bruce Stewart, Laura Schmier, Sue Willing, Mark Jacobsen, Betsy Waliszewski, Kathryn Barrett, John Chodacki, Rob Bullington, Aileen Berg, and Wendy Patterson. The incredibly hardworking team at Elsevier Science, including Jonathan Bunkell, Ian Seager, Duncan Enright, David Burton, Rosanna Ramacciotti, Robert Fairbrother, Miguel Sanchez, Klaus Beran, Emma Wyatt, Chris Hossack, Krista Leppiko, Marcel Koppes, Judy Chappell, Radek Janousek, and Chris Reinders for making certain that our vision remains worldwide in scope. David Buckland, Marie Chieng, Lucy Chong, Leslie Lim, Audrey Gan, Pang Ai Hua, Joseph Chan, and Siti Zuraidah Ahmad of STP Distributors for the enthusiasm with which they receive our books. David Scott, Tricia Wilden, Marilla Burgess, Annette Scott, Andrew Swaffer, Stephen O’Donoghue, Bec Lowe, Mark Langley, and Anyo Geddes of Woodslane for distributing our books throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji,Tonga, Solomon Islands, and the Cook Islands.

v

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page vi

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page vii

Lead Author Brian Baskin [MCP, CTT+] is a researcher and developer for Computer Sciences Corporation. In his work, he researches, develops, and instructs computer forensic techniques for members of the government, military, and law enforcement. Brian currently specializes in Linux/Solaris intrusion investigations, as well as in-depth analysis of various network protocols. He also has a penchant for penetration testing and is currently developing and teaching basic exploitation techniques for clients. Brian has been developing and instructing computer security courses since 2000, including presentations and training courses at the annual Department of Defense Cyber Crime Conference. He is an avid amateur programmer in many languages, beginning when his father purchased QuickC for him when he was 11, and has geared much of his life around the implementations of technology. Brian has written a handful of Mozilla Firefox extensions; some, like Passive Cache, are publicly available. He currently spends most of his time writing insecure PHP/MySQL web-based apps. Brian has been a Linux fanatic since 1994, and is slowly being drawn to the dark side of Apples and Macs. Brian would like to thank his wife and family for their continued support and motivation, as well as his friends and others who have helped him along the way: j0hnny, Grumpy Andy, En”Ron,” Thane, “Pappy,” “M,” Steve O., Chris pwnbbq, Koko, Rissa, Mailman, and others who he may have forgotten. Most importantly, Brian would like to thank his parents for their continuous faith and sacrifice to help him achieve his dreams.

vii

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page viii

Technical Editor Johnny Long has presented at SANS and other computer security conferences nationwide, including the Black Hat Briefings. In addition, he has presented before several government entities. His is the author of the best-selling Google Hacking for Penetration Testers (Syngress, ISBN: 1931836361). During his career as an attack and penetration specialist, he performed active network and physical security assessments (one in the cube is worth twenty on the net) for hundreds of government and commercial clients. He is a Black Hat featured speaker, and his website can be found at http://johnny.ihackstuff.com. Johnny is a Christian by grace, a family guy by choice, a professional hacker by trade, a pirate by blood, a ninja in training, a security researcher, and an author. Johnny is thankful for much. He thanks Christ first. He gives thanks to Jen, Makenna,Trevor, and Declan.These guys pay the price when deadlines hit. Johnny thanks them for understanding and supporting him.They have his love, always. He also thanks Andrew and the rest of his Syngress family. He thanks Brian and Josh. He appreciates their time and commitment to this project. Great work! Johnny gives thanks to the johnny.ihackstuff.com mods (Murf, Jimmy Neutron, JBrashars, CP Klouw, Sanguis,ThePsyko, Wolveso) and members for their help and support. Shouts: Nathan B, Sujay S, Stephen S, James Foster, Jenny Yang, SecurityTribe, the Shmoo Group, Sensepost, Blackhat, Defcon, Neal Stephenson (Baroque), Stephen King (on Writing),Ted Dekker (Thr3e), P.O.D., Pillar, Project86, Shadowvex,Yoshinori Sunahara, Pat C.To Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole for the Invisible Children movement (http://www.invisiblechildren.com). He’s behind you guys all the way!

viii

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page ix

Contributing Authors Joshua Brashars is a telecommunications and security specialist in San Diego. He spends his time working with Secure Science Corporation’s External Threat Assessment Team, breaking things apart and taping them back together. Joshua has contributed to several books with Syngress Publishing and has presented at conferences and universities across the United States. Josh wrote Chapter 2, Installation. Michael Gough is host and webmaster of www.VideoCallTips. com, which was launched in January 2005 and receives more than 81,000 hits per month. He is also the author of Skype Me! From Single User to Small Enterprise and Beyond (Syngress Publishing, ISBN, 1-59749-032-6) and webmaster of www.SkypeTips.com, which receives more than 140,000 hits per month. Michael writes articles on personal videoconferencing and related issues and contributes to the Networking Pipeline section of Skype.com. He also explains personal videoconferencing options and instructions to users so that they can practically apply video calls at home and while out of town on business to stay in touch with family and friends. Michael also evaluates products for vendors and posts ratings on his Web sites. He evaluates products used with video calls and provides feedback to the vendors on features and improvements to help drive the direction of video call-related products. Michael is also the host and webmaster for www.InternetVisitation.org, a Web site focused on helping people understand how to make video calls to family and friends after divorce, and maintains ratings of the many video call solutions available. Michael gives presentations on this subject at several conferences around the country to educate attorneys on the use of video calls in divorce—a practice known as virtual visitation, and www.InternetVisitation.org currently receives 100,000 hits per month.

ix

368_GT_FM.qxd

11/10/06

4:47 PM

Page x

Michael’s full-time employment is as a Computer Security Consultant with 18 years’ experience in the computer technology field. He works for a Fortune 500 where he delivers security consulting services to their clients. He also presents for his company at many trade shows and conferences and works with associations and groups, advising agencies like the FBI on Skype security and the Center for Internet Security on wireless security. Michael wrote Appendix A, Introduction to Video Calling and Appendix B, Free Video Software.

x

368_GT_TOC.qxd

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xi

Contents Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 How Did We Get Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 The Rise of Google . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 The Instant Messaging World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 America Online Instant Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 ICQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Microsoft Windows Live Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Yahoo! Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 QQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 What’s Wrong With This Picture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Introducing Google Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Google Talking Without a Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Google Talking On the Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Chapter 2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Minimum System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Connection Speed—Broadband vs. Dial-Up . . . . . . . . . .20 Upload and Download Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Testing Your Bandwidth Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Microphone and Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Headsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Microphone and Headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Bluetooth Headsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 USB Phones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Personal Computer (PC) Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Installing Google Talk on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Troubleshooting Windows Audio Recording . . . . . . .27 Installing the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Solutions for Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 xi

368_GT_TOC.qxd

xii

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xii

Contents

Chapter 3 Google Talk for Non-Windows Users . . . . . . 39 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Gaim for Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Setting Up Your Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Using Gaim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 iChat for OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Setting Up Your Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Using iChat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 iChat Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Adium X for OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Setting Up Your Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Using Adium X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Chapter 4 Google Talk Usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Using Google Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Your Contact List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Adding Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Changing Your Contact List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Interacting With Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Setting Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Google Music Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Chatting With Google Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Emoticons and Text Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Reviewing Old Chats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Chatting “Off the Record” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Speaking Your Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Voice Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 Voicemail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Sharing Files and Tunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Personalizing Your Google Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Avatars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Themes and Skins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

368_GT_TOC.qxd

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xiii

Contents

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 Chapter 5 Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications . . . 93 Making Google Talk Yours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 GT-Plug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 Extended Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Creating Your Own Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Creating the Necessary Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Altering Message Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Primary CSS Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 Reach Out and Touch Someone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 Surprise Mom With a Call From Google Talk . . . . . . .114 VoIP Over Talqer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 VoIP Using GTalk-To-VoIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 Can You See Me Now? Good! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Fun and Games with Festoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Using Festoon as a Business Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 Sex Change in a Download . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Become A Google Talk DJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 Quick and Dirty Broadcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133 DJ’ing Through Mercora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 Google Talk Chat Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Pushing the Envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Google Talk to Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Sleeping With The Enemy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Links to Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Chapter 6 Proxy Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162 What Are Proxies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162 Why Use Proxies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Configuring Google Talk to Use Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

xiii

368_GT_TOC.qxd

xiv

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xiv

Contents

Onion Router Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166 How Onion Routing Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167 Configuring Google Talk to Use Onion Routing Proxies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169 Using an SSH Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170 Creating an SSH Tunnel in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 Creating an SSH Tunnel in Linux and OS X . . . . . . . .173 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 Chapter 7 Google Talk in the Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180 Implementing Google Talk in Your Network . . . . . . . . . . .180 Configuring for Google Talk: Standalone Client . . . . . .180 Deploying Google Talk Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181 Deploying Google Talk: Client Registry Changes . . .181 Allowing Google Talk Client Network Traffic . . . . .183 Configuring for Google Talk: Google Mail . . . . . . . . . .183 Blocking Google Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 Blocking Google Talk Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 Blocking Google Talk from Executing . . . . . . . . . . . . .185 Enterprise Security and Control of Google Talk . . . . . . . . .188 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 Solutions Fast Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193 Appendix A Introduction to Video Calling . . . . . . . . . 195 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Personal Videoconferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Business Videoconferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Web Videoconferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197 What Is a Video Call? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197 Where Can You Perform Video Calls? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Appendix B Free Video Call Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 One-on-One Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

368_GT_TOC.qxd

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xv

Contents

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM 5.9) and AOL Triton (BETA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206 Apple iChat AV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 Festoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208 IVisit Lite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 Microsoft MSN Messenger 7.5 (Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA) . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 SightSpeed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 Skype 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218 Spontania Video4IM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223 WigiWigi—Vwho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226 Yahoo Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227 ZoomCall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227 Multiuser Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228 Apple iChat AV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228 Festoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229 WigiWigi—Vwho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230 Multi-IM Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231 EyeBall Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232 Festoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 FWD.Communicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 PalTalk Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234 QNext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234 Trillian Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 TryFast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 WigiWigi Vwho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 SIP Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 FWD.Communicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 INEEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 Lycos Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 Sony/GlowPoint IVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239 Yak Virtual Videophone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 H.323 Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241 EnvisionSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241 Microsoft NetMeeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242 Chat-Room-Based Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242

xv

368_GT_TOC.qxd

xvi

11/10/06

5:22 PM

Page xvi

Contents

CamFrog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 Chatablanca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 CUWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244 DKMessenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244 EyeBall Chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 LIvVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 PalTalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 Other Video Call Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246 Microsoft Portrait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246 Obsolete, End-of-Life, or Discontinued Solutions . . .247 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 1

Chapter 1

Introduction

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Where Did Instant Messaging Come From?

■

Other Popular IM Clients and How Google Talk Stacks Up

■

How You Can Implement Google Talk in Your Life

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 1

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

2

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 2

Chapter 1 • Introduction

How Did We Get Here? We live in a grand age in which information flows at the speed of light and regional boundaries collapse under the weight of the Internet. Once upon a time, our parents were penpals to others living in foreign nations, scratching out long messages on paper to be mailed off. Weeks would pass without notice or confirmation, until suddenly a heavily stamped envelope would arrive from a friend overseas. Now we enjoy instantaneous communication to nearly every country in the world.The world of penpals and business has become one of instant global communication. But the struggle to get to this point has been long and filled with peril. We are at a stage where the world of communications is being turned upside down, and many users and businesses are forced to make a choice: to adopt new technology or to confine themselves to the relics of ancient devices. Personally, I have been lucky to follow the advent of the instant-messaging world from the beginning. It all started with the days of bulletin board systems (BBSs) running Renegade and PCBoard, which had very basic chat components to allow you to “talk” with the handful of others who could be on the same BBS at the same time. It was the introduction of FidoNet, an old-school mail-relaying system, that whetted my appetite for international communication. I quickly established my own bulletin board as a FidoNet node, allowing myself and my users to send messages to the vast reaches of the world.The fall of the BBS world led to my time in Internet Relay Chat (IRC), which after 12 years I’m still in the habit of visiting. Back when the BBSs crumbled, the world wasn’t ready for instant messaging. Everyone was accustomed to their chat rooms on AOL, IRC, CompuServe, and Prodigy, where they could join a channel of other random “thirty-somethings” and discuss the latest Seinfeld episode. When ICQ, the first IM service, hit the market in 1996, there was a general feeling of “Why would anyone want this?”The chat rooms were more than proficient at allowing us to talk to our friends, and there seemed little to be gained from an IM client. Still, many of us quickly signed up for accounts to play with the new idea. Over time, IM began to play a more central part in my life and in the lives of others around me. When I wanted to hop online for a few minutes to check my e-mail, minutes turned into hours as my friends could immediately see that I had logged in and initiate chats.The www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 3

Introduction • Chapter 1

world of chat rooms felt too confining at this point; it was too much protocol to join a server, find a chat room, see who was awake and around, and get caught up in channel politics just to talk to a friend. Instant messaging allowed me to quickly “ping” a friend and share information. As AOL released its Instant Messenger application (AIM), followed by Yahoo! and Microsoft Messenger, I registered on each to explore the new features and worlds opened to me. I can at least say that I’m happy not to have any screen names that end with a number. After using just about every client for long periods of time, I remained comfortable with ICQ and AIM.That was until August 2005, when Google Talk was released. After a rocky start, I began using Google Talk exclusively as my chat client. It provided all the main features that I wanted, without all the fluff that the other clients offered.

The Rise of Google Google Inc. has recently joined the instant-messaging foray with the release of Google Talk. Everyone seems to know Google. Well known for creating the most advanced search engine of its time, Google has become synonymous with information gathering and research—so much so that in the summer of 2006, Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary included the word Google as a verb meaning to search for information on a person using the Google search engine. Google’s search engine and its related advertising services have turned Google Inc. into an overnight success, with over 10,000 employees scattered throughout central California and even in Microsoft’s backyard of Redmond, Washington. The Google machine has been working overtime in recent years, producing a large number of free applications to help the common computer user and to change people’s perspective of Internet technology.The most well known of these is Google Mail, a free Web-based mail service provided by Google. Known affectionately as Gmail, it launched on April 1, 2004, with the promise of 1 Gigabyte of information storage to any invited member.The invite-only structure still exists, as Gmail is still technically in the Beta stage, but with an abundance of invitations granted to each user and numerous invitations ending up on eBay for sale, just about any user who wants an account is allowed one. As of early 2006, Gmail served 6.7 million users, vastly fewer than its competitors, but for a new service it is gaining ground. Not only does www.syngress.com

3

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

4

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 4

Chapter 1 • Introduction

Google store the accounts for millions of users, but it also maintains an invisible social network, tying various accounts together. Google knows who invited you to join their Google Mail service, as well as whom your friends are in Google Talk, creating an interesting network of your friends and family. Other Google services, such as Orkut (www.orkut.com), make this social network visible by allowing you to invite new friends to join your social circle. Google has also started work on its line of Web-based office applications. It currently offers the ability to create and store documents and spreadsheets (http://docs.google.com), maintain your calendar schedules (www.google. com/calendar/), and store your favorite photos (http://picasaweb.google. com). We’ll take a look at many of these applications and see how Google Talk plays a vital role in then.

Notes From the Underground… Google Beta? Anyone who follows Google’s products will notice that a large majority of them are in Beta, a term describing the overall status of the software as not quite complete but good enough for mass testing. You might be familiar with the term Beta test, whereby a product is considered complete enough to warrant scrutiny and stress testing. Well, Google Talk is a Beta product, under Beta testing by millions of users. It joins the large Google family of Beta products, such as Google Mail. What this ultimately means is that the product has not been finalized into a releasable product and could undergo changes at any time. It is important to note that this book covers the Beta version of Google Talk. That means that new features might be implemented by the time you’ve installed it, and other features might be altered and removed.

The Instant-Messaging World Chances are that you are already using an instant-messaging client of some sort, and would like to know what Google Talk can offer you. Google Talk provides quite a few unique features, but what it is really known for is what it does not offer you: advertisements, spyware, information overload, and other www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 5

Introduction • Chapter 1

useless junk that other IM clients are known for. In this section, we’ll take a brief look at Google’s competition in the IM market.

America Online Instant Messenger Currently, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is the most popular instant-messaging service in use in the United States. Precise numbers are hard to determine, but comScore judged that AIM has 54 million users as of July 2005, giving it a significant market presence. AIM is the big name in the IM world, there is no doubt about that. Although not the first IM service, AIM has the largest number of users with its existing America Online user base and the millions of others who registered just to use its chat client. AIM gave users the ability to log into any computer across the world that had the AIM client and immediately receive their full contact lists, showing which of their buddies were online at the time. It was the perfect product for the busy traveler and student, who might use hundreds of machines during the course of a year. Chat was effortless, as was the transfer of files from one machine to another. However, over time, a disease crept into AOL Instant Messenger. A disease called creeping featuritis, which often proves fatal.

Notes From the Underground Hide Your Daughters, It’s Creeping Featuritis! Creeping featuritis occurred when an application loses “its roots” and begins to throw in as many new features as they can possibly fit, even if it proves detrimental to the original concept of the tool. I wish I could say that AIM was the sole sufferer of this wasting sickness, but it proved to take hold of most IM services. As a prior software developer, I know the temptation of it all too well. I remember thinking, “I’ll just add one more feature that the users will love and everyone will adore me” But, the implementation of that one feature leads to two more, then three more, and soon your old ideas are becoming ugly and bug ridden while you focus on the next new idea. Continued

www.syngress.com

5

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

6

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 6

Chapter 1 • Introduction

The unfortunate side effect is that more focus and development goes into the creation of new ideas and add-ons, instead of making the already existing features pristine and bullet-proof. Typical features creeps in IM clients include themes, enhanced smiley faces, games, greeting cards and avatars.

AOL Instant Messenger was also used as a vehicle to push advertisements and other AOL features to users who really couldn’t care less, as shown in Figure 1.1. AOL also touts its AIM Today portal to all users, insisting that they really do want a one-stop shop for all their e-mail and personal settings as well as all the latest celebrity gossip. Figure 1.1 AOL Instant Messenger 5.9

ICQ ICQ is known as the first true instant-messaging client, released in late 1996, and has long been known for its outlandish sound effects. ICQ was www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 7

Introduction • Chapter 1

designed with a peculiar name, an acoronym for “I Seek You,” by a team of Israeli programmers. ICQ itself hosts over 20 million active users from all across the world, as stated by one of AOL’s press statements (www.corp.aol.com/products/brands_icq.shtml).This user base is contested, though; since ICQ and AIM share the same protocol, there is a chance that the number is dramatically lower. Some market analysts put the ICQ user base at a meager 1.8 million. Life for ICQ changed quite a bit, though, in 2000, when it was acquired by America Online. ICQ was left alone to continue to prosper, but its backend protocol design was altered to become compatible with AIM, allowing AIM and ICQ users to communicate with each other. Although ICQ doesn’t commandeer the great number of users that other services do, it has an established presence in many foreign markets. It also touts itself as a medium for online dating and relationships through its complex homepage that attempts to find compatible chat partners. Unfortunately, like many other IM clients, it relies on many advertisements for its own features and for other service providers, as shown in Figure 1.2. Figure 1.2 ICQ 2003b Pro

www.syngress.com

7

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

8

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 8

Chapter 1 • Introduction

Microsoft Windows Live Messenger The up and coming challenger in the instant messaging world comes from Microsoft, the behemoth from Redmond, Washington that likes its fingers in all of the pies.Their Microsoft Network (MSN) service was an attempt to dominate the ISP world and compete with AOL, but the only real by-product seems to be MSN Messenger. MSN Messenger ended up being one of the cleanest and produced more efficient IM clients for its time. With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft is moving forward with its MSN replacement, Windows Live Messenger (WLM), as shown in Figure 1.3. WLM is proving to be quite a capable IM client, with a much cleaner interface than most of its competition. Figure 1.3 Microsoft Live Messenger

Although it does have a hefty 17 different menu icons for services such as MSN Video, MSN Shopping, MSN Dating, MSN Games, Rhapsody music, and eBay, these are all mostly hidden away from the user. And just like every other prominent client, it urges you to use its portal system, in this case MSN Today, to catch up on your daily gossip. WLM does capture the second largest user base in the IM community, though, with approximately 23 active million users, as reported by comScore in July 2005. However, Microsoft is still

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 9

Introduction • Chapter 1

aiming for the top of the food chain with a recent deal with Yahoo! that will allow the two clients to share user communications.

Yahoo! Messenger With the arrival of Google,Yahoo! has been fighting for its identity in the online world. Its second-rate search engine was recently updated to match the power of Google’s search engine, but a lot of its attention has been placed on Yahoo! Messenger. If you are looking for flash-bang graphical overload, Yahoo! will probably be your client of choice. Not only can you force gaudy commercialized themes, called IMVironments, onto your friends, but you can also play a game of checkers with them. In Figure 1.4, you will notice that you are pushed into a variety of advertisements for Pop-Tarts,Yahoo! Movies Trailer plug-in,Yahoo! Voice Chat,Yahoo! Music LAUNCHcast,Yahoo! 360*, Yahoo! Weather, and the Yahoo! Search engine. However,Yahoo! Messenger has found its niche, since it holds the third largest user base of IM clients, with approximately 21 million users (www.thestreet.com/_googlen/markets/jamesaltucher/10242834.html). Its numbers are sure to fluctuate as it finally has merged its protocol with Microsoft Live Messenger in summer 2005, allowing Yahoo! and Microsoft Live users to communicate with each other. Figure 1.4 Yahoo! Messenger

www.syngress.com

9

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

10

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 10

Chapter 1 • Introduction

QQ Ever heard of QQ? You probably haven’t, although it is the most popular IM chat client in the world. It has over 220 million active users on its service; that’s more active users than all the other clients discussed here combined! However, its user base is predominantly Asian, with large usage in China, Korea, and Japan, along with significant usage in South Africa. So why do I mention it? Well, 220 million users can’t be wrong! However, much of this success is because QQ operates very anonymously, without even requiring an e-mail address for registration. QQ features a very clean and simple interface, as shown in Figure 1.5, with no advertisements and no pushy pop-up windows.There are no additional frill packages, just honest-to-goodness chat.This is what the people want, and they have been waiting for it here in the United States! Their wishes have finally been answered with Google Talk. Figure 1.5 QQ Main Screen

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 11

Introduction • Chapter 1

What’s Wrong With This Picture? Now that you’ve briefly looked through what the market has to offer, what do you see wrong? There is plenty to complain about: advertisements, popup windows, portal home pages, dozens of icons and buttons, and a lack of concise design. Much of these products are tailored towards the young teenage crowd, with an emphasis on games and playing “dress up” with your own avatar. What about the practical user in all of us? Our inner adult wants to get down to brass tacks, bypass all of the graphical fluff, and just chat with friends. We don’t care what dress Tiffany’s fictional avatar is wearing. What we want is a simple to use program that makes it easy to find our friends and talk to them, as shown in Figure 1.6. The answer for this type of user is Google Talk. Figure 1.6 Google Talk Client

Introducing Google Talk The Google Talk client was a huge step forward for Google as a means of tying in communications with its wide suite of applications. For one, Google Talk is one of the few open-standard chat services around, using the widely www.syngress.com

11

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

12

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 12

Chapter 1 • Introduction

popular Jabber protocol. It is ubiquitous in your world, allowing you to connect through a standalone client, Google Mail, or many of Google’s other Web-based applications. When Google Talk was envisioned, the planners decided to take advantage of the Jabber protocol, an open-standard protocol based upon XML that’s used in a large variety of networks. Its design makes it easy for third-party developers to create modifications and extensions to Google Talk or create their own clients that can converse with Google Talk users.This is vastly different from all the other prominent IM services, which use their own closed-source protocols and spend countless hours blocking access from outside clients.

Google Talking Without a Client Throughout this book we will become intimately familiar with the Google Talk standalone client, shown in Figure 1.6. However, that is not the only means of communication. Google turned a lot of heads when it decided to implement Google Talk capabilities within Google Mail, as shown in Figure 1.7. Using any Internet-accessible computer in the world, you can now jump in to check your Gmail and chat with all your friends. Although there is a bit of difference in how the standalone and the Web-based clients work, they share the same protocol and basic functionality. Many of these differences will be discussed later in this book, and we’ll discuss how you can setup and use each of these implementations. Figure 1.7 Google Mail Chat

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 13

Introduction • Chapter 1

Obviously, the sky is the limit for an application like Google Talk, with the full resources of Google, Inc. behind it. Google Talk has already been implemented into other Google apps, such as their Google Desktop (http://desktop. google.com), with the potential for it to be included in numerous other applications, such as Google’s Documents and Spreadsheets applications. Google’s interoperability is often the butt of many jokes, though, after the recent press that they have received over their ad-based Google Mail system. Pretty soon, we may see Google Talk monitoring our conversations, as demonstrated in the UserFriendly.org comic strip in Figure 1.8. Figure 1.8 Google Talk Helping With Bad English (http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20050828)

Notes From the Underground… Docs and Spreadsheets Aren’t There Yet Many people who use Google’s Web-based applications will notice some of the many advanced features that they provide, such as a discussion capability. In Google Spreadsheets, you can open a shared spreadsheet Continued

www.syngress.com

13

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

14

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 14

Chapter 1 • Introduction

document with your friends, family, or coworkers and send messages about the content while simultaneously editing the document. Such a chat feature might seem right up Google Talk’s alley, but it’s actually using a standard Web-based chat format. However, keep your eyes on it; there is great hope for what Google Docs and Spreadsheets can become. Think of creating a new spreadsheet and picking names off your Google Talk contact list to share the contents with, then tying in the discussion with your Talk buddies.

Google Talking On the Go Along with its Web-based interface for communicating with others, Google Talk is also available on a number of portable communication devices, such as the RIM BlackBerry, as shown in Figure 1.9, and the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet.There is strong potential for an even greater market presence with Google Talk for Palm devices and cell phones. How about Google Talk on your wrist watch? Figure 1.9 Google Talk for the RIM BlackBerry (Courtesy of Google Inc.)

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 15

Introduction • Chapter 1

Solutions Fast-Track How Did We Get Here? The instant-messaging world that we currently enjoy has been in

development for well over a decade as dozens of IM clients battled for market dominance. The use of IM marks a significant departure in the way modern

Internet users view their online friends and their time online.Today we don’t want to commit ourselves to a chat application and invest the time in sitting in chat rooms. We want instantaneous communication with friends and family, no matter what we are doing at the time.

The Rise of Google Google Inc., starting from the development of an ingenious search

engine design, has grown into a multibillion-dollar corporation that seeks to revolutionize the way people operate on the Internet. Google Talk is just one small side project of the greater Google good

and symbolizes Google’s attitudes toward allowing its employees to work on fun pet projects that could grow up to change the world.

The Instant-Messaging World Although ICQ might have been the first recognized instant-

messaging service, it has definitely fallen behind the times, holding significantly fewer devoted users than any other prominent IM service. AIM has been able to leverage its large established America Online

user base into the largest IM market in North America and still retains that title through numerous client enhancements.

www.syngress.com

15

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

16

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 16

Chapter 1 • Introduction

Yahoo! Messenger and Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger have

been vying for the lead position, and now that both clients intermingle, their combined user base could spell trouble for AIM. One of the greatest disadvantages to most IM clients is their creeping

features, where numerous insignificant modifications are favored over the core chat experience. QQ leads the world in active users through its established market in

Asia and with its simplified and to-the-point interface.

Introducing Google Talk Google Talk might be the newest IM service to emerge, but with a

strong brand name and loyal following, it could become one of the most popular clients in upcoming years. Google Talk not only operates with its standalone client, it is also tied

into a number of Google services, such as Google Mail. For chatters on the move, Google Talk is also fully supported on

numerous mobile devices, such as the RIM BlackBerry and Nokia 770 tablet.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 17

Introduction • Chapter 1

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form.

Q: I use Trillian for all of my instant messaging. Does Google Talk integrate into it? A: Trillian is an excellent client that features a simplified interface that appeals to many users.Trillian is also a free product that allows you to communicate with a wide variety of instant-messaging services. However, the free version of Trillian does not support Google Talk; you will have to purchase Trillian Pro. If Google Talk is going to be your client of choice, and you don’t use accounts on many other services, it is much easier and cheaper just to use the Google Talk client. Q: When will Google Talk be taken out of Beta? A: That’s impossible to say. Many Google products stay in the Beta stage for months, if not years, because they are constantly being fine-tuned and updated. Many developers are hesitant to put the final stamp of approval on their product until they are sure that it is completely bug free and has all the features users want. However, as any software program manager can tell you, sometimes products have to ship with bugs. It is advantageous for Google to have its product sit in Beta mode, where millions of adventurous users can test and abuse it, without having to commit the company to Google Talk being a final product.

www.syngress.com

17

368_GT_04_01_dummy.qxd

18

11/10/06

2:51 PM

Page 18

Chapter 1 • Introduction

Q: I like my instant-messaging clients with lots of colors and video. Can I modify Google Talk for this? A: Absolutely.There are currently many plug-ins to Google Talk as well as modifications made by advanced users. In Chapter 4 of this book we’ll go into some of these modifications and how you can do some really cool stuff with a very basic client.You can even use Google Talk to talk to your friends on AIM and Yahoo!

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 19

Chapter 2

Installation

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Installing Google Talk on Windows

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 19

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

20

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 20

Chapter 2 • Installation

Introduction In this chapter, we’ll look at what’s required to begin making and taking calls in Google Talk. Depending on your platform, the installation requirements and steps are slightly different, so feel free to skip down to the section that covers your particular platform.

Minimum System Requirements So you’ve heard all about this Internet telephone thing that the world is buzzing about, and you’ve decided you want to get on board. Good for you! Let’s look at the steps you’ll need to take to get Google Talk properly installed and configured so you can begin to reach out and touch someone. First things first: We need to ensure that your computer system meets Google Talk’s minimum requirements.

Connection Speed: Broadband vs. Dial-Up First you need an Internet connection. I know, I know … an Internet connection? For an Internet phone call? Stop the presses! Although this might seem blindingly obvious, it is important that your connection have enough bandwidth to accommodate Internet telephone traffic. What is bandwidth? Bandwidth is a measure of the capacity of a communications channel.The higher a channel’s bandwidth, the more information it can carry. So what does this mean to you, the Google Talk user? Basically, there are two types of bandwidth: broadband and dial-up.This is of course a dangerous over-generalization, but for consumer-level Internet connections, this definition will suffice. Broadband is generally considered to be anything at the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) level and faster, such as the common cable modem Internet connection. Normal dial-up Internet, also referred to as narrowband, is any Internet connection over the plain old telephone system (POTS) network.These connections require a user to dial the Internet service provider (ISP) over the phone and are considerably slower than cable or DSL. In contrast, cable/DSL connections are “always on”—that is, as long as your computer or a device directly connected to the modem is powered on, you will have Internet connectivity. www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 21

Installation • Chapter 2

So why does all this matter? So glad you asked! Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) requires a lot of bandwidth to send voice traffic at acceptable speeds. Without a sufficient connection, the quality of the audio will decrease, echo, jitter, and become otherwise unusable.Typical dial-up connections simply don’t have the room or the speed to make telephone calls; ironic, considering that this traffic is over telephone lines in the first place. If you happen to live in an area where broadband Internet connectivity is not available, that doesn’t mean that you will be unable to use Google Talk, but it does exclude you from taking advantage of Google Talk’s voice chat capabilities. However, if you are fortunate enough to have access to a broadband connection, you will be able to take advantage of all Google Talk’s features.

Upload and Download Speeds An important thing to keep in mind in regard to bandwidth speed is that not all connection speeds are created equal.This matters most when it comes to upload speed, which affects your ability to send audio. Upload speed is how fast you can send data. Conversely, download is the speed at which you receive data. Most cable modems and DSL lines have asynchronous speeds, which means that the download speed is generally much faster than the upload speed.This is especially important over shared Internet connections, such as at a Wi-Fi hotspot or on a local area network (LAN). Although download speeds are often plentiful, the same numbers of people are sharing the minimal upload bandwidth, which might result in choppy or unusable call audio. As a guideline, the following are average speeds associated with their respective Internet connection types: ■

Cable modem 4Mbps download, 250kps upload

■

Standard DSL 1.5 Mbps download, 128kbps upload

■

Satellite 500kbps download, 56kps upload

www.syngress.com

21

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

22

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 22

Chapter 2 • Installation

Testing Your Bandwidth Speeds Many places on the Internet, such as www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/, will give you a measurement of your connection’s bandwidth speeds. However, these sites will typically measure only your download speed, and Google Talk is more dependent on upload speed. For an accurate measure of upload speed, check out the speed test at www.dslreports.com/stest/. Please note also that although this site supports most geographic locations, not all places are supported, so your mileage may vary.

Microphone and Speakers Now that you’ve made sure you’ve got the download and upload speeds necessary to make a Google Talk call, you need some equipment to actually send and receive audio. Specifically, you’ll need a microphone and speakers. In this section, we’ll look at some considerations for these required accessories.

Headsets Google recommends using a headset (which integrates both a microphone and a headphone speaker), such as the ones made by Logitech. For optimal sound quality, get a headset with full duplex. Full duplex means that the headset can receive and send audio simultaneously. You’ll also want a headset that offers noise cancellation.This ensures that you will not have any echo or feedback in the audio (high-pitched shrills that sound not unlike a dying narwhal) and will eliminate most of the ambient background noise in the area.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 23

Installation • Chapter 2

Microphone and Headphones If you don’t have access to a headset such as those made by Logitech, you can use regular headphones like the ones that come with any iPod or CD player and a generic microphone. Both can be obtained at most stores with an electronics department, such as Best Buy or even Wal-Mart. It is important to prevent the sound from the headphones reaching the microphone or you will experience the dreaded audio assault of feedback. You will probably need to fiddle with the audio settings for both the microphone and the headphones. Ideally you want the headphones no louder than what is required to clearly hear the person on the call, and you want the microphone no more sensitive than is needed to be heard clearly by your caller.

A Word About Laptops The majority of laptops manufactured today come from the factory with built-in speakers and a built-in microphone. Although it is still advisable to use a set of headphones with this configuration, you can have a perfectly good experience without one.You will still need to configure your microphone’s sensitivity to avoid undesirable audio.

Bluetooth Headsets Most modern mobile phones and many laptop computers come equipped with Bluetooth. Bluetooth, the common name for devices complying with the IEEE 802.15.1 standard, is a wireless technology for personal area networks (PANs) that allows wireless data exchange. Bluetooth works especially well for headsets, allowing hands-free communication within a range of 1 to 10 meters, depending on the class of Bluetooth radio in the device.The ranges for the respective radios are as follows: ■

Class 1 100 mW, 20 dBm, ~100 meters

■

Class 2 2.5 mW, 4 dBm, ~10 meters

■

Class 3 1 mW, 0 dBm, ~1 meter

www.syngress.com

23

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

24

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 24

Chapter 2 • Installation

You can use these Bluetooth headsets with Google Talk if you configure your computer to send audio through the headset.To use a headset with a computer, you must first “pair” the devices.This is done by setting both the computer and the headset in “discoverable” mode. Once the devices “see” each other, you can connect them, usually requiring you to enter a password or PIN in the setup software on your computer.The specifics of this operation vary greatly by manufacturer and model and so are beyond the scope of this book. Consult the manuals that came with your headset and computer to successfully pair the devices. If your computer did not ship equipped with a Bluetooth device, you’re not quite out of luck. Most consumer electronics and computer stores offer USB dongles, which will augment your computer with Bluetooth capabilities. Again, consult the manual that shipped with the dongle to properly configure it.

Notes from the Underground Avoid Getting Bluejacked! Remember not to keep your Bluetooth devices in “discoverable” mode when they are not in the process of being paired. Some Bluetooth devices have a weakness in the way the handshake between devices is implemented, making it possible (however unlikely) for an attacker to pair to your computer without your permission. This could enable all sorts of hacker hijinks. Of course, it would require the attacker to be within physical proximity to you, but it is still an important thing to keep in mind.

USB Phones With the rise in popularity of VoIP, manufacturers are starting to answer the public outcry for devices that mimic a traditional telephone.These phones further erase the line between standard POTS telephone calls and VoIP calls such as those made by Google Talk. By recreating a familiar experience, these phones bring VoIP to a broader market.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 25

Installation • Chapter 2

The prices of these phones vary greatly depending on feature set, such as Google Talk integration (allowing you to log into Google Talk and place calls directly from the handset) or wireless capabilities that allow you to roam your living room as you take and make calls.The average price range for a USB phone is between $20 and $200. Most USB phones are still very early in the software development stage and tend to be geared toward Skype, a competitive product to Google Talk. However, as Google Talk gains popularity, more phones are being shipped with compatibility for both VoIP clients. Also, many manufacturers provide an update to the firmware (the software that controls the phone) to include support for Google Talk and other clients. At the time of writing, the only phone completely compatible with Google Talk is the Yealink P1K USB phone.This phone retails for about US$50 and is compatible with Google Talk, Skype,Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and VoIP Buster.This phone can be used on all major platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Apple’s Mac OS X, and Linux Fedora Core 3. More information on this phone can be found at www.amperordirect.com/pc/b-yealink/Internet-phone-yealink-usbp1k.html.

Personal Computer (PC) Requirements At the time of this printing, Google Talk is only officially available for computers running Microsoft Windows, although third-party applications will allow you to connect to the Google Talk network. We’ll discuss third-party applications in Chapter 5, but let’s take a quick look at the system requirements for Google Talk now: ■

Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP (Home and Pro), or Windows Server 2003; you may use Linux if you have a client that supports the XMPP Protocol

■

A 56k dial-up connection or a faster broadband connection such as DSL, cable modem, or satellite

■

At least 10 megabytes of hard drive space; Google Talk will work with less but could have undesired effects

■

256k or more of RAM memory; Google Talk will work with less but may have undesired effects www.syngress.com

25

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

26

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 26

Chapter 2 • Installation ■

1GHz or faster processor; Google Talk will run on a computer with less but may have undesired effects

■

A full-duplex sound card with a microphone and headphone jack (for voice calls); a single-duplex sound card will work, but the audio will be choppy, and you will not be able to hear someone talk if you are already talking, and vice versa

Installing Google Talk on Windows Before we get to actually installing and running Google Talk on our Windows system, we need to first ensure that our sound card is correctly configured and fully functional. Ensure that your headset or microphone/headphone combination are properly connected to the computer. If you are using a USB device, simply plug the device into an available USB port and, if necessary, follow any on-screen instructions to install the device. If you are using a more traditional microphone or headset with standard headphone jacks, make sure the speakers or earphones are plugged into the audio-out port (typically colored green) and the microphone is plugged into the microphone jack (usually pink). More often than not, there will be a symbol in the shape of a microphone or headphones to guide you. Windows comes with a program called Sound Recorder that we will use to run a test to make sure our equipment is set up properly.To do this, we will record and then play back an audio clip using our recording and playback devices. Sound Recorder is available by clicking Start | Programs | Accessories | Entertainment | Sound Recorder, as shown in Figure 2.1. Figure 2.1 Launching Windows Sound Recorder

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 27

Installation • Chapter 2

Open Sound Recorder, as shown in Figure 2.2, then click the red button on the far right of the application to begin recording. Now speak into the microphone. Figure 2.2 Windows Sound Recorder

You should notice some activity on the green line that runs through the center of the program window, which represents the audio wave form the program is recording (in this case, your voice). Click the Stop button next to the Record button and then play back the audio. If you hear your voice played back to you, congratulations! Your sound card is functional and your microphone is correctly connected. If you did not hear yourself, something went wrong and we have to troubleshoot.

Troubleshooting Windows Audio Recording The first thing to check if the recording did not play back is whether or not the microphone or the sound card has been muted. In Figure 2.3, the computer’s sound card is set to mute, noted by the icon of a speaker with the slashed red circle over it. If you see this symbol, singleclick the icon with the left mouse button to bring up the mute dialog box, as shown in Figure 2.4. Uncheck the mute button and replay the audio file. Do you hear yourself? If so, move on to installing the application. If not, we need to investigate further. Don’t despair! Help is on the way!

www.syngress.com

27

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

28

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 28

Chapter 2 • Installation

Figure 2.3 Muted Sound Card

Figure 2.4 Mute Dialog Box

So you are certain your computer’s sound card is not muted, but you still aren’t getting any audio.The next thing we need to check is whether or not the microphone has been muted.To bring up the Volume Control window (shown in Figure 2.5), double-click the speaker icon in the system tray. Ensure that the Mute check box remains unchecked in the Microphone settings. If it is checked, uncheck it and rerecord your test audio. If you can hear yourself, continue to the section on installing the application.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 29

Installation • Chapter 2

Figure 2.5 Volume Control Panel

If you have made it this far and are positive that your connections are correct but your audio still does not work, it is possible that you do not have a sound card, or you could be experiencing problems with that device’s drivers. To check that you have a sound card, first open Control Panel from the Start menu, as shown in Figure 2.6. Figure 2.6 Windows Control Panel

Now double-click the Sound and Audio Devices icon, as shown in Figure 2.7. www.syngress.com

29

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

30

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 30

Chapter 2 • Installation

Figure 2.7 Sound and Audio Options

Next, select the Audio tab, as shown in Figure 2.8. Figure 2.8 The Audio Tab

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 31

Installation • Chapter 2

The device listed should be your sound card. If your card is not listed at all or is listed incorrectly, you might have a problem with your sound card and should consult your PC’s manufacturer for support.

Installing the Application Now that you’ve made it this far, you are very close to making your first Google Talk call. Continue down the home stretch by visiting http://talk.google.com/ to sign up for an account and download the client. If you already have a Google account (created by signing up for Google Groups, Gmail, or another Google service), you can simply skip this section.Your existing account will work just fine for Google Talk. Click the Sign up here link on the Google Talk main page to begin the process of creating an account.The accounts setup page (shown in Figure 2.9) requires that you have an existing e-mail account.You’ll also need to choose a strong password of six characters or longer. When checked, the Remember me option will automatically log you in when you launch Google Talk.This is not recommended if you are using a shared computer.The Enable Personalized Search option is discussed in Chapter 4.You can opt to enable or disable this feature at a later time. Figure 2.9 Google Account Sign-Up Main Page

www.syngress.com

31

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

32

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 32

Chapter 2 • Installation

Notes From the Underground… Weak Passwords Mean Weak Security! Google Talk and Google Accounts require you to create only a six-digit password, but it is recommended that you create one much longer and stronger than that. Your Google Accounts password protects more than just your Google Talk account; it could also protect your Gmail and other Google applications. Short passwords with no “special characters” (characters other than a–z and 0–9) in them are cracked much easier than those of eight characters or more. Avoid using words found in the dictionary as passwords or you can consider your accounts compromised. The longer the password, the safer your account will be.

Next you are prompted for your desired username and, optionally, your first and last names. If you include your first and last names, they will be displayed when users query your profile for information about you. Lastly, you’ll need to fill out the Google Word Verification form with the word pictured in the box. You might notice that the displayed word looks odd, often in a random color and displayed in a zigzag or wavy line.This is to prevent automated tools from signing up for accounts that can be used to send IM or telephonic spam, the digital equivalent of junk mail and telemarketing messages.The idea is that only a sentient human should be able to read the word displayed in the image. Automating Google processes without using their programmer API (a means of interacting with Google legally for programmers) is explicitly prohibited and a big no-no. Doing so could get you in big trouble with Google and should be avoided. Lastly, read the terms of service and the privacy policy, and check the box indicating that you have done so. After downloading the client, you might see a yellow shield icon like the one pictured in Figure 2.10.This is to warn you that the application may be a security risk if you did not intend to download it and/or do not know and

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 33

Installation • Chapter 2

trust the source of this application. Since we trust Google, feel free to save the installer to someplace convenient, such as your Desktop. Figure 2.10 Windows Download Security Warning

Now that we’ve downloaded the application and signed up for an account, we need to run the application. Locate where you saved the installer (such as the Desktop) and double-click the file.You are first presented with a license agreement, as shown in Figure 2.11. Scroll through and read the agreement to understand the rules for using Google Talk, then click I agree. The application will then install itself on your computer. Figure 2.11 Google Talk License Agreement

www.syngress.com

33

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

34

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 34

Chapter 2 • Installation

Once the installation has completed, click the Finish button, as shown in Figure 2.12. Figure 2.12 Completing the Google Talk Installer

You are now ready to run the program and log in with your account information. Run Google Talk from the Start menu.You will be prompted for your username and password, as shown in Figure 2.13. Figure 2.13 The Google Talk Login Page

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 35

Installation • Chapter 2

Fill out the Username and Password fields with the information from your Google or Gmail account. If you are using your Gmail account, your Gmail contacts will automatically be populated into your Buddy list.You will also see the number of e-mails you have in your Gmail account and might be greeted by a pop-up window in the lower-right corner of your screen (shown in Figure 2.14), which could contain the subject and first few lines of any messages you might have. Figure 2.14 Google Talk’s Gmail Notifier

The main Google Talk interface (shown in Figure 2.15) is very simple and very efficient. It very much mimics the ease of use that Gmail and the Google search engine are known for. Figure 2.15 The Google Talk Interface

www.syngress.com

35

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

36

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 36

Chapter 2 • Installation

You’ve done it! You have successfully completed signing up for and installing Google Talk on your Windows machine. Now you can begin chatting with your online contacts by double-clicking a name in the list and selecting an option, as shown in Figure 2.16. Figure 2.16 Contact Options

www.syngress.com

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 37

Installation • Chapter 2

Solutions Fast Track What Type of Operating System Should I Use? All modern operating systems have clients which will allow you to

connect to the Google Talk network. For maximum compatibility with Google Talk and its users, it is

recommended to use Windows.

Audio Hardware Requirements Use a full-duplex sound card if you can.This will allow you to send

and receive audio simultaneously, much like a real telephone. Ideally you’ll have a headset with noise-cancellation features to filter

out unwanted background noise, although a standard headphone/microphone combination should suffice.

Bandwidth Considerations Public WiFi hotspots are not good for Google Talk use, since the

upload bandwidth stream is limited and is shared among all patrons of the access point. Dial-up Internet connections of 56k or higher are usable, but the

audio will sound poor. Dial-up is really only suitable for text chatting with another user. Whenever possible, use a wired Ethernet connection to a LAN with

broadband or faster speeds.

www.syngress.com

37

368_GT_02_dummy.qxd

38

11/10/06

2:54 PM

Page 38

Chapter 2 • Installation

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form.

Q: Do I need to install a program to use Google Talk? A: No, you can use the text chat features of Google Talk through Gmail. Q: Will Google Talk cost me anything? A: Maybe. Google Talk is itself a free service, and calling other people with Google Talk over the Internet does not cost extra in and of itself.You will need an Internet connection, which might cost you money. Also, some ISPs might charge you by how much bandwidth you use, and therefore you might incur cost from the additional traffic. Q: I use an instant-messaging client you did not talk about. Can I still connect to Google Talk? A: As long as the client you use supports the Jabber protocol, you will be able to peer with Google Talking. Consult the documentation for your client to connect to Google’s Jabber network. We’ll discuss non-Windows applications in the next chapter.

PV27

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 39

Chapter 3

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Gaim for Linux

■

iChat for OS X

■

Adium for OS X

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 39

368_GT_03.qxd

40

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 40

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Introduction It might seem to some that the world revolves around Microsoft Windows, but some of us know better. Millions of Linux and Macintosh users out there make up a very vocal minority. Well, guess what? You guys aren’t completely left out of Google Talk. Even though the official Google Talk client is only available for Windows, it is possible to use third-party applications in both Linux and OS X to chat with your Google Talk friends. This is all made possible because Google has taken advantage of the Jabber protocol, an open-source network design that anyone can tap into and start using.This is completely the opposite philosophy of other IM clients, such as AOL Instant Messenger,Yahoo! Messenger, and Microsoft Messenger, which have fought to keep third-party clients from connecting to their networks. Google runs an open Google Talk server at talk.google.com that allows connections from any client using the Jabber protocol. All a client has to do is connect to the correct listening port on talk.google.com and they can immediately start chatting with their friends.

Tools & Traps… Google Talk’s Listening Port Google Talk’s server, talk.google.com, uses a number of TCP port numbers that listen for connections from clients. The two ports that it uses most commonly for Google Talk connections are 5222 and 5223. A port is just a unique number that allows one specific type of data to connect. This is like visiting a huge corporate building with thousands of doors leading to various offices. Depending on who you want to talk to, you have to enter a particular door. Door 80 takes you to the Web content, door 25 to the mailroom. Some clients might only work on one port and not the other. If you are receiving unusual error messages when you attempt to log in, such as “Read Error,” you might want to change the port that your client is connecting to from 5222 to 5223, or vice versa.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 41

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Gaim for Linux Gaim, an open-source, instant-messaging client, is one of the most popular clients in use today. It can be downloaded from http://gaim.sourceforge.net and installed on a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and OS X. Gaim allows you to connect to a very wide variety of IM networks, including AIM, ICQ, MSN,Yahoo! Messenger, IRC, QQ, and Jabber. In addition, Gaim’s support of Jabber allows it to connect directly to Google’s Talk server. The Gaim download page (http://gaim.sourceforge.net/downloads.php) lists a number of RPM package management archives available for many of the newest and most popular Linux distributions, though many popular distributions are still not supported. If you aren’t interested in one of the mainline RPM distributions, you can download the Autopackage version of Gaim or the full source code. Autopackage is a new style of installer similar to the Windows install “wizards.” Autopackage installation is simple: Download the package, give it execute permission, and run it. If you are unable to install the RPM or Autopackage versions of Gaim, you might be forced to compile it straight from the source code. Although many users prefer this method, it’s not for the faint of heart, and neither is it for new Linux users.The INSTALL file inside the distribution contains the exact installation procedure. Since the instructions are subject to change, we will not outline them here, but suffice it to say that the typical ./configure ; make ; make install commands work well for most installations. Automake is designed to facilitate these simplified installation instructions. Be sure that GnuTLS (www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/) is installed before compiling from source, because Gaim requires it to be able to log into the Google Talk network. Without it, your client will display “ERROR: Server does not use any supported authentication method” when trying to connect to Google Talk.

Setting Up Your Account Once you’ve installed Gaim, go ahead and fire it up. From the command line, simply type gaim.The first time that Gaim loads, it will display the basic login screen, as shown in Figure 3.1. From here, you will need to set up your Google Talk account. Do this by clicking Accounts. www.syngress.com

41

368_GT_03.qxd

42

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 42

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Figure 3.1 Gaim Login Screen

This will open the Gaim Account Manager, as shown in Figure 3.2. From this window you can add, delete, or edit any of your instant-messaging accounts. Click the button labeled +Add to add a new account to Gaim. Figure 3.2 Gaim Account Manager

This will open a window, similar to the one shown in Figure 3.3, that allows you to enter the account details.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 43

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Figure 3.3 Gaim Account Settings

Since Google Talk uses Jabber for communication, first set Protocol to Jabber. Doing so will automatically update the fields that apply to this protocol. Figure 3.3 shows the result of this selection. In this example, Show more options has been clicked; this displays the Jabber Options and Proxy Options.You should type your Google Talk username in the Screen Name field. Specify gmail.com as the server.This server field only specifies where your account is stored. Since all Google Talk accounts are Gmail accounts, gmail.com is the option to specify here. Ensure that Use TLS if available is checked. Set the Connect Server to talk.google.com and the Port to 5222. Gaim allows you to configure a proxy for communications between your computer and Google Talk.This can be done by changing the Proxy Type from Use Global Proxy Settings to SOCKS 4 or SOCKS 5, depending on the type of proxy you use. Most users will leave this setting as it is.

www.syngress.com

43

368_GT_03.qxd

44

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 44

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Once the account is configured, click the Save button to return to the main login screen, where you should see your account information displayed. Type in your account’s password, click Sign On, and away you go.

Using Gaim Gaim’s Buddy List (see Figure 3.4) is very straightforward, like most other IM clients. All your online friends will be shown with a glowing light bulb next to their names. Simply double-clicking any name will launch a chat window between you and your friend. Figure 3.4 Gaim Buddy List

The chat window within Gaim, shown in Figure 3.5, is very similar to those of most other Google Talk clients. From here you can see the name of the person you’re chatting with and all the chat traffic. Gaim will also automatically timestamp each message so that you know exactly when it was sent or received.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 45

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Figure 3.5 Gaim Chat Window

iChat for OS X For the many Macintosh users in the world, iChat is one of the most used instant-messaging clients.This could be simply because it’s built into the operating system and most users are too lazy to replace something that already exists, but it’s also a very simple and easy-to-use program that’s already right there in your dock. iChat allows most users to immediately get up and chatting on a variety of networks, including AIM, .Mac, and Jabber.You can even be logged into multiple networks at the same time, chatting with Windows and Mac friends simultaneously.

Tools & Traps Using the Correct Version of iChat Because OS X has changed quite a bit between its versions, so did its internal applications such as iChat. iChat did not add support for the Jabber network and Google Talk until its release in Tiger (version 10.4). So, all you Panther users, and even those who still use Jaguar and Puma, need to step up and buy the latest version. www.syngress.com

45

368_GT_03.qxd

46

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 46

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Setting Up Your Account The first time that you run iChat, you are prompted to configure your accounts. From here, you can enter in information for your AIM, .Mac, or Jabber accounts. However, if you want to use iChat to connect to Google Talk, the setup screen, shown in Figure 3.6, does not give you all the options you need to really set it up. Simply click Continue. We’ll set up the account afterward. Figure 3.6 iChat Initial Setup

Once iChat is up and running, we need to go into its preferences to set up our Google Talk account.To do so, just select iChat | Preferences from the top of your screen, or press the Command key. Once in the preferences screen, you should see an icon labeled Accounts, wherein you can manage all your supported chat accounts. Now we just need to add Google Talk to iChat as a Jabber account. Do this by clicking the + button in the bottom left of the window to bring up the account creation screen, shown in Figure 3.7. From here, pull down the list of items for Account Type and choose Jabber Account. Under Jabber ID, type your full Gmail address, such as [email protected]. (My apologies to readers named Your Name.) If you are not using a Google Mail account, type the username that you registered for Google Talk, followed by @gmail.com. Punch in your password, and specify Google Talk’s server, talk.google.com. Now you’ve got it almost all www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 47

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

set up. Go ahead and click Add, and we’ll make a few small changes to make sure you can connect. Figure 3.7 iChat Account Setup

After you’ve added your Jabber account, details will be shown in the right-hand portion of the Preferences window.These details are broken into two sections: Account Information, shown in Figure 3.8, and Server Settings, shown in Figure 3.9.The Account Information section allows you to specify your e-mail address and password and whether or not you’d like to automatically log into this account when iChat is launched.The information you typed into iChat’s setup dialogs is populated into these fields. Figure 3.8 iChat Account Information

www.syngress.com

47

368_GT_03.qxd

48

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 48

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

In the Server Settings section (see Figure 3.9), verify that the server is set to talk.google.com and that the port is set to 5223. Because Google Talk encrypts its authentication traffic, you need to ensure that the options Connect using SSL and Allow self-signed certificates are checked. Make sure that you have a location value set so that others know where you’re chatting from.The easiest option is just to check Use my machine name so that you don’t have to worry about it. Figure 3.9 iChat Server Settings

Using iChat Once iChat is up and running, its usage is very straightforward. After connecting to Google Talk, you will be presented with your familiar buddy list, as shown in Figure 3.10. From here, you can monitor which of your contacts are online and initiate chats with them. Double-clicking any (online) name will open a chat window, like the one shown in Figure 3.11.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 49

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Figure 3.10 iChat Buddy List

Adding new friends to your contact list is as easy as clicking the + button in the lower-left of the buddy list window, as shown in Figure 3.10. From there, you can select to add a new contact and specify his or her Google Talk username.To remove a friend from your list, simply click the friend’s name and select Buddies | Remove Buddy…. Figure 3.11 iChat Chat Window

www.syngress.com

49

368_GT_03.qxd

50

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 50

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

iChat Limitations The implementation of Jabber and Google Talk into Tiger’s version of iChat does have some great limitations. It can only perform some very basic functions, such as being able to add and remove friends from your contact list or chat with them. It does not have the capability to send files or voicemails to other users. As shown in Figure 3.12, the only options to perform under the Buddies menu are Get Info and Change My Picture. Obviously, iChat is great as a very basic chat client because it is already built into OS X, but it lacks the advanced features that some users enjoy. Figure 3.12 iChat Menu

Adium X for OS X OS X’s iChat can provide basic chatting abilities, but it is severely lacking in some of the more advanced features. Some users might also want to use a single client to access even more networks than iChat allows. For these users, there is Adium X, downloadable from www.adiumx.com, which is possibly the greatest IM client for OS X machines. Adium X, which we’ll shorten to just Adium, is a free program that is easily installed and configured by visiting its Web site and downloading the application as a DMG (disk image) file. Once downloaded, the file will automatically open and you will be given the opportunity to install it, as shown in Figure 3.13. www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 51

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Figure 3.13 Adium Install

Setting Up Your Account The first time that you run Adium it will automatically open the Preferences screen, where you can add new accounts, as shown in Figure 3.14. If you’re already an Adium user, simply select the Adium | Preferences menu from the top of your screen to open this window. Similar to iChat, if you want to add a new account, click the + button located in the lower-left portion of the screen.This will drop down a menu of all the various networks that Adium supports, in which you will notice Google Talk, along with a wide variety of other popular IM networks. Figure 3.14 Adium Account Manager

www.syngress.com

51

368_GT_03.qxd

52

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 52

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

After you select Google Talk from this menu, a new window will appear, allowing you to configure your account information.This window is divided into five sections, allowing you to fully customize your account and its connection.The first section is the Account screen, shown in Figure 3.15. From this screen, enter your Google Talk e-mail address as the Jabber ID and your Google Talk password.You can also select whether or not to automatically log into this account when Adium starts. The Personal screen allows you to give yourself an alias name that will be shown to your friends in their contact lists.You can also specify an avatar image for your account that will be displayed to all your friends. Figure 3.15 Adium Account Settings

The Options screen, shown in Figure 3.16, allows you to configure the server to connect to and the way the connection should be made. From here, just type talk.google.com as the Connect Server and specify 5222 as the connection port.To connect to Google Talk, you must check the box labeled Use TLS encryption. Figure 3.16 Adium Server Settings

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 53

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

The Privacy screen gives you the option of encrypting your messages to your friends. However, this is performed automatically by Google Talk through the TLS encryption specified in Figure 3.16, so there’s no need to change the settings here.You can also specify whether you want to send notifications to your friends that you are in the middle of typing a message to them. You also have the ability to configure Adium to connect to Google Talk through a proxy server by viewing the Proxy screen, shown in Figure 3.17. By using a proxy, you can hide your computer’s IP address from Google and you can hide the fact that you’re using Google Talk from your local network monitors. Proxy usage is discussed in depth later in this book. When you’ve configured everything for your account, click the OK button to save the details and log in. Figure 3.17 Adium Proxy Settings

Using Adium X When you first log into your account, you’ll be presented with a normal contact list window that’ll show all your friends who are currently online.To view your offline friends, simply select View | Show Offline Contacts, as shown in Figure 3.18. From this same menu, you can also change how your contacts should be sorted and displayed on your list.

www.syngress.com

53

368_GT_03.qxd

54

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 54

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Figure 3.18 Adium Menu

Chatting with Adium is very straightforward. Simply click your friend’s name to open a chat window, as shown in Figure 3.19. From here, simply type your messages and chat back and forth. Adium is also much more compatible with Google Talk than iChat is, allowing you to perform extra functions, such as transferring files to and receiving files from your friends. To add a new friend to your contact list, choose Contact | Add Contact… from the top of your screen, where you can simply type in the Google Talk username of your new friend. Removing a friend is just as easily done by selecting the name in your list and choosing Contact | Remove username. Figure 3.19 Adium Chat Window

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 55

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Summary While Google has created their own official Google Talk client, they do allow connection from other clients for other operating systems. This allows for users of both Linux and OS X to also share into the Google Talk experience. Much of this is possible because Google has decided to embrace Jabber - an open protocol, one in which its entire layout and structure is publicly documented, unlike the protocols used by most other IM services, so alternative clients can be used instead of the official client. Gaim is one of the most popular of these alternative clients, being an open-source application available for a large number of operating systems. It can either be downloaded as the full source code, which you must configure and compile, or as a pre-compiled binary, similar to Windows installations. You simply need to add a new Jabber account and complete it with Google Talk information, as shown throughout this chapter. For Macintosh users, you already have one Google Talk compatible client built into the operating system, iChat. The version in Tiger (OS X 10.4) is the first that supports logging into Google Talk through its Jabber setup. Using iChat you can communicate easily with your friends, but there are also a large number of features that you will not be able to access. A more robust solution for Mac users is Adium X, a client that allows you to connect to multiple IM networks simultaneously. By creating a Jabber account in Adium, you can easily connect to the Google Talk network, and have access to more features than iChat.

www.syngress.com

55

368_GT_03.qxd

56

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 56

Chapter 3 • Google Talk for Non-Windows Users

Solutions Fast Track Gaim for Linux Gaim is a free, open-source application that connects to the Google

Talk network. Gaim also allows you to be logged onto multiple IM networks

simultaneously.

iChat for OS X iChat is a free IM application built into Macintosh OS X that

supports AIM, .Mac, and Jabber networks. iChat only allows you to perform basic chat functions on Google

Talk and is unable to give you the power to send files or voicemails to other users.

Adium for OS X Adium X is a free, open-source, instant-messenger application for OS

X. Adium X allows you to connect to a very wide variety of IM

networks simultaneously.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 57

Google Talk for Non-Windows Users • Chapter 3

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form. You will also gain access to thousands of other FAQs at ITFAQnet.com.

Q: Why am I unable to have Gaim connect to Google Talk? It’s always complaining that the server “doesn’t use any supported authentication method,” A: This is a common problem with the Gaim client and is normally caused by Gaim being unable to find the TLS libraries to support encrypted communications. Normally this can be fixed by installing the gnutls and gnutls-devel packages and compiling Gaim from source with ./configure —enable-gnutls=yes. Q: I don’t really like any of the clients discussed here. What other client options do I have for Google Talk? A: There is actually a wide variety of clients that you can use to connect to Google Talk. Any client that supports the Jabber protocol and TLS encryption will have you up and running. Clients that Google recommends include Miranda (www.miranda-im.org), Psi (http://psi.affinix.com), and Trillian Pro (www.ceruleanstudios.com). Of these,Trillian Pro is the only one that is a commercial product.

www.syngress.com

57

368_GT_03.qxd

11/10/06

3:00 PM

Page 58

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 59

Chapter 4

Google Talk Usage

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Basic Use of the Google Talk Client

■

Chat Functionality

■

Voice Communications

■

Data Sharing

■

Client Personalization

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 59

368_GT_04.qxd

60

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 60

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Using Google Talk So you’ve just installed Google Talk. Good for you! Now let’s spend a few moments getting your client all set up and ready for you to be able to chat with your friends and family. One of Google Talk’s greatest features is its simplicity. As is the case with nearly every product that Google has created or endorsed, Google Talk was designed to be very straightforward and easy to use, and it features an extremely clean interface, as shown in Figure 4.1. We’ll begin with how to add your friends to your contact list and how to remove your friends who have turned into enemies.This section will also touch on how to change your Google Talk status to let others know if you’re away or just jamming to music. Figure 4.1 Google Talk Main Screen

Your Contact List Now that Google Talk is installed, let’s chat. Oh, but you can’t chat with yourself (much to the chagrin of the neurotic); you first have to add contacts to chat with. Luckily, Google Talk’s contact list is closely related to your Google Mail (Gmail) address book, which will likely reduce the number of www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 61

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

contacts you might otherwise have to add. Normally, you would need to add each individual friend who you communicate with to your contact list and have them add you in return. However, Google Talk will automatically parse through contacts from your Gmail account and add them to your contact list. In situations where you have hundreds of contacts in your Gmail account, only the ones that you’ve most recently spoken with will be displayed. The contacts within your contact list are broken into two styles. Contact names that have a colored dot next to them, as shown in Figure 4.1, are people who are also running Google Talk.The contacts that have a simple, one-line name are contacts that have been added from your Gmail account. These are contacts who have not installed Google Talk.

Adding Contacts Even though a list of contacts can be added by default, you will not be able to fully interact with many of them if they are not also running Google Talk. This situation can be resolved by simply inviting these people to Google Talk. You’re a special person; they respect and adore you. If you suggest using Google Talk, they will inevitably agree. If you highlight a non-Google Talk name (the one-liners in your list), a button labeled Invite will appear. When you click this button, an invitation will be mailed to the recipient’s e-mail address. Since I’m sure you don’t want your name associated with a cheesy advertising e-mail that reeks of spam, check out Figure 4.2 to see the actual e-mail contents showing exactly what your friends will receive. (Your name and e-mail address will replace the author’s in the From and Subject fields and the body of the message.) Figure 4.2 Google Talk’s Invite E-Mail Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 17:35:02 -0700 From: "Brian Baskin" To: [email protected] Subject: Brian Baskin wants to chat I’ve been using Google Talk and thought you might like to try it out. We can use it to call each other for free over the internet. Here’s an invitation to download Google Talk. Give it a try! ---------------------------------------

www.syngress.com

61

368_GT_04.qxd

62

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 62

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage Brian Baskin wants to stay in better touch using some of Google’s coolest new products. If you already have Gmail or Google Talk, visit: http://mail.google.com/mail/b-1a73d6774b-<edited> You’ll need to click this link to be able to chat with Brian Baskin. To get Gmail - a free email account from Google with over 2,600 megabytes of storage - and chat with Brian Baskin, visit: http://mail.google.com/mail/a-1a73d6774b-<edited> Gmail offers: - Powerful spam protection - Built-in search for finding your messages and a helpful way of organizing emails into "conversations" - No pop-up ads or untargeted banners - just text ads and related information that are relevant to the content of your messages - Instant messaging capabilities right inside Gmail All this, and its yours for free. But wait, there’s more! You can also get Google Talk: http://www.google.com/talk/ Its a small Windows* download that lets you make free calls to your friends through your computer. It’s simple and clutter-free, and it works with any computer speaker and microphone. Gmail and Google Talk are still in beta. We’re working hard to add new features and make improvements, so we might also ask for your comments and suggestions periodically. We appreciate your help in making our products even better! Thanks, The Google Team To learn more about Gmail and Google Talk, visit: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about.html http://www.google.com/talk/about.html (If clicking the URLs in this message does not work, copy and paste them into the address bar of your browser).

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 63

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4 * Not a Windows user? No problem. You can also connect to the Google Talk service from any platform using third-party clients (http://www.google.com/talk/otherclients.html).

But what can you do when you want to invite someone who is not already on your contact list? Thankfully there’s a painfully obvious button labeled +Add on the bottom left of the Google Talk screen. When you pres this button, a window will appear, as shown in Figure 4.3, allowing you to manually enter the e-mail addresses of all your friends, family, coworkers, and failed blind dates. Figure 4.3 Inviting a Friend

Once you have sent the invite, your friend will receive a notification of it. If you did not specify the friend’s Gmail account, a generic e-mail invite will be sent to them, along with one of your available Gmail invites inviting them to sign up for Gmail. If the friend already uses Google Talk, he or she will receive a notice within their Google Talk client, as shown in Figure 4.4.This notice gives the friend the option to appear on your contact list as a friend. If the friend accepts your invitation, you will automatically be added to the friend’s list at the same time.

www.syngress.com

63

368_GT_04.qxd

64

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 64

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Figure 4.4 Inviting a Friend

Changing Your Contact List View When you start out on Google Talk, your contact list might be very small, depressing to those who thought they had many friends. Fear not—you might have more friends than those being shown! The default options limit the number of contacts shown at one time on the screen, but you can easily change this option by clicking the button labeled View at the bottom of the Google Talk screen, as shown in Figure 4.5.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 65

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Figure 4.5 Contact List View Options

A variety of options are shown to you after you click the View button: ■

Show one page Limits your entire contact list to one page full of contacts.This page will show the people you’ve most recently communicated with via either Google Talk or Google Mail. By deselecting this option, you will be able to view every single user in your contact list.

■

Sort by name Displays all your contacts, in alphabetical order. By default, your contact list will display first the contacts who also use Google Talk in alphabetical order and then the contacts who do not. When you turn this feature on, the “haves” and the “have nots” will both be mixed together and placed in alphabetical order.

■

Show pictures Displays the avatar of each Google Talk user next to his or her name. Disabling these avatars will shrink the display size of your contact list, allowing more users to fit on a single page. www.syngress.com

65

368_GT_04.qxd

66

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 66

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage ■

Show offline friends Displays all your friends, whether they are online or not. When this option is deselected, your contact list will be limited to those who are online at the current moment. Select this option if you not knowing your contacts’ whereabouts gives you anxiety attacks.

■

Also show Gmail contacts Displays friends who do not use Google Talk.Though the name of this option is misleading, when it’s selected Google Talk will show all e-mail addresses of your friends, whether they use Gmail or not. When it’s deselected, your contact list will be limited to friends who also use Google Talk or those you have invited to join.

Interacting With Contacts Now that you have an established contact list, let’s explore some of the various options you can perform with your contact information. By moving your mouse over a particular contact and hovering for one short second, you will be rewarded with an additional window showing detailed information about the selected person, as shown in Figure 4.6.This window will display to you the contact’s name, e-mail address, and a larger picture of his or her avatar, which we’ll discuss in a bit.You will also be shown more distinct buttons for interacting with the contact, such as Chat, Call, and Send Files. Figure 4.6 Viewing Detailed Contact Information

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 67

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

This functionality fits well with Apple-type users—you know, the “one mouse button” folks we laugh at. However, for advanced users with at least two mouse buttons, you also have the ability to right-click a friend’s name to receive even more options, as shown in Figure 4.7. Not only do you have the usual options of chatting and calling other users, but you can even view prior chat logs, rename users, block them, or remove them completely from your contact list. Figure 4.7 Right-Clicking a Friend’s Name

Renaming is a great way to give your friends names that you know them by, even if those names cannot be repeated around sensitive ears. Don’t worry; your friends can’t see what you’ve renamed them, so feel free to give them whatever name they deserve. Blocking a user gives you the ability to stop receiving messages altogether from a particular “friend,” though you can still send this person messages.This is a very useful feature that lets you finally tell your mother-in-law what you think of her and not have to worry about her responses. However, when you www.syngress.com

67

368_GT_04.qxd

68

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 68

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

block a contact, he or she will be removed from your list and will see you as being offline. If you continue to send that user messages, it will appear to the user as though he or she is receiving text from an offline friend. If the user attempts to respond, he or she will be presented with a message that reads “[email protected] is offline and can’t receive messages right now.” It’s a sad day when you have to remove a friend from your contact list, but such extenuating circumstances do happen. Don’t worry; your friends at Google have looked out for you. So you’re knee-deep in helping a poor Nigerian widow send millions of dollars to your bank account, and you finally get an inkling that things aren’t exactly on the up and up. Well, that’s okay. It is best to back out now before you lose even more money, and remove the widow’s name from your contact list forever. Right-click on her name, select Remove…, and start anew.There are plenty of new friends, and hare-brained schemes, out there waiting to be discovered; don’t dwell on the past.

Setting Status Setting a status in an instant-messenger application seems fairly straightforward: you’re either there, or you’re not. However, many people don’t appreciate the fine science, even art, that comes with proper status setting. Setting your status as “Available” gives the impression that you’re hard at work at the computer, cranking away on whatever project is due, when you’re actually sipping Mai Tais on the beach. Just make sure you get people used to the fact that you don’t answer their chat requests even when you are there, so they get used to it. Likewise, there’s equal fun in being the “man in the shadows” who lurks all day as “Busy” and unavailable.You spend every moment of the day, every day of the week, always set as busy.Your friends send you calls, and occasionally you respond.You’re away, even when you’re right there. It’s the perfect setup to decide whom you want to speak with and when, because no one ever knows whether you’re really around. However, if you want to set an actual, real status message, Google Talk provides many different options.Your status is displayed as both a colored ball icon to the left of your name as well as in text below your name. As you can see in Figure 4.8, the text below “Brian Baskin” is set to Available.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 69

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Figure 4.8 Changing Status

By clicking the down arrow next to the status message, you will be presented with a list of available settings.You can set yourself as available for chat in three forms: a regular available status, available while displaying the song you’re currently listening to, or a custom message that you can display to others. Likewise, there are three identical options for setting yourself as Busy, or unavailable. Finally, there is the option to sign out of Google Talk, which will disconnect you from the network but leave the client running. The colored ball icon next to your name, as well as the names of each of your friends, allows you to easily identify status. Actually, since this book is printed in black and white, you probably can’t see the green color without (*ahem*) medicinal aids. Google must’ve thought ahead to a situation such as this, because the balls for available status are whole and intact, while the balls for being unavailable have an obvious small X drawn through them. The option to Show current music track is one we’ll discuss a bit later in this section. It will allow you to display the song that you’re currently liswww.syngress.com

69

368_GT_04.qxd

70

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 70

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

tening to as your status message so that all your friends will be able to see what you’re jamming to.You also have the ability to set a custom message that will be shown to all your friends. For example, you can set yourself to available with a custom text message to notify you’re friends that you’re available but working on a busy project, or that you’re available and logged in from your work computer instead of your home. Equal imagination can make use of the busy custom message by notifying others that you’ve stepped out for the evening, gone to visit the parents for the weekend, or gone to the oneday sale at the shoe store. There are additional status levels that a client might fall into automatically. When a client is set to available but the computer hasn’t been operated for five minutes, the client will be set to idle, and an orange ball icon will be placed next to the name.The idle status notifies you that someone has been away from their computer for an extended period of time. Google Talk is based on the Jabber protocol, so there are additional status levels that are supported but not implemented into Google Talk, such as “extended away” and “chatty.” At this time, Google Talk does not use these status levels, but it might in the future.

Google Music Trends Google Talk has implemented a variety of unique ideas to help foster society’s infatuation with music and song sharing. Not only does Google Talk allow you to display the song that you’re currently listening to your friends; it also allows you to submit the songs that you enjoy to Google Labs’ Music Trends site, www.google.com/trends/music.This option is enabled within the Google Talk configuration screens, covered later in this chapter.The music you play is submitted to Google whenever you set your status to show your current music track.This is the perfect chance to push the resurgence of Michael Bolton or bring Yuki Kajiura to the eyes and ears of the masses. The ability to display current music tracks and submit them to Google Trends is available for users who run Apple iTunes, Windows Media Player, Nullsoft Winamp, and Yahoo! Music Engine. Google anonymously collects the song’s title and artist and the country in which you live to store in its massive databases. On a nightly basis, Google updates the Music Trends site to show the most popular songs for the prior week, as shown in Figure 4.9. www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 71

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Figure 4.9 Google Music Trends

Chatting With Google Talk Now that we have Google Talk all installed and some buddies added, it’s time to chat! Go ahead, tell your friends about your day and give them the scoop on the latest gossip.The chatting ability in Google Talk is straightforward and needs no explanation.You simply type your message into the bottom field of the chat window, as shown in Figure 4.10, and press Enter to send it to your friend. Figure 4.10 Google Talk Chat Window

www.syngress.com

71

368_GT_04.qxd

72

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 72

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Emoticons and Text Formatting The use of emoticons, or “smilies” in layman’s terms, has increased 473 percent in the past two years. Or, at least it would seem that way based on their use by IM users. Graphical smilies have become a booming business in the past few years, enough so to make a few entrepreneurs smile themselves. At the present time, the Google Talk client does not support graphical emoticons, as other IM clients do. However, the use of emoticons is pretty much guaranteed for future versions of the client, since a tentative list has already been created and implemented into Gmail Chat. Many of the emoticons supported in Gmail Chat are shown in Figure 4.11; you type in the characters shown on the left in each column, and Google magically transforms them into the smiley shown on the right in the column. For the time being, Google Talk simply understands many common smiley faces and will display them in a bright blue color, which lacks a certain panache. Figure 4.11 Google Talk and Gmail Chat Emoticons

Along with the use of smiley faces, you are also able to perform basic text markups on your words, such as bolding or italicizing text. If you place text within underscores, it will be displayed to your friend in italics. For example, “Hi _j0hnny_!” would be displayed “Hi j0hnny!” Likewise, the asterisk is used to display words in bold. For example, “There’s a *fly* in my *soup*” would

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 73

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

be displayed “There’s a fly in my soup.”The special characters to do so seem to pay homage to BBS and USENET users of old, because this was the style in which certain words could be emphasized in the pure-text world.That was before all these newfangled technologies like mice, and graphics, and rich-text formatting.

Reviewing Old Chats In a very decisive battle of “Big Brother” versus convenience, Google Talk stores all your chats on its servers, to be easily accessible by your client no matter where you are.The convenience is very much noticeable, since there are countless situations in which you work out a plan to meet up with friends at work and head home, only to forget what time you were supposed to meet. Well, by simply logging into your Google Talk client at home, you can review all chats you made, even if you were chatting on a completely different machine or machines.There are a variety of ways to review previous chats that you’ve had with friends; the easiest is to simply click the down arrow located in a friend’s chat window and select View past chats, as shown in Figure 4.12. Figure 4.12 Viewing the Chat Menu

www.syngress.com

73

368_GT_04.qxd

74

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 74

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Once you’ve selected to view past chats, a Web browser window will open, taking you to your Gmail page. As we mentioned earlier in the book, Google Talk shares much of its capabilities with Google Mail. It is from within Gmail that you are able to review and even remove past chats between you and your friends. If you use the same machine, it’s even possible to view your spouse’s previous chats, though that’s usually not conducive to a solid marriage. But feel free to monitor your kids’ chats; they’re minors, they have no rights. To view past chats within Google Mail, a search is applied for in:chats from:([email protected]).This will notify Gmail to only show chat logs and to only show logs involving a particular e-mail address.This search item can be modified to show all chat logs, though, by searching for in:chats, as shown in Figure 4.13, or by clicking the link labeled Chats on Gmail’s menu. From within the chat listing, you can select individual chats to view their full contents, with timestamps.You also have the ability to select chats and delete them or even report them as spam. Figure 4.13 Viewing Previous Chat Logs With Gmail

Chatting “Off the Record” For those who love news-based sitcoms and dramas, the phrase “off the record” is heard quite frequently, sometimes right before a trusted advisor www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 75

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

confesses nefarious plans to an enthusiastic news journalist. Being “on the record” is good for accountability and for reviewing logs at a later time, but some chat situations are considered too sensitive to be saved to Google’s logs. Thankfully, the team at Google has given us the ability to temporarily stop logging chats, to prevent them from being saved and read at a later time. It’s a great idea as you send plans for world domination to your army of killer coding ninja monkeys.To go “off the record,” simply click the down arrow located in the upper portion of your chat window and select Go off the record, as shown in Figure 4.12.This does nothing to prevent your chat from being listened to by local administrators with network sniffers; it only prevents Google Talk from logging the chat.Your friend’s client will also respect your “off the record” request and not log the conversation.

Notes from the Underground… Subverting “Off the Record” Going “off the record” works only when two Google Talk clients are communicating with each other. If one client is using a nonstandard client such as Gaim or iChat, they can still log the conversation, even when “off the record” is turned on in Google Talk.

Speaking Your Mind Even through the advent of the Internet, voice communication still remains the principal way for people to talk to one another. Why else do we, as a society, give eight-year-olds cell phones? No, don’t answer that. Voice chat is also highly beneficial for many of life’s events, like having your child repeat their first nonprofane words to their grandparents or allowing you to chat with a friend while you’re cleaning out your desk. It also allows you to bypass telephone lines altogether to speak one on one with another person for free, even if they are located in another state or a foreign country. www.syngress.com

75

368_GT_04.qxd

76

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 76

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Voice Chat One of Google Talk’s greatest features is its simplistic approach to voice communications.The voice chat function within the Google Talk client works by simply initiating a voice call to a friend that you are chatting with.This is accomplished by pressing the button labeled Call, which will produce a ring tone on the recipient’s computer. When you “call” another user, they will be presented with a window notifying them that you want to speak with them. They then have the option to answer the call or ignore it, as shown in Figure 4.14. If your friend is not available to answer the call or if she or he ignores the ringing, you will be automatically forwarded to Google Talk’s Voicemail feature. Once the friend has answered the call, the regular chat window will stay open but also allow for voice communications.The chat window will also be altered to display more information about the voice component of the chat, as shown in Figure 4.15.The call can continue for hours or be terminated at any time by pressing the button labeled End Call. Additionally, you can mute your voice while still being able to listen to your friend, useful for allowing you to make dramatic sighing noises as you listen to the details of their boring lives, by pressing the button labeled Mute. Figure 4.14 Incoming Call Notification

Figure 4.15 Voice Chat Window

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 77

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Voicemail Every Google Talk client has the ability to create and record voicemail for users, allowing you to leave short voice messages for a friend. Voicemails can be used to send messages to someone when they are not around to take your phone call or to send them a quick voice message when you don’t want to be drawn into a conversation.This is particularly useful if you happen to run across a famous literary superstar, like Neal Stephenson, and want to record a quick celebrity shout-out to tease a buddy. The voicemail message will be delivered immediately to your friend’s Gmail Inbox for them to review at their leisure. Gmail will allow the voicemail to be played internally from within the friend’s Web browser or downloaded as an MP3 file so that you can create a “best of ” collection. An example of a sent voicemail is shown in Figure 4.16. Figure 4.16 Voicemail in Gmail

Sharing Files and Tunes Although the emphasis of Google Talk is on talk (hence the name of the product), sharing data between friends is a high priority in the instant-messenger world. Google Talk follows this trend by allowing you to send and receive files between friends. www.syngress.com

77

368_GT_04.qxd

78

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 78

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Sending and receiving files through Google Talk is as simple and straightforward as every other function. As you are chatting with a friend, simply press the button labeled Send Files in the chat window. A window will appear, allowing you to locate the files that you want to send. After you select the file to send, the recipient will receive a notice that you are transferring a file, as shown in Figure 4.17.The recipient then has the option of either declining the transfer or accepting the file and placing in you their full faith and trust that you are not sending them a virus-infested file or sheeprelated images. Figure 4.17 Sending Files in Google Talk

Personalizing Your Google Talk Some people seek to express themselves through words, actions, and interpretive dance, whereas others create their niche in the world through customizing their Google Talk clients. I think we all know which group this section is targeting. In keeping with Google Talk’s streamlined and simplified feel, there are not many options to adjust the look and feel of the client, as there are with other clients. Instead, the customization features are kept fairly basic and focus on core impact items, such as avatars and themes.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 79

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Avatars Avatars have gained much popularity in the years since they were introduced into instant-messenger applications. Google Talk allows you to choose from a set of preselected images or introduce your own to share with friends.To access this feature, simply click the image located to the right of your screen name, as shown in Figure 4.18. From this menu, you may select the graphical image that best represents yourself. But don’t hold yourself to just this set of pictures.You are a unique and special individual, so use Google’s Image search at http://images.google.com to locate a great image for yourself to import into Google Talk.Through the avatar menu in Google Talk, select the option More pictures… to open your personal picture directory and load a custom image. Regardless of the size of the image you use, it will automatically be resized down to a suitable image for the chat client. Figure 4.18 Google Talk Avatars

www.syngress.com

79

368_GT_04.qxd

80

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 80

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Themes and Skins As simplistic and elegant as the Google Talk appearance may be, it just might not fit the needs of all users. Some people like their IM clients to be as flamboyant as their lifestyles. Fortunately, there are multiple themes within Google Talk to choose from to change the overall look and style of the chatting experience. To select from available themes, click the link labeled Settings in the upper-right corner of Google Talk. Many of the individual screens and settings here are discussed later in this chapter, but for now you can click Appearance to view available themes, as shown in Figure 4.19. Select a theme from the pull-down menu to view an example of it. Once you’ve discovered a theme to fit your needs, press OK and it will be immediately applied to the client. Figure 4.19 Google Talk Appearance Settings

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 81

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Tools & Traps Advanced Theme Management If the default themes don’t fit the bill, it is easy to modify these themes or install new ones from the Internet. Themes are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\%USER%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Talk\themes\user\chat, where %USER% is your user account name. The final chat directory might not exist by default and could need to be created to store your themes. From within this directory, themes can be modified, added, or removed. Additional themes can be downloaded from the Internet and unzipped into this directory, to be immediately available from within Google Talk. To modify a theme, simply locate and edit the Cascading Style Sheet document, main.css, within the particular theme’s directory. More information on theme modification can be found in Chapter 5 of this book.

Configuration Settings Google Talk features basic configuration settings to configure the client for a particular computer in the instance that default settings are not desirable. These settings can be accessed by clicking the link labeled Settings in the upper-right corner of Google Talk. Once you’ve selected this link, the Settings window will appear, as displayed in Figure 4.20.The settings are broken into a number of main categories, displayed on the left side of the settings window.

www.syngress.com

81

368_GT_04.qxd

82

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 82

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Figure 4.20 Google Talk General Settings

The General category displays basic configuration settings for the Google Talk client. From within this window you are given the option to automatically start Google Talk every time Windows loads.You also have the ability to configure how your Friends List should be initially displayed. One particularly useful feature on this screen is the check box for Open Gmail when I click on email links.This feature, when enabled, allows you to use Gmail as the default e-mail client on your computer, intercepting all mailto: links found within Web pages. Additionally, you can change the default font style and size by clicking the box labeled Change Font….The box labeled Google Account Settings will take you to your Google Account Manager, where you can change your Google information, such as your password and security settings.The box labeled Enable diagnostic logging places Google Talk into a troubleshooting mode for sending reports to Google’s support staff, which will include personal identifying information about you and your computer. As detailed within the application, this option should be selected only if prompted to by Google’s staff. Otherwise, you might find Google’s elite Ninja henchmen knocking on your door. Well, maybe not, but is it really worth tempting fate? www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 83

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

The Chat category provides a very simplified selection to allow you the option of saving your chat history in your Gmail account, as shown in Figure 4.21. By default, all your chat conversations will be logged to your Gmail chat for you to retrieve at a later time.This setting can be disabled on the fly by using the “off the record” option, as described earlier in this chapter, but the selection here allows you to permanently disable logging.This is only useful for the truly paranoid among us.You know who you are. Figure 4.21 Google Talk Chat Settings

The Blocked category allows you to view all the “friends” that you have blocked in your account, as shown in Figure 4.22.These contacts will not be able to send you messages or calls as long as they are on this block list. So, did you finally make up with your rich, Nigerian widow friend and work things out? Select her name here and click Unblock to remove her from the list.

www.syngress.com

83

368_GT_04.qxd

84

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 84

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Figure 4.22 Google Talk Blocked Settings

The Notifications category allows you to enable particular events you want to be notified of, as shown in Figure 4.23. From within this window you can enable or disable the display of incoming calls and chats. For each, you can specify whether you want a distinct sound to be played and a window to appear notifying you. Google Talk also has the ability to monitor your Gmail account for new e-mails and will display a short segment of these messages in a popup window. Figure 4.23 Google Talk Notifications Settings

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 85

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

The Connection category allows you to modify the way your machine connects to the Google server, as shown in Figure 4.24. From within this screen, you are able to configure Google Talk to use a proxy server to connect to Google. A proxy server is a third-party server on the Internet that takes your traffic and relays it to your intended target.This is useful if the target is blocked from within your network environment. We’ll look into this in more depth and show you how to route your traffic through various anonymous, even encrypted services, in a later chapter. Figure 4.24 Google Talk Connection Settings

The Audio category allows you to modify the audio settings for Google Talk, as shown in Figure 4.25. From this menu you can specify which device should handle audio input, if you have multiple microphones in your computer.You can also adjust the audio output settings, which includes setting the devices that should be used to signal notifications. By default, this feature will send output to all audio devices attached to your computer, but you can limit it to a particular device.You can also choose a particular device to which voice communications should be routed by selecting a device for Calls. A checkbox is also allocated to unmute your speaker when a voice call is incoming, allowing the ring to be temporarily played before the computer is again muted. Additional options allow you to unmute both the speaker and your microphone during the course of a phone call. When this option is www.syngress.com

85

368_GT_04.qxd

86

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 86

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

checked, your computer, if muted, will be unmated for the duration of the call. Once the communication has been ended, the computer will be muted once again. Figure 4.25 Google Talk Audio Settings

Additionally, in this window you can opt into Google’s Music Trends catalog. As discussed earlier in this chapter, Google Music Trends will record the name of every song that you listen to on your computer.This information will be cataloged anonymously to determine the most popular songs heard across the world by Google Talk users. However, by opting into Music Trends, you will also be choosing to enable Google’s Personalized Search, a function that concerns privacy advocates.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 87

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Notes from the Underground The Hidden Dangers of Google Personalized Search Google’s Personalized Search (see Figure 4.26), when enabled with Music Trends, will log every song that you play and at the date and time you play it. It will also log every Google Web search you perform, as shown in Figure 4.26, as well all your Google Image and Froogle searches. Although these items can be removed at a later time, many users feel uncomfortable with Google storing this information and might want to opt out. Your searches will be transmitted from any computer in which you are logged into Google and will be stored permanently on Google’s servers until they are manually erased. As a user, you can log in to view your search history by visiting www.google.com/psearch, and you can select to remove selected entries or the entire collection. You are also given the option to pause the recording of data for a temporary period and resume logging information later. Advertised under the guise of allowing searches to be customized based on earlier searching attempts, this function is a feature that some folks might want to avoid, especially if they perform searches that they’d like to keep secret.

Figure 4.26 Google Personalized Search

www.syngress.com

87

368_GT_04.qxd

88

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 88

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Summary While Google Talk was designed to be picked up and immediately familiar to most users, it is important to highlight the features that it provides. The client was designed to integrate seamlessly with Google Mail, and this is shown the first time you start up the client. Your contact list will immediately be populated with all of your friends and family that talk to you through Gmail. You can then easily click on each name and send invitations to them to join you on Google Talk. Your Gmail friends can immediately start using Google Talk to converse with you, while your non-Google friends will be sent a Gmail invitation. When communicating with your friends, you can fall back on normal text messages through the Google Talk service, or take advantage of their voice communication abilities. While in the middle of a chat just click the Call button to create a voice connection with your friend though your computer. If they’re not available, that’s OK. Google Talk gives you the ability to leave them a voice mail in their Gmail account. Like most other clients, you can also send files back and forth between your friends. Like other clients, you can also set various status messages for you account, with multiple options for being either “available” or “away”. Along with standard messages, you can choose a custom message or even have Google Talk display the current song that you’re listening to. The client can read from a large number of music software, including iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player, to determine this. Additionally, Google Talk gives you the ability to anonymously submit your music listening habits to Google’s Music Trends site. All of your text chats with your friends will automatically be stored on Google’s server in your Gmail account, where you can access it from anywhere in the world at any time. If you in a situation where you wouldn’t like to have your chat logged, Google Talk gives you the option to go “off the record”, forcing both clients to not log the conversation. To help personalize your account and your client, the Google Talk client allows you to add a graphical avatar to represent yourself. This can be chosen from a selection of pre-set images, or you can upload your own.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 89

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Solutions Fast Track Using Google Talk Google Talk will automatically populate your contact list with your

friends and associates who e-mail your Gmail account, but you can add more friends and invite others to Gmail. Google Talk features basic status messages to let others know if you’re

available for chatting, as well as the option to reveal to your contacts the music you’re listening to. When sharing music titles, you also submit your listening and Google

searching habits to Google for them to correlate in their Music Trends database.

Chatting with Google Talk Basic emoticons are supported, but they are displayed in a different

color. Gmail chatters have additional smilies at their disposal, though. All your previous chats will be automatically stored within your

Gmail account for you to retrieve at any time, from any computer. You can temporarily override automatic logging by choosing to go

“Off the Record.” However, this feature might be useless if your friend is using a client other than Google Talk.

Speaking Your Mind Google Talk features a straightforward voice communication system

for talking with your friends. You may leave voicemails for your friends that will be stored in their

Gmail accounts as MP3 audio files.

www.syngress.com

89

368_GT_04.qxd

90

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 90

Chapter 4 • Google Talk Usage

Sharing Files and Tunes Google Talk allows for the transfer of files between friends while

giving the recipient the ability to accept or decline the transaction.

Personalizing Your Google Talk You can set an avatar image for yourself to be shown to all your

friends by either choosing a predefined image or importing your own. Additional themes are included in Google Talk to alter the look of

the chat windows, though many more are available for download from various sites on the Internet.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 91

Google Talk Usage • Chapter 4

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form. You will also gain access to thousands of other FAQs at ITFAQnet.com.

Q: Where can I find additional themes for Google Talk? A: Themes can be customized or made from scratch by anyone with basic HTML and CSS programming experience. A few sites that contain additional themes for you to download include http://gtalk.anthonysottile.com and www.customizetalk.com/index.php?page=themes. Q: Does Gmail’s virus-scanning function engage in Talk’s file transfer mode? A: No! Files transferred between two computers with Google Talk are not scanned for viruses in any way, as they are with Gmail.You must make sure to check all files that you receive from anyone through Google Talk to ensure that they do not contain viruses. All files you download will be stored in a folder named Google Talk Received Files, which is located within your My Documents. Q: I opted into Google Music Trends and Google Personalized Search. Is there any way I can just opt myself out of Personalized Search? A: Absolutely. Once you have enabled Google Personalized Search, the only way to opt out is by visiting https://www.google.com/accounts/DeleteService?service=hist.That will remove your involvement from Personalized Search and remove all data stored from your searches.You will still be able to participate in Google Music Trends after performing this step.

www.syngress.com

91

368_GT_04.qxd

11/10/06

3:03 PM

Page 92

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 93

Chapter 5

Google Talk Addons and Modifications Solutions in this chapter: ■

Customizing Google Talk

■

Creating Your Own Google Talk Themes

■

Connecting Google Talk to Various VoIP Services

■

Implementing Videoconferencing

■

Sharing Your Music Collection

■

Creating a Google Talk Chat Room

■

Installing and Using Google Talk on Your Cell Phone

■

Talking With Your Friends on Outside Networks

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 93

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

94

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 94

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Making Google Talk Yours By now, you’ve undoubtedly installed and had plenty of hands-on time with Google Talk. You’re probably busy finding new friends and contacting old ones to share in your new found happiness. But, wait; it doesn’t end there! The one problem with a client as sleek and beautiful as Google Talk is that it looks the same as everyone else’s. It’s like living in a town where everyone drives a red Corvette! But, if you’re the type of person who wants to be unique, we have the perfect solutions for you. In this chapter, we will be covering some very cool modifications that you can make to your Google Talk client, as well as some additional fun actions that you can perform.

GT-Plug Google Talk prides itself on its simplicity and basic interface, but one Brazilian programmer has given the client more flair with his creation of GT-Plug. GTPlug gives you the ability to display real, graphical emoticons (smiley faces) in your chat windows, apply transparency to Google Talk, save conversations to local text files, and toggle a Boss Key mode.The program can be downloaded from www.projetobms.net/GTPlug.php?pagina=pj&lang=en and installs through a basic setup executable. After it’s installed, you must launch Google Talk through the GT-Plug application. Run GT-Plug by selecting it from your Windows Start menu. GT-Plug operates by automatically running the normal Google Talk application and modifying its operations on the fly.Therefore, if you usually run Google Talk manually, GT-Plug will not be loaded.The downside to this is that as Google Talk is updated, portions of GT-Plug could stop functioning or cause instability issues, as shown in Figure 5.1. Currently, a number of these functions do not work at all until the GT-Plug is updated to adapt to the newer Google Talk versions. Figure 5.1 Google Talk Crash Caused by GT-Plug

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 95

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Once you have installed GT-Plug and have launched it from the Start menu, you will see the usual Google Talk screen.To see the changes that accompany the application, click the Settings button to view the client settings. One unfortunate side effect with modern versions of Google Talk is that the actual GT-Plug configuration menu is hidden from view.You can still locate it by clicking the blank area immediately below the word Appearance.This will bring up the GT-Plug configuration menu, as shown in Figure 5.2. Here you have the ability to toggle each of the settings of the application and apply changes to the way the settings operate. Figure 5.2 GT-Plug Configuration Menu

One of the default options enabled in GT-Plug is the displaying of graphical emoticons in your chat windows.This effect is immediately noticed as soon as you open a chat window, where you’ll see a smiley face at the bottom left of your screen. Clicking this graphical face will drop down a list of the emoticons that GT-Plug will display on your screen, as shown in Figure 5.3. The chat windows from both sides of the conversation are shown, and you www.syngress.com

95

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

96

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 96

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

can see how the normal emoticons with the standard Google Talk on the left are transformed into vibrant graphics with the GT-Plug client.The dropdown menu of smiley faces can also be accessed to input the appropriate smiley faces directly into your messages as you are typing them. Figure 5.3 Viewing Emoticons With GT-Plug

GT-Plug also gives you the ability to assign a “boss key” to Google Talk, allowing you to quickly hide the client from the screen at a moment’s notice. Boss keys have long been a part of the computing world, especially in games and other entertainment software, to give users the ability to hide their software use from their bosses, spouses, and children. While you might think that a quick Alt + Tab combination would hide Google Talk, it still leaves a telltale icon in your system tray. GT-Plug takes care of that problem by replacing the system tray icon with a new one, as shown in Figure 5.4.There are currently issues with GT-Plug and the most recent versions of Google Talk, though, where using the boss key could crash Google Talk, displaying the error message shown in Figure 5.1.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 97

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.4 Configuring GT-Plug’s Boss Key

In the previous chapter we discussed how all of your chat conversations are automatically stored on Google’s servers. This is an extremely useful feature for traveling absent-minded professor types, as your conversations can be brought up at any time from anywhere in the world. However, for those of you who like to store your chat logs locally, there is a feature within GT-Plug to allow this. From the GT-Plug configuration menu, you can enable the saving of conversation logs, and specify where you would like to save them to, as shown in Figure 5.5. By default, these logs will be stored in “C:\Program Files\GT-Plug\My conversations”, though you can change this setting to any directory you wish. Figure 5.5 Configuring GT-Plug’s Conversation Log Repository

In the last few years, transparent windows have become a cool feature in many programs. A large number of applications use this feature to allow you www.syngress.com

97

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

98

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 98

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

to view through their windows into background data, increasing your monitor real estate. From within the GT-Plug configuration menu, you can enable this feature and set the visibility level of the window transparency, as shown in Figure 5.6. Figure 5.6 Configuring GT-Plug’s Transparency Level

Finding the right amount of transparency can take practice and exercise, and it changes depending on the type of information shown on your screen. Unfortunately, many people who play with this feature end up disabling it because they initially set it at a value too low to be readable. In most situations, you shouldn’t set your visibility below 80 percent. An example of Google Talk at 80 percent visible is shown in Figure 5.7. Along with these numerous features, GT-Plug also gives you some additional features from the Windows system tray. One of these is the ability to change your account’s status on the fly by simply right-clicking the Google Talk icon. From here, you can choose from a preset list of status messages, as shown in Figure 5.8.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 99

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.7 Viewing Google Talk at 80 Percent Visibility

Figure 5.8 Viewing GT-Plug System Tray Status Settings

www.syngress.com

99

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

100

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 100

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Extended Talk Although GT-Plug offers additional features not found in the original client, there is another team that has decided to up the ante and make a very feature-rich addition, called Extended Talk. It is currently one of the most useful add-ons that you can download for Google Talk.This excellent addition can be downloaded from http://extendedtalk.meosoft.net as a simple setup executable. Extended Talk introduces a large number of modifications and additions, such as: ■

Active Status A dynamic, scriptable online status system.

■

Graphical Smiley Faces Replaces the drab text smilies with large graphical ones.

■

Desktop Friends Lets you dock your favorite friends on the desktop for quick chatting.

■

Boss Key One set of keystrokes to instantly hide all your Google Talk windows when the boss walks by your office.

■

Keyboard Lock Prevents text from being typed into your Google Talk windows, for when you need to step away for a bit.

■

Text Color Changer Changes the font colors of received messages.

■

Leet-speak Text Translation Changes all your text to L337 speak on the fly.

■

Windows Transparency Makes your Google Talk windows transparent.

Once Extended Talk is installed and executed, you will be given the ability to change many of its general options, as shown in Figure 5.9. From here you can choose whether or not to enable some of the more prominent aesthetic features in the application.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:09 PM

Page 101

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.9 Extended Talk Settings

The rest of the features offered by Extended Talk are accessible from within the main Google Talk window and each of the individual chat windows. Simply clicking the icons marked with a biohazard signal will display the menu as shown in Figure 5.10. Figure 5.10 Extended Talk Settings Through the Google Talk Window

www.syngress.com

101

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

102

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 102

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Beginning with the menu inside the chat window, you’ll find a slew of items under the Chat Features menu that deal with how the chat window, and text within it, is displayed. From here you can change the transparency level of that particular chat window, change the background colors of both the typing field and the message window, change the color of the received text, and implement typing filters. The typing are letter translations features that turn your regular speech into elite “31337” speak or ©ØØ£ (“cool”) speak. To see how this affects what you type, consider the following popular phrase in all three forms: Normal: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog 1337: Th3 quick br0wn f0x jump5 0v3r 7h3 14zy d06 ©ØØ£: THË ¶µÎ©k ß®ØwÑ ƒØ? jµm?§ ØvË® tHË £Àz¥ ?ØG

Some of the more advanced features are found under (you guessed it) the Advanced menu. From here you can manage your Active Status scripts, create desktop friends, and reference custom graphic images that can be shared with other Extended Talk users. The Active Status manager is a unique feature found within Extended Talk that allows you to create dynamic status messages to be shown to all of your friends. Active status is similar to the current song display in Google Talk, but Active Status allows you to display a plethora of different items. To view an example of its capabilities, start the Active Status manager. Click the button labeled “Load” and select “C:\Program Files\Extended Talk\Plugins\SamplePlugin.et” to populate the fields, as shown in Figure 5.11. The upper portion of the screen shows the information and options stored within the script, with the bottom portion showing what will be placed within your Google Talk status. Once you’ve loaded an Active Status script, you should see individual items show up in the “Functions” box. These are the actual items that can be displayed within your status. Doubleclicking on an item from here will add it to the “Your Status” field at the bottom. When you have finished selecting your status items, click the button labeled “Set”. As you can see in Figure 5.11, setting the status to show the clock updates the status line to read the actual local time, “11:15 PM” (a wonderfully creative time for a die-hard author). To create your own scripts, it is best to use the existing SamplePlugin.et file as a template for modifica-

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 103

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

tion. Refer to the Active Status Help item that exists within your Windows Start Menu for more help. Figure 5.11 The Active Status Manager

One other unique feature within Extended Talk is the ability to create “desktop friends.”These are icons that show up on your desktop that represent the friends you most often talk to. If you want to shoot off a quick message to a mate, instead of wading through your Google Talk contact list, you can just double-click your friend’s desktop icon, as shown in Figure 5.12. These icons can be stretched and moved around your screen, where they dock against the edges and each other.The color schemes can be modified and even replaced by your own graphic images, by simply right-clicking the icon you want to change and choosing the appropriate selections.

www.syngress.com

103

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

104

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 104

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.12 Double-Clicking a Buddy Icon to Initiate a Chat

Besides the options built into the client, you can make additional changes by editing many of the files that come bundled with Extended Talk. For instance, if you want to change the graphical smilies, you can simply replace the appropriate files within C:\Program Files\Extended Talk\Images\Smileys, where each smiley image is stored in its own file.

Creating Your Own Theme As we discussed in Chapter 4, the Google Talk client includes a wide variety of colorful themes that can be applied to your individual chat windows.The process is fairly technical and requires that you have a basic understanding of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and cascading style sheets (CSS), two fundamental technologies used to create modern Web sites. The expected page-count of this book won’t support a discussion of HTML and CSS, but we will attempt to walk through the files and explain what the fields mean and how to edit them. Editing the themes inside Google Talk involve simply editing text documents, so there is no need for specialized tools or software. Windows notepad will prove capable enough for all of the work we’ll be doing.

Creating the Necessary Files To implement a new theme, there are a number of required files that control how the theme is laid out and applied. Although these files can be generated from scratch, it will be easier to use an existing theme as a template and copy over its files.The base files needed are shown in Figure 5.13.This branch of directories is located off your C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 105

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Talk\themes\user\ directory. So, the Main.css file for a theme named PHP would be located at C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Talk\themes\user\chat\PHP\Contents\Resources\Main.css. Figure 5.13 Base Files for a New Theme

The expected page-count of this book won’t support a discussion of HTML and CSS, but we will attempt to walk through the files and explain what the fields mean and how to edit them. Editing the themes inside Google Talk involve simply editing text documents, so there is no need for specialized tools or software. Windows notepad will prove capable enough for all of the work we’ll be doing.

www.syngress.com

105

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

106

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 106

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.14 Anthony Sottile’s PHP Theme

Altering Message Displays The actual information that appears within a text window is broken into three distinct categories: incoming messages, outgoing messages, and status messages. Each category has a pair of text files that output information to the screen. Each of these files is called on to handle the display of messages in particular situations.The first time that you receive an incoming message, the Incoming\Content.html file will be displayed. For every further uninterrupted incoming message, the Incoming\ContentNext.html will be processed. As soon as the message chain is broken by either a status change or an outgoing message, it starts over with Incoming\Content.html. Consider the string of messages shown in Table 5.1 to see what files are accessed during the chat session.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 107

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Table 5.1 How Theme Files Are Accessed Chat Messages

Theme Files Accessed

Brian: Hey man, are you around?

Outgoing\Content.html

Brian: I have a question for you.

Outgoing\ContentNext.html

Brian: I have a favor to ask …

Outgoing\ContentNext.html

Roy: Yeah, what’s up?

Incoming\Content.html

Roy is now set to available.

Status.html

Roy: Need more money?

Incoming\Content.html

Roy: Cause you still owe me from yesterday!

Incoming\ContentNext.html

Brian: Yeah :(

Outgoing\Content.html

These files contain basic HTML text that outlines the display of information. Although most of the content stays static, it does utilize two variables: %sender% and %message%. The %sender% variable contains the screen name of the sender of the message, whereas %message% contains the message itself. Each file relies heavily on HTML DIV and SPAN tags and their respective CSS coding. For those of you not familiar with DIV and SPAN, they are simply methods to divide off a blocks of text separately from the rest of a page.The DIV tag is used to designate an entire block of information, whereas the SPAN tag normally refers to a string of in-line text within that block.These tags allow for certain areas of text, or certain words, to be modified apart from the rest of the data. In the world of Google Talk, each chat message is broken out as a DIV block. Within this block, you can specify multiple SPANs for individual words or lines. Whenever a DIV or SPAN is called, it is normally associated with a particular “class.” Classes are CSSdefined content that specifies how text should be marked, with different colors, font styles, or sizes.

Incoming\Content.html The Incoming\Content.html file details the information to be displayed when you first receive a block of messages from a friend.

www.syngress.com

107

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

108

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 108

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

The following is an example of the Incoming\Content.html from the PHP theme:

$%sender% = '%message%' ;

?>

In this file there is a general

for the incoming chat, which is defined by the “chat in” class. Within this is the first line of text, colored blue, that writes is created for the actual message received. The first set of text is $%sender% in blue, followed by a space, a green equals sign, and the actual message in red. Immediately following this is a

that references where all further incoming messages should be displayed, using Incoming\NextContent.html.The last part of the content is a third line that writes >;, the typical closing to PHP code.This last span comment is a footer that will not be printed until Google Talk senses that the communication session has ended, such as when the other person responds or changes his or her status. In practice, this will cause a message to appear as: ;

Incoming\NextContent.html The Incoming\NextContent.html file is used for additional messages received from a friend. It is referenced any time a friend sends a series of messages, without interruption, to your client.The following is an example of the Incoming\NextContent.html from the PHP theme:

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 109

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

// add to the incoming user's message
$%sender% = $%sender%. '%message%' ;

This file is structured very similarly to the Incoming\Content.html file in that it will display the sender’s name and message. However, it has been modified to be appended onto the previous text received from your friend. In practice, this will cause a message to appear as: // add to the incoming user's message $Brian = $Brian.'Are you there?';

Outgoing\Content.html The Outgoing\Content.html file details the information to be displayed the first time that you send a message to a friend. Similar to the Incoming\Content.html file, it is used only for the initial message in a string of messages and doesn’t get accessed again until the text is interrupted by a status change or someone else’s conversation. The following is an example of the Outgoing\Content.html from the PHP theme:

$%sender% = '%message%' ;

?>

www.syngress.com

109

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

110

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 110

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

This message is constructed nearly identically to the Incoming\Content.html file, since it displays information in the exact same way.The only major difference is that the class referenced by the

is “chat out.” When in use, this file will make messages appear as:

Outgoing\NextContent.html The Outgoing\NextContent.html file is used for additional messages received from a friend. It is used when you are sending repeated messages to a friend. The following is an example of the Incoming\NextContent.html from the PHP theme:

// add to the outgoing message
$%sender% .= '%message%' ;

This file is structured very similarly to the Incoming\Content.html in that it will display the sender’s name and message. However, it has been modified to be appended onto the previous text received from your friend. In practice, this will cause a message to appear as: // add to the outgoing message $World = $World.'Go away!';

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 111

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Status.html The Status.html file defines the text displayed when a status message appears in the chat room, such as when a person’s online status changes or when a time stamp appears.The following is an example of the Status.html from the PHP theme:

Fatal error: %message% in /googletalk/usr/action.php on line 4

This file is created differently from the text messages because it is simply used to display a single status line to the screen and normally doesn’t need to be concerned with series of status changes. When used, it will cause a message to appear as: Fatal error: line 4

Sent at 9:49 PM on Sunday in /googletalk/usr/action.php on

NextStatus.html The NextStatus.html file is used for displaying a series of status changes. It is referenced only when you’ve received multiple status messages, one after another.The following is an example of the NextStatus.html from the PHP theme:

Parse error: %message% in /googletalk/usr/action.php on line 17

When used, this theme file will cause further status messages to appear similar to: Parse error: Calling Brian at 2:14 PM on Saturday in /googletalk/usr/action.php on line 17

www.syngress.com

111

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

112

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 112

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Primary CSS Data The Main.css file is used to store all the CSS information for the way text should appear within your chat windows.The information contained here is used to create shortcuts for text styling, such as being able to easily define color schemes. In the CSS file contained within the theme, the classes referred from the message HTML files discussed previously are contained, along with the text styling that they implement.The following is an example of the Main.css from the PHP theme: BODY { margin: 4px; } DIV#content { font: 12px courier new; } DIV#insert { display: none; } DIV.system1st { margin: 4px 0px 4px 0px; font: 12px arial; } DIV.systemNth { margin: 4px 0px 4px 0px; font: 12px arial; } DIV.chat DIV.msg { margin: 4px 0px 0px 0px; padding-left: 11px; } DIV.chat DIV.1st { text-indent: -11px; } .blue { color: #0000BB; } .green { color: #007700 ; } .red { color: #dd0000; } .orange { color: #ff8000; }

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 113

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Notes From the Underground… Google Talk Theme Exploitation In the realm of theme creation, the Google team has placed one highly controversial feature into their client: support for HTML and JavaScript. From within any of the HTML files in a theme, JavaScript can be added to create additional functionality to normally drab themes. The first implementation of this was created by Anthony Sottile to automatically replace text emoticons with graphical smiley faces. A portion of the code he used is shown here:

Additionally, this idea to take text and replace it with other text is limited only by your imagination. Future advertisers could even take advantage of this text with links to ad-based Web sites, as with the following line of code: asdf= asdf.replace(/google/, 'google');

Reach Out and Touch Someone Google Talk does a great job of providing text and voice communication between users, but there is always room to push for more. In this case, why limit ourselves to ordinary voice conversations with other Google Talk users?

www.syngress.com

113

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

114

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 114

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

That is so 20th century! Let’s jazz it up a bit with videoconferencing abilities, a feature found in most other IM clients. And let’s not stop there. How about making telephone calls to your friends and family from your computer, just like you can with Skype!

Surprise Mom With a Call From Google Talk We’ve all been there: vacationing in Bermuda, sipping drinks on the beach, when we suddenly get an urge to call mom to check up on her day. But the price of a phone call to the States is outrageously high. So what are you to do? Simple: Fire up the laptop and call Mom through Google Talk! A number of services are available to take your Google Talk chat and connect it to a land line as VoIP. Although these calls are not free, they are priced far more cheaply than toll calls and foreign exchanges.

VoIP Over Talqer One such service is Talqer, located at www.talqer.com.Talqer is an extremely easy-to-use application that can either be run by itself or integrated into Google Talk to allow you to make phone calls to regular cellular and land phones from your computer.The rates are extremely reasonable at only pennies per minute, and no VAT fees are charged for European callers.Talqer itself is a standalone VoIP service, so your traffic does not flow through the Google Talk network. After you download and install Talqer from its Web site, it can be launched directly from your Windows Start menu.You will be prompted with a screen, shown in Figure 5.15, to enter your Talqer username and password. If you do not have an account, simply click the link labeled Sign Up for Talqer to be taken to the Talqer site, where you can register for one for free.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 115

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.15 Talqer’s Initial Screen

After logging into your account, you will be taken to the Talqer main screen, as shown in Figure 5.16.This is your main interface to making calls on the Internet, but you will notice that it features a very basic setup with few buttons, since the client itself is extremely easy to use.You can prepay your account balance using a variety of purchasing options by simply clicking the appropriate payment type on the screen. Figure 5.16 Talqer’s Main Screen

www.syngress.com

115

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

116

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 116

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

The central portion of the window contains a row of icons and a field in which you can type the phone number that you want to call.There are appropriate icons to connect the call and to disconnect, as well as icons to display a dialing pad, a history of calls (Figure 5.17), and your personal phone book. Figure 5.17 Talqer Call History

To configure Talqer for your hardware, click the icon of a wrench located at the top of the window to open the configuration window. From here you can alter a variety of Talqer features and even import your phone book from a comma-delimited CSV file.You can also configure a custom ringtone for incoming calls. Of particular usefulness are the audio settings, shown in Figure 5.18. From here you specify the device you want to use for the microphone and the device that should handle the audio output. By default, this setting will use the same values as the Google Talk client. To place a phone call, simply type in the phone number that you want to dial, and select the green icon to place the call, as shown in Figure 5.19. While the call is taking place, you can alter both the microphone and speaker output on the fly, using the appropriate sliders at the bottom of the window. When you have finished your conversation, simply click the red “hang up” icon to terminate the call. www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 117

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.18 Talqer Audio Settings

Notes From the Underground… But How Does It Sound? As someone who has used many online voice applications over the years, I can understand the frustration of users who have had their hopes crushed by static, dropped packets, and low-quality codecs. However, since Talqer takes advantage of the SIP VoIP protocol, it has a much higher level of quality than what is built into most IM clients. Talqer’s voice quality is at least as clear as that you would experience through a normal telephone.

All this work so far has been performed through the Talqer standalone client, which looks remarkably like the Google Talk client. However, you can do all your dialing directly from the Google Talk client, as shown in Figure 5.20.The icons to call and hang up will be displayed in the Google Talk client. All you need to do is type the phone number you want to dial into the search bar, and press the call button. www.syngress.com

117

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

118

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 118

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.19 Placing a Talqer Call

Figure 5.20 Using Talqer From the Google Talk Client

VoIP Using GTalk-To-VoIP Although Talqer is a capable VoIP service, it does require a software download and configuration, which could prove difficult for many users. If you are looking for a VoIP solution that even your Luddite grandparents could understand, with the same great features and cheap prices, then look no further than GTalk-To-VoIP. www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 119

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

GTalk-To-VoIP, abbreviated to GTalk2VoIP, is a telephone service that fully embeds itself into the Google Talk experience through a custom-written automated bot server. As a VoIP service, it can find all the global VoIP providers willing to carry your call across the world. For each call you make, the providers are queried to find the cheapest rate, which is then applied to your call. Signing up for the server is effortless. Simply add the user [email protected] to your contact list, and you’re done! Alternatively, you can visit the Web site at www.gtalk2voip.com and enter your Google Talk account to have the bot ask to be added to your list, as shown in Figure 5.21. This method is especially useful if you want to add the service to the clients of your family members, since you can just enter their Google Talk accounts for them, and all they need to do is accept the transaction. Figure 5.21 Adding the Bot to Your Contact List

To operate the service, simply open a chat session with the [email protected] user and specify the command you’d like to perform. A list of compatible options is available by typing in help.This list of available commands includes: www.syngress.com

119

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

120

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 120

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications ■

MYPAGE Displays your personal account page, where you can purchase credits, change your audio codec, and view all your available services.

■

CALL number Places a call to the specified number.The number must be in international format, such as 1-410-555-1212.

■

VMSEND user Sends a voicemail to another Google Talk user through the GTalk2VoIP service.

■

VMLIST Displays all your received voicemails, each assigned a unique ID number.

■

VMPLAY id Plays the voicemail specified by the ID value.

■

VMDEL id Deletes the specified voicemail from your inbox.

■

CONF Creates a new VoIP conference call. Once this command is running, you will be provided a unique cookie that is used just for that particular call.This cookie can then be shared with your friends so that they can join.

■

JOIN cookie Joins a pre-established conference call with the specified cookie value.

■

MSG user text Sends an offline text message to the specified user. When the user signs back onto Google Talk, he or she will receive the specified text message. For example, MSG [email protected] Call me when you get on!

■

SMS number message Sends an SMS message to the specified number, written in the international form of +14105551212.

■

HELP Displays all the available commands.

The GTalk2VoIP service can be easily evaluated for a very short term; every new account is given US$0.05 to use, which would allow a few minutes of talk.To initiate a phone call, start a chat conversation with the [email protected] user and enter CALL phone_number, as shown in Figure 5.22. Immediately on sending that command, you will be notified that the command was accepted and how much of your balance is remaining.You will then receive an incoming call from the [email protected] user. www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 121

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Answer this call, and you will hear the familiar telephone ring as your party is being reached. When your conversation is complete, simply click the icon for End Call to hang up. Figure 5.22 Initiating a Call in GTalk2VoIP

A unique innovation that GTalk2VoIP provides is the ability to hold conference calls with other GTalk2VoIP users.This allows you to share a voice communication with a large number of people through Google Talk’s voice communications.To create a chat room, send the message CONF to the GTalk2VoIP bot.You will immediately receive an incoming call from the bot that will initiate the conference room.You will also receive a confirmation of the chat room as well as a unique conference cookie value, such as the one shown in Figure 5.23, umuVlc5FWZ8LjWyU.This cookie should be copied and sent to every one of your friends that you’d like to join the conference. Each of your friends will then need to enter the conference by chatting with the GTalk2VoIP bot from their contact list and typing JOIN cookie.To join the conference chat used in the example (which no longer exists), my friends

www.syngress.com

121

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

122

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 122

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

typed JOIN umuVlc5FWZ8LjWyU. As people join and leave a conference, this information is displayed for each person to see in his or her chat window. Figure 5.23 Initiating a Conference Call in GTalk2VoIP

Can You See Me Now? Good! While text chat and even voice communications have become par for the course, there is one area left that not many instant messaging clients have ventured into: video conferencing. While the official Google Talk client does not yet support video conferencing, there is a fun plug-in called festoon that provides this capability, and more. Festoon can be found at www.festooninc.com. Festoon is a video conferencing application that operates separately from Google Talk, but uses the Google Talk client to establish connections between you and your friends. It is an excellent resource for audio conversations, video conferencing, software presentations, and creating fun videos for your friends. Unfortunately, Festoon is only available for computers running Windows XP and Windows 2000, so your Mac and Linux friends will be unable to play. See Appendices A and B for more on video conferencing. www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 123

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

To use Festoon, simply run the application from your Windows Start menu. Additionally, you will also notice the Festoon icon in both your Windows system tray and in the upper portion of the Google Talk client, as shown in Figure 5.24. Clicking any of these icons will launch the Festoon client software. Figure 5.24 The Festoon Icon in Your Google Talk Client

When you launch Festoon, a window will appear to start the videoconference, as shown in Figure 5.25. From here you can give your videoconference a unique name and input your Google Talk account information.You must enter your Google Talk information to send conference invitations to your friends. Once you’ve entered all the information, click the Sign In button to have Festoon log into the Google Talk network as you. Once Festoon has used your information to log into the network, it will gather a list of all your friends from your contact list, as well as their current online status. From this list, you can select each of your friends who you would like to invite into the conference. Once you’ve selected all the people you want to join, click the button labeled Start Call, as shown on Figure 5.26, to launch the Festoon videoconference session.

www.syngress.com

123

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

124

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 124

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.25 Videoconferencing With Festoon

Figure 5.26 Initiating a Videoconference With Festoon

Immediately upon starting the video conference, an invitation will be sent to all your selected friends. If Festoon doesn’t have a record of them using the www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 125

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

product, it will notify you that your friends must install the Festoon client to take part in the conference.You will be given the option of automatically sending messages to your friends who do not have the client, such as the one shown in Figure 5.27. Figure 5.27 Inviting Friends to Use Festoon

All your invited friends who already have the Festoon client installed will receive an invitation to join you in your video call, like the one shown in Figure 5.28.Your specific conference will be assigned a unique key value, which is included in the URL shared with your friends. Figure 5.28 A Festoon Invitation to Videoconference

Once your friend clicks the link sent to her in the chat window, she will be taken to Festoon’s Web site in her default Web browser, as shown in Figure 5.29. From here she will be given the choice to download the client, if she

www.syngress.com

125

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

126

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 126

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

doesn’t already have it installed. She will also be given the choice to join your videoconference by clicking the button labeled Join the call. Figure 5.29 Joining a Festoon Videoconference

Since the Festoon client runs independently, you will receive some sort of warning that an external application will be opened, similar to the one shown by Mozilla Firefox in Figure 5.30. Since we want this call to go through and we initiated the execution, click the Launch application button to continue loading Festoon. Figure 5.30 External Protocol Request Warning Box

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 127

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Once Festoon has been loaded, you will see the main display window, similar to the one shown in Figure 5.31. From this window you will be able to see a window for each person in the videoconference, each showing the camera feed from his or her computer. Below each video window is the Google Talk screen name of the person shown. At the bottom of your window, in a significantly smaller screen, is the feed from your own camera, so that you can see how you look to others. Your friends without their own computer cameras aren’t left out, though; they can still join the videoconference. Even though they won’t be able to project a video signal, they can still talk in the conference and see the video feeds from everyone else’s computer. At this point you can speak and wave your hands crazily as your image is broadcast across the Internet to all your friends. From the bottom of the window you do have a bit of control over your conference; you can mute the video signal and the audio signals individually.You can also invite additional people to join the conference. When you are finished with your video call, simply close the window to leave the conversation. Figure 5.31 Festoon’s Main Display Window

www.syngress.com

127

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

128

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 128

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Fun and Games with Festoon While most people are used to normal videoconferencing, it can end up being a bit drab. Festoon has helped this problem with a number of fun features they label EyeCandy. By accessing the EyeCandy menu at the top of the screen, you can alter the video feed from your computer in a wide variety of ways. From funhouse mirror effects to kaleidoscope effects from a hippie’s drug-induced fantasy, you have a number of ways to spice up Festoon’s video. One of the more popular features, though, is the cut-out images that you can impose over your video feed.These cut-outs are images of actual people with the faces cut out, allowing you to insert your face on their bodies, as shown in Figure 5.32. It does take a fair bit of practice to place your face at the exact distance and angle to fit the image and to talk without moving your body, but the effect is often amusing for your friends who are watching. Figure 5.32 One of Festoon’s EyeCandy Effects

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 129

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Using Festoon as a Business Tool Although eye candy has little merit in the business world, other features of Festoon can come in quite handy: while in a videoconference, you can select to share out a particular application running on your computer. This will open up a window on the screens of you friends where they will see the chosen application, at full size, as if they were at the computer itself. The others in the conference will not be able to manipulate the application, only watch as you control it from your end, while you continue transmitting audio. In the example shown in Figure 5.33, a Mozilla Firefox screen of a website is being displayed across the Internet. This feature is very useful for telecommuters, as they can conference into work, and display the actual work that they are performing at home (as opposed to the fun stuff they’re really doing as shown in Figure 5.33). It can also be used for distance learning, as you can demonstrate how an application functions from across the internet, while providing audio instruction. Figure 5.33 Using Festoon’s Application-Sharing Feature

www.syngress.com

129

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

130

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 130

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Sex Change in a Download Ever since the dawn of voice communications there has been another growing market of technology: the ability to disguise your voice.There are many reasons to want to disguise your voice, especially in the days before Caller ID. For some it’s a matter or ducking out of calls from parents or pretending to be a 14-year-old making prank calls. Actual telephone voice modulators can be expensive hardware, but there are many inexpensive solutions for changing your voice through a computer. One such application is MorphVOX by Screaming Bee, located at www.screamingbee.com/product/MorphVOXJunior.aspx.MorphVOX is a commercial product, but there is a Junior edition available for free download. It is limited to only three voices—Male, Female, and Tiny Voices—but it gives a taste of what the software is capable of performing. Once you’ve installed and are running MorphVOX Jr., you will see the main application window, like the one shown in Figure 5.34. From here you can choose which voice modulation you’d prefer.The voice settings can be changed on the fly during your chat.There are also additional buttons for Morph and Listen. When the morph button is lit, the voice modulation will be applied to your voice.This allows you to immediately toggle whether you want your natural voice or the synthesized one to be played.The Listen button will route your voice back into your speakers, so that you can hear the modulation effect. Additionally, there are a number of sound effects built into the client that can be played at any time during your chat, for added comic effect. Using MorphVOX for your Google Talk audio communications is not difficult.To start, you need to tell MorphVOX where to pull an audio feed from and where to pipe it to.This can be done by selecting the MorphVOX | Preferences pull-down menu to view the application options. Click the link for Device Settings to view the window shown in Figure 5.35. From here, select the device the audio feed is coming from in the Microphone field; this will normally be your microphone device. For the Playback device, choose your primary sound card.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 131

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.34 The Main MorphVOX Jr. Window

Figure 5.35 MorphVOX Settings

www.syngress.com

131

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

132

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 132

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Once MorphVOX has been configured with the appropriate audio devices, Google Talk needs to be configured to grab its audio from MorphVOX and not directly from the microphone.This can be done by viewing the Google Talk settings and clicking the Audio category. From here, you can select the input device to be used for voice communications, as shown in Figure 5.36. Select the device named Screaming Bee Audio Driver to use MorphVOX as your audio input. Once this is set, initiate a new phone call to a friend through Google Talk and you should hear your voice altered dramatically. Figure 5.36 Selecting the MorphVOX Input Device

Become a Google Talk DJ With Google Talk using voice communications as a strong foundation, it’s inevitable that someone would figure out how to transmit music through the service. As it turns out, there are a number of ways to broadcast music to your friends on Google Talk, some through modifying the Windows audio channels and others using third-party additions.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 133

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Quick-and-Dirty Broadcasting The quickest method for broadcasting music, or any audio stream, to another person on Google Talk is to manipulate the Windows audio channels to route the audio output to Google Talk. Although this sounds difficult, it’s really not. This procedure is easily performed by following the steps documented on www.customizetalk.com, a Google Talk modification site. The first task is to find your Audio Properties window, normally located in the Windows Control Panel. From the Windows Start menu, choose Settings | Control Panel to view the Control Panel. For most users, you will see an icon labeled Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Click this icon, then locate the link labeled Advanced Volume Controls, usually located in the upper-left portion of the screen. For users viewing the Control Panel in “classic mode,” select the Sounds and Audio Devices icon and click the button labeled Advanced…. After selecting the advanced controls, you will see a window showing a mixing table of various audio sources. Select Options | Properties from the pull-down menus at the top to display a window similar to Figure 5.37. Select the Recording button to display all the different sources for recording audio. In the field shown at the bottom, ensure that the Wave Out Mix channel is checked, and click OK. Figure 5.37 Audio Properties Window

www.syngress.com

133

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

134

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 134

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

You will then be shown the list of recording devices you checked in the earlier screen, as shown in Figure 5.38. For each device there are separate balance and volume sliders as well as a Select check box telling Windows to use that device for audio input. In nearly all cases, the microphone will be selected as the default audio input device. Since the Google Talk client uses whatever device you select here for transmitting audio to your friends, you see that you could send a variety of feeds, even the output from whatever CD you’re listening to.To send the output from an application such as iTunes or Windows Media Player through Google Talk, simply click the box labeled Select below the “Wave Out Mix” device slider. Figure 5.38 Recording Devices Control Window

Once you’ve checked one of these two devices, open a chat window in Google Talk and call a friend. Once the call is accepted, all the audio from your computer will be directed to his computer.This is not just audio from your music player, but all audio that you can hear on your speakers, including error “dings.”You can transmit the audio from downloaded sound boards and even your World of Warcraft game. The downside to all this is that while you’re piping the audio out from your computer, you will be unable to use your microphone to communicate with your friends. If you want to switch back to the microphone, you will www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 135

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

have to open the volume controls again and switch the audio input back to the microphone.This can be done on the fly in the middle of a chat, though.

DJ’ing Through Mercora Although going through the Windows setup and audio devices can allow you to share your music playlist with your friends, it is not the most elegant method. Luckily, there is an excellent alternative using Mercora IMRadio, downloaded from www.mercora.com/gtalk/. Mercora is a client used to create your own online radio station, where you can DJ your vast collection of tunes. It operates separately from Google Talk, but it does use Google Talk to invite friends to your radio station and to find the stations of others. After installing and running Mercora, you will be presented with a signon screen, similar to the one shown in Figure 5.39. From here you can choose your IM network of service, Google Talk. Enter your Google Talk email and account password to begin using Mercora IMRadio. Figure 5.39 Mercora IMRadio’s Initial Screen

www.syngress.com

135

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

136

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 136

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Once IMRadio has logged into your account, it will create a list of all your friends in your contact list, as shown in Figure 5.40.You can then invite your friends from this list to download Mercora and listen to your radio station. For your friends to be able to listen to your station, they must download the IMRadio client on their own machines. Figure 5.40 Importing Your Contact List in IMRadio

Mercora IMRadio is configured with a very easy-to-use interface, as shown in Figure 5.41. From the left side of the screen you can select between the major areas of the application, such as the music search, your personal music library, your personal playlists, your radio stations, and all your Mercora friends. IMRadio can also operate as a local music player, playing your favorite music even while it is Webcasting another playlist on your radio station.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 137

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.41 The IMRadio Interface

For friends to listen to your radio station, they simply need to add you to their clients using the Invite My Friends link under the My Friends menu. Once your name is in their friend lists, they can click on it to view personalized information about you as well as the song that you’re currently playing, as shown in Figure 5.42. A quick click of the Listen link or the icon represented by a pair of headphones will allow your friends to instantly connect to your audio stream and listen to your station.

Google Talk Chat Rooms A majority of instant-messaging traffic is considered peer to peer, where messages flow only from one person to another, but there is a definite need for chat rooms. Other IM clients have sought to tackle the problem of allowing more than two people to chat simultaneously in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, at this time, Google Talk does not.There are extremely talented programmers from across the world who have tried their hand at rectifying this problem, though.

www.syngress.com

137

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

138

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 138

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.42 A Personal Radio Station in IMRadio

To make up for the lack of a group chat feature, one New Zealand programmer who goes by the name of Isomer has designed a Google Talk bot made specifically to operate as a chat room bot. His free Google Talk Conference Bot, known as confbot, is open source and can be downloaded from http://coders.meta.net.nz/~perry/jabber/confbot.php.The bot was written using the Python language, so an interpreter (www.python.org) must be installed onto your computer to run the application. Although the bot designed for Linux, it can be run under a Windows environment as long as the Windows Python interpreter is installed. To use the conference bot you must first create a unique Google Talk account for it.This can be done by simply creating a “throw-away” e-mail address and sending a Gmail invite to it.The conference bot application must be placed onto an Internet-accessible computer with an installed Python interpreter, preferably a shell server from a Web host. To run the conference bot, you simply need to run the confbot.py file using python, as shown in Figure 5.43. In Linux environments this can be done by typing python confbot.py while you’re in the confbot directory. The first time that confbot is executed it will prompt you for its account www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 139

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

information.You must supply it a valid Google Talk account name and password as well as a short description of itself and an administrator account.This administrator account should be the full e-mail address used by your Google Talk client. When you connect to the bot at a later time, if the bot sees that you are using the administrator account, it will offer an extended list of options and abilities. Figure 5.43 Running Confbot 1.32 for the First Time

Once all this information is typed in, it will be automatically stored to a confbot.ini file, which can be edited at any time to update the information. While the confbot is running it will continually update the display with all the chatter that occurs within the chat room.This information will also be logged to a daily text file named in the dating format of YYYYMMDD.log.

www.syngress.com

139

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

140

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 140

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Notes From the Underground… Confbot Phone Home! WARNING! When you visit confbot’s home page, you will notice a short list of active bots and their addresses. This list is automatically generated by registration code written into the software. Every time your confbot is launched it will contact the owner’s Web site and add itself to this list for others to find. If you want to keep your bot private and undiscovered, you only need to make a slight tweak to the source. Edit the confbot.py with a text editor and locate the line that reads: urllib.urlretrieve('http://coders.meta.net.nz/~perry/jabber/confbot.p hp?'+urllib.urlencode(args))

Place a # symbol at the very beginning of this line to prevent it from being run, thus reporting your bot back to the software’s Web site.

Once the bot is up and running, you simply need to add it as a user to your own contact list. If you see the bot’s username appear online with a status of Ready, then you know it is running. Just open a chat session with the bot and you will be welcomed in, as shown in Figure 5.44 with the EliteWorld (http://eliteworld.googlepages.com/) bot. Figure 5.44 A Confbot in Action

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 141

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

The confbot operates using normal IRC-based commands. If you’ve never used IRC before, that’s perfectly fine.The commands are fairly straightforward, such as: ■

/help Displays a list of all available commands

■

/names Displays a list of all users in the channel, showing their actual Google Talk account names.

■

/whois name Shows the status of the specified account name

■

/me action Performs an action command, or emote. For example, “/me dances a jig” will be displayed as “Brian dances a jig”.

/nochat message Sets yourself as away Once you are in the channel with others, any messages you transmit will be immediately relayed to their windows. Each message will begin with its sender’s username, as shown in Figure 5.45. ■

Figure 5.45 A Confbot Message

The Google Talk Conference Bot does have an active user base and support group to help new users who are setting up the software.The support board is located at http://groups.google.com/group/confbot. Additionally, www.syngress.com

141

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

142

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 142

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

some of the chat bots that use the software have their own groups, such as the EliteWorld group at http://groups.google.com/group/EliteWorldGroup.

Pushing the Envelope Many developers are content to improve small functions of the Google Talk client; others like to push the envelope and attempt to perform feats that most users would never think of. Here we cover a few of these advancements, such as the ability to use Google Talk to talk to your friends on other IM networks like AIM and Yahoo. And even though the BlackBerry Google Talk client is well known, you might not know that there is even a client available for a standard cell phone!

Google Talk to Go One of the increased pressures in today’s world is that we are always on the go and we always need to feel connected. So, why settle for Google Talk when you have to leave it back home or at the office? It’s not like you can whip out your laptop on the sidewalk to send a quick reminder to a buddy; even with a tablet PC that can be burdensome.The answer lies in much smaller devices that we can operate quickly and easily. Earlier in the book, we went into how Google Talk could be used on a RIM BlackBerry and a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, which is great for all of the suit-and-tie executives. But what solutions are there for the common person? How about MGTalk, a free, open-source cell phone client? MGTalk is an excellent application, written in Java, that is available at http://mgtalk.sourceforge.net. All you need is a cell phone that supports Java applets and a cell phone carrier that supports Internet traffic.You can either place the client on your phone through a data cable from your PC or through a direct download from its Web site. Once it’s installed, you can start talking to all your friends from anywhere in the world where you get a cell signal (which does not include the author’s home, unfortunately). I tried it out on my own Audiovox SMT5600 and have documented its operations here. Once downloaded, simply connect your cell phone to your computer using an appropriate data cable, then copy the MGTalk.jad and MGTalk.jar

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 143

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

files to a temporary location on your phone. Use whatever appropriate functions are provided to install MGTalk into your phone, as shown in Figure 5.46, and start the application. Figure 5.46 Installing MGTalk on a Cell Phone

When you first run MGTalk, you’ll be presented with a profile list into which you can add all your Google Talk accounts. Select Add New… to create a new profile.You will be presented with a screen where you can enter all your connection information, as shown in Figure 5.47. From here, give this profile a name, although you can leave it the default Gtalk. When you are setting up multiple accounts, a unique profile name will help you keep them organized. Set the User name: to your particular [email protected], and enter the password to your account.The Host name: field specifies the server that you will be connecting to. Ensure that the check box at the bottom labeled SSL? is not checked.You do not want SSL enabled or you will not be able to connect. If you scroll down through the options, you will come across more detailed settings, as shown in Figure 5.48. From here, you can enter alternate ports for connections to a proxy server.You can also turn on the auto-connect feature to automatically log into Google Talk through this account in the future.The GTalk features are enabled by default, allowing you to receive notices when you receive new e-mail and giving you greater control over your online status.

www.syngress.com

143

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

144

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 144

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.47 Entering Profile Information in MGTalk

Figure 5.48 Detailed MGTalk Settings

There are more features than these, all of which are described on the product’s Web page. Once all your information has been entered and verified, save the information and you will be returned to the profile list screen, as shown in Figure 5.49. When you are ready to connect, highlight the profile you just created and select it. MGTalk will then proceed to connect to the Internet from your phone and then to Google Talk’s server. It might take a few retries before it makes a successful connection, depending on your local carrier signals, so patience is key. Once the login is successfully completed, you will be presented with your current contact list, as shown in Figure 5.50.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 145

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.49 MGTalk Profile List Screen

Figure 5.50 An MGTalk Contact List

From here you can navigate through your list and see which of your friends are online.To initiate a chat with someone, simply select their name to open a chat window, as shown in Figure 5.51. Figure 5.51 Initiating an MGTalk Chat

www.syngress.com

145

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

146

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 146

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

The MGTalk client also gives you the ability to perform actions on your account, such as adding, renaming, and deleting your friends.These actions are found under Menu, as shown in Figure 5.52. From here you can also select the Mailbox entry to check your Google Mail from your cell phone. Figure 5.52 MGTalk Menu

Sleeping With the Enemy Google Talk is great for conversing with your other Google Talk friends, but why should your buddies who aren’t blessed with the Google Talk client be left out? Well, you don’t have to worry about that for long, because it is possible to talk to your friends on AOL Instant Messenger,Yahoo! Messenger, and Windows Live Messenger using the Google Talk client! To do so requires a lengthy setup with additional software, but once the configuration is complete, you will be easily chatting with the entire instant-messaging world. To connect to other IM networks, we will use Jabber transports. Jabber transports are gateways on the Internet that take traffic from one IM network and translate it to another.You must find a compatible gateway on the Internet, register your account through that service, and relay traffic through the gateway to be received on other networks, as shown in Figure 5.53.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 147

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.53 Relaying Traffic Through Internet Gateways Using Jabber Transports

Google Talk will let us send messages to a Jabber transport, but it does not support registering for one.To create an account on a Jabber transport, we will use a different Jabber client that supports Google Talk, Psi. Psi is a free, open-source client that is available from http://psi.affinix.com.You must download the client and install it onto your computer, though the installation is temporary. Once you’ve registered on a Jabber transport, you can uninstall Psi, since your contact list should replicate to the standard Google Talk client.

Notes From the Underground… You Can’t Get There From Here The Jabber transport implementation has been in use for a number of years but is still not the rock-solid reliable method that many would hope for. As Jabber servers become popular and host transports for thousands of users, their reliability plummets. This means that the use of most Jabber transports could lead to unexpected situations, such as friends not being added to your contact list, being unable to send or receive messages, or being unable to log into the transport. Highly motivated users Continued

www.syngress.com

147

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

148

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 148

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

should feel free to install their own Jabber server locally to handle the communication translation using free, open-source transports from www.blathersource.org.

After you’ve installed Psi, run the application to be presented with an option to create a new account, as shown in Figure 5.54. Specify an account name, such as Google Talk, and click the button labeled Add to show the details of the account. Figure 5.54 Creating a New Psi Account

When you add an account, a new window will appear, as shown in Figure 5.55. From in this window, you must input your full Google Talk account as the Jabber ID as well as enter your Google Talk password. With your personal information entered, click the Connection tab to view information pertaining to how Psi will connect to Google Talk, as shown in Figure 5.56. Make sure that every box located here is checked to ensure that Psi can connect appropriately. Also, enter the name of the connecting server in the Host field. Once this process is complete, click the Save button to return to the Psi main screen where you can log into your account.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 149

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.55 Psi Account Properties Window

Figure 5.56 The Connection Tab

Once you’ve ensured that Psi can connect to your Google Talk account, you then have to configure the Jabber transport.This is done by using the Psi Service Discovery tool, available in the Psi menu shown on Figure 5.57.

www.syngress.com

149

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

150

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 150

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Figure 5.57 The Psi Service Directory Tool

The Psi Service Discovery tool will allow you to enter a known Jabber server for it to scan. It will then examine the specified server to see exactly which services are being provided by it. However, you will have to first find an available Jabber server.The easiest way to do so is to view the listings at www.xmpp.net/servers or view the graphical map of servers at www.xmpp.net/map/node, as shown in Figure 5.58. An older list of servers available at www.jabber.org/network/oldnetwork.shtml also lists exactly which servers have AIM, MSN, or other transports configured. Once you’ve picked an appropriate Jabber server, input the name into the Address field, and click the Browse button.You will immediately see a list populate of all the available services from that particular server, as shown in Figure 5.59. In our example, you can see that this server hosts AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! transports.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 151

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.58 Jabber Server Map

Figure 5.59 Services Available From a Jabber Server

Even though all these transports are being hosted at this site, they might not allow for new registrations. Right-click the transport you want to use, and observe whether the Register item is selectable. If it is not, you have to find another Jabber server that will allow you to create a new registration. Otherwise, click the Register item to bring up the registration window shown in Figure 5.60. Within this window you can type your actual userwww.syngress.com

151

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

152

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 152

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

name and password for that particular service. If you are registering to an AIM transport, you must specify an AIM account that you have already established. Once you’ve entered this information, click the Register button and you’re all done. Figure 5.60 Registration Window

Now that the Jabber transport has been initiated, use the Psi client to add new contacts to your list from other networks. From the Psi main menu, choose Add a contact to be shown the Add User window. From here, simply enter the Jabber ID of your buddy using his or her screen name on the remote service with the transport that you specified. For example, if you’re adding EnRon964 from AOL Instant Messenger through the aim.syndicon.de transport, enter [email protected] can optionally specify a new nickname for the person or assign them a Psi user group. Once you’re done, click the Add button to place the buddy onto your contact list. From within Psi you should immediately be able to communicate with that person. Additionally, the next time you log into the Google Talk client, you should see the friend’s contact information show up, as shown in Figure 5.61. At this point, you’re all set up and ready to start chatting with your friends on other services. Just make sure you keep Psi around to add the accounts, since the Google Talk client does not support adding clients from a Jabber transport.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 153

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Figure 5.61 Adding a Buddy

www.syngress.com

153

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

154

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 154

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Summary Even though Google Talk was designed to be a simplified client, giving users exactly the features they most need, there has been a constant call for more effects and capabilities.To help fill this need, a variety of modification tools have arisen to add advanced capabilities into the Google Talk client. For one, the GT-Plug application gives you graphical emoticons and the ability to make your Google Talk client transparent. It also features a boss key, to immediately hide your client in case the boss walks by your office, as well as local logging so that you can keep a handy text log of all your chats. Another Google Talk modification tool that has a large number of additional features is Extended Talk, which also gives you the ability to show graphical emoticons and make your individual Google Talk windows transparent. As well as a boss key, it also features a keyboard lock so that you can prevent text from being typed into your chat windows while you’re away from the keyboard. It includes a number of aesthetic changes, letting you manipulate text from your friends. However, one of its most innovative features is its active status scripts, which allow you to create customized status screens to show off the program you’re working in or the regular RSS feed from your favorite Web site. Although these two programs can manipulate many features within Google Talk, some of the greatest improvements can be made by simply using a customized graphical theme.Themes control how text is displayed within your chat windows, including graphics, colors, and text sizes.These themes are also extremely customizable, allowing anyone with a basic knowledge of HTML and CSS to create awe-inspiring works of art.There is a standardized structure to theme files, but a simple edit of a number of small text files can give your Google Talk a dramatic facelift. Google Talk features an excellent voice codec and protocol that transmit crisp and clear audio between you and your friends. However, there is no capability to allow you to connect to others who are outside the Google Talk network.To fill this need, a number of companies have designed products that tie additional VoIP capabilities into the Google Talk client. One such application is Talqer, which has created its own software that ties into the Google Talk client to allow you to make phone calls quickly and easily. Although not www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 155

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

a free service,Talqer offers very low rates, even lower than Skype’s. Its client requires very minimal configuration and setup. Once it’s installed, you simply log in with your Google Talk account information and you can start calling your friends and family on their real phones. Another competitor for the Google Talk VoIP market is GTalk-to-VoIP, a service that is completely integrated into the Google Talk service. GTalk2VoIP actually takes Google Talk’s Libjingle protocol and converts it to VoIP H.323 on the fly to allow you to use Google Talk’s voice capabilities to communicate with friends over the phone network. Not only does GTalk2VoIP also offer extremely low rates, it also provide capabilities for voicemail and conference calls. For users who like to stay on the cutting edge and feel that communication isn’t worth it if you can’t see who you’re talking to, you’ll feel right at home with the Festoon videoconferencing software for Google Talk. Festoon is a separate application that ties into your Google Talk contact list to negotiate video calls between you and your friends. Once a video call is under way, Festoon features many fun effects to modify your appearance, such as cut-out backgrounds and funhouse effects. While you’re having fun with Festoon, you can also spice up your voice communications with Screaming Bee’s MorphVOX application. MorphVOX is an application that alters your voice to sound like a large number of individual characters, from basic male and female voices to dark warlords. Now that more households have access to broadband speeds and vast digital music libraries, there is a large demand for the ability to broadcast music to friends and family over the Internet in a safe, legal manner. Google Talk itself does not support this functionality, but with a few changes to your Windows sound settings you can easily broadcast all sounds from your computer, including your music soundtrack, to your friends through Google Talk’s voice calls. The aspiring DJs among us might feel more at home with Mercora’s IMRadio application. IMRadio is a full-featured media player that also allows you to create multiple radio stations for your collection of tunes. All your friends on Google Talk who also have the IMRadio application installed can then listen in on your virtual radio stations or offer their own playlists for you to hear. www.syngress.com

155

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

156

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 156

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

Google Talk accomplishes direct communication between peers effectively, but it does not provide the capability for group chat rooms, a feature that it is sorely lacking. Fortunately, one New Zealand programmer has solved this problem with the release of Confbot, an open-source chat room Google Talk bot. Confbot uses its own unique Google Talk account to allow thousands of people to connect and communicate in an IRC-esque chat room. Even though there are official clients for both the RIM BlackBerry and the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, there is no official support for the lowly cellular phones that the majority of humans now possess. However, there is MGTalk, a free Java-based client that allows you to send messages to your Google Talk friends from anywhere you can get signal. You can even chat with all your friends who are tied to old, deprecated IM services such as AIM, MSN, and Yahoo. By connecting through a Jabber transport server, you can add your friends from these various servers to your list and directly communicate.The magic behind this capability happens in the transport server, which directly translates the packets from one IM format to another to maintain compatibility.

Solutions Fast Track Making Google Talk Yours To many users, the Google Talk client might be too simplified and

plain, creating a need for applications to spice it up a bit. GT-Plug is one modification tool that gives you the ability to view

graphical emoticons, hide Google Talk with a quick boss key, make the windows see-through, and log all your conversations to your own hard drive. Extended Talk is one of the most feature-packed modification tools

for Google Talk, giving you many of the same abilities as GT-Plug, as well as allowing you to lock the keyboard from Google Talk, change text colors, and talk in 1337 Sp34k.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 157

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Extended Talk also features a very complex and rewarding scriptable

active status system, letting you display all types of information, even RSS feeds, in your status bar. Google Talk features a handful of themes by default, and Google has

made it quick and easy to create your own themes for the client using nothing but a text editor.

Reach Out and Touch Someone The voice communication feature in Google Talk is a great way to

talk freely with other Google Talk users, but it does not allow you to make phone calls to actual phones. However, a number of applications tie into Google Talk to allow you to make such phone calls, at dramatically low rates and with no VAT fees! Talqer is a small and simple application that allows you to make

international VoIP calls directly from your Google Talk client. GTalk-to-VoIP is a feature-rich service for Google Talk, requiring no

software download at all. By simply interacting with a bot, you can send and receive voicemails, make phone calls at extremely low rates, and even create conference rooms for group chat sessions. Although the Google Talk client does not currently feature

videoconferencing capabilities, Festoon adds this ability with an easy–to-use and fun application. It also allows you to share application screens from your PC with friends from afar, allowing them to see your latest work. To have fun with your friends and family, Screaming Bee

MorphVOX is available to quickly change your voice characteristics to a masculine, feminine, or alien voice.

Become a Google Talk DJ Since the world is gripped in a new age of music adoration, you can

share the love and our favorite tunes with friends through the Google Talk service. www.syngress.com

157

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

158

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 158

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

You can quickly start piping your tunes through Google Talk’s voice

chat feature by simply adjusting Windows’ speaker settings, allowing your friends to hear everything that you do. For a more efficient solution, Mercora’s IMRadio lets you set up

multiple Internet radio stations on which you can queue up your favorite tunes for your Google Talk buddies.

Google Talk Chat Rooms One feature missing from the current release of Google Talk is chat

rooms, where multiple people can talk all at once. Confbot is a free, open-source application that fills the need for chat

rooms by acting as an IRC-like bot, allowing thousands of people to chat simultaneously. Confbot supports advanced commands like IRC, but make sure that

you edit the source if you don’t want to announce your chat bot open to the public.

Pushing the Envelope Many people modify the client in simple ways, but others look to

make Google Talk do more than it was designed to, such as run on cell phones and talk to friends on competing IM networks. MGTalk is a free Java cellular phone application that allows you to

contact your Google Talk friends from anywhere in the world, without a computer. Google Talk has the capability to communicate with friends on AIM,

Yahoo, MSN and ICQ using Jabber transport servers. Setting up a connection to a transport server is fairly complicated,

but it’s very rewarding to combine all your IM usage into one single client.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 159

Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications • Chapter 5

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form.

Q: Where can I stay informed of all the new tools and modifications for Google Talk? A: One of the greatest and most up-to-date Web sites on the Google Talk scene is www.customizetalk.com, which features downloadable themes, avatar images, and modifications. It also features an active Web forum to discuss the client and provide hints on how to perform even more advanced modifications using the Resource Hacker (http://angusj.com/resourcehacker). Q: I would love to access Google Talk from my cell phone, but I don’t feel comfortable downloading and installing an application to it. Are there any alternatives? A: Absolutely! One cellular phone instant-messaging provider allows you to connect to AIM,Yahoo, MSN, and Google Talk without having to download any software. Simply browse to www.nootmobile.com and sign up for its IM service, and you’ll be on your way.

Links to Sites www.projetobms.net/GTPlug.php?pagina=pj&lang=en http://extendedtalk.meosoft.net http://gtalk.anthonysottile.com www.talqer.com www.gtalk2voip.com

www.syngress.com

159

368_GT_05_dummy.qxd

160

11/10/06

3:10 PM

Page 160

Chapter 5 • Google Talk Add-ons and Modifications

http://gtalk2voip.blogspot.com/ http://gtalk2voip.blogspot.com/ www.festooninc.com www.screamingbee.com/product/MorphVOXJunior.aspx www.customizetalk.com www.mercora.com/gtalk/ www.python.org http://eliteworld.googlepages.com/ http://groups.google.com/group/confbot http://mgtalk.sourceforge.net http://psi.affinix.com www.blathersource.org www.xmpp.net/servers www.xmpp.net/map/node www.jabber.org/network/oldnetwork.shtml www.customizetalk.com http://angusj.com/resourcehacker www.nootmobile.com www.bigblueball.com/forums/google-talk-news/ http://googletalk.blogspot.com/ http://www.bigblueball.com/forums/google-talk-news/ http://googletalk.blogspot.com

www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 161

Chapter 6

Proxy Use

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Definition and Basic Use of Proxies

■

Configuring Google Talk to Use a Proxy

■

Onion Routing Proxies

■

SSH Tunneling

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 161

368_GT_06.qxd

162

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 162

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Introduction Many companies allow Internet access only when clients first connect through a proxy server. In this chapter we discuss proxy servers and explain how Google Talk can be configured to connect through them.

What Are Proxies? What are proxies, and why do we need them? To figure that out, you first need to understand how communication occurs between computers on the Internet. For example, when connecting to a Web server such as http://googletalk.blogspot.com, your Web browser will connect directly to the site, request the Web page, and display it on your screen. When the Web server wants to send information back to you, it does so directly to your computer, based on your computer’s IP address. A proxy is a server that stands between you and another machine that you are communicating with. If you connect to blogspot.com through a proxy server, the proxy server accepts your request, connects to the target server, and retrieves the Web page for you. After retrieving all the data, it then sends a copy to your Web browser for you to view on your screen. When working through a proxy, you never make any direct connection to the server that is holding your data; instead, the proxy makes the connections for you, as shown in Figure 6.1. Figure 6.1 Communicating With a Proxy

Internet

Proxy

Proxy Connection

Server

` Client Computer

www.syngress.com

Direct Connection

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 163

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Why Use Proxies? So proxy servers allow us to send our data through another machine. Why is this so important, and why should we be interested in the prospect? Proxies have many uses, some legitimate and some not so legitimate. A proxy itself is a dumb server that simply relays information, but depending on who uses that proxy, it can be a tool used for good or evil. Proxy servers are normally installed in many corporate network environments as a means of monitoring traffic leaving the network.This proxy server is usually placed as the single point of egress. In layman’s terms, that means everyone exits through the same door instead of jumping out their office windows. Some corporate environments allow traffic to leave and go onto the Internet only if that traffic first passes through a designated proxy server, which then logs and monitors all that activity.To use Google Talk in such an environment, you must configure it to connect to Google’s servers through your corporate proxy, as shown in Figure 6.2. Figure 6.2 Communicating Through a Corporate Proxy

Internet

Google Talk Server

Proxy Corporate Intranet

` Client Computer

www.syngress.com

163

368_GT_06.qxd

164

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 164

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Proxy servers can also be used to camouflage your activity from network administrators on your network. Even if a network does not require the use of an internal proxy server, administrators can monitor the traffic through egress points to determine what activity is taking place within their networks. If connections are seen from your computer’s IP address to Google’s Talk servers, it would be fairly obvious to your corporate IT administrators that you are using the Google Talk client.You can attempt to hide your actions by using a proxy server. If your network administrators then attempt to monitor the traffic, they will only see communications between your computer and the proxy server; all the connections from the proxy to Google will take place outside the network where they cannot be monitored. Besides hiding your traffic, a proxy server can be used to allow you to access a server that has been blocked by a network administrator. Just as many enterprise networks block known “time-sink” Web sites, such as Orkut, MySpace, eBay, and Microsoft’s Support site, they can block access to known instant-messaging servers on the Internet. Many of these blocks are made using very simple rules, such as “Block all TCP connections to port 5222 on talk.google.com.” As many college students have already discovered, when their college doesn’t want to them to visit a popular site, proxies will let them regain their access to those forbidden places.

Notes from the Underground… Using Proxies to Bypass Corporate Security Although it is technically possible to use a proxy server to bypass company filters and monitors, doing so could be considered a breach of your company’s acceptable-use policies. Nearly all network administrators want to be aware of all traffic entering and leaving their networks, and they don’t take lightly to users circumventing their monitoring or security systems. In other words, using a proxy could get you fired from your job. Caveat emptor, YMMV, and YOYOMF. In plain English, be careful when using proxies and seek you network administrator’s permission first.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 165

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Configuring Google Talk to Use Proxies The Google Talk client allows you to easily configure communications through a proxy server via its configuration screens. From within the Google Talk client, click the link labeled Settings in the upper-right corner, to be shown the configuration window.To display the proxy settings, click Connection from the list that appears on the left side, as shown in Figure 6.3. Figure 6.3 Configuring Proxy Settings in Google Talk

By default, Google Talk is configured to Detect proxy automatically, which means that Google Talk will attempt to pull proxy information from Internet Explorer. Most corporate networks that use a proxy server will have the server set up automatically within Internet Explorer. If so, then you won’t have to set up the proxy at all; it’s already done for you.This is also the setting to leave on if you don’t use a proxy at all. To input your own proxy settings, click the radio button labeled Use the following proxy:, which will allow you to enter the rest of the fields in the screen. From here you can enter Host and Port, the two basic settings required to use a proxy server. Host is either the IP address or the domain www.syngress.com

165

368_GT_06.qxd

166

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 166

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

name of the proxy server that you’ll be using, and Port is the numeric port number that the proxy server is accepting connections on. Each proxy server has its own self-defined port number, though it is usually something like 80, 1080, or 8080.You will also notice additional authentication fields in this screen that are not enabled by default. Most proxy servers in use do not require authentication, but some do. If you are connecting to a “closed” proxy, which does not accept anonymous connections, you will need to check the box labeled Proxy requires Authentication, and type the username and password in the fields provided. Once you’ve filled out all the fields with correct information, press the OK button to close the configuration window and return to Google Talk. You can then attempt to connect using the new settings by changing your status to Available, to force a login.

Onion Router Proxies Onion router proxies are a unique innovation in the proxy world. Onion routing provides data anonymity through the Internet, which is quite useful if you’re attempting to use Google Talk from within an oppressive political regime. Instead of a single proxy server relaying your data, onion routing takes advantage of a network of multiple proxy servers, as shown in Figure 6.4, through which data is randomly bounced around before it reaches the intended target. It’s like walking to work every day and selecting a random route each time. If someone were attempting to track your whereabouts, it would be extremely difficult for them to do so if you randomly jumped down side streets and dived into manholes between your house and your workplace. Onion routers also encrypt all the traffic from your computer and throughout the proxy network. So, not only are you taking new routes to work every day, you’re also switching disguises to a random Battlestar Galactica character between each intersection. There are numerous applications used for onion-routing networks, including JAP (http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html), I2P (www.i2p.net), and Tor (http://tor.eff.org).Tor is one of the most common and well-known onion networks; much of the technology that we’ll discuss here will be focused on it. www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 167

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Figure 6.4 Google Talking Through an Onion Routing Network

Onion Routing Network

Clear Text Encrypted Text Google Talk Server

` Client Computer

How Onion Routing Works To take advantage of an onion routing network, you must first have client software installed that takes your network traffic and runs it through that network. For the duration of this chapter, we will use Tor for our examples.Tor can be downloaded from its homepage at http://tor.eff.org/download.html and is available in a variety of formats.The most common format is a bundle kit of Tor, Privoxy, and Vidalia, which we’ll discuss later.You can also download packages for both Mac OS X and Linux. Onion routing takes packets from your computer and bounces them throughout the Onion Router (OR) network until they exist on the network and contact the remote host. For this sequence to proceed, your client must first build a circuit through the OR network. Each Tor client has a database of all available Tor servers on the network, and the client plans out a circuit through the network using this list. To make its first connection, your client contacts the first Onion Router (OR1) and negotiates a symmetric key for encrypting data.Your client then tells OR1 to connect to the second OR, OR2, and transmit another set of symmetric keys. In this way, each OR that you communicate with on the Tor network maintains a unique key for encrypting data so that no two servers www.syngress.com

167

368_GT_06.qxd

168

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 168

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

share the same key. However, you never connect to each OR individually; the messages are passed along through the circuit that you’ve created. In the example shown in Figure 6.4, six separate ORs are used to create the circuit; each one holds a unique encryption key, and each one only knows of the existence of the server before and after it in the circuit.The final portion of the circuit is designating an exit server, which is an OR that volunteers to pass data from within the OR network unencrypted to servers on the Internet. Once this circuit has been created, all traffic from your computer will be routed through it for a small period of time, after which the circuit will be broken down and a new, random one will be created. After the creation of the circuit, you are ready to send and receive data to servers on the Internet. When your client sends a packet of data out, the packet is transmitted in multiple layers of encryption: once for each OR it must pass through. For example, if the text “Hi, Bob!” is to be transmitted through the six ORs in Figure 6.4, the text would first be bound in six layers of encryption, like {{{{{{Hi, Bob!}}}}}}. As the packet leaves your computer, it is received by the first OR, which removes the first layer of encryption. After skinning this layer off, it is unable to read the text because of the five other layers of encryption. So, it simply passes the data off to the next OR. Each OR then removes the outer layer of encryption until the packet is handed off to the exit server.This OR will remove the final layer of encryption, revealing the raw packet contents, which it then forwards onto the Internet recipient (Google Talk’s server). Once data is sent back from the Internet server to the Tor network, it is received by the exit server and encrypted.The exit server passes this encrypted response back to the next OR in the chain. Each OR then encrypts the data using a key that only your client and that OR know. Eventually, the response will be received by your computer, where you unwrap the six layers of encryption and process the data. This layering of encryption is how onion routing receives its name; each onion router must peel off the outer layer of skin, like peeling an onion. We could go into more technical detail here, but I’m sure it’d make you cry, just as though you were peeling a real onion. If you’d like to read more on how onion routers operate, check out Tor’s design documentation at http://tor.eff.org/doc/design-paper/tor-design.html. www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 169

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Configuring Google Talk to Use Onion Routing Proxies Installing and using Tor with Google Talk is not very difficult.You must first download and install the Tor and Privoxy packages from http://tor.eff.org. Currently, you can download a bundle package that includes Tor, Privoxy, and Vidalia. Tor is the client that connects to the Tor network; Privoxy works hand in hand as a locally run proxy. Privoxy will route your local data out through Tor. Privoxy runs as a service on your computer, listening for network connection on TCP port 8118, by default. Any data transferred to your computer on port 8118 will be immediately redirected out through Tor. Vidalia is an intuitive graphical interface for interacting with the Tor client. It loads an onion icon into your system tray from which you can configure your entire Tor-related settings; it even allows you to use your computer as an onion router.

Tools & Traps… DNS Leakage! Oh, My! Using a standard Tor client to connect to the Internet does pose one interesting problem in your hunt for anonymity: It leaks DNS requests. As you might already know, every time you attempt to connect to a domain name on the Internet, such as talk.google.com, your computer asks its designated DNS server for the actual IP address, because connections are allowed only through an IP address. Using a standard Tor server can help encrypt the data that you transmit to the Internet, but your computer still broadcasts very loudly the name of every server you’re connecting to through these DNS requests. Privoxy combats this issue by transmitting all DNS queries through the Tor network, along with your encrypted data. Using Tor without Privoxy is not recommended if privacy is a concern.

www.syngress.com

169

368_GT_06.qxd

170

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 170

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Simply download the Tor, Privoxy, and Vidalia bundle from Tor’s Web site and run the executable to begin installing the software. Step through the process, choosing a Full Install, to install each piece onto your computer. To use the installed functionality, simply configure Google Talk to use Tor by default. Open your Google Talk client and open Settings, as shown earlier in this chapter. Click Connections to show your proxy settings, as shown in Figure 6.3. Input 127.0.0.1 into the host field and 8118 into the port field. Then simply click OK and sign into the Google Talk service. From your perspective, it will appear that little has changed. However, if you have the tools (such as WireShark, from www.wireshark.org) to monitor your network traffic, you will see all the traffic being sent to a Tor server instead of Google Talk’s server.

Using an SSH Tunnel Another form of creating a proxy connection is through an SSH tunnel, in which you create a Secure Shell (SSH) connection from your computer to another machine outside your network.Your Google Talk traffic can then be routed through this tunnel outside your network and into the wild, free world of the Internet. SSH allows for encrypted data to be directly transmitted between two computers, though it’s normally used for controlling a remote Linux or UNIX server.To take advantage of SSH tunneling, you must have an SSH server somewhere on the Internet, usually in the of a Linux server. You will also need an SSH client installed on your computer. Linux and Mac OS X users already have a great client built in, for free. Windows users will have to obtain their own SSH client; we highly recommend Putty, a free, open-source application that can be obtained from www.putty.nl.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 171

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Tools & Traps… Buying a Ticket for an SSH Tunnel Not everyone has their own Linux or UNIX servers in their homes, although they should. So, luckily there are a large number of publicly available ones on the Internet. These servers sell SSH access to purchased accounts, known as “shell accounts”. While there are some free shell services out there, most require some form of regular payment. One of the greatest lists of free shell accounts can be found at www.ductape.net/~mitja/freeunix.shtml. There are also sites that list commercial shell accounts, such as www.shellsearch.com.

Creating an SSH Tunnel in Windows We’ll use Putty to demonstrate how to create a tunnel within Windows. Putty will build an encrypted SSH tunnel between your machine and the remote SSH server.The data will be decrypted at the SSH server and passed on to Google Talk.The process is reversed for return data. Note that anyone with a computer between the remote SSH server and the Google Talk server can snoop on your session. Installing Putty is easy. Simply download Putty and run the executable; there is no installation process.The main window might seem cluttered, as shown in Figure 6.5, but the default window shows the session configuration screen, where you will enter the information about the remote SSH server. From this window, you will notice a field labeled Host Name (or IP address), in which you should type the name or IP address of the SSH server that you will be connecting to. If the SSH server is not using the default port of 22, you can specify the correct value in the Port field. Finally, if you’d like, give this session a name in the field labeled Saved Sessions, then press Save to save it as a bookmark. www.syngress.com

171

368_GT_06.qxd

172

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 172

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Figure 6.5 Creating an SSH Tunnel With Putty

Before we make a connection to the SSH server, we need to configure port forwarding within Putty, which allows it to listen for data and relay it to your SSH server. Simply browse through the left explorer bar to Connection | SSH | Tunnels, as shown in Figure 6.6. At the bottom of this screen are two fields labeled Source port and Destination.The source port is the TCP port that you want Putty to listen on for your Google Talk client.The destination is the name of Google Talk’s server, with its associated port number. Simply input the source port as 5223 and the destination as talk.google.com:5223, then press the Add button to store the data. If the data was entered correctly, you should see the text L5223 talk.google.com:5223 appear within the Forwarded ports field. With these values entered, click the Open button to begin the connection. Log into the SSH server, when prompted, with your assigned username and password. Once you’ve logged in and received a command shell, you’re all done. Now just open Google Talk and configure it to use a proxy host of localhost and a port of “5223, using the steps we went over earlier in this chapter. Sign into Google Talk, and now all your Talk traffic will look like a normal, encrypted SSH stream. www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 173

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Figure 6.6 Creating an SSH Tunnel With Putty

Creating an SSH Tunnel in Linux and OS X Configuring an SSH tunnel from within Linux and Macintosh OS X is a bit simpler to do, especially if you’re used to working on the command line. Instead of sifting through numerous screens and text boxes, merely open a terminal window and type the following: $ ssh -L 5223:talk.google.com:5223 –N <username>@

Simply provide your SSH username as username, the name or IP address of the SSH server as hostname. Once you’re connected, the -N switch tells SSH not to start the command shell, so the window will just freeze.This is normal behavior; Putty is simply waiting for data to come across its connection. Now open Google Talk and configure it to use a proxy host of localhost and a port of 5223, using the steps we went over earlier in this chapter. Sign into Google Talk, and your communications will now be transmitted across the SSH stream.

www.syngress.com

173

368_GT_06.qxd

174

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 174

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Summary Many corporate networks implement proxy servers to route all egress network traffic through a centralized server, called a proxy server.This server handles all connections to the Internet, and also logs all transactions for later review. A proxy is simply a server that relays your Internet traffic to its destination, without having your client connect directly to the destination. However, not only can proxies be used for internal monitoring, but also to allow your users to hide their network traffic on your network. Instead of users connecting directly to Google, they would be connecting to a nondescript proxy server on the Internet, making it more difficult for you as the network administrator to track their activities.They can also allow you to bypass blocks placed against certain domain names and IP addresses. Configuring Google Talk to use a proxy is performed very simply using the steps outlined in this chapter. Enter the configuration settings for Google Talk and view the connection settings. From here, specify that you wish to use a particular proxy and type in the address of the proxy and the port that it listens on. While proxies can be used simply to slide traffic past network blocks, they can also be used to encrypt your traffic and randomly bounce it around the world before delivering it to your destination.This practice falls under the practice of onion routing, using famous programs such as Tor.To implement Tor for Google Talk, you simply need to download and install the Tor/Vidalia/Privoxy package described in this chapter and configure Google Talk to route traffic through your Privoxy application.The data will then be encrypted several times over and sent out through a chain of Tor proxy servers, many of which don’t know where you’re coming from or where you’re going to. You can also send traffic out of your network by creating an encrypted SSH tunnel between your computer and another on the Internet.To do so, you just need an account on a remote Linux/UNIX server running SSH, and a local SSH client, such as Putty.The tunnel is created by connecting to the remote server through your client, and then directing Google Talk to send its traffic through this tunnel. It is a quick and efficient way to encrypt your data and bypass network blocks. www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 175

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Solutions Fast Track What Are Proxies? Proxies are computers that relay messages between your client and another server so that you do not have to directly communicate with the server. Proxies can be used to bypass network-blocking schemes put in place

by local network administrators. Proxies are also used internally to force all network users through a single monitoring computer.

Configuring Google Talk to Use Proxies Google Talk allows for connections through the configuration

settings, which require the proxy’s host name (or IP address) and port number.

Onion Router Proxies Onion router networks exist to relay messages through multiple, randomly chosen proxies, for increased anonymity. Onion routing also encrypts all data that travels within its network for data security.

Using an SSH Tunnel SSH tunneling allows for Google Talk data to be redirected through an existing SSH session between your computer and a Linux/Unix server on the Internet. SSH tunneling can be established within Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X environments.

www.syngress.com

175

368_GT_06.qxd

176

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 176

Chapter 6 • Proxy Use

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form. You will also gain access to thousands of other FAQs at ITFAQnet.com.

Q: What kind of trouble can I get into by using a proxy? A: That all depends on the acceptable-use policies of the network that you are on. If you are on a public network, such as a library or restaurant WiFi, it is normally not a problem. School environments often disallow the use of certain protocols and services and often frown on the use of proxy servers. By using proxies to circumvent blocks, you could be banned from the network or even fired from your job. Q: Can my administrator see that I am using a proxy? A: Yes and no.The administrator will see data traveling between your computer and another computer on the Internet.The administrator will not readily know that the Internet computer is a proxy server. However, if you have a large amount of data going only to a proxy server, it could raise a few flags. A competent administrator could probably guess that you are using a proxy server, based on your usage statistics. Q: My network is really locked down! None of the steps outlined in this chapter work; what can I do? A: You are held at the mercy of your local network administrators. If an administrator has decided to block SSH and Tor connections, you are left with few choices. Many networks limit the ports that they allow out to only a handful, such as port 80 (Web traffic).You could still be able to connect to a proxy site that is listening on one of these ports, since it would look like regular Web traffic to the local administrator.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 177

Proxy Use • Chapter 6

Q: Where can I find some Internet proxies to use for Google Talk? A: Google Talk supports the usage of SOCKS proxies, many of which are available for connections on the Internet. There are many index sites that maintain a current list of available proxies on the Internet, such as www.samair.ru/proxy/socks.htm.

www.syngress.com

177

368_GT_06.qxd

11/10/06

3:20 PM

Page 178

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 179

Chapter 7

Google Talk in the Enterprise

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Implementing Google Talk in Your Network

■

Blocking Google Talk

■

Monitoring Google Talk Activity

Summary Solutions Fast Track Frequently Asked Questions 179

368_GT_07.qxd

180

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 180

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Introduction To remain competitive, a corporation must leverage technology to improve communication and productivity. In this context, the benefit of instant-messaging technology is evident. Instant-messaging clients such as Google Talk allow coworkers to quickly share and discuss ideas without the overhead of email and without the socially entrapping walk to a coworker’s cubicle. When implemented properly, Google Talk and Google Mail can improve productivity and foster better communication, especially for employees who travel and work offsite. In this chapter, we discuss how workplaces can easily implement Google Talk into their environments to improve their overall productivity. Conversely, some companies still hold to the old idea that Google Talk traffic should be blocked; we discuss how this can be accomplished.

Implementing Google Talk in Your Network As a member of a proud, forward-looking enterprise that wants to implement the greatest IM client ever created, I welcome you to this section.Through its simplified design and interface, Google Talk allows users to concentrate on only one thing: discussion.There are no advertisements, pop-ups, or other distractions that weigh down other IM services.The overall effect is a client that lends itself very well to business environments. When deciding to implement Google Talk into your network, you must separately configure its two different versions: the Google Talk standalone client and the Web-based client built into the Google Mail service.

Configuring for Google Talk: Standalone Client The Google Talk client, downloaded from http://talk.google.com, is the preferred client for use in a business environment. It features many additional capabilities that lend themselves to the needs of busy travelers, such as the ability to leave voicemail messages and to share files. However, the client must be installed on each and every machine that will use Google Talk.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 181

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

Deploying Google Talk Client One of the first hurdles that many network administrators face when deciding to install new software is figuring out the best way to deploy it throughout their network. For small businesses with only a handful of client machines, this task can be accomplished simply by copying the executable files to each machine and manually installing them. However, larger networks with hundreds of clients require a friendlier and more efficient method of deployment. There are a number of ways to deploy a third-party application like Google Talk across your network.You could use an established program like InstallShield (a commercial product available from www.installshield.com) to collect all the relevant information into a simplified setup executable, or you could use Microsoft’s Windows Installer framework, MSI. An MSI file is a self-contained installer package.You Linux gurus might think of it as a Windows version of RPM, or Solaris’ pkgadd.To create an MSI installation of Google Talk, you will first need an MSI creation application. Along with the official products released by Microsoft, a variety of thirdparty applications are available, since the MSI file structure is well known. Microsoft’s product is included with each operating system’s Software Development Kit (SDK). At the time of writing, the most recent SDK is the Windows Server 2003 R2 Platform SDK, which can be downloaded from Microsoft’s Downloads site at www.microsoft.com/downloads/. However, getting the appropriate tools out of the SDK can be a headache.The entire SDK download is over 400MB in size, and even the Web Install, which allows you to choose components of the SDK to install, does not clearly define which component you need to install to get access to the MSI creator. The most popular alternative to Microsoft’s official MSI creation tools is part of Microsoft’s Open-Source initiatives, WiX, short for Windows Installer XML. WiX, located at http://wix.sourceforge.net, is a powerful application that allows for dynamic scripting of MSI files through industry-standard XML text files. WiX is best used with a graphical front end such as its own built-in Votive.

Deploying Google Talk: Client Registry Changes To ease in the configuration of the Google Talk deployment, you can also establish accounts for each user ahead of time.This allows you as a network www.syngress.com

181

368_GT_07.qxd

182

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 182

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

administrator to have control over the usernames that your users communicate with and helps maintain a professional appearance for your company. It’s generally a bad idea to allow employees to contact clients or partners through a personal account. It’s an especially bad idea if your employees have accounts named hotlover4196 or something similar. (My apologies in advance to hotlover4196, if you’re out there. If you are, you really should get a new name.) The account information for each user is stored in the Windows registry, which you can access through the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe). These accounts are stored under the following keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts\o [REG_MULTI_SZ] = <username>@gmail.com HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts\<username>@gmail.com

For example, if you’re installing Google Talk onto John Smith’s computer, you can create an account for him, jsmith, and register it by adding a few small items to the registry. Create the registry key HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts and another key immediately below it with the full username, such as HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts\[email protected] add a new REG_MULTI_SZ value called o to HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts. Double-click this value and change the value to [email protected]. Once these changes have been made, Google Talk will show the user’s name and will wait for the correct password to be typed in. You could easily create a batch script to generate user-specific values for these two fields, such as the one below, which registers Google Talk accounts based on the user’s login name: @echo off echo Registering Google Talk account for %USERNAME%. Please wait... reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts" reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts\%USERNAME%@gmail.com" reg add "HKCU\Software\Google\Google Talk\Accounts" /v o /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d %USERNAME%@gmail.com /f

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 183

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

This script can then be implemented through a Windows login script to force the user to run it at his or her next login.This method allows you to easily roll out the MSI files to install the client software on each user’s computer and “activate” it by creating the user account as soon as a user logs in.

Allowing Google Talk Client Network Traffic If you’re like most network administrators, you have your network locked down tight, to just a few core protocols that should be leaving and entering your network.You don’t? Well, you should. If you’ve got a lone “allow all” rule set for your firewall, skip this section; Google Talk will work “automagically” for you, and so will a host of viruses, spyware, and other malware. For the rest of you, allowing Google Talk to communicate with the Internet is merely a matter of setting a few simple rules. When a user logs into her Google Talk client, the client will first make a connection to either talk.google.com or talkx.l.google.com. Once this has been resolved to an IP address, such as 216.239.37.125, Google Talk will make a TCP connection to it on either port 5222 or 5223.The first exchange of data between the two computers will be an SSL/TLS key exchange to establish an encrypted communication channel.The client then sends its login credentials and is logged into the Google Talk network.These credentials, as well as all other chat, will remain encrypted within this TLS channel. So, to operate properly, the client requires very little. It must be able to resolve both talkx.l.google.com and talk.google.com through DNS, and it also must be allowed to transmit TCP data out of the network over ports 5222 and 5223.

Configuring for Google Talk: Google Mail Unlike the Google Talk standalone client, with Google Mail you do not need to install any software onto your client computers. Users simply require a standard Web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox (www.getfirefox.com), and a valid Gmail account. Upon logging into Gmail through http://mail.google.com, the client will automatically sign into the Google Talk network.

www.syngress.com

183

368_GT_07.qxd

184

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 184

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Gmail’s mini-implementation of Talk requires very little: a browser that can connect to Gmail and JavaScript. In this case, all traffic is routed to Gmail’s server on port 80, along with the regular e-mail traffic.

Blocking Google Talk It is a shame that in the age of technological advances there are quite a few Luddites who want to block any new innovation and who view Google Talk as a burden or a threat. Although network administrators don’t fall into this category, there are many valid reasons to block Google Talk’s network traffic. For some, it could be the fear of corporate information leaks through conversation, though e-mail has the same problem. For others, it’s the fear of lost productivity of employees chatting away rather than working, even though they have telephones next to their computers that pose the same issue. But regardless of the reason, there is a glimmer of hope for the admin tasked with blocking Google Talk:You can block much of the Google Talk network traffic, but not all of it.The standalone Google Talk client can be blocked in a number of ways: Using either group policies or certain registry changes, you can prevent most users from being able to run the Google Talk executable on their workstations.You can also apply blocking to your network firewalls to prevent the clients from being able to operate.

Blocking Google Talk Traffic After reading the preceding section on how to allow Google Talk network traffic, you probably have a fair idea of how to keep it from talking to the Internet.The Google Talk client makes a connection to either talk.google.com or talkx.l.google.com on ports 443, 5222, or 5223. Simply block DNS requests for those domain names, or block traffic to them over these ports. Once you’ve done that, you will have blocked a majority of your users from being able to connect to Google Talk. There is still trouble, though, in the implementation of Google Talk into Google Mail.The Google Talk traffic over Gmail travels through mail.google.com port 80, along with the rest of the mail traffic.You cannot completely block Google Talk unless you also block Google Mail.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 185

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

Notes from the Underground How Users Will Bypass Your Firewall Creating firewall rules will effectively stop your users from communicating directly with Google, but it will not stop more advanced users from simply using a proxy to connect to Google. Proxies are discussed in depth in Chapter 6 of this book. A proxy will allow users to send their data to Google through some other Internet host that you are not blocking; a proxy can even encrypt the data on the way.

Blocking Google Talk from Executing There are a number of ways to prevent clients from actually running the Google Talk client, depending on the style of network that you have. If your network is running off a Microsoft Active Directory (AD), this can be accomplished through a simple group policy change. For non-AD networks, you can apply a few new keys to the registry to block it. In the event that you want to block Google Talk from a non-Active Directory workstation running Windows XP, the process is easily performed. You simply need to add a registry key notifying Windows that you want to enable the DisallowRun feature, and then create a list of executable names that you want to disallow from running.To block Google Talk from an XP workstation, simply add the following registry keys: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explore r\DisallowRun [REG_MULTI_SZ] = 1 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explore r\DisallowRun [KEY] HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explore r\DisallowRun\GTalk [REG_SZ] = "googletalk.exe"

The computer will have to be rebooted for the changes to take effect. Once the computer is rebooted, if a user tries to execute googletalk.exe, he or she will receive an error message stating that the executable cannot be run. www.syngress.com

185

368_GT_07.qxd

186

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 186

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

However, there is nothing to stop the user from simply renaming the executable to something else, say winword.exe, and running it. To combat this issue, running in an Active Directory network allows you to place greater restrictions on client-side applications.Through Group Policy Management, you can easily block all workstations within your domain from being able to run Google Talk. Simply open Active Directory Users and Computers from your Start Menu Administrative Tools and locate the organizational unit (OU) that you want to edit. Right-click this OU and select Properties, then select the Group Policy tab. Highlight the policy you want to edit, and click the button labeled Edit.You will then be presented with the Group Policy Object Editor, as shown in Figure 7.1. Based on exactly how you want to deploy the restriction, expand either Computer Configuration or User Configuration. Drill down to Windows Settings | Software Restriction Policies. If you don’t already have policies created, create a new one; otherwise, you should see a folder named Additional Rules. Figure 7.1 Creating Group Policy Software Restrictions

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 187

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

To create a restriction, right-click the Additional Rules folder and select New Path Rule…. Specify the full path and executable name of Google Talk: C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe. Save your changes, and now whenever Google Talk is executed from that location, it will be blocked. However, this will not block your users from simply moving googletalk.exe to another path on the hard drive and running it from there.

Tools & Traps… Hash That Bad File! Along with blocking a particular executable filename from being run, the Windows Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) also allows you to block a file based on its MD5 hash value. This means that even if a user moves the executable around or renames it, the application will not be run unless its actual internals are modified. Following the previous steps, right-click Additional Rules and choose New Hash Rule…. Click the Browse button and point it to the version of Google Talk you want to block. An MD5 value of the executable will be taken and saved, as shown in Figure 7.2. Set the Security Level to Disallowed, and your network is further protected from users running Google Talk. However useful hash values are in fingerprinting a known file, they are extremely easy to alter, and users might do so without your knowledge. An MD5 hash is created through a mathematical algorithm run against the entire contents of the file. If any single bit changes in the makeup of the data, the resulting MD5 hash will be dramatically different. For example, the MD5 value of Google Talk is 2cc9d95b519e935c53628c723c590daa. By simply changing the text to Google talk with a lowercase t, the MD5 changes to 84a11fe43aa9a040b2071252c413c48f. The ultimate result is that any advanced user with a hex editor can simply alter a single character or append a space to the end of the file to throw off the MD5 signature, rendering your blocking useless. Sometimes such a change might not even be due to a user action but to an upgrade from Google, which will replace the existing executable with a new version that has a completely different hash value. www.syngress.com

187

368_GT_07.qxd

188

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 188

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Figure 7.2 Creating a Group Policy Hash Rule

Enterprise Security and Control of Google Talk Some networks are small enough that slight changes to Active Directory or the registry can mitigate any issues, but others require a more robust solution. Some large-scale networks even require a mechanism to log all IM traffic for regulatory compliance. One such solution is provided by Akonix Inc., one of the leading companies providing enterprise-level instant-messaging control. The Akonix IM control platform, the Akonix L7, scans all IM traffic for spam-based traffic, viruses, and phishing attacks. Not only does it work in conjunction with Google Talk, it can also communicate with AOL Instant Messenger,Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, and MSN Messenger, making it a wellrounded IM security appliance. More information on the Akonix L7 can be found at www.akonix.com/products/l7enterprise.asp.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 189

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

FaceTime Communications Inc. also provides a solution for managing Google Talk traffic within your network, the FaceTime IMAuditor.The IMAuditor works hand in hand with FaceTime’s other network security solutions, the Real-Time Guardian (RTGuardian) and the Greynet Enterprise Manager (GEM), to provide complete security from viruses and malicious code for your entire network. More information on the FaceTime IMAuditor can be found at www.facetime.com/productservices/imauditor.aspx, where you can also request an evaluation.

www.syngress.com

189

368_GT_07.qxd

190

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 190

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Summary As Google Talk and the instant messaging world as a whole becomes more popular, more organizations seek to find efficient ways to implement it. Instant messaging is quickly being recognized as a valuable tool in the work place as a medium for information exchange and discussion among teams and divisions. It allows for travelers and off-site workers to effortlessly communicate with their coworkers from afar on both menial and urgent situations. Implementing Google Talk within your enterprise environment is not particularly difficult, as Google designed the software to be extremely easy to install and configure.The Google Talk stand-alone client could be installed manually on every machine in your workplace, or automated with a Microsoft MSI installation package. MSI packages can be easily created with tools such as InstallShield, or even open-source applications like WiX. Microsoft even releases their own products to help create MSI files, located within their operating system Software Development Kit (SDK). After installing the client on the computers within your network, you could allow your users to create their own usernames for usage, or have a set of accounts pre-established and configured on their machines.There is just a simple matter of adding two registry keys to tell the local Google Talk client to use a particular user name, and the creation of these keys can be automated throughout your network using examples shown in this chapter. With the client installed, only a few ports need to be punched open on your network to allow the client to communicate with Google Talk’s server. Primarily, the clients must be able to resolve and connect to talk.google.com. The standard Jabber connection ports for encrypted traffic are used, port 5222 for SSL and 5223 for TLS, and need to be made available to the clients. Should they fail to connect on these, the clients will fall back on port 443, which is normally open on most networks for HTTPS traffic. As easy as it is to install Google Talk on your network, blocking it may prove more difficult.The actual Google Talk application can be stopped by implementing registry keys and group policies that prevent Windows from executing the client in most situations. However, these blocks can easily be circumvented by advanced computer users who know to rename the executable, move it to another directory, or somehow alter the hash value of the www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 191

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

file. It may be far easier just to allow the clients to be installed, but block the traffic from leaving your network.This can be done by setting up egress firewall rules and monitoring stations and blocking all connections to Google’s known talk servers. However, this can also be circumvented by the advanced user employing proxy servers. The implementation of Google Talk into Google Mail has also made enforcement even more complex, as any person who is blocked from using the Google Talk client usually can find access to Google Mail’s website. From there, they can use the web-based Google Talk client. For network administrators who do implement Google Talk into their network, but require additional monitoring capabilities for liability concerns and regulatory compliance, there are a number of solutions available.The most popular is the Akonix L7 network device that monitors all traffic for instant messaging communications and maintains logs of every bit of detail that crosses them. Not only can it scan IM traffic for viruses and spam, but you also almost implement rules that forbid discussion of certain keywords, such as internal work products. FaceTime Communications also provides an equivalent solution through their FaceTime IMAuditor that meshes well with their entire line of enterprise security solutions.

www.syngress.com

191

368_GT_07.qxd

192

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 192

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Solutions Fast Track Implementing Google Talk in Your Network Google Talk can be mass-deployed within your network environment

using numerous free utilities. The Google Talk client uses a set list of ports and IPs for

connections, all of which must be enabled for the clients to perform. For clients using Google Talk through Google Mail, very minimal

configuration needs to be performed. As long as your users can reach Gmail, they can reach Google Talk.

Blocking Google Talk The limited list of connections that Google Talk creates makes it easy

to block a few central items to disrupt client services. Using changes in the registry or your network’s Active Directory, you

can also block Google Talk from being run on client workstations. It is nearly impossible to block clients from accessing Google Talk

through Google Mail, unless you want to block Gmail, too.

Monitoring Google Talk Chats IM-monitoring solutions allow administrators to log all chat traffic in

their networks from a wide variety of protocols, including Google Talk. Akonix L7 is one of the most popular IM management solutions

available. The FaceTime IMAuditor is a heralded product that integrates

seamlessly with the FaceTime RTGuardian and Greynet Enterprise Manager.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_07.qxd

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 193

Google Talk in the Enterprise • Chapter 7

Frequently Asked Questions The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form. You will also gain access to thousands of other FAQs at ITFAQnet.com.

Q: I tried using WiX to create an MSI file, but it was extremely complicated! I’m lost! A: WiX is one of the most powerful applications made to allow common administrators to create MSI files. However, with great power comes great complexity.The easiest way to use WiX is with the Votive Visual Studio package. It allows you to use your Visual Studio 2005 install to easily create your projects. More information on that topic can be found at http://wix.sourceforge.net/votive.html. For those of you who can’t afford Visual Studio or who want an easier way, check out WixEdit at http://wixedit.sourceforge.net, a free and open-source front end to WiX. Furthermore, Microsoft hosted a chat session on just this subject; the transcripts of that talk are located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/chats/transcripts/windows/windows_110904a.aspx. Q: Is WiX an active project or one of those open-source apps that’s been dead for years? A: Luckily, WiX has the support of Microsoft behind it, with a team of developers continually making changes and updates. It currently has an activity rating of 99.71 percent, making it one of the most active projects on SourceForge.net. Check out the blogs of some of its chief developers at http://blogs.msdn.com/robmen/ and http://blogs.msdn.com/jrock/ to read up on all the new changes being made.

www.syngress.com

193

368_GT_07.qxd

194

11/10/06

3:23 PM

Page 194

Chapter 7 • Google Talk in the Enterprise

Q: My supervisor wants us to block all Google Talk traffic, but some of our users are using proxies to bypass our rules. What can we do to stop them? A: You have a variety of ways to tackle this issue.The easiest and most expensive way is to buy a network appliance to monitor proxy usage, such as the 8e6 R3000 Internet Filter, from www.8e6.com/products/R3000/. A cheaper but more labor-intensive method is to monitor the traffic on your network using tools such as WireShark (www.wireshark.org) for proxy use. Simply filter through all the traffic for Jabber protocol traffic, and that might lead you right to the problematic users. At that point, target the users who are abusing your network policy.The third option, being the cheapest and easiest, is to simply do nothing. If the problem is not out of control and productivity is not being affected, many administrators end up allowing the advanced minority of users to retain their chat access.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_AA.qxd

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 195

Appendix A

Introduction to Video Calling

Solutions in this chapter: ■

What Is a Video Call?

■

Where Can You Perform Video Calls?

195

368_GT_AA.qxd

196

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 196

Appendix A • Introduction to Video Calling

Introduction While the majority of this book teaches you to use Google Talk for text and voice communications, this appendix and the next expand on video conferencing software, which was introduced in Chapter 5. Now, before we help you understand what you need to make video calls, let’s discuss the various flavors of videoconferencing so that you have a clear understanding of the differences among the various videoconferencing solutions. We divide these videoconferencing types into three categories: ■

Personal videoconferencing

■

Business videoconferencing

■

Web videoconferencing

These solutions can be software that you use with your computer, stand-alone hardware, or combined software and hardware solutions.They all have one thing in common: they allow you to make a video call of some sort using various features.

Personal Videoconferencing This appendix focuses primarily on personal videoconferencing solutions, or what we call video calls. We use the term personal because these calls are usually between only two people—you and the person you are communicating with. A video call, at minimum, is simply the communication between two or more people who have both audio and a moving video image using a computer, dedicated video telephone, or both. It may also include additional features such as instant messaging (IM) and file transfers (FT), commonly found in many IM tools such as Skype, iChat AV, MSN Messenger (MSN),Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM), and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).Though we will discuss business videoconferencing and Web videoconferencing so that you can understand the basic differences among them, we focus on personal videoconferencing solutions, from here on referred to simply as video calls. This will help simplify what we are addressing in this book: the ability of making video calls between two people to better communicate and enhance the communication experience.

Business Videoconferencing Business videoconferencing can involve the same solutions as personal videoconferencing but with the addition of several features: ■

The capability to include multiple people on the video call

www.syngress.com

368_GT_AA.qxd

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 197

Introduction to Video Calling • Appendix A ■

Collaboration features

■

Document-sharing capabilities

■

Enhanced presentation capabilities

■

Whiteboard capabilities

■

Additional bandwidth requirements

■

Additional costs

Business videoconferencing is specifically designed to meet the needs of business meetings and group collaboration, not our personal needs to communicate with family and friends. Business videoconferencing solutions are more expensive and as a general rule need more equipment at the office location as well as more network and/or Internet bandwidth than we have available to us at home. Business videoconferencing solutions do have single-user solutions for mobile users or telecommuters, such as solutions from PolyCom, Sony, and others.These solutions are designed to communicate with higher-end and more expensive solutions that you would see in your business conference room at work.

Web Videoconferencing Web videoconferencing is specifically designed to transmit a video call inside a Web page or classroom-type environment.You might have seen Web videoconferencing employed in a Web training seminar, or Webinar as they are called, where you saw the presenter’s video image streamed to your Web browser.You might have been sending your video image as well, but most likely not, because Webinars tend to comprise one-way video to you. Solutions such as WebEx and Microsoft Live Communication Server are two Web conferencing solutions.These solutions are also designed to record a session and post it to a Web site for on-demand viewing any time via a video stream to your browser.

What Is a Video Call? Video call technology can have many names: video calls, personal videoconferencing, videoconferencing, video messaging, instant messaging, video phone, video telephone, and video chat.The name any one technology goes by might be due to a vendor’s product and its marketing, but it should be understood that all the technologies are basically the same and essentially interchangeable; only the features vary. A video call is the total experience that two people can have while communicating

www.syngress.com

197

368_GT_AA.qxd

198

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 198

Appendix A • Introduction to Video Calling

with one another using audio and a moving video image, and possibly additional features.

Understanding the Basics… What Is a Video Call? A video call is a call between two people that includes both audio and a moving video image; can take place between two computers or dedicated video telephone equipment.

Most of us have used e-mail and even IM solutions such as Google Talk, Skype, iChat AV, MSN, AIM,YIM, or others.These IM solutions let you chat between two or more people, voice chat or talk between two or more people, and now even do a video call between two people. Some solutions are better than others, however; this Appendix will help you select a solution that will allow you to have a good video call experience the very first time you use it. A video call can utilize one or more of the following devices: ■

A personal computer (PC), either Windows or Apple

■

A Webcam

■

A video telephone

■

A dedicated videoconferencing device

■

A Pocket PC, Palmtop, or other handheld device

■

Cell phones with picture and/or video capability

■

Digital cameras

■

Video recording devices

Imagine the ability to talk to someone far away and actually see the person you are talking with using live video. Picture yourself being able to play an Internet game while participating in a video call that lets you not only see the individual you’re playing with but also send funny comments via IM while waiting for your turn. Or imagine being able to send family members photos or, even better, video clips of the latest family outing.

www.syngress.com

368_GT_AA.qxd

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 199

Introduction to Video Calling • Appendix A

The experience of communicating with family and friends when you are busy or if live in a different city is becoming a more robust experience with the technologies and solutions available today. As young as the Internet is, imagine the improvements that await us in the future! The most important component of a video call is the video. Video is the main improvement over a conventional telephone call. With the addition of video, seeing the person you are speaking to enhances the experience and expands the possibilities.You can actually show the person on the other end what you can only verbalize during a telephone call. According to www.whatis.com, the term videoconferencing is defined as, “A live connection between people in separate locations for the purpose of communication, usually involving audio and often text as well as video. At its simplest, videoconferencing provides transmission of static images and text between two locations. At its most sophisticated, it provides transmission of full-motion video images and highquality audio between multiple locations.” With the Internet today, along with inexpensive high-speed or broadband Internet, as it is called for home use, video calls are no longer something reserved for the business or corporate world.The first successful videoconferencing solution for a personal computer was Microsoft NetMeeting. IM solutions such as those from Skype, Apple, Microsoft,Yahoo, and AOL added improvements including video, making video calls more mainstream then ever before. In fact, Microsoft and Logitech report they have already had over 3 billion Webcam session chats with MSN Messenger (www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/mar05/03-09logitechpr.mspx). Remember, MSN Messenger is only one of over 30 video call solutions. To make a video call, you need a broadband Internet connection (high-speed Internet). It should be understood that in a video call, the speed of the Internet connection becomes very important. Dialup access will not provide you a very good solution, so do not even bother trying. Although there is one solution that relies on a regular telephone line, video needs more bandwidth than dialup can provide. Do you think video calls are too complicated? While reading this, are you thinking that you or your child, friends, or family do not know how to use a computer very well, let alone make a video call? For the less computer savvy user there are video call solutions that do not use a computer, such as dedicated video telephone devices; some devices use only your television, a device set on top of your television connected to your broadband Internet connection, and a remote to control the video call. If you are already computer literate or willing to use a computer, there are many more things you can do with a Windows or Apple computer equipped for video www.syngress.com

199

368_GT_AA.qxd

200

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 200

Appendix A • Introduction to Video Calling

calls.You can do IM, send photos, help your children with their homework, talk to your parents, play games, send video and pictures to your children, friends, or family—and more important, they can send these things to you! Imagine coming home from a day at work and having your son send you a video clip from his football practice, or your daughter from her gymnastics class. Imagine being a business traveler and while in your hotel room, be able to see and speak to family and friends while you are traveling. Imagine if you are a divorced parent the potential benefits of a video call with your children who live in another city or state. Using video call technology, I read my daughter bedtime stories when she was four years old, and she was 1400 miles away! Now she is seven and reads stories to me. Even though we are not home together, we can participate in our children’s lives or communicate with family and friends more than ever before, thanks to video calls. A recent study by HarrisInteractive.com found that roughly a third (30 percent) of U.S. adults live in a different state than their mothers. Although 66 percent of these adults speak to their mothers at least once a week on the phone, 84 percent would prefer to talk face-to-face with their family and friends rather than use the phone. Unfortunately, 87 percent of these adults also report that they see their moms only once a month or less (www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/ 0,,6088_6049_23,00.html). With your computer and a Webcam, video telephone, cell phone, and other upcoming technologies, a video call with your children, family, and friends will improve your communication experience more then can be achieved with a telephone call alone.

Where Can You Perform Video Calls? You can carry out video calls at home or anywhere a high-speed Internet connection, some privacy, and the proper hardware and software are available. Since the camera and headset are small, all you need is a computer and software. For this discussion, we assume that a computer is available.The video call software is the core of personal videoconferencing. It enables you and the other party to see as well as hear one another. You need to consider two things when selecting a solution for your personal videoconferencing needs: ■

Where will you use it?

■

Are there special configuration needs?

www.syngress.com

368_GT_AA.qxd

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 201

Introduction to Video Calling • Appendix A

As a business traveler, I often find that during my down time I would like to participate in video calls with my family and friends.To do this I must have a solution that will work wherever I am. I could be in a hotel, an airport, a friend’s home, or an Internet café. I need a solution that will work no matter where I am and no matter whose computer I am using. So where can the business traveler go to do personal videoconferencing? There are lots of options. Hotels are the best because they have high-speed connections for all the hotel guests. I stay at Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott because they have consistent high-speed connections at a reasonable price, or free in many cases, now that hotels are using high-speed Internet access to attract customers. Where else can you do personal videoconferencing when you’re on the road? At any airport that has a “laptop lane” or other road warrior laptop hookup service. Many airports have WiFi access available in the general waiting area for a daily use fee, but you will not have much privacy. Some airlines actually have high-speed access on the planes on international flights, so you could even pass the time having a video call with your family, friends, or colleagues at 30,000 feet. As I mentioned, Internet cafés have computers and high-speed connections, and some I have visited even have Webcams. However, the connection speeds are usually not that good, with everyone else using the other computers doing gaming and such, and it is not very private.You will have to ask the business for permission to install the video call software you use on their system. If you are a frequent flyer and belong to one of the elite flyers clubs such as Delta’s Crown Room, United’s Red Carpet Room, and others, they are now starting to offer wireless access for a fee so that you can work while waiting for a flight. Some airlines are the latest to offer wireless broadband for international flights. Boeing is planning a service called Connexion that will start to show up on domestic flights in the future.This brings up an interesting point about privacy, not only for you but for others sitting next or around you.You will probably want privacy when you make a video call, but what about the person sitting next to you? They might not want to be bothered by your video conversation after they get over the novelty of it; they might want to rest or sleep, so you must practice proper etiquette and not invade their privacy.You can find more on Boeing’s Connexion service at the following Web site: www.connexionbyboeing.com/. Starbucks and many other WiFi “hotspots” also have high-speed wireless connections that could allow you to do a video call, but these places are often crowded, noisy, and not private. Many hotel lobbies have wireless access and can provide a comfortable and somewhat private place to make a video call. Please see Appendix B for a detailed discussion of free video call software.

www.syngress.com

201

368_GT_AA.qxd

11/10/06

3:27 PM

Page 202

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 203

Appendix B

Free Video Call Software

Solutions in this chapter: ■

Overview

■

One-on-One Video Call Solutions

■

Multiperson Video Call Solutions

■

Multi-IM Video Call Solutions

■

SIP Video Call Solutions

■

H.323 Video Call Solutions

■

Chat Room Video Call Solutions

■

Other Video Call Solutions

203

368_GT_AB.qxd

204

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 204

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Overview In this appendix we will discuss in some detail most of the video call software solutions currently available. We touch on more than 40 video call software solutions; if we miss one or two solutions, either they have a vertical application or they are not widely used. Now we will try to make sense of the plethora of solutions that exist in the software video call space so you can start to select what you need for your particular needs. We defined personal videoconferencing, business videoconferencing, and Web videoconferencing. Just know that anything that sends audio and video is a possibility for personal videoconferencing. We will only show screenshots and details of the better solutions, which are those that rate 4 or 5. Since we are trying to help you select a solution, we will do so by the categories and ratings. Of course, you are free to select anything you want and try it to see if a particular solution works for you. Also, because the solutions in this chapter are free, we recommend using multiple solutions because you may find that some of your family and friends will like solutions for certain reasons. I use MSN Messenger, Skype, and SightSpeed on my Windows systems and iChat AV and SightSpeed on my Mac and they all coexist just fine. Because there are so many solutions, we need to somehow divide up the solutions into a few categories so that we may better compare or classify them for an easy comparison in their focus area. We have divided up the solutions into two main areas: Free video call solutions (those that are completely free) and commercial video call solutions (those that have a fee or cost associated with them). Commercial solutions may also have a free option (SightSpeed, for example) and charge you for additional features.To further break down the solutions, we have created several categories that will be used to assign each solution to a primary focus.These categories are: ■

One-on-one video call solutions

■

Multiuser video call solutions

■

Multi-IM video call solutions

■

SIP-based video call solutions

■

H.323-based video call solutions

■

Chat room video call solutions

■

Other video call solutions

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 205

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

Of course, we cannot go into great detail on all the solutions, but we did test all of them over the course of the past two years, so we were able to get a good idea of what the solutions are all about. We were also able to evaluate the basic video call functions each solution has. Video call software is fairly easy to evaluate: we look at how easy it is to install, how a user connects to the solution, how easy the solution is to use, and, of course, the quality of the video call. Very quickly a person can determine if a solution will work for their particular needs.The criteria we use contain the following items: ■

“Work Anywhere” configuration

■

Ease of installation and configuration

■

An easy interface or ease of use

■

Audio quality

■

Video quality

■

See both sending and receiving video screens in an acceptable size

■

Additional features

■

Internet connection speed requirements

■

The ability to have video without audio

■

Reliability and consistency

■

Cost

■

PC-to-Apple/MAC functionality

■

Parental Controls

■

www.VideoCallTips.com Rating system: 12345 (5 being best)

One-on-One Video Call Solutions Personal videoconferencing is a video call between two people. Can it be more? Yes, it can be, and we will discuss that more in the next section. We have to start somewhere and having a one-on-one or two-person video call is the place to start. We have all heard the saying, “We must crawl before we can walk before we can run.” Since most one-on-one or

205

368_GT_AB.qxd

206

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 206

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

two-person video call solutions are free, it makes sense to start with a two-party video call, get it working, and then add functionality or the capability of additional people later. Making one-on-one video calls that work well and consistently will enable you to try other solutions and add functions like additional people to your video call experience.The following table contains a list of free solutions that are capable of a two-person video call, how we rate them, what version was rated, comments, what operating systems are supported, and how many people the solution can handle in a video call. Make note that what you get for free may just be a two-person video call and that the commercial version may be how you get multiparty video calls.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM 5.9) and AOL Triton (BETA) AOL is one of the more popular Instant Messaging solutions that also has video call capability. AIM, as it is called, has recently gone through a major upgrade from version 5.9 to what is now called AIM Triton.The amount of advertising and the invasive nature of the advertising are really annoying. Usually, when a product goes through a large change as this

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 207

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

one has, it gets easier and cleaner to use. In AIM Triton’s case, I think they took a step backwards. AIM Triton is not very easy to use and there are no options to configure the video settings. If you want to make video calls with Apple iChat AV users, you are out of luck with the new AIM Triton version, for now, anyway.You can still use AIM version 5.9 to make video calls with Apple iChat AV users, but in order to have a video call, you will need to open up the ports on your DSL/cable router as described in Appendix A. Currently you can only make video calls between AIM Triton users and not with either AIM version 5.9 users or Apple iChat AV users, so AOL has a lot of work to do. We believe they should not have released this version until all the features were working as expected.The video in AIM Triton is also still in BETA and not finalized and the frame rate is slow.Though I like the fact that in AIM Triton the video screen is adjustable in size and has a picture-in-picture that you can place anywhere within the video screen. If you double-click anywhere in the video screen you get both images in an angled view, very similar to how iChat AV works. I expect AOL will improve this over time and the bugs will be worked out and function as it should.The video, even though it is not working well in this version, is far better than AIM 5.9.The rating reflects the BETA version and issues as of June 2006. I expect by the end of 2006, AIM Triton will improve to a score of 3, maybe even 4, so watch the Web site for an update to this rating. Also, Google has invested in AOL, so expect that GoogleTalk will interact with AIM in the future and possibly even video calls as well. ■

www.aim.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

Article on how to make video calls between Apple iChat AV and AIM 5.9: ■

www.mvldesign.com/video_conference_tutorial.html

Apple iChat AV Apple iChat AV is a great video call application for Mac-only users because there is currently no Windows client for iChat AV.You can have video calls with Windows AIM version 5.9 users, but it is not firewall friendly and the video in AIM 5.9 is really poor. Hopefully, when AOL gets AIM Triton updated to work with iChat AV, this should be a good combination for Mac-to-Windows video calls. We have provided a link to an article that describes how to make iChat-to-AIM video calls.The image quality of the iChat video is top notch and the frame rate is good as well. If you only need Mac–to-Mac video calls, this solution is the best option for you. Paired with the iSight webcam, this is a great video

207

368_GT_AB.qxd

208

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 208

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

call solution.Though I list a solution to make USB webcams work with a Mac, don’t waste your time because the iSight webcam provides everything you want in a webcam. Also listed below is a solution to record iChat AV video calls if you need this functionality.

■

www.apple.com/ichat

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 5

Article on how to make video calls between Apple iChat AV and AIM 5.9: ■

www.mvldesign.com/video_conference_tutorial.html

Using USB webcams for iChat AV: ■

www.ecamm.com/mac/ichatusbcam/

To record iChat AV video calls: ■

www.ecamm.com/mac/conferencerecorder/

Festoon Festoon is a plug-in for Skype and GoogleTalk to add video call capabilities to these two IM solutions. Festoon integrates and uses Skype and GoogleTalk as their contact list that you would initiate a video call from (for an additional Skype reference, please see Appendix C). Santa Cruz Networks had a consumer solution called VidiTel and Festoon is the replacement for the consumer market. Festoon enables you to have a two-person video call and a multiuser video call as well. Festoon is very firewall friendly, so no special configuration needed because it uses ports 80 and 443. See Chapter 5 for more on Festoon. In order to integrate Festoon with GoogleTalk or Skype, you will first have to install GoogleTalk and/or Skype and then install Festoon to integrate Festoon into these two IM solutions. After Festoon starts, be sure to manually set your webcam under Tools | Options. In the pictures below, you can see that Festoon adds the icon to GoogleTalk and the icon to Skype.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 209

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

After Festoon is installed, all you need to do is right-click the icon in the taskbar and select Start a video call and you will see the following screen that shows the Skype users and GoogleTalk users that are available for a video call. Of course, the contact you select needs to have Festoon installed to participate in a video call, but Festoon provides you a Share Festoon with a friend option so you can invite your IM contacts to use Festoon.

209

368_GT_AB.qxd

210

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 210

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Festoon will IM your contact with a URL to select to start a video call if you have Festoon and a URL to get Festoon if your contact is not a user, as shown in the following Skype IM screenshot.

After Festoon starts, you will have a two-person video call.The following screenshot shows the typical test we used throughout this appendix.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 211

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

Festoon also provides video effects options called EyeCandy that enables you to add video effects to your video calls. Festoon also enables multiuser video calls including yourself. Festoon will be adding support for video calls with other IM solutions for AIM, MSN, and Yahoo in the future, making this one of the better multiuser IM video call solutions. ■

www.festooninc.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

IVisit Lite IVisit Lite, the free version of iVisit, is a good solution for Windows and Mac video calls. The free version limits the size of the video window to 160x120 pixels and only 60 minutes of video calls every 90 minutes.The user interface is not all that friendly and the quality is only average in the free version, but iVisit is a good solution for both Windows and Mac users. IVisit is firewall friendly. ■

www.ivisit.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

Microsoft MSN Messenger 7.5 (Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA) Microsoft MSN Messenger is one of the best free solutions available for free video calls. We will be showing Windows Live Messenger 8.0 BETA in the screenshots because this is the replacement for MSN Messenger 7.5. Know that Windows Live Messenger 8.0 has everything MSN Messenger 7.5 does and it is up to you to decide what to use.The new Live BETA is compatible with MSN Messenger 7.5 for video calls. We always recommend that you use the latest released version and avoid BETA solutions because BETAs do have bugs that may cause you some issues. Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger is also available in just about every language you might need. One good thing about MSN Messenger 7.5 is that it runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 9.x systems, so it’s good for older versions of Windows. I expect Windows Live Messenger will work only for Windows XP or later, so be aware of this requirement. Of course, I always recommend the latest version of Windows XP fully updated with the latest security patches for video calls because there are significant features Windows XP has that video call solutions will use.

211

368_GT_AB.qxd

212

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 212

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

When you establish a video call by selecting the icon for Live Messenger and the icon for MSN Messenger within an IM window, Messenger auto senses the bandwidth available and slows the frame rate to match the broadband connection while maintaining a great image quality. When someone invites you to a video call, you will see the following screen. Just select Accept to start the video call.

Messenger has one of the best quality images available. It can maintain the image quality even with a slower frame-rate adjustment that the application chooses based on the speed of the Internet connection and the user cannot adjust. Messenger has three video window sizes and a full-screen mode.To select which window size you want, just click the icon and select Size, and then select one of the three options for your window or four options for the top window of the other party, Small (pictured below), Medium, Large, or Full Screen for the top image only.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 213

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

After you select Large, you will see a good video call.The following screenshot shows a sample I use to test video quality and the sender of course is yours truly.This way there is something constant in each of the screenshots with my test picture for each solution. In the following screenshot I am using Windows Live Messenger 8.0 with the Philips SPC900NC webcam and the test image is on MSN Messenger 7.5 with a Logitech 5000 webcam on a cloudy rainy day.

In order to get a Full Screen image, select the

icon from the drop-down.

213

368_GT_AB.qxd

214

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 214

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

To undo Full Screen, just select the icon and you are taken back to the IM window view. Be aware that, in Full Screen, the image will stretch on a wide screen. If you have any issues with the audio portion of a Messenger video call, you can use different audio solution such as Skype for just the audio portion.The advantage of this is that Skype provides great audio calls and the capability of having a five-person audio conference call, and if you have the proper hardware, a 10-person audio conference call.This would enable you, for example, to be in a video portion only call using Messenger with a friend or family member and then add multiple people to the audio portion though Skype to ask a question or plan the weekend events—of course, you can only see one person in Messenger. I often use this combination if I find that the Messenger audio does not work well or I am in a really poor location with a slow broadband connection. Usually Messenger audio works fine. Messenger is firewall friendly if your DSL/cable router supports and has uPnP enabled. Windows Live Messenger version 8.0 was renamed as a part of the new Microsoft Windows Live™ solutions that you can visit at: http://ideas.live.com. Windows Live Messenger 8.0 adds a new look but does not change the video call capabilities we are used to in MSN Messenger 7.5. We highly recommend this video call solution as a part of your video call solutions. Messenger works only with Windows systems. MSN and AOL, however, have agreed to interconnect their IM users so that you can IM with AIM users from MSN and visa-versa, but I doubt that video calls will be a part of the agreement to link the two Instant Messaging solutions. ■

http://messenger.msn.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 5

Microsoft website for add-ons for MSN Messenger. ■

ilovemessenger.msn.com

SightSpeed SightSpeed is arguably the best-featured and best-designed video call solution available today with both a Windows and Mac version.The free version is limited to a two-person video call, but the interface is wonderful, easy to use, and provides a very good experience. SightSpeed is easy to use and configure and has a great optimization tool to enable you to adjust your video during install or afterwards if you change webcams, for example. SightSpeed enables you to have video calls, of course, but you can also send a video mail message of 30 seconds stored for 30 days with the free version so you have a way to leave a message if one of your contacts is offline or you just want to send a quick message.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 215

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

The video mail is not sent to you in a large e-mail; rather, it is stored on the SightSpeed server and only a short message telling you that you have a video mail message waiting is sent to you. In addition, you can send video mail to other SightSpeed users or any Internet e-mail address. SightSpeed is also firewall friendly, so will work most anywhere. The following screenshot is the main interface and you can see an Inbox tab where any messages you receive will be stored, a Chat tab where you can send a quick IM to a contact, and the BETA Community tab where you can search for other SightSpeed users.There are also buttons to check your account, manage your contacts, start a multiuser call (Pro version only), create a video mail message, and take you back to the home screen.

So start a video call, you just select the user name and then you have three choices: Start a video call, Send a video e-mail, or Send IM. Just double-click the user name to call your contact or select one of the icons for the action you want to perform. The following screenshot shows the basic interface once you are in a video call. In the following screenshot I am using SightSpeed 4.5 with the Philips SPC900NC webcam and the test image is on SightSpeed 4.5 with a Logitech 5000 webcam on a cloudy, rainy day.

215

368_GT_AB.qxd

216

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 216

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

SightSpeed also allows for Full Screen by selecting the icon from the Video Controls menu and the Esc key to return.You also have the option of removing your picture-in-picture, pausing the video, or switching to the Video Only view as the following screen shows.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 217

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

The Video Only view is adjustable to any size you like. Be aware that on wide screens like my laptop, the Full Screen picture gets stretched, so Video Only mode is better because it keeps the ratio for wide screens. SightSpeed is robust and well designed; actually the bestdesigned interface and features of any of the video call solutions and is what all video call solutions should shoot for.The only drawback SightSpeed might have is the video codec they use could have a sharper image, but I expect they will improve this in a matter of time and really blow your socks off.This is a GREAT solution and I highly recommend you try it and add it to your video call solutions suite. Since you can also use SightSpeed with Mac users, this is a perfect solution for the Windows and Mac video call users that have family and friends they would like to communicate with using either operating system. ■

www.sightspeed.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 5

Features: ■

One-on-one video calling

■

Unlimited voice calling

■

Community

■

Multiparty conference calling (4 people)

■

Create video/mail blogs

■

Video mail

■

My SightSpeed Web page

■

Call from Internet Explorer, no client required

■

Windows and Mac versions

Feature

Basic

Pro

Unlimited Voice Calls Unlimited Video Calls SightSpeed Community Access Unlimited Text Messaging Unlimited Video Mail Video Mail Storage Video Mail Length Unlimited Voice Mail Inbox

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

30 Days 30 seconds

Length of subscription 1 min ■

217

368_GT_AB.qxd

218

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 218

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Feature continued Unlimited Video Mail Inbox Unlimited Multiparty Voice Conferencing Unlimited Multiparty Video Conferencing Unlimited Group Text Messaging Personalized My SightSpeed Web Page Download and Save Video Mail Save Offline Text Messages Detailed Call History Video Mail Management Interface Priority Technical Support

Basic

Pro ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Skype 2.0 Skype adding video has taken video calls to the next level with users of the famed voice application adding video call capability. Skype, by the way, works only with Windows XP, so you are out of luck unless you are up to date with the latest Windows operating system.Yes, Microsoft Vista is coming out and anything that is compatible with Windows XP should be compatible with Windows Vista as well. I have two issues with the video. One is the extremely small picture-in-picture where you cannot see if you are in focus or if what you are holding up is in focus to the person you are in a video call with. The second issue I have is that Skype is primarily a VoIP solution that enables you to make free or inexpensive voice calls over the Internet and many Skypers have multiple audio devices connected to their computers for Skype. In my case, I have a gateway that enables me to use Skype with my home cordless telephone so that I can make and receive Skype calls anywhere my normal cordless phone works, like my sofa, the kitchen, or the garage.The reason this is an issue for video calls is that it takes me eight mouse clicks to change from my VoSky Internet Phone Wizard (IPW) to my sound card so that I can have a video call and I must do this before I answer the video call, so it is a real pain and often I do not make it in time to answer the video call.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 219

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

To make a video call, you just select one of your contacts. By default, when you double-click a contact, you call them. I tell people to change double-click to “Start a chat” so you do not accidentally call a user every time.To initiate a video call with one of your contacts, select them in the contact window and press the icon from the main window or from within the chat window to place the call. Once in the call you will see the following screen.

219

368_GT_AB.qxd

220

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 220

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

To start the video portion of the call just click the Start My Video button and you will see both parties’ video if they too selected Start My Video as the following screen shows.

Skype provides multiple ways to view the video portion of the call.You can either see it in the main window or, if you select Video in Window, you will see the following screen.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 221

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

After a few seconds the black menu options will disappear until you drag your mouse over the window.The following screen shows the same screen without the menu items.

As you can see, the picture-in-picture is ridiculously small to be at all practical except to know you are indeed sending video. We would prefer if the small sender window had an option to be larger. Skype also supports Full Screen as the following screen shows.

Fortunately, Skype keeps the screen ration so when Full Screen is used it does not stretch like MSN Messenger does. Skype does enable you to set if the video starts automati-

221

368_GT_AB.qxd

222

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 222

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

cally with every call and even a way to test and select the webcam from the Tools | Options menu. Just select Video (BETA) and you will see the following screen.

Here you can enable or disable video, set and test your webcam, and adjust if it will start automatically or who you can send and receive video to. Currently, Skype video is 15fps and uses the On2 video codec, the same codec that Macromedia Flash uses, so a very good one. With the two issues I have with Skype video aside, since not everyone will have multiple audio devices for Skype and do not need the picture-in-picture to be larger, Skype’s video is very good and provides for an adjustable screen and full screen capability. Skype’s addition of video has really caused video calls to be more popular as I see more and more of my contacts add webcams to use Skype’s video call option. I expect Skype will fix my issues over time and make Skype one of the best solutions available for a one-on-one video call solution. I must say the reason I rated Skype a 4 is because of the lack of a Mac client and the two issues I personally have with it, and I know many of my fellow Skypers that want to interact with their children and parents as I do want these two items improved as well. Skype is also very firewall friendly and will work almost anywhere. ■

www.skype.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 223

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

Spontania Video4IM Video4IM is a plug-in for Skype that only adds video capability. Video4IM relies 100% on Skype for your contacts and the audio portion of the video call.The thing I like about Video4IM is that it has a much better picture-in-picture than Skype and it is fairly easy to use. If the name indicates anything, I expect that Spontania will add additional video capability to other IM solutions like AIM, MSN, GoogleTalk, and Yahoo so that you can have a video call with any user from any IM, but that is only a guess at this point based on the name. To make a video call with Video4IM you install Skype first and then install Video4IM and configure it. I recommend that once installed you change the default settings of Video4IM. From the menu, select Options | Video Device Setup and you will see the following screen.

Change the settings to Enable DirectX capture and select your webcam from the Select video device drop-down and click Accept to accept your changes. Now you are using the Windows XP video benefits, the reason we recommend Windows XP. If you want to see the difference, play with the settings and I think you will see there is a significant difference in quality. If you want to have Video4IM start when you start Skype, select Run with Skype from the Options menu and if you want to automatically start video when you start a Skype call, select Start with any video call and Video4IM will start when you make a Skype audio call. Video4IM checks to see if your Skype contact has Video4IM. If they do not, Video4IM will send the user an IM message inviting them to download Video4IM. If your Skype contact does have Video4IM, then you will be invited to have a video call as shown in the following screen.

223

368_GT_AB.qxd

224

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 224

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

After you select Start, you will be in a video call, as shown in the following screen.

As you can see, the picture-in-picture is larger and you can see the sender image better than in Skype. Video4IM also allows for the sender’s screen to be detached from the main window by selecting the icon, as shown in the following screen.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 225

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

To select Full Screen, select the the following screen shows.

icon and you can have a full screen video call as

To switch back to the normal screen, just select the icon and you will be back to the main interface. Also, the full screen keeps the proper aspect ratio and will not stretch like MSN Messenger does. Video4IM is a very good add-on for Skype to add video with full screen and a good picture-in-picture option to improve what Skype provides.This is another free solution I

225

368_GT_AB.qxd

226

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 226

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

would recommend to add to your video call solution suite. Video4IM is also firewall friendly and will work most anywhere. ■

http://www.video4im.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 5

WigiWigi—Vwho There is a project that I have been involved with as a tester that Ashod Apakin has been working on that has promise. I have been a tester from the beginning and really like what Ashod is doing, but Vwho is still currently in development. WigiWigi is a completely self contained application. It does not rely on any drivers, dlls, DirectX, OpenGL, or third-party components. As a result, WigiWigi will run under all versions of Windows and more importantly will run on a barebones Windows environment, such as the ones used in mobile devices or where resources are kept to a bare minimum like a kiosk. Additionally, WigiWigi is a very compact application, taking up no more than 500KB in file size, and requires no installation. It is very common for Internet users to pass the WigiWigi program to friends using IM file transfer and immediately start a video call. Over the past year, WigiWigi has undergone some major improvements in terms of speed with a significant improvement in frame rate up to 45fps over a 128KBs connection with the DVD-quality version. WigiWigi has the ability to conduct a full-speed video call with broadband connections as low as 128KBs, like slower DSL connections. Ashod hopes to have the Vwho Pro version with true DVD quality available in the near future.The Free version is called Vwho Lite. Vwho will also have an API so application developers can imbed Vwho into their application.The following screenshot is my typical test setup.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 227

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B ■

http://wigiwigi.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

Features: ■

True peer-to-peer solution.

■

Low bandwidth requirements.

■

Real-time lighting adjustment and night-vision modes, to conduct video conferencing in almost pitch-black environments, without the need to adjust the webcams’ brightness.

■

Multivideo and multiaudio conferencing has also been added with a maximum party size of 12 people. A unique feature of this is that it is truly peer-to-peer, without the need for anyone acting as a host:This effectively enables multiparty videoconferencing when all users are on low-speed connections.

■

Adware, Spyware, and Malware free.

■

Free.

Yahoo Messenger Yahoo Instant Messenger is one of the oldest solutions to have video capability. Unfortunately, the latest version of YIM has a terrible video call solution. In order to get the Super Mode video to work, you have to open TCP port 5100 for each system. Even then the video image is slow and just not worth using. ■

http://messenger.yahoo.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

ZoomCall ZoomCall is a free video call solution that has two plans: the free Standard Plan gives you free incoming calls and 60 minutes per month for outgoing calls. ZoomCall has a nice interface and decent window size but does not release the webcam when minimized.The price is a bit steep for what you are getting. ■

www.zoomcall.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

227

368_GT_AB.qxd

228

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 228

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Multiuser Video Call Solutions Many of us want options to have more than two people on a video call. With higher-speed broadband options like that which you can get from your cable provider and faster DSL options, having multiple people on a video call is an option. In the free space there are only three solutions that we already covered in the one-on-one video call section, but we will focus on the multiuser portion features of the video call.

Apple iChat AV As we already stated, Apple iChat AV is a great video call application for Mac-only systems because there is no Windows client for iChat AV.You can have up to four users in a video call if you have the system to support it. Multiuser video calls with AIM is not an option at this time.The following table shows what the system requirements are to have a four-person video call with iChat AV.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 229

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

■

www.apple.com/ichat

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 5

To record iChat AV video calls ■

www.ecamm.com/mac/conferencerecorder/

Festoon As we discussed in the previous section, Festoon is a plug-in for Skype and GoogleTalk to add video call capabilities to these two IM solutions. Festoon enables you to have a multiuser video call as well for up to six users at a time. Festoon will be adding support for video calls with other IM solutions for AIM, MSN, and Yahoo in the future, making this one of the better multiuser IM video call solutions. Festoon is very firewall friendly, so no special configuration is needed since it uses ports 80 and 443.

229

368_GT_AB.qxd

230

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 230

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

■

www.festooninc.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

WigiWigi—Vwho WigiWigi Vwho enables you to have up to nine users in a video call.The free version, Vwho Lite, has smaller video windows for each user to maintain the quality for up to nine users, but the Pro version will expand on this with larger and sharper images.The following screenshot shows nine users in a video call.

■

http://wigiwigi.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 231

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

Features: ■

True peer-to-peer solution

■

Low bandwidth requirements

■

Real-time lighting adjustment and night-vision modes, to conduct video conferencing in almost pitch-black environments, without the need to adjust the webcams’ brightness

■

Multivideo and multiaudio conferencing has also been added with a maximum party size of 12 people. A unique feature of this is that it is truly peer-to-peer, without the need for anyone acting as a host:This effectively enables multiparty videoconferencing when all users are on low-speed connections

■

Adware, Spyware, and Malware free

■

Free

Multi-IM Video Call Solutions Multi-IM video call solutions are ones that have the capability to add your login and password of each IM solution so that you do not have to use multiple IM applications. MultiIM solutions are used to centralize all your IM contacts from AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo, sometimes even Skype, into one tool. In fact, our tech editor uses one of these tools for AIM,Yahoo, and MSN. Now you can only do IM, but some even allow some video to work between solutions, but my testing has showed this is basically a waste of time. Unless the contact you want to have a video call with is using the same multi-IM solution such as Trillian, do not bother to try a video call between Trillan and AIM for example.The main reason is the revision cycle and if you get it to work, it will most likely stop working when one of the solutions updates something. Even if it does work, none of the multi-IM solutions provided a good enough video call to make a rating of 4 or 5 except for Festoon and Vwho. Use these for what they were intended and that is to use one application to centralize your IM contacts.

231

368_GT_AB.qxd

232

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 232

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

EyeBall Chat EyeBall Chat is a basic video call solution. One thing EyeBall Chat can do is enable you to see your AIM, MSN, and Yahoo buddies in one tool to IM with. Only if your AIM, MSN, and Yahoo buddies are using EyeBall Chat will you be able to have a video call.This solution has access to chat rooms without any parental controls so if you are a parent and concerned about your children accessing a chat room, and you should be, this is not a solution you should allow a child access to. I have a simple recommendation about public chatroom-based solutions: chat rooms are dangerous for children and so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. More on chat-room-based solutions in the Chat Room Based Video Call Solutions section later in this appendix. EyeBall Chat is firewall friendly. ■

www.eyeballchat.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 233

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

Festoon As we discussed in the previous section, Festoon is a plug-in for Skype and GoogleTalk to add video call capabilities to these two IM solutions. Festoon enables you to have a multiuser video call as well for up to six users at a time. Since Festoon will be adding support for video calls for the other major IM solutions: AIM, MSN, and Yahoo, Festoon would be one of the better multi-IM video call solutions. Festoon is very firewall friendly, so no special configuration is needed since it uses ports 80 and 443.

■

www.festooninc.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

FWD.Communicator Free World Dialup Communicator is a multi-IM tool and allows for video calls to other FWD.Communicator users. FWD.Communicator can see your AIM, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, GoogleTalk, Skype, and Yahoo contacts for Instant Messaging only. Since it has so many IM options, it is one of the better multi-IM solutions, just not for video calls. If you select a Skype contact for a voice call, FWD.Communicator will launch Skype and call that user using the native Skype application. Anyone calling you on your FWD SIP account can contact you through the FWD.Communicator client because it is a SIP softphone, but that will be covered in the next section. One serious drawback of this video call solution is you cannot see both the sender’s and the caller’s video windows at the same time and must

233

368_GT_AB.qxd

234

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 234

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

switch between the windows.This is not an acceptable feature for a video call solution. FWD.Communicator is not firewall friendly for video calls and you will need to open ports on your DSL/cable router as described in Appendix A. ■

www.freeworlddialup.com/products/?p=communicator

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

PalTalk Basic PalTalk is a Multi-IM video call solution. Like with several other solutions, you can see your AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo contacts and make video calls with them if they are also using PalTalk. PalTalk is a chat room model and has parental controls that does enable you to set that only G-rated chat rooms may be seen and used. As we stated already, chat rooms are dangerous for children and so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. PalTalk is firewall friendly. PalTalk Basic offers the following features: ■

Black Nickname

■

Banner Ads

■

One video window

■

Limited sample video

■

Live pictures

■

http://www.paltalk.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

QNext QNext is a multi-IM video call solution that enables you to see your AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo contacts and have a video call with them if they are also using QNext. QNext is one of the only solutions that also have versions for Linux, Mac, and Windows.This product is still in BETA, so expect a few issues and some changes in the future.The client can have up to four (4) people in the video call and can also collaborate with file sharing and a plug-in that enables you to control your home PC by remote. We expect that these features will not be free in the released version.The video windows are small and cannot be adjusted.This is an attractive client and with clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux, this is an application to watch. QNext is not very firewall friendly.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 235

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B ■

www.qnext.com/universal_messenger.shtml

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

Trillian Basic Trillian is probably the most popular multi-IM solution that can also have video calls. Trillian enables you to see your AIM, ICQ, IRC, MSN, and Yahoo contacts.To have a video call, you must purchase Trillian Pro. Even tough Trillian Basic does not support video, I listed it here as it is the most popular Multi-IM client and if you purchase the Pro version you can add video calls.Trillian is ‘Firewall Friendly’. ■

www.ceruleanstudios.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

TryFast TryFast is another multi-IM client that offers video as well and enables you see your AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo contacts in one solution. Again, if you want to use the video portion of TryFast, it should be with another TryFast user.The video is OK and the video windows are small for the people you are calling.TryFast is firewall friendly and you configure the ports if needed to match the IM client you want to communicate with. ■

http://tryfast.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

WigiWigi Vwho WigiWigi Vwho is on the multi-IM space because it enables you to initiate a video call from any IM application. It does not matter what IM tool you are using, if you can send a contact an IM, you can have a Vwho video call. All you do is press the CTRL key three times and your Internet-facing IP address will pop up in the IM window and the person you are having an IM with can copy the IP address into their Vwho address bar.

After you enter your contact’s IP address and press Enter, you will start a video call. Of course, each user must have Vwho running and each user must press CTRL, CTRL, CTRL to send each other their IP address which needs to be pasted into the Vwho address bar. The following screenshot shows my Skype window after I press CTRL three times.

235

368_GT_AB.qxd

236

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 236

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

■

http://wigiwigi.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

SIP Video Call Solutions SIP-based video call solutions are an interesting option in the video call space. SIP is the protocol that is used in Enterprise VoIP solutions and is a way that SIP clients of all kinds connect to a central server and connect to other SIP clients. Mostly this is for voice calls and VoIP service providers like Vonage, Packet8, and enterprise VoIP solutions from Cisco, Nortel, and Avaya to name a few. Software that can connect to a SIP system is called a softphone and can call another softphone or a hardware VoIP SIP telephone or even make regular telephone calls to the PSTN network (MaBell) if you subscribe to a SIP service.These softphones and telephones can also have video calls between them if the network and clients are configured correctly. Some of the better solutions have a charge, but a few free ones are worth discussing.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 237

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

FWD.Communicator Free World Dialup Communicator is a multi-IM tool and allows for video calls to other FWD.Communicator users. FWD.Communicator can see your AIM, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, GoogleTalk, Skype, and Yahoo contacts for Instant Messaging only. If you select a Skype contact for a voice call, FWD.Communicator will launch Skype and call that user using the native Skype application. Anyone calling you on your FWD SIP account can contact you through the FWD.Communicator client because it is a SIP softphone, but that will be covered in the next section. One serious drawback of this video call solution is that you cannot see both the sender’s and the caller’s video windows at the same time and must switch between the windows.This is not an acceptable feature for a video call solution. FWD.Communicator is not firewall friendly for video calls and you will need to open ports on your DSL/cable router as described in Appendix A. The Pro version supports multiple SIP configurations and support for the open source Asterisk SIP server.This is a bit of a technical solution and not for the faint at heart. If you have a SIP video telephone device and configure it to use the FWD SIP Proxy, you may be able to have a video call with an FWD.Communicator user if the codecs are supported and the video is properly configured at the SIP Proxy; at minimum you will get an audio call. So you may have issues using FWD.Communicator and a video telephone over the Internet, but on an internal LAN it should work fine. One drawback of this client is that you cannot see both the sender’s and the caller’s video window at the same time and must switch between the windows.

237

368_GT_AB.qxd

238

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 238

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software ■

www.freeworlddialup.com/products/?p=communicator

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

INEEN INEEN is based on the CounterPath/Xten SIP softphone solution. INEEN allows calls only with the INEEN SIP contacts and offers no out-of-network capabilities or calls to other SIP providers. INEEN has taken the EyeBeam softphone and modified it to work only on their network, but INEEN does allow up to five users including yourself to have a video call. Look for more pay-per-use features to come out in the future. Until more features come out I am not sure why this would be a solution to consider because the video windows are small and it lacks any significant feature needed to connect with other SIP video telephone solutions. ■

www.ineen.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

Lycos Phone Lycos, the search engine and Web portal provider, is new to the video call space and just introduced Lycos Phone.This is currently a Windows-only solution that offers a video phone, regular phone features, instant messaging, music, Web, and movie options. Lycos Phone is trying to compete with AIM, GoogleTalk, MSN, Skype, and Yahoo by adding a full-featured SIP softphone client with video and additional features.The client has a lot of advertising and you are offered several ways to get free phone call minutes by visiting the advertiser’s information or you can just purchase minutes to make PC-to-telephone calls. The interface is busy and a little difficult to navigate, though expect some changes as this product gets updated from feedback and use.The video windows are small with no option

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 239

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

to make them larger.This product is still in BETA and needs some improvements so expect some issues early on. Lycos Phone is not firewall friendly. ■

http://lycos.globe7.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

Sony/GlowPoint IVE Instant Video Everywhere (IVE) was developed by GlowPoint and Sony resells the solution to be used with its videoconferencing solutions. IVE is a good SIP softphone and has good video options as well.The free version is limited to 128KB and no out-of-network calling, so you can only have video calls with other users who have and use the IVE solution. IVE is not firewall friendly and needs ports opened as explained in Appendix A.

239

368_GT_AB.qxd

240

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 240

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Here is a table showing the features you get with each service plan.

Plan Features Type of Service

IVE

IVE Premium

IVE Professional

Video Calling • Unlimited IVE-to-IVE calling worldwide video and voice • Make and receive voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls to telephone and cell phones*

• Make and receive videoconferencing calls to IP and ISDN-based video systems* Personal Video Number • Personal Video Number—Everybody gets one

Multiparty Calling

• Instantly connect a four-person video/audio conference call* • Instantly correct a six-person video/audio conference call*

• Video Meeting Room—Dedicated private videoconference room

Video Call Mailbox

• Customizable Mailbox—Store up to 10 messages

• Customizable Mailbox—Store up to 25 messages Live Video Operators

• “000” Live Video/Operators—five free calls/mo*

• “000” Live Vide Operators—Unlimited free calls Other IVE Services • “Lisa,” the IVE Video Call Assistant

• IVE Portal Access for featured content

• Direct connect to WebEx collaboration service

* Additional charges may apply. ■

http://sony.glowpoint.com/

■

http://www.sonyive.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 4

Yak Virtual Videophone Yak is based on the CounterPath/Xten SIP softphone solution. Like INEEN,Yak only enables video calls with other Yak contacts and no out-of-network capabilities or calls to other SIP providers.Yak has taken the EyeBeam softphone and modified it to work only on their network, but does allow up to five users (including you) to have a video call. Look for more pay-per-use features to come out in the future. Until more features come out I am

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 241

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

not sure why this would be a solution to consider because the video windows are small and it lacks any significant feature needed to connect with other SIP video telephone solutions. ■

www.yakforfree.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

H.323 Video Call Solutions H.323 solutions are kind of outdated. SIP is basically the replacement to H.323, but there are still uses for H.323. One of the main reasons H.323 is no longer well liked as it is not firewall friendly for corporate environments and requires a lot of special configuration for the enterprise environment.There are several hardware-based H.323 solutions that can be used for video calls for the home user. Many of the video telephone devices can have their BIOS flashed to support SIP or H.323, but rarely both.This enables us to use hardwarebased video telephone solutions along with software-based video call solutions together for specific video call needs or requirements. H.323 solutions are not firewall friendly at all and need to be configured per each vendor solution as described in Appendix A.

EnvisionSL

Sorenson’s Envision SL (just a front-end to NetMeeting) is a software solution that was developed to provide a software H.323 solution for Sorenson’s VP 100 video telephone (same as the Blackcrow BCV-103 video telephone) to provide video call capabilities to the hearing

241

368_GT_AB.qxd

242

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 242

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

impaired community. EnvisionSL is Microsoft NetMeeting with a different, friendlier user interface. EnvisionSL runs on basically any version of Microsoft Windows, 98x, W2K, and XP. EnvisionSL is not firewall friendly at all and the ports for your cable/DSL router or corporate firewall will need to be configured as described in Appendix A. ■

www.sorensonvrs.com/options/envision_info.php

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

Microsoft NetMeeting Microsoft NetMeeting was the earliest video call solution that is included even today with every version of Windows.This product is now obsolete, but it can be still be used to call any H.323 video telephone device or other H.323 software solutions. NetMeeting runs on basically any version of Microsoft Windows, 98x, W2K, and XP. NetMeeting is not firewall friendly at all and the ports for your Cable/DSL router or corporate firewall will need to be configured as described in Appendix A. ■

www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

Chat-Room-Based Video Call Solutions Chat-room-based video call solutions should truly be used only by adults. So if you have children and you want or expect them to make video calls with family and friends, a chatroom-based video call solution is not for you, though of course it is your decision. Being a father and knowing what I do about computer security and the issue with predators and pedophiles, chat-room-based solutions are suited for adult use only! Statistics show that 65% of all predators initiate a conversation with a child in a chat room. IRC Chat should be included in this. If you are a concerned parent, block all chat-room-based solutions. Of course, not all solutions are created equal and some have parental controls, like PalTalk Chat that allows you to show only G-rated content, but in reviewing these solutions over the past couple years, many solutions have a policy of appropriate use, but I do not trust someone else’s policy, I trust my own controls when it comes to children. Only two solutions had good enough video to be considered: CUWorld and EyeBall Chat, but since they are chat-room-based, I only rated them a 3 due to the possible exposure. Be sure you understand who may use these products before you select a solution. All chat-room-based solutions get the following label: ■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 243

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

CamFrog CamFrog is a video call client that is based on the use of public chat rooms.You add your contacts and IM them to start a private video call.You can also meet people from the various chat rooms and add them to your contacts list. As we stated many times, chat rooms are dangerous for children.The video windows are small with the free version.There is no exciting feature of this program worth considering. ■

www.camfrog.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

Chatablanca Chatablanca is another chat-room-based solution that has an interesting interface. As we have stated many times, chat rooms are dangerous for children, so this product is in the “Not Recommended” category.The video windows are small.There is no exciting feature of this program worth considering. Also Chatablanca is not firewall friendly.

243

368_GT_AB.qxd

244

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 244

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software ■

www.chatablanca.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 1

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

CUWorld CUWorld is a Web-based video call solution with multiple cost plans. CUWorld is a chatroom-based video call solution that can allow “private rooms” for one-on-one conferences or multiuser video calls depending on your membership.You can also have video calls with your “cupals” for private video calls.The quality of the video and number of people you can have video calls with is limited by each plan. For the Guest account, you get only 7fps (slow) and up to four users. Since this is a server-based solution with lots of users, you may experience a delay. CUWorld is firewall friendly since it uses Internet Explorer.The free version is nothing to write home about, but the VIP solution has some serious quality, but at a premium cost. As we stated many times, chat rooms are dangerous for children and so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. CUWorld is firewall friendly and can be used just about anywhere. ■

www.cuworld.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

DKMessenger DKMessenger is a solution that offers multiple plans and features.The DKMessenger client has chat rooms that you can browse for other users. As we stated many times, chat rooms are dangerous for children and so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. DKMessenger is nothing fancy and the client is rather complicated to use and configure. DKMessenger also does not release the webcam when minimized, so it is not friendly to use with other video call solutions. DKMessenger is not firewall friendly. ■

http://dkmessenger.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 1

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 245

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

EyeBall Chat EyeBall Chat is a basic chat room and multi-IM video call solution that, as we mentioned earlier, enables you to see your AIM, MSN, and Yahoo contacts in one application for needs. Only if your AIM, MSN, and Yahoo buddies are using EyeBall Chat will you be able to have a video call.This solution has access to chat rooms without any parental controls, so if you are a parent, you should not allow your child access to this solution. EyeBall Chat is firewall friendly. ■

www.eyeballchat.com

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 3

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

LIvVE LIvVE is a Windows-only video call client. LIvVE is a video community where you can host events in a chat room format.These events can be general or adult in nature. As we have stated many times, chat rooms are dangerous for children, so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. LIiVE is firewall friendly. ■

www.livve.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

PalTalk PalTalk is a chat room and multi-IM video call solution. As with several other solutions, you can see your AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo contacts and make video calls with them if they are also using PalTalk. PalTalk is a chat room model and has parental controls that enable you to set that only G-rated chat rooms may be seen and used. As we have stated already, chat rooms are dangerous for children, so this product needs parental guidance if used by children. PalTalk is firewall friendly. PalTalk Basic offers the following features: ■

Black Nickname

■

Banner Ads

■

One video window

■

Limited sample video

■

Live pictures

245

368_GT_AB.qxd

246

11/10/06

3:37 PM

Page 246

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software ■

http://www.paltalk.com/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

■

Parental Guidance: Highly recommended

Other Video Call Solutions There was only one solution that ended up not being able to be categorized, other than the solutions that have been discontinued or are at their end-of-life. We will list the obsolete solutions only so you know we know about them and at least took a look.

Microsoft Portrait Microsoft Portrait is the only free video call solution for a Windows-based Pocket PC. MS Portrait is a Microsoft Research project developed to give Windows and Pocket PC users a video call client so they may have video calls with one another.This product is now basically obsolete, but it can be still be used to make a video call between a WiFi-enabled Pocket PC and a Windows system running MS Portrait. MS Portrait is not firewall friendly.

368_GT_AB.qxd

11/10/06

3:38 PM

Page 247

Free Video Call Software • Appendix B

■

http://research.microsoft.com/mcom/portrait/

■

VideoCallTips.com rating: 2

Obsolete, End-of-Life, or Discontinued Solutions This section is provided only so you know a few solutions are on their way out or already gone.The following is a list of solutions that you can ignore: ■

3wVP—Web-based solution that has terrible delays

■

ClearPhone—older Windows and Mac client that has not been updated in years

■

NetVidea—just plain vanished

■

Microsoft Windows Messenger—will be replaced with Windows Live Messenger 8.0

247

368_GT_AB.qxd

248

11/10/06

3:38 PM

Page 248

Appendix B • Free Video Call Software

Summary In this appendix, we covered the free video call solutions that are readily available.They include solutions that are for on-on-one video calls, multiuser video calls, multi-IM video calls, SIP and H.323 video call solutions, chat room video call solutions and “other solutions” that needed to be mentioned and any that have been discontinued or that are at endof-life.The categories helped to separate the solutions so that they could be better compared to similar solutions and some even appeared in multiple sections since they had multiple capabilities.This chapter shows that a few free video call solutions really seemed to be better than the rest and all the solutions that rated a score of 4 or 5 could coexist with other solutions to provide you a suite of video call applications for your specific needs.