IMs Don't Disappear in an Instant

Just as most of us have finally learned the lesson that emails never really die, and we shouldn't write anything in our work messages we would shudder to see splashed across a newspaper headline, it seems many need to learn the same about instant messages.

We've learned a lot this week from the professional flameouts of former Republican Congressman Mark Foley and the inquiring minds at Hewlett Packard who monitored instant messages between an HP employee and a Wall Street Journal reporter in a quest for an internal news leak.  Not the least of which is this: Instant messages sent in real time can be saved and retrieved, too.

Because IMs disappear from the screen when we're done with a quick give and take, it's easy to think they really do disappear without a trace. They don't. 

Here are a few things you should know about instant messages:

• Even the most basic instant-messaging program keeps some kind of archive. The Washington Post reports in this timely read that most IM programs have built-in archiving features that can be turned on and off.

• Companies are using software to monitor and archive IM chats, just as they are monitoring email messages.

• Standard IM programs from Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN do not automatically store instant messages, but users can change their message settings to save copies of IM chats on their computers' hard drives. Google Talk saves IM messages by default, but users can turn off this feature if they choose.

Much to Foley's chagrin, his sexually explicit messages to underage pages in his congressional office were stored by his IM service. Now the whole world can read what he wrote.