IcqWeb.Org

www.icq.com

ICQ Pro 2003b was reported to have a vulnerability (see: coresecurity). AOL is advising users of its ICQ instant messaging service to update to the latest version of the ICQ software following the discovery of a bug in an older version of the product. Although the bug doesn't affect more recent ICQ software like ICQ 5.1, it could mean serious problems for ICQ Pro 2003b users. According to Max Caceres, director of product management at Core, a vendor of penetration testing software, hackers would attack a PC by sending a maliciously encoded instant message to any ICQ Pro 2003b user connected to the service. Victims "don't have to do anything at all," Caceres says. "Just by being there, someone can send them a message, and they can be compromised."

ICQ Lite versions ICQ 4, ICQ 5 and ICQ 5.1 are being criticized for being not really Lite, but cluttered and heavy.

ICQ 5 and ICQ 5.1 are criticized for being full of too much eye-candy and some of the veteran ICQ users find the games, included in the Xtraz center as silly and only suitable for children 0-8, although ICQ software is intended for use of people above 13 years of age. Some child-rights activists[citation needed] find this rule as 'strange', because children around 11 years of age, in their own words, should have the possibility of using messaging software.

ICQ 6 which was released on April 17, 2007, has been criticized as not yet working very well and being "no more than a beta version". Some people have problems getting the smilies, and the multichat option seems to be missing as yet.