Public IM Connectivity Server
Public IM Connectivity Server
PUBLIC IM CONNECTIVITY SERVER

public IM connectivity server

| faq



Support

  • I am a Microsoft volume license customer. Can I still use your product?
    Yes, but we would strongly encourage you explore using Microsoft's solution instead.
  • Is technical support available of included with my purchase?
    Yes. M-Networks will provide free technical support for customers that purchase a product license. Technical support is limited to support of our product and does not extend to help with LCS or software from any other provider.
  • Will updates of your software be available and how do I get them?
    Yes. Customers who have purchased a license will be entitled to free minor updates (patches, bugs fixes). Updates will be available from our Downloads Page. Major updates will require the purchase of an upgrade license.
  • What is the difference between a major and minor update?
    Minor updates include patches and bug fixes to M-Networks software. Major updates are only released when a large number of new features are added or when changes are made to allow the software to function with a new version of a non-M-Networks product.
  • Is technical support available for the Evaluation Version?
    Limited technical support is available for customers evaluating M-Networks software. This support only pertains to the installation and configuration of a M-Networks product.
  • How do I contact M-Networks support?
    You can reach a member of our support team via e-mail at support@m-networks.net or by phone at (973) 559-5200. Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm Eastern Time.

Installation

  • I am having problems installing the Public IM Connectivity Server. What am I doing wrong?
    The Public IM Connectivity Server must be installed by a user with Administrative privileges to the computer. The program installer also requires the Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 to run. The framework will automatically be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft website when you run setup.exe.
  • We use TLS between Office Communicator and LCS. Can we still use the Public IM Connectivity Server?
    Yes. Even though you are using TLS between the client and LCS you can still configure LCS to use TCP to communicate with the PICS.
  • Will using TCP between LCS and the PICS affect security?
    Even if you could use LCS between LCS and the Public IM Connectivity Server, AOL and MSN do not support encryption in their protocols.
  • Microsoft's solution uses TLS between LCS and AOL/MSN. Why don't you do the same?
    Microsoft's solution communicates with the public IM providers using SIP over TLS. However, communications between the providers and their users remain unencrypted. Therefore, only the part of the conversation between you and the public IM providers servers is secure, the second half is not. Since there is no way for us to secure the whole conversation, we did not see the need to included it in the Public IM Connectivity Server.
  • My employees IM users using providers other than AOL and MSN. Will you be supporting other IM providers like Yahoo or Jabber in the future?
    Currently, only the MSN Messenger and AOL OSCAR protocols are supported. M-Networks intends to add support for other providers during the first half of 2007. Customers who have an immediate need for a different should contact M-Networks to learn about our SDK and find out when service with other providers will be available.
  • Can our employees use their existing personal AOL/MSN accounts at work using the Public IM Connectivity Server?
    Yes, but it is highly, strenuously and seriously recommended that organizations refrain from doing this. Configuration of the Public IM Connectivity Server requires that an employees username and password be provided to the Administrator. Employees should not be willing to disclose their personal IM information to any third party. Thus, we recommend that a user create new AOL and MSN accounts for use with the Public IM Connectivity Server.
  • How are our employees account credentials protected in PICS?
    All user account information for the public IM networks is stored in a database with passwords encrypted using Triple DES encryption.
  • Can our employees use their existing personal AOL/MSN accounts at work using the Public IM Connectivity Server?
    Yes, but it is highly, strenuously and seriously recommended that organizations refrain from doing this. Configuration of the Public IM Connectivity Server requires that an employees username and password be provided to the Administrator. Employees should not be willing to disclose their personal IM information to any third party. Thus, we recommend that a user create new AOL and MSN accounts for use with the Public IM Connectivity Server.
  • Are there any monthly or per user fees associated with PICS?
    Nope. Licenses are per server and can be used with as many users and accounts as you wish.
  • Will the Public IM Connectivity Server ever have support for ____________ ?
    M-Networks is constantly working to add new features to our products. Contact us if you have a feature that you would like to see or want to know if there is a feature that we are currently working on.