Get rid of ICQ Bloat and Adds!
Ever since AOL acquired Mirabilis, and control of ICQ, we've seen an attack of bloatware that would make even
the likes of Microsoft blush. Here we show you ways to productively use the basic features without having to put up
with the rest of the unnecessary bloat.
Four basic suggested steps
·1· Find an older version:
OK, this is obvious but I threw it in to make sure this guide is complete. Keep in mind that versions
released before ICQ2000 are without a lot of the crap found in the newer versions. I've received feedback
suggesting that version ICQ99b is the best balance between features and
bloatware. I doubt that ICQ99b is compatible with the database from newer versions, still if your going to
start from scratch, it is worth downloading.
·2· Disable Extra Features:
Some of the features in the newer versions can disabled in the
preferences menu. Disabling unnecessary features that you are not using can increase performance and
overall speed.
Instead of the banner add, you should see a message which looks something like this:
"ICQ ATEBROWSER 1.0"
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·3· Delete Unnecessary DLL's:
You can actually get rid of the adds by deleting/renaming certain DLL's
in your ICQ folder.
In your ICQ folder, usually
C:\Program Files\ICQ
you can delete the following files..
icqateima32.dll
(removes advertisement downloading)
icqateimg32.dll
(removes the loading of images)
icqateres.dll
(removes part of the advertisement function)
·4· Download and use an ICQ clone:
ICQ clones are ICQ programs not provided by AOL owned Mirabilis. A couple good options are Miranda ICQ
and Trillian. These are wonderful alternatives to Mirabilis ICQ incorporating good features without banner
adds and unnecessary feature bloat. Miranda ICQ is about 1/10 the size of Mirabilis ICQ99b.
Conclusion and disclaimer
This is a revised version of an original document written by Bill catkabob (zedster@pclv.com).
Use caution and make a backup of files before you remove them. Use these suggestions at your own risk. Some of these suggestions may not apply
to newer or latest release versions of Mirabilis ICQ.
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