Napster is in suspended animation. Gnutella and other file sharing systems are slow and rife with viruses. Sure, you can put your files on an FTP server or a Web site, but doing so may be more effort than you're willing or able to make. If all you want to do is share a few photos, documents, or media clips with selected friends and family, let your instant messaging application do the sharing.

AOL Instant Messenger version 4.7 and ICQ 2001b (the most recent versions of those apps) allow you to designate a shared file folder on your system and specify who can see and download its contents. To set up file sharing in AIM, click the wrench icon to open AIM's Preferences dialog box, and select File Sharing in the Category list. Identify the folder you'd like to share and the Buddy group you want to share files with. To make files available to all users, or to establish additional access criteria for Buddies and non-Buddies, uncheck Allow only users in Buddy group. Friends who want to retrieve your files must have an AOL Instant Messenger account and enabling software. To access your files, they need only right-click your name in their Buddy Lists and then choose Get File.

To share files in ICQ 2001b, click the Services button, choose Shared Files, and then click Activate Service. Unlike AIM's file sharing feature, ICQ doesn't let you choose the folder you want to share--instead, you have to copy files to the program's default folder, \Program Files\ICQ\Shared Files. To control who can download the files, click the Main button, choose Security and Privacy Permissions, and then select Contact Info/Files under Permissions. The 'Shared Files' settings on the right side of the dialog box let you control who can see your files: all ICQ users, only those on your contact list, or no users at all. To download your files, friends will need an ICQ account and software. To download your shared files, they click the file icon next to your name in ICQ's contact list and choose View user's Shared Files directory.

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