AOL uses ICQ to search your
computer's registry!

Basically I am reiterating what can be found at the following site. Please visit this site for all the information you need.

http://members.xoom.com/funky_fred/icq.html

Basically, the idea is that AOL is using the auto-update feature in ICQ to read more than ICQ version information from your registry. This might include your name and address as part of registration information in other programs, including Windows itself. Further, it can collect your serial numbers, or cookie data, or even passwords and personal details from your computer.

While there might be an agrument regarding checking for pirated software, there are also reasons against it including privacy. Also, you should be aware of the following:

Due to the National Information Infrastructure Copyright Act of 1995, (NIIC),

  1) Software in which the copyright is older than two years
AND 2) is no longersold on the market

Has been deemed available free to the public, due to the seemingly "apparrant uselessness of outdated technology" as stated in the NIIC.

If you wish to download the "fix" for this ICQ problem, please take the following file:

ICQ Auto-Update Remove (icq-aol.zip)

If you have any questions, you can email me (see welcome page)