Multi-network chat app Trillian now shields users from NSFW and malicious links

I'm blown away by how many of my customers have three or four chat programs installed on their computers. I'm even more blown away by how many of them wind up with malware after letting their curiosity get the best of them and clicking a link some unknown user sends via those chat apps.

If only they'd switch to something smarter, like a multi-network app...and maybe one that had some kind of feature built-in to prevent following malicious URLs hidden behind some shortener's random garble of characters. Like the new Trillian 4.2 beta, for example...

Among the other improvements in 4.2, Trillian now offers link previews and can unshorten all those bothersome little links that we love to hate. Apart from potentially helping users avoid malware, as stated on the official blog post it's also a little defense against Rickrolling...does anyone still do that? At any rate, the mouseover previews are a great way to keep users safe and prevent embarrassing stuff like accidentally opening that site with those two girls and that thing.

A number of other nice features have been bolted on, including the option to reply to new messages and status updates directly from Trillian's slide-up notifications -- no need to open the main program window!

Read more about the new Trillian beta for Windows and grab the download over at Cerulean Studios!

Word of warning: the Ask.com toolbar is piggybacked onto the installer, so make sure to uncheck it when the screen appears.

Tags: chat, icq, msn, multi, network, protocol, rickroll, security, short, trillian, twitter, url, yahoo