Communications

You'll find all the latest e-mail software and chat clients at CNET Download.com, as well as e-mail utilities and spam filters, VoIP software, Web phones, Webcam applications, and everything else you'll need to reach out and touch someone. See all 4,380 products in this category. See all 4,380 products in this category.

for the week of: June 07Downloads

1.
Camfrog Video Chat
Webcam Software447,811
2.
PaltalkScene
Chat72,072
3.
ManyCam Virtual Webcam
Webcam Software51,321
4.
Windows Live Messenger
Chat35,692
Search Server Express

Free RTM Software. Search Doesn't Have to Be Complicated.

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5.
Trillian
Chat26,217
6.
Yahoo Messenger
Chat23,374
7.
Skype
Web Phones & VoIP Software13,383
Go2Assist Express

View and control your customer's computer online.

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8.
WebcamMax
Chat10,717
9.
MSN Messenger (Windows 98/Me)
Chat10,306
10.
VZOchat
Webcam Software8,532

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Spam Filter ISP

Establish spam-filtering services for your mail server.

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an introduction to Communications

The Internet is all about communication. From e-mail software to chat clients to the latest in VoIP software, Download.com's Communications category has everything you need to reach out and touch someone.

Of course you use e-mail, but which e-mail program should you use? A number of e-mail programs are free, from the venerable Microsoft Outlook Express to our current favorite, Mozilla Thunderbird. Thunderbird supports IMAP and POP mail protocols and can handle all your RSS feeds. It features cutting-edge antiphishing and spam filters in addition to advanced security features such as S/MIME, digital signing, and message encryption.

You'll also want to download all the latest e-mail extensions, such as spam filters and programs that notify you when e-mail is sent to your online accounts.

If you're too impatient for e-mail, chat software allows real-time communication between any two PCs. Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, MSN Messenger (soon to be Windows Live Messenger), and AOL Instant Messenger are the major players in the chat market, with ICQ still a popular choice among hard-core chat fans.

If your friends use different clients and you don't want to install them all, Trillian lets you chat with everyone regardless of chat platform, including IRC-based chat rooms.

Of course, why bother typing e-mails when you can just talk to someone over your PC? Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, allows you to turn your PC into a Web phone to call other Internet-connected PCs and talk as long as you want at no charge. Programs such as Skype, GloPhone, and BuddyTalk are painless to install and easy to use, and all three allow you to place calls to regular phones by signing up for a calling plan. For more information, check out the Download.com guide to Net Phones.