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Chat, instant messaging and forums, are all ways in which people talk to each other, using the Internet. Although they are tools performing the same job: communication, there are some differences between them.

Chat is an online tool, available on some websites that allows people to talk to each other in real time. They can talk only if they stay on that site, and they don't have access to archives. It is not a very secure way of talking.

Instant messaging is a very popular tool for conversation. You have to install a program into your computer, and then you can talk to other people that have the same soft. You can add/delete/block friends and you can keep archives of every conversation. Many new generation instant messengers have the possibility of file transfer and emoticons. Popular ones have also themes and avatars.
Examples: Yahoo! and MSN (the most popular), Jabber or Spark(that can be installed in your own server, so they are very secure, because you control everything).

Forums are kinda of a market, but online, where people gather and talk about different topics. Usually forums have a theme (for example: pet forums, fashion forums, car forums etc) and users must register before they are allowed to express their opinion. You can also have avatars and an online profile. Most forums engines allows you to send private messages to another users. Forums are usually moderated.

Whatever form of communication over the Internet you choose, you have always to remember security measures (for example, don't give your credit card details in an Yahoo! conversation), and be sure to not forget that you can talk to your friends face to face as well!

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