AOL forces more junk on you

AOL Instant Messenger is continuing its annoying habit of automatically giving you junk you don’t need or want.

First, with the latest version released several weeks ago, when you log on to AIM it either 1) automatically launches your browser and sends you onto the inane aol.com home page, or 2) if your browser is already up sends you to the aol.com home page.

Thanks, AOL – wherever my browser was originally is certainly less important than your seizure-inducing mess of a home page.

Now AIM has added an even more annoying feature by automatically adding bots to your Buddy List. We logged on yesterday to find a Moviefone bot and a ShoppingBuddy bot added to our Buddy List. Now, thankfully, AOL also IMs you immediately to tell you what it did and, more importantly, how to remove them.

After our run-around with the MillionaireIM bot, this is – at the very least – a step in the right direction.

But, please AOL – we’re not 12. If we want something, we’ll ask. Thanks.