IChat signs off when I am away

Question

Hello, this is minor problem with iChat, and really doesn't affect the overall performance of the program, but it is kind of annoying considering I can't stay online when I am away from the computer.
Here is the senario:
I put my away message on and then get up and leave the computer. The screensaver then comes on followed by 'sleep' mode. When the computer goes into 'sleep' mode, iChat signs off. It only does this when I physically leave the computer. If I am sitting at my computer with the away message on, then I have no problem staying online.
Sometimes it does this and oddly at other times it stays online without any problems. It is a problem that bugs me, but isn't too big of a deal. If the problem persists I'm considering downloading a version of AOL Instant Messanger for Mac. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments?
Thank you, I appreciate your responses.

Answer 1

Antother solution for problems simular as described by asantaniello:
Issue or symptom
After upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.8, some Intel-based computers may not auto-connect to remembered networks that use WPA2 or WEP security. This article explains how to correct this behavior.
Products affected
Macs with Intel Core Duo-based processors:
MacBook
MacBook Pro (all models)
Mac mini (Early 2006)
iMac (Early 2006)
Mac OS X 10.4.8
Solution
To restore the auto-connect feature:
From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
Select the Network pane.
From the "Show:" drop-down menu, choose "AirPort".
Make sure the "By default, join:" pop-up menu is set to "Preferred networks." (If it was set to "Automatic networks", you can set it back to Automatic after the next step.)
Select any network that shows WPA2 security and use the minus button to remove those networks from the list.
Once all WPA2 networks have been removed from the list, use the plus button to add them back. (You will need the appropriate passwords for the wireless network.) If it's more convenient, you can wait to re-add the networks until you use them—when you use a network, it will be added to the list automatically.
If in step 3, your default was Automatic rather than Preferred, go ahead and change your default back to Automatic.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304482
MBP 2.33GHz intel core 2 duo 3GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM   Other OS   (38518353) .9