Yeah, AIM installes Viewpoint Media Player, and even if you uninstall it, AIM will automatically reinstall it again when you start the program. I use AIM but I don't care too much.
If you do care about it you could probably use alternatives like gaim, trillion, or even
www.meebo.com.
I doubt that Dead AIM will have spyware on it. The program i pretty sweet with all functionalities though haha, I don't think it's worth paying cash though.. :/