Hi CoJo, the 2 disabled IM-icons are definitily not the result of Steve’s “shoot the messsenger”. This program just disables the windows-messsaging system, not instant-messaging programs.
What worries me is that the 2 disabled icons in your tray could have been caused by the same problem that prevents the Avast-icon from showing up in your systray.
Have you got a reg-cleaner tool like jv16 on your pc ?
You might have a look with it to see if any obsolete entries are messing up your registry.

Regards, Fast.