Viruses for instant messaging increase

Hackers have developed worms capable of attacking all major instant messenger systems, it has been revealed.

According to anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab worms are being developed that can spread via multiple IM networks, rather than just attacked one system.

Kaspersky said IM worms such as IRCBot.lo, discovered in January, will become the greatest IM threat, as they can spread to a large number of networks and can use variable messages and download links.

Roel Schouwenberg, senior research engineer at Kaspersky Lab. Said the worrying thing about IM worms like IRCBot.lo is the code that is used to write them can be easily copied, potentially resulting in a significant increase in IRCBots which can spread links across all major IM networks.

Schouwenberg believes sophisticated IM worms, such as IRCBot.lo, will signal the demise of the traditional IM worm: “Since IM worms first appeared, there have been significant changes in distribution methods, in the sophistication of the code used and in the IM networks targeted.

“The ability to spread malware via IM is something which malware authors will undoubtedly continue to use.”

Meanwhile, according to AOL, nearly one in four (23 percent) IM users in the UK send as many or more IMs than they do emails, with the number rising to nearly half (44 percent) among 18-24-year-olds. Popular uses for IM include chatting with family or friends, particularly those who are abroad; and sharing files and/or photos;
As with most threats on the Internet, business and home users can help keep themselves safe by taking basic precautions:

Kaspersky advises people to take care when downloading files in IM, and to never accept, open or download a file in IM from someone you do not know.

It said that if the file comes from a known sender, do not open the file unless you know what the file is and you are expecting it.

http://www.kaspersky.co.uk

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