ICQ tackles Bizex worm

Popular instant messaging system ICQ claims it has blocked the network worm Bizex, which began targeting customers yesterday.

Anti-virus company Kaspersky Labs warned net users about the new worm, which spread through ICQ Pro versions.

According to Kaspersky Labs, an ICQ message sent to net users included an invitation to visit the hacker website Jokeworld. Once the site loaded, Bizex infected the computer and attempted to access the ICQ address list to send copies of itself to other users.

Kapersky Labs advises web users who receive a link to the Jokeworld site to delete it immediately and "under no circumstances visit the site".

According to ICQ, the worm - which it claims only impacted a small number of ICQ Pro users - has now been blocked by ICQ.

A spokeswoman for AOL (which owns ICQ), said: "ICQ has already implemented a fix, which blocks any further distribution of the worm through ICQ Pro versions. The block was implemented by ICQ and does not require ICQ users to download any additional software.

"For users that have been impacted, and are having trouble running ICQ Pro, please be assured ICQ is working hard on finding a solution so that you can get back to normal use of your ICQ as soon as possible," she added.