Worms biting harder into IM, P2P

Instant messaging and peer-to-peer fans are being hit with more worm and malicious code attacks than ever before, according to research reports.

The number of threats detected for IM and peer-to-peer networks rose a whopping 3,295 percent in the third quarter of 2005, compared with last year, IMlogic said in a statement Monday. That brings the total year-to-date increase for 2005 over the previous year to 2,083 percent, the security software maker said.

And as the attacks increase in number, they also get smarter, IMlogic said. Worm writers are coming up with more effective ways to get people to click on links to their malicious code, and worms can increasingly hop from one IM network to another, it noted.

The numbers echo data reported by Akonix Systems, a rival vendor of IM security products. Last week, Akonix said it identified a record 25 IM pests in September, with seven new threats. The number of attacks in the third quarter averaged just more than one per day, Akonix said.

Microsoft's IM network is the most popular target, with 62 percent of all attacks detected in the third quarter hitting MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger, IMlogic said. America Online's system is second on the list, with 31 percent affecting AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) or ICQ. Only 7 percent of the reported threats went after Yahoo Messenger users, according to IMlogic.

Experts have advised IM users to be careful when clicking on links that arrive in instant messages--even if they seem to be from people they know.

Businesses can use products from various providers, including IMlogic, Akonix and FaceTime Communications, to protect against IM pests and manage IM usage.

AIM Virus!!

Well it was just any other day when I decided to use AIM to talk to my friends. After 5 minutes of having AIM open I recieve a message from my friend saying - "Hey look at this". And I click on the link he provided and then downloaded the file. I also opened the file. After a minute or so my internet stopped working and then I knew it was a virus. So I tried everything to repair it but nothing worked. It eventually destroyed some of my hardware and it also stopped loading up. I had to reformat but the computer was still damaged. I just hope one day these DAMN NERDS who sit on their computers all day and write viruses go and burn in hell. Microsoft should really try to catch these guys.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

at least it only damaged your PC!!!!!!

Hi, the problem in the PC world is that most virus writers are not
aiming to break things nowadays, they want to push a quiet little
innocuous virus on your machine ; that just records every keystroke
you make and zips it to somewhere in Brazil, or during the night
zombie e-mails 500,000 spam messages or forms a blackmail web
of DDOS bots! So, in some ways , having damaged hardware is
being lucky - though I know how you feel!, (I bought a Mac Mini
to avoid any future infection.!)

Which operating systems are effected?

I'm curious as to which operating systems are effected with the IMs. Are the only IMs on Microsoft's OS or are Unix machines with IMs also effected?

[Scott W]

windows

windows will be the biggest target. i've got more viruses attempting to infect me from windows computers, yet have still to be attacked from a linux machine. i use linux myself and have yet to infect anyone else ;)

[Jocellus222]

Which ports

I knew this was going to be the next step in attacks. Have the attacks hit TLS port 5061 as well as the ports utilized by public IM?

[zbeast]

Virus's what virus

Only boobs get virus and worm.
Just run any anti-spyware any anti-virus software.
Most if any of these attacts are againsted Windows.

What your downloading a file. That fine but if your downloading someting that should be several megs and it's like 800k. You know thats virus or just spyware.

This story is just an shill for buying software.

[par7133]

icq, spam by troyan and its partners

http://groups.google.it/group/microsoft.public.security.virus/browse_frm/thread/cb8c5b1cebb8e795/dd15960ce5120b0f?lnk=st&q=icq+trojan&rnum=1&hl=it#dd15960ce5120b0f

[par7133]

so, for spam or trojan sometime ask to icq partners..

for ex:

http://nictechnetworks.com

[e-mail]

USA