Microsoft"s MSN Messenger and America Online's Instant Messenger services are being targeted by malicious messages containing links that could infect a computer with a Trojan horse or dangerous worm.

The latest threat is a Trojan called Kirvo, which arrives in the form of an instant message from someone on the user"s "friends" list. The message contains a link to a Web site, which, if clicked on, loads a copy of Kirvo onto the computer, according to an advisory from security company Symantec. Kirvo is preprogrammed to then fetch a copy of Spybot, a dangerous worm that can take advantage of software vulnerabilities to spy on the user.

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If there talking about Spybot Search and Destroy as the "dangerous worm" they're completely wrong. Spybot is probably the best spyware software there is, recommended by pc magazine not only cause its free, but because it beat all its non-free compeditors. Furthermor it seems very weird that a worm would be called spybot since it would be so easy to see inside pc programms what process is running. I mean if I saw the process Spybot running in my programs i would know right away what it was. Most worms/trojans/spyware use random names such as Kirvo, the one given, as their process so you won't know just by looking at it what it does. Anyway a little more detail could be used for this Kirvo program. They said its transmited through users on ur friends list giving u a link. Does this mean theres a program out there that simulates itself as if its your friend sending a link, or does someone on your friends list actually have to send it to you? Also does this virus spread from computer to computer or is it stationary?

totally man spybot is the best, i think they should be more specific or look things up better.

It must get names off your buddy list and send them messages - it would have to hack into the AIM network to do otherwise - which is possible - but it could easily be remedied and I'm sure more malicious ideas could be floated from doing so. I'd like more details on the link: it sends you to a website that installs malicious software? Using what technique? Why not just send a file directly?

Bropaply the worm first start with infection already computer. Next, after you sign on to chatting with friend, the worm open new chat window for your friend then send to them link aoutomaticalley.

The spybot they are referring to is indeed a well known worm.

Spybot worm information

Most often adding a malicious link to your AIM profile, it's not a big step from there to send bogus messages to people that you have on your buddy/friends list.

The kirvo trojan is actually a downloaded file, most often disguised as a legitimate program. All it would take is this trojan on one computer, causing other computers to access the spybot worm unwittingly, then you have a widespread problem.

It's not something that's hard to imagine, or hard to do.

The only reason things like this spread is because a majority of internet users have no sense of caution whatsoever. People that are click-happy should probably not be using the internet anyway.

Yeh this has happened several times with me.
Some friends (thickos) clicked the link from some of their thick friends, and it downloads to their computer, runs, then opens windows with people and sends them the message with the link.
Its mostly things like http://www.blahblah.com/blah.pif, usually said to be a picture or something, so they click it, and BHAM, infected...idiots, they deserve to be infected if they click it.

So now MS have locked certain file extensions in MSN, im not sure about the exe file filter still being there though.
Dont know what AOL have done with AIM, dont care really lol.
Never did like AOL or AIM, never will for personal reasons....

Theres many things that you can do with MSN, spying...heh heh so watch out...

-kris-