What Is Instant Messaging Worm (IM Worm)?

If you've ever been on an IM network, you know they're full of people who are dying to chat with you. What's the difference between an instant messaging worm and a computer worm? Well, for one thing, if you have an IM worm, you'll know it right away. The IM worm is the thing that pops up on your screen and says, "HEY! I'M HERE TO SEND YOU A MESSAGE."The Instant Messaging Worm (IM Worm) doesn't just want to send itself to your friends. It wants to be your friend. Then it wants to send itself to everyone's friends until it's spread everywhere. So how do you know if you've got an IM worm? Easy: check your buddy list. If you see any new contacts in there that you don't recognize or look suspicious (for example, something like "msg4j@yahoo.com"), someone has infected your account with an IM worm! You should immediately change all your passwords and delete any messages from those contacts so they can't infect anyone else with their worminess! If you've ever been on the receiving end of an IM worm, you know that they're not exactly the most pleasant thing in the world. They're incredibly annoying because they appear to be coming from someone on your contact list and often contain links to marketing websites. There's another reason IM worms are so nasty—and it's got to do with how these viruses spread. Unlike a traditional virus, which spreads by attaching itself to a file and infecting every computer it touches, IM worms send out messages that appear to be from people on your contact list—but are coming from a third party. It means if one person gets infected with an IM worm, all their friends will also get infected with it—even if those friends never opened or clicked on anything malicious themselves! That's why people must stay vigilant when protecting themselves against these internet threats: even if we do everything right and don't click on anything weird-looking, our friends might!