14 DAY TRIAL // A new variety of dangerous chat bots is starting to spread, according to the IMlogic company, a developer of enterprise instant messaging security applications. An initial warning has been issued two days ago and was announcing the fast spread of a very dangerous bot called IM.Myspace04.AIM, which the security company had spotted the day before.
The virus installs on computers connected to the America Online instant messaging network and immediately starts sending messages to people on the infected user's buddy list, which is a very smart trick because the message seems credible as the it appears to come from someone they know. At the same time, the first user isn't aware the messages are being sent and in order to have others infected, all it needs to be done is convince them to click on a link inside that message.
The second wave of infected users resend the worm to other people on their buddy list and considering the credibility this strategy offers, the infection has spread very rapidly.
What's new about this specific bot is that it is able to reply to messages with automated sentences such as "lol no its not its a virus" and "lol thats cool". This copies what a real person might say and increases the credibility of the message.