kat -

The IM worm that was found thus far hasn't been a big problem. It's a concern though, because it indicates an already noted trend of increasing amounts of malware in Instant Messaging. It demonstrates that methods previously pretty much restricted to email can be used in IM, and that there's interest in using more powerful methods on the part of vermin who do harm.

More, and possibly really nasty stuff, is expected in IM. Whether browser builders and all the anti-vendors will keep up with it remains to be seen, but one can hope.

The "pending" update you quoted probably is a reference to the 1.07 version that was released a week or two ago - and that already has been patched at least once if I remember correctly (but don't bet much on my memory these days).

There was, incidentally, a brief surge in malware on cell phones not too long ago. It hasn't been discussed much in recent weeks, but they are also susceptible, and users can't really ignore the possibility of increased incidents. At present they can't do a lot about it; but aware is better.

John