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Be careful with links and files in IM.
#Yahoo messenger instant message how to
If you know how to avoid email viruses, you'll already be familiar with many of these steps. Because of the virus, your computer may slow down or stop responding, or you may not notice any change at all.īut the virus might have installed a covert program on your computer that could damage software, hardware or important files, and that could contain spyware, which can track information entered on the computer.Ī computer infected by a virus may continue to spread the infection by sending copies of the virus to everyone on your IM contact list - that is, the collection of IM names that you can store in your IM program.Īs with most threats on the Internet, you can help keep yourself safe by taking basic precautions. When you open one of these files, your computer can become infected with a virus. These viruses are spread, in most cases, when a person clicks a link or opens an infected file that was sent in an instant message that appeared to come from a friend. Like email viruses, instant message viruses are malicious programs that are designed to travel through IM. Using an instant messaging (IM) program - such as Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger), Windows Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger or others - you and a friend can type messages to each other and see the messages almost immediately.īecause IM is so popular, virus writers can use it to spread malicious programs.