More than 580 billion instant messages were sent last year. An estimated 400 million of them were “spim” (the IM version of spam, or unsolicited junk mail). This year the spim figure is expected to be 1.2 billion, according to research cited by the BBC. Instant-messaging is very easy for spimmers and believed to be more effective and more lucrative than spam because there’s a higher expectation (or gullibility) among receivers that the message can be trusted. Which is why “there are fears that some people may be taken in by the spim messages because they think they are being directed to certain Web sites by people they know.” This might be of concern to parents concerned about kids’ exposure to porn. The good news is that there’s an extra step with IM. Whereas an email can contain graphic images, with IM, a receiver has to click to the sexually explicit Web page. A BBC source recommends three tips, and we would add a fourth: Don’t accept messages from strangers; don’t download attachments from strangers; and keep all your PC security software up-to-date (anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and Microsoft updates). Parents might also want to go through IM Preferences with their kids, weed strangers out of Buddy Lists and block anyone not on it. For details, see “IM Risks & Tips” from a dad and PC security company CEO in my 1/16 issue.
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