Abstract
Yahoo! Messenger provides a great number of tools to enable users to communicate through text, voice, and video. Many of the features of Yahoo! Messenger are also avenues for security issues, such as data leakage, social engineering, malicious code, and client vulnerabilities. Data leakage allows the flow of sensitive and confidential information into and out of an organization or individual's workstation. The usual safeguards against file transfers are bypassed through instant messaging. These transfers can be done without the knowledge or consent of an affected user and can involve the transfer of confidential files or copyrighted files, such as MP3s, movies, and licensed software. Malicious code has the ability to spread quickly through instant messaging networks, circumventing protection that is put in place to prevent worms and viruses from spreading. Instant messaging clients can bypass security devices such as firewalls, uniform resource locator (URL) filtering, and gateway security devices, promoting the spread of malicious code. Many of these worms spread via URLs displayed within a message from a contact. By clicking on this type of link, a user can infect his or her workstation. It is recommended that users never click on a URL embedded within an instant message, especially from an unknown contact.
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