According to PC1news, antivirus specialists Kaspersky Labs recently identified a new type of malware that spreads through instant messaging applications.

These include Skype, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo Messenger and a host of other clients used by gamers and computer users from around the world.

One of the most prominent threats uncovered by Kaspersky is a worm called IM-Worm.Win32.Zeroll. This worm only infects Windows PC’s and after it has infected one user of an instant messaging service it automatically scans their contact lists and starts spreading itself to all the addresses it can find.

When the worm spreads itself the recipient receives a message with a link to an image, this image is of course a malicious file which will go on to infect their computer and spread itself further.

The cyber criminal controlling the worm will now be able to get information from the infected computer, which is usually used for later spam attacks.

The worm can send unique messages in 13 different languages including English, German and Spanish and is steadily spreading throughout the world, making it notoriously hard to track down.

Users need to remember to be wary of untrusted or suspicious looking links and to always keep their antivirus software up to date.