Spim
Spam sent via instant-message networks.
Spim isn't nearly the headache that e-mail spam has become, largely because instant messaging isn't as ubiquitous as e-mail in corporate settings and IM spammers are easier to catch with the closed nature of IM networks. But experts predict that unwanted IMs have the potential to wreak just as much havoc as spam.
As corporate use of IM rises, so does the potential for abuse. With the most popular consumer IM services - namely those from AOL, Microsoft's MSN and Yahoo - available for free, all spammers need is a list of screen names to start clogging these systems with unwanted messages. Granted, it's much harder today to flood networks with IMs than with e-mail because bulk mailing tools and lists of user names aren't readily available to IM spammers. But some say it's just a matter of time.
From Coming soon to your IM client: Spim, Network World, 02/09/04.
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