If you are tired of spam in the inbox, now get ready for spim. Spim
or 'Spam over instant messaging', is usually a one-line sentence that pops
up when you are engaged in instant messaging activity such as chatting.
One report from the Radicati Group says that the number of spim messages
is set to almost triple from 400 million instant messages in 2003 to
about 1.2 billion instant messages by year-end 2004. Michael Osterman,
president of Osterman Research, a messaging research and consulting firm,
quantifies the pervasiveness of spim as follows, 70% of corporate
IM users get no spim, 18% get 1 or 2 spim messages a week, 4% get 3 to 5 a week,
and 7% get more than five per week.
Recommended Action:
Though it is more intrusive than spam, spim can be
kept out of corporate networks by implementing authentication and
security features. On a personal level, using a
'buddy-list' and chatting with only those on the list will generally
help to keep spimmers away.
