Because of the almost immediate two-way nature of communication, many users feel that the use of instant messaging in the workplace leads to more effective and efficient workplace communications and, therefore, to higher productivity. As a result, IM is increasing in popularity in both professional and personal applications. However, as with most things Internet based, the increasing use of instant messaging has led to an associated increase in the number of security risks.

An Instant Messenger worm is usually a standalone program that spreads through (IM) networks. Some of the widely used instant messenger networks are: ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, AOL and a few others. When an IM worm is run, it usually locates address book of instant messenger client and tries to send itself to all infected person's contacts. Some worms use social engineering and send messages that trick recipients into running the received worm copies.

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