Skype has Worms!

Skype's image has taken another serious blow. On September 10, the Internet telephony company alerted users that a worm is loose in its service. The worm attacks Windows computers through Skype IMs (instant messages), with the cooperation of "careless" users. Fortunately, anti-virus companies already have solutions, and Skype has its own fix for the do-it-yourself crowd.

The worm arrives via a cleverly worded chat message, supposedly from an IM buddy. The message includes a link to what is apparently a JPEG file. In one example described on the Web, the name and path make the file appear to be an erotic image. Clicking the link produces a pop-up window asking to run a screensaver (.scr) file. Clicking the OK button loads the worm onto the victim's computer, which then sends the same message to that user's buddies.

The Skype Blog, which describes the worm and calls it "w32/Ramex.A," says that three anti-virus vendors have developed cures. F-Secure, Kaspersky Lab and Symantec Corp. have already updated their products to catch it. The same blog offers a manual fix, which it emphasizes is for experts only. It involves deleting five .exe files, as well as deleting all entries in a hosts file. The latter is necessary in order to get anti-virus updates to resume.

Enterprises have long feared the damage Skype hacks could do. Skype's peer-to-peer technology is particularly adept at sneaking through firewalls unnoticed. Its encryption also makes detection of damaging code especially difficult. On the other hand, its use of closely guarded proprietary technology makes it harder to hack, since there's no publicly available code for attackers to examine for weaknesses.

The extent of the damage the worm has done to users' computers remains unknown. It has already damaged Skype's reputation plenty, though, since it's the company's second serious reliability problem in a few weeks. Late last month, the service suffered an outage that lasted more than a day. That high-profile incident prompted much speculation about whether or not IP Telephony was right for Small-Medium Business. First off, this speculation is ridiculous, considering Skype is not a BUSINESS PRODUCT! and users who think that it is, you are DEAD WRONG! Sorry I get a little excited when VoIP users put every product in the same category.

Anyways, they are saying that this latest incident will make it all the harder for Skype to argue that it is in fact a Business-oriented VoIP Manufacturer. That makes the worm a real pest, given how hard Skype is trying to transform itself into a business tool rather than just a cheap way to call friends and family around the world. For a company like Skype, it is hard enough already, almost impossible, with this happening it will be a mission that will never be completed.

"I Got Worms" -Jim Carrey