You might have been browsing on the web or doing something else while you where logged into msn and out of nowhere you received a strange message from one of your contact lists containing a strange URL, such as http://your_email.partytimez.info or some kind of zip file. Some of us being unsuspicious might have clicked on it and that’s what in the first placed begun the spreading of the malicious spam.
This is the point at which the journey of your infection begins. If you click on the URL and go to the website, chance is that the website is highly malicious or may contain some kind of exploit, and may infect your computer with virus, Trojan, worm, key logger, spyware, bot and etc. However, most of the times it is a phishing site that attempts to steal your user name (email address) and password. And now it may be your turn to send these URLs to your contacts instead. When receiving these suspicious instant message, the first and most important rule is DO NOT click on the link.
Most of the times, if you have clicked on the URL that has been sent to you, you will be redirected to a website where you will be prompted to insert your MSN user name and password. If you do so you will have fell victim of a phishing attempt. After the website got your account info it will be able to log into your account, even if you are offline, and try to phish with the same method all of your contacts. Having your account info it could also steal very important personal information, such as credit card number, if they have been stored into your msn account. Some times though the URL you have clicked on may not be so innocent, as it could contain an exploit that plants a virus on your computer, although with the evolution of modern web browser, most web pages, are unlikely to infect your system, unless it is not up-to-date.
If you have fell victim of this annoying spam, though dangerous some times, the most well known solution is to change your MSN password, in order that the malicious bot cannot bypass your account and keep spreading. If however that doesn’t work you may have been exposed to an exploit in which case you should use an anti-virus or msn removal tool to scan and clear your computer from the infection.
Sources:
http://phatybomb.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-solve-this-pesky-msn-virus.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?GroupHappy-MSN-Virus—What-You-Need-to-Know&id=3561212
http://blog.saimatkong.com/index.php/2008/03/01/msn-messenger-spread-virus-by-url-link/
