Security hole in MSN Instant Messenger

[Kale]

I don't use it when I have a choice--I use Trillian. However, I just got a message from one of my MSN contacts that read, "lol, look at this" and provided a link that ended in my Hotmail address (which is my MSN username). I didn't click, but I was going to ask her about it when she told me to disregard it. She had just gotten the message from one of her MSN contacts, and, when she clicked, it forwarded the message to everyone on her contact list who was online at the time.

Now, I don't know if there's anything harmful about this link. It very well could be just a self-propagating prank. But either way, it seems to be a rather significant security hole in MSN IM software. Which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, seeing how many holes there are in IE.

Are any of you familiar with this sort of thing? I know little about IM software and how it can be exploited. This particular creature can be thwarted by just not clicking, but are there other hazards to look out for? Are Trillian- and GAIM-users who have MSN accounts at risk?

[Rhea Kaylen]

NOTE: This problem may not have "lol, look at this" as its only message. Since this was sent to me by a contact before I (accidentally) forwarded it to Kale, the actual message may or may not have originally come from my contact.