If you have problems with logging in to your Skype account or receive reports from your contacts that they received some shady link from you, you might suspect that your account was compromised. For this reason, sometimes it is difficult to attribute any specific characteristics to Skype spam virus. Besides, hackers have also started connecting the affected computers to botnets which are used to spread a massive amount of spam or initiate other malicious activities. Up until now, hackers have presented several methods used to hack users' accounts. Links that are usually added to such messages are used to download and install the Koobface worm on the computer. The most popular versions of Skype malware have been designed to steal users' personal information, sensitive computer data or to distribute malicious content by sending messages telling “Hey, check this video” or “this is a very nice photo of you” that are followed by a malicious link.įor instance, the Koobface virus, which has been spreading messages featuring links to “shocking” or “hilarious” videos with the user's name (or username) attached. However, bitcoin mining is not the primary goal of the malware. As a result, the affected machine becomes slow and practically unusable. This infection is used to exploit computers' resources to generate virtual currency. Because of that, sometimes it is referred to as the Bitcoin virus. Previously, Skype network was involved into distribution of Bitcoin-mining malware.

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