Instant Messaging Worms Propagation Simulation and Countermeasures

Instant messaging （IM） has become one of the most popular online communication tools among consumer and enterprise IM users. It provides instant message delivery, as well as convenient file transfer services. The increasing popularity and functionalities of IM programs have made it increasingly attractive for attackers, especially for worm writers. IM contact list offers worm an easy way of finding potential victims so that the worm could achieve a surprising spreading speed. This paper first presents our experimental results of simulating IM worm propagation in the logical network defined by IM contact lists, which is reported to be a scale-free network. Then, the existing proposals for detecting and containing IM worm epidemics are discussed. At last, a new algorithm for this purpose is presented, which is based on the observation of the bi-directional nature of IM worm traffic, and its advantages and possible improvements in implementation are analyzed. The simulation results show the proposed algorithm is of significant effect on restricting IM worm propagation.

The Effect of Instant Messaging Social Media Platform Characteristics on Consumers’ Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of WeChat

With the rapid development of mobile communication equipment,the significant role of social media platforms is realized in social media marketing.To determine the effect of instant messaging social media platform characteristics on consumers’purchase intention,we collected WeChat user data and designed an empirical model based on the technology acceptance theory.Analysis of 388 qualified surveys revealed significant positive effects of instant messaging social media platform characteristics,such as social presence,media richness,immediacy of communication,privacy protection,and entertainment on customers’purchase intention.This study aims to extend the scope of technology acceptance theory,providing practical ideas for firms and highlighting the prominent role of instant messaging social media platforms in marketing activities.

A Context-Aware Medical Instant Message Middleware

Communication or the lack of it has been complained to be a major contributor to medical errors in healthcare.To enhance communication in hospital,diverse communication mechanisms are proposed.However,human directed communication in a complex clinical setting in which many people play diverse roles and need to collaborate in many parallel tasks is always in chaos and inefficient.Context-aware communication which can help target who should be communicated and what information should be provided for different scenarios has the potential to improve the communication in hospital.This paper proposes a flexible,automated and asynchronous context-aware medical instant message(IM)middleware which support dispatch,forward and routing different message to the right person in the right time based on the context information.A prototype of this IM communication middleware was implemented in real clinical setting for evaluation.The preliminary results demonstrate its novel features and clinical feasibility.