Another malware attack on Twitter emerged this week, this one using Javascript to spread malicious links users only had to scroll over–not click on–to open pornographic and other websites. The worm was attempted by a user that discovered the vulnerability on Twitter, though they claim they did not take advantage of it to send any harmful links. Once others became aware of Twitter’s loophole is when the mayhem of this morning began.

Twitter has since stopped the links from auto-opening upon scroll over, and just sent out a status tweet announcing a patch has been implemented. This is not the first time a malware attack has been spread through Twitter, or a major social networking site for that matter. Social networks are prime targets for this type of activity, as social media sharing is one of the easiest ways to spread links, harmful or otherwise, from person-to-person.

As social media continues to play a large role in our daily activity, Twitter and other networks will need to stay on top of such attacks in the future. Malware can have an indirect and lasting effect on things like the workplace. A recent study by Panda Security indicates that the workplace can suffer significant financial losses as a result of malware-related repairs, due to social networking use in the office.

In the midst of Twitter rolling out its new website, the timing of this malware attack could be better. As Twitter promotes the many improvements it’s made to the microblogging platform, it must take swift measures to instill consumer confidence in its product. Twitter has managed to get a pretty good handle on this particular situation, but looking at the many changes Twitter has made throughout the years, the network will likely continue to tweak its service as needed. Twitter is notorious for making sweeping changes on the site in order to discourage the misuse of its service, such as the modifications it made to retweeting others’ content.