Since I'm a relatively new GAIM/Pidgin convert (having switched over from Trillian because of its lack of free Jabber/GTalk support - Astra: where are you? That's another story altogether...), & I use Windows, the title of this blurb at OSNews caught my eye. Though the issue apparently has a history, it's the first I've heard of it, so I figured I'd spread the word.

"While on Linux this might not be a major concern as there isn't enough malware (even if Pidgin does not use the Gnome keychain to authenticate as it's available at least on Ubuntu), this can be a huge problem in the Windows world."