What Is a Computer Worm and How Does It Work? | anti virus worm
Whatisacomputerworm?Acomputerwormisatypeofmalwarewhoseprimaryfunctionistoself-replicateandinfectothercomputerswhileremainingactiveoninfectedsystems.Acomputerwormduplicatesitselftospreadtouninfectedcomputers.Itoftendoesthisbyexploitingpartsofanoperatingsystem[1]thatareautomaticandinvisibletotheuser.Typically,auseronlynoticesawormwhenitsuncontrolledreplicationconsumessystemresourcesandslowsorhaltsothertasks.AcomputerwormisnottobeconfusedwithWORM,orwriteonce,readmany[2].Howdocomputerwormswork?C...
What is a computer worm?A computer worm is a type of malware whose primary function is to self-replicate and infect other computers while remaining active on infected systems.
A computer worm duplicates itself to spread to uninfected computers. It often does this by exploiting parts of an operating system[1] that are automatic and invisible to the user.
Typically, a user only notices a worm when its uncontrolled replication consumes system resources and slows or halts other tasks. A computer worm is not to be confused with WORM, or write once, read many[2].
How do computer worms work?Computer worms often rely on vulnerabilities in networking protocols, such as File Transfer Protocol[3], to propagate.
After a computer worm loads and begins running on a newly infected system, it will typically follow its prime directive: to remain active on an infected system for as long as possible and spread to as many other vulnerable systems as possible.