A Computer Worm: What Is It?

There are many kinds of computer threats. One of them is the worm.

What is a worm?

A worm is a kind of computer infection. It is slightly different from a virus or a Trojan horse. One of its main characteristic is that it can replicate all by itself. For a virus, files usually need to be copied from one location to another. With a worm, that action can happen by itself.

Where do worms come from?

Most of them originate from email attachments. You've probably heard it before, but opening attachments and emails from a unknown address is never a good idea. Some worms can even use the address of the infected computer (for example, your friend's computer) to send itself out. It will use all the contacts of the infected computer. This means that you can receive a dangerous email from someone you think is completely trustworthy. Even Word or Excel documents can contain worms in the form of macros.

How can i avoid worms?

Make sure your system and your programs are up to date. Security patches can often prevent worms.

Don't open email attachments unless you're completely sure it's safe.

Install a firewall, an anti-virus and an anti-spyware.

Worms that aren't dangerous

Since worms were invented, some of them were actually built without an intent to damage the system. A few of them, for example the Nachi family, actually tried to download and install security patches to fix the hole by where it came in. Worms are usually dangerous pieces of malware and can do as much damage as a traditional virus could do. It's worth watching out for them.