What are worms?
Worms are a specific type of computer virus. Like viruses, they attach themselves to files on your computer and alter or erase data, often with devastating results. Worms typically scan your data to extract valuable information (logins, passwords, account numbers, e-mail addresses) and then replicate themselves using your e-mail program and address book or their own built-in mailing program. Worms typically replicate more rapidly than viruses and are especially dangerous because of the extra work they cause for e-mail servers.
Worms are descended from viruses and are even nastier. Just as ever stronger doses of pesticide breed ever more resilient locusts, better and better anti-spyware software bred ever more devious viruses. Finally, some virus designers stopped having their creations infect and take over files the way real viruses infect and take over cells. Instead, they created programs that could stand on their own and cause plenty of trouble without the help of any other software applications. Just worms are independent organisms that can infect a host directly, so do computer worms infect computers directly. What Do Worms Do? Worm designers are often even more sinister than virus designers, since worm designers are not just vandals. Worm designers often use their creations to achieve specific goals: • Backdoor creation. Worms often try to set up another kind of malware, a backdoor. A backdoor is a hidden opening in your network connection that lets the worm send data out and take data in. Practically
