Worm Viruses, Deadliest of All
There are three types of malware – that is, malicious software designed to harm your computer: viruses, Trojans and worms. Of the three, worms are the most harmful because they can function without human intervention. While viruses attach themselves to a program, worms do not need to do that to be harmful. They can spread independently.
Worms can be designed to destroy computer programs and files, but they are often designed to attack networks. Because networks are comprised of servers and routers, this can be most damaging. The servers are used as resources by many individual computers and the router is a specialized server that is used to route network traffic. If nothing else, a worm can cause damage by consuming precious network bandwidth.
Once worms are released into a network, like viruses, they can self-replicate and cause much damage by consuming the routers memory and processor time. This will slow down the entire network – affecting many, many users rather than just one. Viruses can cause damage other than file deletion. By taking control of the CPU (central processing unit), a virus can cause the computer to run very slow by running programs without your knowledge. This will make your computer run slow and may even make it impossible to run the programs you wish to open.
To add to the problems you may already be having, worms often carry ‘payloads.’ This is other types of malware like spyware or backdoor installation programs designed to do further damage to your computer. Spyware allows the hacker who designed it to monitor all you do on your computer as well as send spam from your computer and steal your data.
Worms often carry ‘payloads’ - other types of malware such as spyware or backdoor installation programs. Spyware is used to monitor your computer activities and backdoors are hidden access points to your computer, which can be exploited by hackers to send spam or steal data from your computer.
It is payloads that are the biggest fear of most individual users because they are designed to work around computer security and turn of antivirus software and open ports. Because ports are used to move data in and out of the computer, once they are open, the hacker can steal data or begin deleting files.
MyDoom (also known as W32.MyDoom@mm, Novarg, Mimail.R and Shimgapi) was the fastest spreading worm ever. It was first noticed in January 2004 as part of an email that stated “Andy, I’m just doing my job, nothing personal, sorry.” No one knows who originated the worm, but some security firms felt it might have come from an underground programmer in Russia and was sent to attack the software company SCO (Santa Cruz Operation). Why attack SCO? They had instigated controversial legal actions against Linux, an operating system favored by many, but this theory was never proven. Regardless, MyDoom did cause a world-wide slowdown of the Internet.
You can use firewalls to protect your computer against worms. Once a firewall is set up, it will restrict network traffic and provide moderate protection for your computer. By clocking your computer, it is as if the computer cannot be seen by worms on the network and therefore will not be attacked. However, worms can also be distributed through email attachments, so you should be cautious when opening emails – especially from people you don’t know.
If you notice your computer running slower than usual or doing unusual things (like rebooting itself), chances are you have become infected. Scan your system with reliable antivirus software. If that fails to remove the worm, search the Internet for instructions on how to remove the worm manually.