A pc worm is a sort of malware that may unfold from one pc to a different with out human interplay. Not like a virus, which infects a single file or program, a worm can replicate itself and unfold throughout a complete community. Worms usually exploit safety vulnerabilities in working techniques or functions to achieve entry to computer systems. As soon as they’ve contaminated a pc, worms can carry out a wide range of malicious actions, corresponding to stealing knowledge, corrupting recordsdata, or launching denial-of-service assaults.
Laptop worms might be very damaging, and so they have been chargeable for among the most high-profile cyberattacks in historical past. The Morris worm, which was launched in 1988, contaminated over 6,000 computer systems on the ARPANET, the precursor to the web. The Code Crimson worm, which was launched in 2001, contaminated over 250,000 computer systems worldwide. And the Stuxnet worm, which was found in 2010, was used to assault nuclear services in Iran.
