Contributor : Gress Zidane Kharfidazia
Definition Of Worm
The term worm is taken from English which means worm, in this case we are more right to call it a computer worm. Naming a worm or worm for this program does refer to its ability to disrupt computer systems. The definition of a worm is a program that has a small size that is capable of traveling on a computer operating system or computer network system, the worm program has the ability to reproduce itself on both systems.
Effects of Worms
The effect of the worm on the operating system will make the computer feel slow because it is considered the computer is doing heavy activity, also on a computer network system it will feel slow or slow network connectivity because the worm works to meet the network access.
How the Computer Worm Works?
Unlike the case with viruses, worms do not have the ability to damage the system, worms cannot damage data or system files. Worms act only as parasites that do not directly damage the computer system. But if the worm is left, then the computer will gradually experience a decrease in performance, even because it constantly forces the computer to work extra, the computer will also be damaged.
Worms are also different from viruses in terms of how to spread or how to infect victims. If the virus usually uses other programs by inserting itself into the program, then the worm does not need the help of other programs to infiltrate a system. And viruses need user intervention to infect a system by the way the user runs a program that has contracted a virus, while the worm doesn't need human intervention at all. Worms use computer networks to infiltrate other computers connected to the network. The first time a worm has infiltrated a system is to use a security hole or more popularly known as a vulnerability.
How to Prevent Worms and Eliminate Worms on Computers?
The only way to prevent the worm from entering the computer system is to always update the computer's operating system. Updating the operating system can close the security gap that was previously open and has now been fixed by the operating system developer.
As for if the computer has been infected with a worm program then all we need to do is scan it using an anti-virus that has been able to detect the presence of a worm. Most anti-viruses currently support eradicating worms, for example Anti Virus which can remove worms including: AVG, Avira, Kaspersky, Symantec and many others.
Example of a Computer Worm
There are several known worm programs that are quite popular, including:
- ADMw0rm
- Code Red
- LoveLetter
- Nimda
- SQL-Slammer
