A pc worm is a sort of malware that may unfold from one laptop to a different with out human interplay. In contrast to a virus, which infects a single file or program, a worm can replicate itself and unfold throughout a whole community. Worms typically exploit safety vulnerabilities in working methods or purposes to realize entry to computer systems. As soon as they’ve contaminated a pc, worms can carry out quite a lot of malicious actions, reminiscent of stealing information, corrupting information, or launching denial-of-service assaults.
Laptop worms might be very damaging, they usually have been answerable for a few of 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.
