What is a Computer Worm? Complete Guide

The term “laptop computer virus” changed into first utilized in 1975 in the novel “The Shockwave Rider” via way of means of John Brunner. In this novel, the protagonist of the tale creates a computer Worm that collects records. In the early days of laptop science, worms had been designed to make the most of the device’s vulnerabilities. Instead of critically adverse the inflamed computer systems, they simply stored multiplying inside the background. Today, however, the motive of laptop worms has changed. Today, attackers regularly use them to advantage complete get admission to their sufferer’s computer systems.

Computers related to a community are liable to numerous styles of malware, which include laptop worms. A laptop computer virus is malware that reproduces itself and spreads over community connections. The laptop computer virus no longer normally infects laptop documents, however alternatively infects any other laptop in the community. This is carried out via way of means of the computer virus replicating itself. The computer virus passes this capacity directly to its replica, which lets it contaminate different structures in an equal manner. The distinction between laptop worms and viruses also can be discovered here. Computer worms are stand-by applications that reflect themselves and run inside the background, even as viruses require several documents to contaminate.

How does a Computer Worm work?

To unfold, laptop worms use vulnerabilities in networks. The computer virus is seeking out a lower back door to penetrate the community unnoticed. To get laptop worms into a move for the first time, hackers regularly ship phishing e-mails or immediate messages with malicious attachments. Cybercriminals try and camouflage the computer virus so that the recipient is inclined to run the program. For this motive, as an example, double document extensions are used and/or a records call that appears innocent or urgent, such as “invoice”.

When the person opens the attachment or link, they’ll without delay download the malware (laptop computer virus) into the device or direct it to a risky website. In this manner, the computer virus unearths its manner into the person`s device without them noticing. Once executed, the computer virus seeks a manner to duplicate and penetrate different structures. One manner of doing this, as an example, is for the computer virus to ship an e-mail to all contacts at the inflamed laptop, which incorporates replicas of the computer virus.

What is a payload?

Many worms now have what’s referred to as a payload. Payload is translated as the “payload” and in this situation an attachment that the computer virus brings with it. The computer virus can, for example, bring ransomware, viruses, or different malware, which then reason harm to the inflamed structures. These can then, as an example, delete documents on the PC or encrypt documents inside the occasion of a blackmail attack. A laptop computer virus also can set up a lower back door which could later be exploited via way of means of different malware applications. This vulnerability offers the computer virus`s writer management over the inflamed laptop.

In the meantime, combined styles of one-of-a-kind hackers utilize malware regularly in malware campaigns. For instance with the WannaCry ransomware or Petya / Not-Petya ransomware. These have a computer virus aspect so that the malware can reflect and unfold via lower back doorways in different structures inside the community.

Cybercriminals integrate virus-infected computers into bot networks to take advantage of their computing capability. They then use these networks to launch cyber attacks such as distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) and Cryptomining.

Known Computer Worms

Morris Worm

This laptop computer virus was released in 1988 via way of means of Robert Morris. He launched a few codes without understanding that they changed into riddled with insects that might cause several issues for the affected hosts. The Morris computer virus ended in hundreds of overloaded computer systems strolling on UNIX, costing between $ 10 million and $ hundred million in monetary harm.

Storm Worm


The Storm Worm is an e-mail computer virus from 2007. The sufferers acquired emails with a fake information tale. This suggested an unheard-of typhoon wave that had to have killed loads of human beings throughout Europe.Hackers despatched More than 1.2 billion emails inflamed with the Storm computer virus over the direction of 10 years. Experts agree that there are nonetheless a minimum of 1,000,000 inflamed computer systems, And their proprietors no longer recognize that.

SQL Worm


This laptop computer virus changed into precise in its approach to spreading. It generated a sequence of random IP addresses and mailed itself to them with the desire that experts wouldn`t blanket them via way of means of antivirus software. Shortly after the SQL computer virus unfolded in 2003, more than 75,000 inflamed computer systems.

What is the distinction between a Computer Worm and a Virus?

A laptop computer virus suits the outline of a laptop virus in lots of ways. Like a regular virus, a laptop computer virus can reflect itself and unfold over networks. For this reason, worms are regularly called viruses, however, they fluctuate from each other in a few ways.

Unlike viruses, which require host documents earlier than they could infect the laptop, worms exist as separate entities or standalone software. They can reflect and unfold on their very own when they ruin the device. You don`t want activation or human intervention to run and distribute your code. In comparison, viruses are regularly disguised in shared or downloaded documents. When the host document is downloaded from a laptop, the virus stays inactive till the inflamed document is activated. Only then can the virus execute malicious code and reflect itself to contaminate different documents on the laptop.

A laptop computer virus, on the other hand, no longer requires activation of the host document. As quickly as a laptop computer virus enters the device, it makes a couple of copies of itself, which then unfold over the community or an Internet connection. These copies infect all inadequately blanketed computer systems and servers that connect with the at-first inflamed tool over the community. Because every next replica of a computer virus repeats this procedure of self-replication, execution, and spreading, laptop worms can unfold over networks very quickly without problems and quickly.

Scroll to Top