WASHINGTON, 9 September 2003 — Computer worms are everywhere these days. They’re halting the operations of companies, forcing antivirus makers to work overtime, and proliferating, it seems, on an hourly basis. What exactly are they, and what can you do about them? Read on for some answers.
Q: A computer worm infected the network where I work this week. What is a computer worm?
A: A worm is a type of computer virus that is among the most pernicious today. Normally, computer viruses require a host — a program or file that the virus can attach itself to - in order to survive. A worm, on the other hand, is a standalone program. It does not require a host to survive.
Once a worm finds its way onto your computer — or onto your company’s network — it seeks to propagate itself. To networks, worms are especially troublesome, since many are “network aware”. They automatically seek network connections over which they can spread.
Many are written specifically to look for security holes and weaknesses in operating systems and other system software. That’s why Microsoft seems to be constantly updating its browser and operating systems: Worm makers like nothing better than to find a weakness in Microsoft’s software, since it’s used by so many people around the world. Find a weakness in Windows or Microsoft Internet Explorer, and you found a way to wreak havoc among millions of computers around the world.
Once a worm has found a home, it can do all sorts of nasty things: cause network traffic to slow to a crawl, corrupt your files, delete your files, and more.
Q: How can I protect my own computer against a worm?
A: Use antivirus software, and keep it up to date by allowing the software to check automatically for updates on the manufacturer’s website.
In addition, there are some common sense steps you can take to avoid computer worms, just as you can avoid many computer viruses. First, don’t click on any attachments in e-mail messages that you receive — unless you’re sure you know the sender of the message and you were expecting to receive an attachment from him or her.
Second, don’t click on any hyperlinks that you receive in unsolicited e-mail. A hyperlink can point to a file that is automatically downloaded onto your computer. You should never respond to anyone who sends you unsolicited e-mail, anyway, and the existence of computer worms just drives home this point.
If you don’t have antivirus software on your computer now, get some. You don’t have to spend a lot for it. Norton AntiVirus (http:www.symantec.com) and McAfee VirusScan (http:www.mcafee.com) are two popular choices. The first time you install the software, allow it to do a thorough scan of your computer. Schedule the scan overnight if you can’t afford to do it at the time of installation.
Q: Is a worm worse than a virus?
A: Potentially, yes. Because the computer worm can replicate itself without attaching to a document or a program file, it can move onto the machines of other people through the Internet or through a network.
With normal computer viruses, a number of people have to be gullible enough to open an unsolicited e-mail attachment or run an infected freeware program on their computers. Since lots of people have wised up to the typical behavior of viruses, normal viruses spread more slowly. Worms are gaining traction — and notoriety — specifically because they can spread more quickly.
Q: Will worms always be with us?
A: That’s certainly hard to say, but computer viruses have been around almost as long as computers have. Certainly worms are being taken very seriously around the world, not only by computer users but also by law enforcement agencies. Perhaps a multipronged defense strategy consisting of antivirus software, law enforcement, and education will lessen the threat in the future. But being educated about viruses and worms will have to constitute part of the defense for now. And that’s where you play a part.
