Computer Worms | Computer Worm | computer worm | What is a computer worm | History of computer worm | history of worm | Type of worm | type of computer worm | Definition of computer worm | definition of worm | Worm | Worms | worm | worms

Definition

     Computer worms are malicious software applications designed to spread via computer networks. Computer worms are one form of malware along with viruses and trojans. A person typically installs worms by inadvertently opening an email attachment or message that contains executable scripts.

History of Worms

• The first worm to attract wide attention, the Morris worm, was written by Robert Tappan Morris, who at the time was a graduate student at Cornell University.
• It was released on November 2, 1988
• Morris himself was convicted under the US Computer Crime and Abuse Act and received three years probation, community service and a fine in excess of $10,000.
• Xerox PARC

Worms

Worm - is a self-replicating program, similar to a computer virus. A virus attaches itself to, and becomes part of, another executable program; however, a worm is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself.

Worms are a subset of viruses

1. The differ in the the method of attachment; rather than attaching to a file like a virus a worm copies itself across the network without attachment.
2. Infects the environment rather than specific objects
3. Morris Worm, WANK, CHRISTMA EXEC

Morris Worm

• The Morris worm or Internet worm was one of the first computer worms distributed via the Internet; it is considered the first worm and was certainly the first to gain significant mainstream media attention. It also resulted in the first conviction under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.[1][2] It was written by a student at Cornell University, Robert Tappan Morris, and launched on November 2, 1988 from MIT. The worm was released from MIT to disguise the fact that the worm originally came from Cornell. (Incidentally, Robert Tappan Morris is now an associate professor at MIT.)
• The Morris worm was not written to cause damage, but to gauge the size of the Internet. An unintended consequence of the code, however, caused it to be more damaging: a computer could be infected multiple times and each additional process would slow the machine down, eventually to the point of being unusable. The Morris worm worked by exploiting known vulnerabilities in Unix sendmail, Finger, rsh/rexec and weak passwords. The main body of the worm could only infect DEC VAX machines running BSD 4, and Sun 3 systems. A portable C "grappling hook" component of the worm was used to pull over the main body, and the grappling hook could run on other systems, loading them down and making them peripheral victims.

Slapper Worm

• Linux - 2002
• Exploits a problem in OpenSSL to run a shell on a remote computer, this was done in certain versions of the Apache Webserver that use OpenSSL for for https.
• Also had code for DDOS
• Fixes have been issed but is still considered “in the wild”

Incoming Search Tearm

Computer Worms
Computer Worm
computer worm
What is a computer worm
History of computer worm
history of worm
Type of worm
type of computer worm
Definition of  computer worm
definition of worm
worm
worms
Worms
Worm