List the Risks of a Computer Worm
Computer worms were first documented in 1982, when the Elk Cloner managed to infect Apple II systems. These malicious worms are simply designed to damage a computer system as much as possible. Whether you're using one computer at home, or a work computer connected to a large network, you are at risk for a worm infection. Worms can be dangerous, so it's important to know what to look for in case your computer is infected.
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How Worms Infect Computers
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Worms can infect a computer and its network in several different ways. For instance, Internet worms, once on a system, scan for other open systems to infect via the Internet. If a system is not protected, a worm can easily slip inside. Some worms spread through an infected system's Instant Messaging service. These worms send infected links to everyone on a person's contacts list. When the links are clicked, the worm infects those systems, too. Worms can also spread when someone clicks on an infected email attachment. Chat channels and file-sharing websites are also hotspots for infection.
Adware, Spam and Harassment
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Worms are sometimes used to show computer users constant advertisements. Once a worm is on a computer, it can show ads to the user even if the system is not connected to the Internet. Other worms deliver obscene messages to the viewer. These worm creators usually want nothing more than to disrupt Internet use. Their aim is to spread the worm as much as possible, allowing it to cause as much frustration and panic as possible.
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Denial of Service Attacks
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Once a worm has infected many computers, its main purpose is sometimes to shut down a certain website completely. At an appointed time, the worm instructs all infected systems to connect to the desired website. This much traffic may slow the site down drastically, or cause it to crash. This is known as a Distributed Denial of Service, or DDoS, attack. A similar type of attack can be launched through email, where mass numbers of email messages are sent at once, causing servers to crash.
Famous Worms
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Some computer worms caused so much damage that they are very well known. For instance, the MyDoom worm, released in 2004, sent huge amounts of junk email and cut some website accessibility down to 50 percent. The 2007 Conficker worm infected millions of computers, then installed malware on those infected systems. In 2000, the ILOVEYOU worm was an attachment sent through email. It resulted in $15 billion worth of damage, since removing it required shutting down networks and servers, resulting in lost productivity.
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References
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