Worms And Viruses Essay

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Worms
1. Introduction
This report is going to cover worms, which is a term that describes a piece of software which usually falls under the term malware and sometimes may even be used ethically however this is heavily disputed as to whether it can be given the term “ethical”.

2. Definition, an overview
Firstly to explain malware, malware is any form of software which is designed with a malicious purpose in mind. There are three main forms of malware, as mentioned before there are viruses, the next is a Trojan horse, and finally there are worms. Worms and viruses are quite similar and also usually designed with similar intentions. However there are a few subtle differences between the two which will be covered below

3. Difference between a Worm and a virus
As stated above worms and viruses are very similar forms of malware, however there is few subtle differences, the first and main difference is in the method in which the pair spread, for example to spread a virus would usually attach itself to an existing piece of software to spread from one machine to another and this would then need a user to interact to spread it. However a worm is standalone, it doesn't need to be attached to a piece of software it simply uses existing security weaknesses to spread.

4. Worms, in greater detail

Worms, in general are the most sophisticated forms of malware. They are a much more self-reliant piece of software, as they can infest your network without you lifting a finger. The reason worms are so self-replicating is they do not use pieces of software to spread, they use faults within a networks security to spread, meaning if there is an open firewall port, it will spread through there, if there is a gap created by a virus already in the syst...

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... nor are they in any way perfect, as most antimalware systems run 6 months behind when worms are created. Nonetheless, it is better to have some protection than none so a decent anti-malware system is essential. The most important feature to have to defend yourself and your system against attacks from worms is a strong firewall set up. Your firewall should be limited to only essential ports, the ports that you yourself uses. This way it will almost completely shut unwanted access out of your machine.

8. Legal Aspects
The main act people would break through worms is the computer misuse act, the main three clauses are taken in quote “unauthorised access to computer material, unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences, unauthorised acts with intent to impair, or with recklessness as to impairing, operation of computer, etc.”

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