Worm Virus
Worms are malicious programs that make copies of themselves over and over, on the local drive, network, email, or Internet. In other words, the sole purpose of a worm is to reproduce, unlike a virus which attempts to infect, i.e. embed its code into, other files. The most common type of worm is the email worm. Email worms Email worms do not infect other files as do viruses but rather they simply make copies of themselves over and over again. unwittingly spread copies of the worm to all their friends, colleagues, and business associates whose email addresses happen to be on their system. |
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Two of the Latest Types of Computer Worms
Nuwar OL Worm
Nuwar OL is delivered to a user's inbox with subjects like "You Are In My Dreams," "I Love You So Much," "Inside My Heart Is You," etc. The contents of the message contains a website link, which downloads the malicious code when accessed. To disguises its activity, the worm redirects you to simple web page with the theme of a romantic greeting card. Once the computer is infected, the infection spreads by sending messages to names in the user's contact folder.
The most severe impact of the Nuwar OL is slowing down the performance of a single computer or a network. Once detected, it is
generally easy to remove.
Valentin E Worm
Similar to the Nuware Worm, Valentin E is distributed via email. It contains subjects like "True Love," "Searching for True Love,"
and "Love Of My Life." The worm also includes an attached file titled "FRIENDS4U."
When the targeted user opens the attachment, a copy of the worm is downloaded onto their computer. Its malicious code is installed onto the machine as a file with an SCR extension. If the user runs the file, Valentin E. displays a new desktop background to distract them, all while it propagates itself on the host machine. It then distributes email messages with copies of itself attached to further spread the infection to other computers.
How to Prevent Worm Infections?
- Avoid opening emails originating from unknown senders. Beware of emails containing holiday themes, relating to money or any of
your accounts.
- Never click on links in an email message, even if they appear to come from a reliable source. Your best bet would be to copy and
paste them into your address bar.
- Never open email attachments from unknown senders.
- Be careful of the sites you visit online as many of them are designed to deliver malware
- Install a firewall application to prevent intruders from loading malicious content on your computer.
- Defend you computer with security software with the ability to detect known and evolving strains of malware.