I am quite sure that the terms viruses and worms are not so alien to you, especially the former which has been a subject of common misuse by many a people. Both items have one thing in common; they are all software which are designed to contaminate the computer and disrupt computer operations. Hence, they, in addition to others like Trojan horses, scareware, spyware, adware etc, are elements of the broader term, 'malware'. Malware is a truncation of the two words, 'malicious' and 'software' used in computer circles to describe any program intended for computer malice. However, almost all malicious software is considered as virus which should not be the case. Viruses and worms have their own points of divergence and I will try to spell out these differences.
A malicious computer program which is capable of duplicating itself on the computer and attaches itself to the files on the victim computer is a computer virus. In effect, free storage spaces on the hard disk are gradually eaten up by the virus. Additionally, computer viruses can damage a victim computer by other means including the corruption of files and folders and the deletion of files. In other circumstances, a computer virus could go to the extent of clearing off the entire data on a hard disk. Since computer viruses are clinched to files and folders, any attempt to share or transfer an infected file from computer to computer will, as a consequence, lead to the spread of the virus among the computers involved. For instance, an infected file transferred via the internet as an attachment to an email will be an effective carrier of a computer virus. Also, file transfer through a USB flash drive or a memory card can effectively spread a computer virus. A computer virus is, by far, the commonest of all malware and is relatively less dangerous as compared to others.
A worm is also a malware which is more malicious than a computer virus. This is because whereas a computer virus needs to attach itself to a file before it can spread to other computers, a worm need not attach itself to any file. Worms are capable of transmitting duplicates of themselves to any computer it is networked with. It does this with, or without, any user intervention. Some worms are designed with capabilities of creating backdoors to the infected machine which are commonly used to transfer spams. So now we are well aware of what computer viruses and worms are and what differentiates them. Now the question is, 'how do we deal with them when they attack our computer?'. The answer is simple - you need an antivirus. An antivirus is a computer software program designed for the purposes of identification, prevention and removal of all forms of malware which may pose a threat to the computer. Sometimes, I wonder why they are not called 'antimalware' since their use is not limited to only computer viruses. An antivirus may detect malware by a signature-based approach or heuristic approach. Infected files, when detected are immediately deleted or quarantined by the antivirus. There are several antivirus software available with varying capabilities and may be obtained through commercial purchase or a free download from a website and usually requires regular updating.
So therefore, if, per chance, a computer virus or worm has found its way onto your computer, just grab an antivirus and deal with it.
BRYAN WILIS is a man who is obssessed with computer issues and would like to share his views and suggestions with others.