Internet Worm

(networking, security)

The November 1988 worm perpetrated by Robert T. Morris. The worm was a program which took advantage of bugs in the Sun Unix sendmail program, Vax programs, and other security loopholes to distribute itself to over 6000 computers on the Internet. The worm itself had a bug which made it create many copies of itself on machines it infected, which quickly used up all available processor time on those systems.

Some call it "The Great Worm" in a play on Tolkien (compare elvish, elder days). In the fantasy history of his Middle Earth books, there were dragons powerful enough to lay waste to entire regions; two of these (Scatha and Glaurung) were known as "the Great Worms". This usage expresses the connotation that the RTM hack was a sort of devastating watershed event in hackish history; certainly it did more to make non-hackers nervous about the Internet than anything before or since.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Tong, "Hopf bifurcation in an Internet worm propagation model with time delay in quarantine," Mathematical and Computer Modelling, vol.

Bifurcation Analysis of a Delayed Worm Propagation Model with Saturated Incidence

[27] have proposed the SIRS model with a variable infection rate which plays an important role in the spread of the Internet worm. We consider that the vaccinated hosts (the immunizing hosts) may turn to susceptible hosts (the hosts liable to infection by worms) if the worm variants appear or the patches lose efficacy, and this process may take a period of time.

An Epidemic Model of Computer Worms with Time Delay and Variable Infection Rate

Chen, "An Automated Signature-Based Approach against Polymorphic Internet Worms," IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, Volume 18, Issue 7, July 2007, pp.

Detecting Zero-day polymorphic worms with Jaccard similarity algorithm

An Internet Worm is a type of malicious software that self-replicates, being similar to a computer virus program [13, 14].

Clustering-based pattern abnormality detection in distributed sensor networks

Among them, the problem of Internet worms has become the focus with its wide infection range, fast spread speed, and tremendous destruction.

Modeling and analysis of bifurcation in a delayed worm propagation model

--GR_POL (IP_POL) (Average IP pollution level of IPs in the group): If the hosts in the same group have many characteristics of a zombie PC, this group is likely to be a botnet or internet worm. The IP pollution level is used as one factor in calculating the group pollution level.

Detection of zombie PCs based on email spam analysis

Genetic algorithm based Internet worm propagation strategy modeling under pressure of countermeasures, Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review 2(1): 43-47.

Malicious botnet survivability mechanism evolution forecasting by means of a genetic algorithm/Kenkejisku botnet tinklu isgyvenamumo mechanizmu evoliucijos prognozavimas genetinio algoritmo priemonemis

London, Mar 25 (ANI): A security expert has cautioned that an Internet worm, called Conficker C, can strike at infected computers around the world on April 1.

PC worm may turn nasty on April Fool's Day

The flaw has been rated as critical, meaning it could enable an Internet worm to replicate itself through an infected machine without the user having to do anything to the computer.

Microsoft releases patch for critical IE vulnerability

Mac users, famously smug and contemptuous of the Windows-using majority, found themselves the targets of a malicious internet worm called Leap.A.

One of the few memorable search engine names consigned to history