Worms are for Fishing, not Phishing!

What are worms? They are very similar to viruses, but they do not require active user interaction to spread. Worms take advantage of file transport methods like email or network connections. While a virus lingers in the system it has infected, waiting to be put into action, or executed, a worm works independently and is much more active in spreading itself.

A well know example of a worm is the Conficker worm. This particular worm broke out in 2008, infecting up to 15 million computers. It was spread through vulnerabilities in the Windows code. Computers were compromised via the disabling of certain software services such as Windows update.

 Like any other computer infection, a worm is a program that can replicate itself. Worms can spread from machine to machine independently, use up computer processing time and bandwidth when the replicate, and can potentially be very damaging to your computer. Typically they exploit a weakness in your computer's security or Operating System. They often move around and infect other machines via networks. Some worms open what are known as back doors, allowing hackers (people not you, and not your friends that you've given permission to use the computer) to take control of your computer to launch other programs (making your computer in effect, their zombie!). Once this happens that hacker has access to information stored on your computer.

That might not seem like much, but it means they have access to your banking if you use your computer to conduct online banking. It can mean they have access to your social security information... yes, everything that you use your computer for can effectively be ripe for the picking.

So what should you do? *yes after you have a good sniffle into your wooby.*

Virus protection, people. Get your computer a condom (firewall) and teach it all about playing safely on the internet.
Keep your operating system current.
Update your virus protection and firewall(s) frequently.

Watch for suspicous activity on your computer.

And when in doubt? Go to one of the reliable sources of information (something with a .gov or .edu in the domain name is a good place to start)...
Take a computer fundamentals course so your have a solid base in how to deal with these and other basic computing issues...
And if all else fails, don't be afraid to ask for help from a reputable source like your Computing professor, or another professional such as the experts like those on the Geek Squad.

If there's help and hope for even a silly little Amoeba like me to be able to take care of her computer in the wild and woolly world of the ginormous Web-tastic Internet, there's gotta be hope for you too. Again, good luck, and happy, virus, worm, and trojan free trails to you!