What is a Computer Worm?
A worm is a small piece of software that will use a computers networks and securities to replicate itself. The worm will scan the network for more machines that may have this specific security hole. If it finds one, it will copy itself to the new computer and using the security hole, will then replicate itself again and again in this manner.
Worms can work in many ways and one of the most common ways is through emails. They can attach themselves to your contact list and then send emails out to everyone on your list. This is an ingenious way to get the worm spread around since most people see no harm in opening an email that originates from someone they know and trust.
Computer Worms Detection
Over the years I have found a foolproof way to discover whether a worm has attached itself to my contact list. Create a contact named AAAAA, five A’s should be plenty. List AAAAA’s email address as your own. This way if a worm attaches itself to your computer and sends out a worm to all of your contacts, you will be the first one to get it. Should you ever open your email and find an email from AAAAA in there, you will know that a worm has attached itself and can then send out another email warning your contacts to avoid emails from your address until you have corrected the problem.
