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A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. It often uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. It will use this machine as a host to scan and infect other computers. When these new worm-invaded computers are controlled, the worm will continue to scan and infect other computers using these computers as hosts, and this behaviour will continue. Computer worms use recursive methods to copy themselves without host programs and distribute themselves based on the law of exponential growth, thus controlling and infecting more and more computers in a short time. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, even if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.
SQL Slammer is a 2003 computer worm that caused a denial of service on some Internet hosts and dramatically slowed general Internet traffic. It spread rapidly, infecting most of its 75,000 victims within ten minutes.
Code Red was a computer worm observed on the Internet on July 15, 2001. It attacked computers running Microsoft's IIS web server. It was the first large scale, mixed threat attack to successfully target enterprise networks.
This timeline of computer viruses and worms presents a chronological timeline of noteworthy computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, similar malware, related research and events.
phpBB is an Internet forum package in the PHP scripting language. The name "phpBB" is an abbreviation of PHP Bulletin Board. Available under the GNU General Public License, phpBB is free and open-source.
Blaster was a computer worm that spread on computers running operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000 during August 2003.
Linux malware includes viruses, Trojans, worms and other types of malware that affect the Linux operating system. Linux, Unix and other Unix-like computer operating systems are generally regarded as very well-protected against, but not immune to, computer viruses.
mydoom also known as W32.MyDoom@mm, Novarg, Mimail.R and Shimgapi, is a computer worm affecting Microsoft Windows. It was first sighted on January 26, 2004. It became the fastest-spreading e-mail worm ever, exceeding previous records set by the Sobig worm and ILOVEYOU, a record which as of 2021 has yet to be surpassed.
Sasser is a computer worm that affects computers running vulnerable versions of the Microsoft operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000. Sasser spreads by exploiting the system through a vulnerable port. Thus it is particularly virulent in that it can spread without user intervention, but it is also easily stopped by a properly configured firewall or by downloading system updates from Windows Update. The specific hole Sasser exploits is documented by Microsoft in its MS04-011 bulletin, for which a patch had been released seventeen days earlier. The most characteristic experience of the worm is the shutdown timer that appears due to the worm crashing LSASS.
In computing, Download.ject is a malware program for Microsoft Windows servers. When installed on an insecure website running on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), it appends malicious JavaScript to all pages served by the site.
Zotob is a computer worm which exploits security vulnerabilities in Microsoft operating systems like Windows 2000, including the MS05-039 plug-and-play vulnerability. This worm has been known to spread on Microsoft-ds or TCP port 445.
The Windows Metafile vulnerability—also called the Metafile Image Code Execution and abbreviated MICE—is a security vulnerability in the way some versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system handled images in the Windows Metafile format. It permits arbitrary code to be executed on affected computers without the permission of their users. It was discovered on December 27, 2005, and the first reports of affected computers were announced within 24 hours. Microsoft released a high-priority update to eliminate this vulnerability via Windows Update on January 5, 2006. Attacks using this vulnerability are known as WMF exploits.
HackThisSite.org, commonly referred to as HTS, is an online hacking and security website founded by Jeremy Hammond. The site is maintained by members of the community after his departure. It aims to provide users with a way to learn and practice basic and advanced "hacking" skills through a series of challenges in a safe and legal environment. The organization has a user base of over a million, though the number of active members is believed to be much lower. The most users online at the same time was 19,950 on February 5, 2018 at 2:46:10 AM CST.
The Storm botnet or Storm worm botnet is a remotely controlled network of "zombie" computers that have been linked by the Storm Worm, a Trojan horse spread through e-mail spam. At its height in September 2007, the Storm botnet was running on anywhere from 1 million to 50 million computer systems, and accounted for 8% of all malware on Microsoft Windows computers. It was first identified around January 2007, having been distributed by email with subjects such as "230 dead as storm batters Europe," giving it its well-known name. The botnet began to decline in late 2007, and by mid-2008 had been reduced to infecting about 85,000 computers, far less than it had infected a year earlier.
An XSS worm, sometimes referred to as a cross site scripting virus, is a malicious payload, usually written in JavaScript, that breaches browser security to propagate among visitors of a website in the attempt to progressively infect other visitors. They were first mentioned in 2002 in relation to a cross site scripting vulnerability in Hotmail.
Conficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a computer worm targeting the Microsoft Windows operating system that was first detected in November 2008. It uses flaws in Windows OS software and dictionary attacks on administrator passwords to propagate while forming a botnet, and has been unusually difficult to counter because of its combined use of many advanced malware techniques. The Conficker worm infected millions of computers including government, business and home computers in over 190 countries, making it the largest known computer worm infection since the 2003 Welchia.
Gumblar is a malicious JavaScript trojan horse file that redirects a user's Google searches, and then installs rogue security software. Also known as Troj/JSRedir-R this botnet first appeared in 2009.
The WannaCry ransomware attack was a worldwide cyberattack in May 2017 by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It propagated through EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) for older Windows systems. EternalBlue was stolen and leaked by a group called The Shadow Brokers at least a year prior to the attack. While Microsoft had released patches previously to close the exploit, much of WannaCry's spread was from organizations that had not applied these, or were using older Windows systems that were past their end-of-life. These patches are imperative to an organization's cyber-security but many were not applied because of needing 24/7 operation, risking having applications that used to work break, inconvenience, or other reasons.
EternalBlue is a cyberattack exploit developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). It was leaked by the Shadow Brokers hacker group on April 14, 2017, one month after Microsoft released patches for the vulnerability.
References
- ↑ Robert, Lemos. "Net worm using Google to spread". CNET News. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ↑ Ingrid Marson (December 31, 2004). "Anti-Santy worm spreads". ZDNet.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.