CYBER SECURITY

COMPUTER VIRUS AND

COMPUTER WORMS
 DESCRIPTION
• Virus and Worms are the malicious programs, which
enters our computers through CD’s, Pen drives, email
attachments and the files we download from the
Internet.
• Both have some similarities and dissimilarities
between them.
• One of the major differences is that Worms do not
require any human action to replicate while Viruses
replicates as soon as the user runs the infected file.
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRUS & WORMS
BASIS FOR VIRUS WORMS
COMPARISON
Meaning The Virus attaches itself to A Worm is a malicious
executable files and transfers program that replicates itself
from one system to the other. and can spread to different
computers via Network.
Human Action Needed Not Required
Speed of Spreading Slower as compared to Worm Fast
Requirement of host Host is needed for spreading. It doesn't need a host to
replicate from one computer
to another.
Removing Malware Antivirus, formatting Virus removal tool, formatting

Protect the System u Antivirus software Antivirus, firewall

Consequences Corrupt and erase a file or Consumes system resources
program. and slows down it, and can
halt the system completely.
 DEFINATION OF VIRUS
• A virus is a software program that can link
itself to the executable files of a computer. It
can replicate itself and modify the file to
which it is attached and seeks for the other
programs appended to that file
• A virus requires a host, to attach and spread
throughout the system. All Viruses are Man-
Made and aim to harm the target computer.
 A virus usually carries its instructional code in order to generate its
perfect copy. The infection can spread in the whole network
connection. It causes damage to an extent at which the damage
could be recovered if good backup and recovery procedures are
employed.

It tends to harm the system by various means such as:

• Using the disk space,
• Completely erasing the hard disk drive,
• Modifying personal data, text files,
• And can even bring the computer to a halt.
•
 PHASE OF VIRUS
• Dormant Phase
At this stage, a virus is in its idle state. It gets activated by
some action or event such as a date, time, presence of
another program.
• Propagation Phase
In this phase virus generates its copies.
• Triggering phase
This phase activates the virus to carry out the required
function.
• Execution phase
In this phase, the virus performs the actual function which
may be harmless or destructive.
 TYPES OF VIRUS
• Parasitic Virus
These type of viruses attaches itself to executable files and replicates itself.
• Memory resident virus
These types of viruses attach itself to a particular area of the main memory and
then it infects each file that is executed.
• Boot sector Virus
The main target of this virus is the master boot record of the disk. It infects the
master boot record and begins to spread at the time of booting.
• Stealth Virus
This virus has the built-in intellect which prevents it from discovering by antivirus
software.
• Polymorphic Virus
These types of viruses frequently alters its signature (Identity) at every execution
which makes it difficult to identify.
• Metamorphic Virus
This virus is similar to the polymorphic virus but has additional functionality. It
keeps on rewriting itself every time including changing its signature.
 DEFINATION OF WORMS
• Worms are self-replicating files that reside in
the memory of an infected computer. It often
disguises itself as system files to avoid
detection. It is similar to a Virus by design and
a sub-class of it.
 PROPOGATION OF WORMS
• It spreads through one computer to another
via email, network, etc. Worms can transfer
itself from one computer to another by using
the user’s email address book. It may cause
the system resources to slow down or
completely halt the task.
 The computer worms could spread
through the following manner:
• Files found in email attachments.
• Through a web link or FTP resource.
• Links received through the ICQ and IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) message.
• Via peer-to-peer file sharing networks
 HOW TO PREVENT YOUR SYSTEM FROM
COMPUTER VIRUS & COMPUTER WORMS
• Installation of Anti-virus software and firewall is the
primary way to protect your computer.
• Monitor the potential data exhilaration.
• Update the operating system and software regularly.
• Enable notifications and alerts.
• Observe and inspect file and user behavior.