Top 10 Worst Computer Worms of All Time

A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program. It uses a network to send copies of itself to other computers, and it may do so without any user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Worms almost always cause harm to the network, if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer (Wikipedia).

So, what are the worst worms that ever hit the computer universe? According to The Free Dictionary, the worst one was Morris Worm, AKA The Great Worm. On November 2nd, 1988, a shy programmer named Robert T. Morris was set to unleash a digital plague that infected 10 percent of the internet. The Morris case involved a 99-line program written to infiltrate Digital VAX and Sun 3 systems. The so-called worm didn't contain any malicious code. Instead, Morris simply wanted to prove that he could use programs like sendmail to propagate a worm across the Internet.

But when Morris released the program on the Internet, a design flaw caused the worm to reproduce. It quickly penetrated 10% of the Internet and bogged down thousands of systems. Dozens of major colleges, government facilities and research centers fell victim to the worm.

You can read more about it here.

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