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What is a worm and how is it different from a virus? A worm is a program that has the ability to copy itself from computer to computer. Worms spread over the Internet and infect other machines through computer networks. A worm usually enters a computer network through a security hole in the network software or operating system.

A worm is different from a virus because it does not require you to open an infected email attachment or download a corrupted file in order to spread across the Internet. A virus will only spread if you open an infected email attachment, download a corrupted file, or insert an infected CD or floppy disk into your computer. A worm can spread itself across the Internet through computer networks completely on its own.

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