Part 2 – 2: : Terms and Definitions for Virus and Worms
| Term | Definition |
| Virus | Malware that can reproduce itself but requires user interaction to initiate the attack |
| Worm | Malware that can spread to other devices by itself after the user has made an interaction |
A virus is any type of application, service, or script that is started by an end user making an action. This action is a simple launch of an application, starting a service, or running a predefined script on a computer or device. The worse thing about a virus is that it has the ability to replicate itself with no interaction. Another type of malware that is more devastating is a worm, which can spread from one computer to another over a network both local and public. A virus can do everything and anything on a computer once it has access. By encrypting files and folders to creating popups or replicating windows to cause computer resource issues, a virus is something that can be either easy or very difficult to mitigate and fix.
An easy way to prevent viruses and worms to get into your system is to have anti-virus software such as Trend Micro or McAfee software installed on workstations and servers. The programs help prevent old and new malware from being triggered on the system in real-time. Another way to prevent these problems is to utilize some type of IDS (Intrusion Detection System) or IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) devices on the network. These devices are 2 fold which an IDS will help monitor and report attacks or vulnerabilities that occur on a system or network, while an IPS does everything an IDS can do but will take further action and stop the malware in its place before causing harm to the system or network. Sometimes businesses will only implement an IDS device if a different software or system is already being used to stop attacks.