Difference between malware, virus & computer worm
Tags: virus, malware, computer
Published: 2022-08-11 12:23:14

**What is the difference between malware, virus and computer worm?**

Every user around the world uses the words malware, virus and worms; There is fear. But today we want to check, to know how they differ from each other and what effect they have on [your system](https://www.techbmc.com/want-to-create-an-iot-system-learn-how/)?

Today, every computer system that is connected to the Internet is at risk of security threats at any moment, and there are various ways to enter your system, most of all we have to talk about malware, viruses and worms. In this article, we want to take a closer look at them and their differences, so stay with Facet until the end .

## The first computer virus

The history of viruses dates back to 1971, when viruses were not as dangerous and were actually experiments in the early days of [computer technology](https://www.techbmc.com/). In 1971, an engineer named Creeper at BBN Technologies developed a program that could replicate itself.

This program was developed to move between various DEC PDP-10 machines running the Tenex operating system. At the same time, this engineer could use the ARPANET to transfer between different computers and display the message "I'M CREEPER: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN."

This program is self-replicating and tries to remove itself from the previous computer. Apart from being a bit of a nuisance to computers, the Creeper did not cause any damage to the systems.

## What is malware?

Malware has a general definition and we usually consider malware, viruses and worms as different entities, but in the term malware is comprehensive and general. Malware refers to any malicious software designed to harm computers. This means that viruses and worms are considered different categories of malware.

Therefore, we should note that the first viruses were not malware and did not harm the system and were only a kind of experiment. Even the Brain virus of 1986 was not malware, although it was the first virus to spread globally.

You have probably heard the names of some malware because there are different types of them, for example, the names of Trojans, ransomware, spyware, and other such things often reach the phone. In addition to computers, we are also facing various types of malware to attack Android phones.

## The difference between viruses and worms

## Virus malware

Now we have to go to viruses and worms. What are the differences between them and which one causes less damage to the system? We will have a look at them later.

## What is a virus?

Even though malware encompasses a wide range of malicious programs, we tend to think of viruses as a general term. In this regard, we call every piece of malicious software that invades and attacks our computer a virus. But viruses have their own characteristics that make them uniquely dangerous.

One of the main distinguishing factors of viruses is their ability to self-replicate, and this feature is what made Creeper a virus. Like biological viruses, computer viruses need a host to attach to. They get into your system by attaching to files and then find other files to infect.

The virus is activated when the user opens an infected document or executes an infected EXE file. By opening the file, the virus starts its work and goes to other files and documents to infect.

### What is a computer worm?

Computer worms are very similar to viruses and can reproduce themselves, however, there are differences between them. Worms are more self-reliant than viruses, that is, unlike viruses, they do not need host files to connect.

When a worm finds its place on a hard disk or SSD memory, it initiates its own copying process. Instead of spreading from one file to another, worms make copies of themselves independently and spread in the system.