This process ensures that the worm can do its job: infect every device your computer comes into contact with and open the door for any virus a hacker wants to install at your expense. Some variants of the worm even disable Windows updates to prevent the system from downloading security patches.
Make a worm virus full#
To ensure full impact, the worm can also change your computer’s settings to allow it to run every time you boot up. Once you click on the file to open it, it’s exactly like prompting AutoRun–the file is executed, and your computer is infected. For example, W32/Autofun often creates imposter files with names like “porn” and “sexy” in infected flash drives or shared Internet connections to lure potential clicks. Unsuspecting users click “run” only to find that they’ve authorized the W32/Autorun worm.įor users who don’t have AutoRun enabled, like those using Windows 8, W32/Autorun disguises itself as interesting files and folders to trick you into downloading the worm.
As you can imagine, this capability is a huge risk from a security perspective. When you plug a device into an older Windows computer that does have AutoRun, a dialog box pops up asking if you want to automatically run whatever is on the device. While this feature was not included in Windows 8 for security reasons just like this, it still exists on many older machines that haven’t been updated in a while. W32/AutoRun takes advantage of Microsoft’s AutoRun feature. There are 2 key ways that W32/Autorun gets past your computer’s defenses: Once the worm infects a new computer through a shared connection or device, it replicates itself multiple times and looks for more ways to spread. In your computer’s case, this means connecting an infected flash drive, logging into a shared Internet connection, or plugging into a shared external hard drive. The W32/Autorun worm spreads through physical contact. Instead, it’s designed to spread rapidly and open as many security holes as possible–ultimately allowing hackers to download a different form of malware (possibly a virus or a Trojan that targets your financial records) that will steal information, money, or both.
What makes a worm like W32/Autorun unique is that unlike a true virus, a worm doesn’t actually steal something from your computer. Recently, a highly infectious computer worm coined W32/Autorun was discovered infecting Windows computers. In reality, malware (malicious software) can encompass a variety of different hacker tools, and true viruses are just one in a long list that includes Trojan horses, spyware, and today’s topic: the computer worm. What do you think of when you hear the word “malware”? Most people think of the general term “virus”–something that a hacker puts on your computer that disrupts activity or steals information.