Re: worms versus viruses (was Re: Apple ][ worms DO exist!)

[rbraun@Hopper.ITC.Virginia.EDU (Rolf Braun)]

Dennis McClain-Furmanski (dynasor@infi.net) wrote:
: Sean Dockery (dockery@griffin.cuc.ab.ca) wrote:
: :   For posterity...  :)

: :   A virus is a code stub which attaches itself to other programs, and its
: : usual purpose is to bring a system down (usually on a specified date in
: : order to give it time to spread.)  Less malevolent viruses don't have a
: : doomsday date and tend to be more of a nuisance to the user than a danger
: : to system hardware or data.

: :   A worms does not necessarily have to destroy system data to propagate
: : itself, and its usual purpose is to consume system resources.  I have never
: : heard of benevolent worms.

: Post-posterity:
: The original attempt at something like this was at Xerox PARC. It
: was (I believe) called a virus at the time, because it was to infect the
: system it was on.

: It was a small maintanence program that was supposed to run at any terminal
: it found unattended. Its purpose was entirely beneficial. Due to a code bug,
: it starting moving around the PARC net faster than it was suppsoed to. They
: stomped it. When word leaked out, someone got the idea of something similar
: doing this on purpose. Technically, it is what we'd call a worm today since
: it travelled a net.

: Due to bad press, attempts at benevolent self-directed programs have been
: discouraged. I've heard talk of them in conjunction with genetic algorithm
: folks, but the talk is always kept private because of the inevitable
: reaction. Kind of like trying to talk about genetic engineering -- you get
: about 2 minutes into a conversation before someone brings up Nazi war
: crimes.

: It still *is* a good idea. But you'd need to make sure it was absolutely bug
: free and take out umpty billion dollars of liability insurance, and you'd
: still get hooted off the net.
: --
: dynasor@infi.net                                       The Doctor is on.

There is a reason for this. The chance that a complicated program would
be bug-free on the first try is low, and bugs in worms and viruses can
cause havoc even if that is not what is intended.

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