Worm

<networking, security> (From "Tapeworm" in John Brunner's novel "The Shockwave Rider", via XEROX PARC) A program that propagates itself over a network, reproducing itself as it goes.

Compare virus.

Nowadays the term has negative connotations, as it is assumed that only crackers write worms.

Perhaps the best-known example was the Great Worm.

Compare Trojan horse.

[Jargon File]

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