Computer worm can travel at lightning
speed
The system doesn't exist right now, but experts say a computer worm transmitted via instant messaging programs can infect 500,000 computers in 30 seconds. No one has designed a computer worm to spread by instant messaging but computer security experts say it provides a potentially explosive target, says the NewScientist.com news service. Instant messaging applications let users type messages directly onto each others' computer screens via the internet. This has become a popular alternative to email among home users and office workers. Eric Chien and Neal Hindocha at the U.S. anti-virus company, Symantec, set out to determine how quickly an IM worm could spread. "We did a variety of simulations," Chien said. "An average scenario would be about 30 seconds to infect 500,000 machines. Even in a best case scenario we're talking less than three minutes." But Chien and Hindocha also say IM networks are designed in a way that could provide defense against worms.
The system doesn't exist right now, but experts say a computer worm transmitted via instant messaging programs can infect 500,000 computers in 30 seconds. No one has designed a computer worm to spread by instant messaging but computer security experts say it provides a potentially explosive target, says the NewScientist.com news service. Instant messaging applications let users type messages directly onto each others' computer screens via the internet. This has become a popular alternative to email among home users and office workers. Eric Chien and Neal Hindocha at the U.S. anti-virus company, Symantec, set out to determine how quickly an IM worm could spread. "We did a variety of simulations," Chien said. "An average scenario would be about 30 seconds to infect 500,000 machines. Even in a best case scenario we're talking less than three minutes." But Chien and Hindocha also say IM networks are designed in a way that could provide defense against worms.
Charles Mims
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