Online Computer Dictionary

Browse words  |  Based on FOLDOC

Queried for: worm  About worm

Definition:
(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. [Jargon File]