Anti-worm

Anti-worm (sometimes Helpful worm), has multiple meanings in the field of computer security. It can be a piece of software designed to protect against computer worms, combining the features of anti-virus software and a personal firewall. It can also refer to a worm designed to do something that its author feels is helpful, though not necessarily with the permission of the executing computer's owner.

Concept

The concept of the "anti-worm", or "helpful worm," is a proactive method of dealing with virus and computer worm outbreaks. This type of worm delivers its payload by doing helpful actions instead of malicious actions. Just like malicious computer worms, anti-worms reach computers by scanning IP ranges and placing a copy of themselves on vulnerable hosts. The anti-worm then patches the computer's vulnerability and uses the affected computer to find other vulnerable hosts. Anti-worms have the ability to spread just as fast as regular computer worms, utilizing the same "scan, infect, repeat" model that malicious computer worms use.