Difference between computer virus and worm

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Parameter	Virus	Worm
Different Types	Stealth virus, self-modified virus, encryption with variable key virus, polymorphic code virus, metamorphic code virus	E-Mail worms, instant messaging worms, Internet worms, IRC worms, file-sharing networks worms
Spread mode	Needs a host program to spread	Self, without user intervention
What is it?	A computer virus is a software program that can copy itself and infect the data or information, without the users' knowledge. However, to spread to another computer, it needs a host program that carries the virus	A computer worm is a software program, self-replicating in nature, which spreads through a network. It can send copies through the network with or without user intervention
Inception	The creeper virus was considered as the first known virus. It was spread through. ARPANET in the early 1970s. It spreads through the TENEX OS and uses connected modem to dial out to a remote computer and infect it.	The name worm originated from The Shockwave Rider, a science fiction novel published in 1975 by John Brunner. Later researchers John F Shock and Jon A Hupp at Xerox PARC published a paper in 1982, The Worm Programs and after that the name was adopted
Prevalence	Over 100,000 known computer viruses have been there though not all have attacked computers (till 2005)	Prevalence for virus is very high as against moderate prevalence for a worm.

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