worm

   [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 {cracker}s write worms.
   Perhaps the best-known example was Robert T. Morris's {Great Worm} of
   1988,  a  `benign' one that got out of control and hogged hundreds of
   Suns  and  VAXen  across  the U.S. See also {cracker}, {RTM}, {Trojan
   horse}, {ice}.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {back door}{Great Worm}{phage}{replicator}{science-fiction fandom}{Trojan horse}{virus}{wabbit}]