UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

A worm is a stand alone piece of malware that reproduces itself and actively seeks new systems to infect, often exploiting vulnerabilities in network services. Unlike viruses, worms do not need to attach to existing files to spread. Their rapid propagation can consume bandwidth and cause network slowdowns or outages. Hence, the malware described in the stem is a worm.

Option A:
Option A, Trojan horse, appears to be legitimate software but contains hidden malicious functions; it does not typically self replicate across networks.

Option B:
Option B, spyware, secretly monitors user activity but does not necessarily propagate automatically to other machines.

Option C:
Option C, adware, focuses on displaying unwanted advertisements and may not include autonomous spreading mechanisms.

Option D:
Option D is correct because worms are defined by their ability to self replicate over networks without attaching to host files, matching the description in the question.