Computer security technologists are racing to find ways to block ever-more complex computer worms and viruses that burrow into computers -- usually via e-mail -- and wreak havoc on network systems.

The Santa Ana winds were already blowing hard when I ran the first worm simulation. I’m no hacker, but it was easy enough: Open a Terminal shell, paste some commands from GitHub, watch characters ...

A worm is a form of malware (malicious software) that operates as a self-contained application and can transfer and copy itself from computer to computer. It’s this ability to operate autonomously, ...