Sobig facts for kids
The Sobig worm was a type of computer worm. It was also known as Sobig.F worm or W32.Sobig.F@mm. This worm first appeared on August 18, 2003. When it was at its worst, the Sobig worm was found in about one out of every seventeen emails sent around the world.
How the Sobig Worm Spread
The Sobig worm was an email worm. It sent copies of itself to many email addresses. It looked for addresses in files with specific file extensions. These included types like .dbx, .eml, .htm, and .txt.
The worm often made emails look like replies. These emails would have "Re:" in the subject line. This made people think they were getting a message from someone they knew.
If a user opened the email and clicked on the attachment, the worm would start. It would then download itself onto their computer. This allowed the worm to spread further.
History of the Sobig Worm
The Sobig worm was first discovered on August 18, 2003. After it began to spread, the worm tried to connect to the Internet. It aimed to get updates from 20 different internet servers on August 20.
However, computer security experts acted quickly. They were able to shut down these servers. This stopped the worm from getting its updates. The worm had a built-in shut-off date. It was set to stop working on September 10, 2003.
Impact of the Sobig Worm
At its peak, the Sobig worm was very widespread. It was found in about one out of every seventeen emails sent online. This shows how quickly it could spread.
By the end of 2003, the Sobig worm had created many copies. It made over one million copies of itself. This made it one of the most active worms of its time.
