Easily see the spread of a virus using the Symantec Worm Simulator

The Worm Simulator is a substantially updated version of the VBSim program released in 1997. VBSim was the first program to “show” the spread of a virus to Symantec customers. The new Worm Simulator takes VBSim to another level, enabling custom configuration of new worm simulations, configuration of custom networks and protection policy, and incorporates impressive new three-dimensional graphics. Two simple windows are shown to the user. On the left side is a large rotating globe. This globe depicts the Internet as a whole. Small dots appear on the globe to show the infection spreading. The dots can be configured to represent the entire Internet population, or only the machines on the Internet that are vulnerable to the particular worm. On the right side of the simulator is a window depicting an individual network, complete with desktop machines, workgroups, and larger company subnets. A simulation can have a custom network topology and security policy. For example, a simulation can specify how quickly machines are patched, whether security software is running on a particular machine, where firewalls are located, and how often users open email attachments.