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This article is from the Computer Viruses FAQ, by Nick FitzGerald n.fitzgerald@csc.canterbury.ac.nz with numerous contributions by others.

66 How do viruses spread so quickly? (Computer virus)

This is a very complex issue, and some viruses don't spread quickly at
all (though talk of them often does!).

Those that do spread widely are able to do so for a variety of reasons.
A large target population--millions of compatible computers--helps. A
large virus population helps. Vendors whose quality assurance relies
on, for example, outdated scanners, help. Users who gratuitously
install new software on their systems without making any attempt to test
for viruses help. All of these things are factors.

 

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