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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. E » Volume 66 » Issue 3
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Phys. Rev. E 66, 035101(R) (2002) [4 pages]

Email networks and the spread of computer viruses

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M. E. J. Newman1, Stephanie Forrest1,2, and Justin Balthrop2
1Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
2Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-1386

Received 2 July 2002; published 10 September 2002

Many computer viruses spread via electronic mail, making use of computer users’ email address books as a source for email addresses of new victims. These address books form a directed social network of connections between individuals over which the virus spreads. Here we investigate empirically the structure of this network using data drawn from a large computer installation, and discuss the implications of this structure for the understanding and prevention of computer virus epidemics.

© 2002 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.66.035101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.66.035101
PACS:
89.75.Hc, 89.20.Hh, 87.23.Ge, 87.19.Xx
 
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