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Science 23 April 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5670, pp. 527 - 529
DOI: 10.1126/science.1095845
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Perspectives

COMPUTER SCIENCE:
Technological Networks and the Spread of Computer Viruses

Justin Balthrop, Stephanie Forrest, M. E. J. Newman, Matthew M. Williamson

Malicious computer software in the form of viruses and worms continues to plague modern information networks. What strategies are on the horizon for controlling the digital pestilence? In their Perspective, Balthrop et al. survey the structure of computer networks and analyze their epidemiological characteristics. The most effective strategy may turn out to be a form of speed limit in which the rate of new network connections is controlled. A throttling mechanism of this sort would slow the spread of computer infections while leaving normal network traffic unhampered.

J. Balthrop and S. Forrest are in the Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; S. Forrest is also at the Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87505, USA. M. E. J. Newman is in the Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. M. M. Williamson is at HP Laboratories Bristol, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8QZ, UK. E-mail: forrest {at}cs.unm.edu

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