What impact does a worm have on a computer's performance?

A worm is a type of malicious software that spreads copies of itself from computer to computer, often without any human intervention. Its primary impact on a computer's performance is that it consumes system resources—such as CPU, memory, and bandwidth—as it replicates itself and spreads.

As it proliferates within a network, the demands on the computer's resources intensify, leading to slower system performance. This includes longer processing times for applications, delayed responses to user commands, and overall degraded functionality of the system. Consequently, a worm can significantly hinder the performance of a computer and its network operations.

In the context of the other choices, a worm does not improve speed, nor does it enhance system security; rather, it typically compromises security by exploiting vulnerabilities. Furthermore, a worm does have a measurable impact on system performance, so stating that it has no impact would also be inaccurate.