in the wild

adjective: to exist in a free state; to live free from human interference.

usage:

Most old virii are no longer found in the wild, but virus experts collect old virii and study them in the lab.

Orang-outang's (aka orangutans) are very rare in the wild but there is a thriving zoo population.

A phrase used by computer geeks meaning that a program is in the hands of the users or is out on the Internet being spread around. In this case the Internet is "the wild."

The phrase is related to the concept of memes, because it connotes that the program spreads. Though not limited to them, it is often used in reference to computer viruses. An example can be found in the name of the WildList Organization (www.wildlist.org), a group dedicated to indexing knowledge about viruses that are in the wild.