Glossary Entry: Virus
Quick Definition
In casual usage, a virus is a malicious program that exists to spread itself and harm the computers that it runs on -- in other words, general malware.
The strict definition of a computer virus is a malicious program that "infects" files so that accessing the corrupted file causes the malware to run and spread itself further. Actual viruses like this are fairly rare, as most malware is actually a form of worm or trojan.
The strict definition of a computer virus is a malicious program that "infects" files so that accessing the corrupted file causes the malware to run and spread itself further. Actual viruses like this are fairly rare, as most malware is actually a form of worm or trojan.
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