Common Computer Virus Terms
Common Computer Virus Terms
Trojan Horse
A computer program is hidden inside another program or that masquerades as something it is not in order to trick potential users into running the program. For example a program that appears to be a game or image file (gif or jpg) but in reality performs other functions. The term “Trojan Horse” comes from a possibly mythical ruse of war used by the Greeks sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C.
A Trojan Horse computer program can multiply itself by sending copies of itself from the host computer to other computers, but unlike a virus it will (usually) not infect other programs.
Worm
A worm is a virus that does not infect other programs. A worm can make copies of itself, and infects additional computers (typically by making use of network connections) but does not attach itself to additional programs; however a worm might alter, install, and destroy files and programs.
Virus
A chunk of computer programming code that makes copies of itself without any concious human intervention. Some viruses do more than simply replicate themselves, they might display messages, install other software or files, delete software of files, etc.
A virus requires the presence of some other program to replicate itself. Typically viruses spread by attaching them selves to programs and in some cases files, (for example) the file formats for Microsoft word processor and spreadsheet programs allow the inclusion of programs called “macros” which can in some cases be a breeding ground for viruses.