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What is a virus?
A virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting as it travels. Viruses can damage your software, your hardware, and your files. For some great antivirus software trial deals click here.
Virus(definition)-Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or information.
Just as human viruses range in severity, computer viruses range from the mildly annoying to the downright destructive. The good news is that a true virus does not spread without human action to move it along, such as sharing a file or sending an e-mail.
What is a worm? (Top)
A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically by taking control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once you have a worm in your system it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, causing a domino effect of heavy network traffic that would slow down business networks and the Internet as a whole. When new worms are unleashed, they spread very quickly, clogging networks and possibly making you wait twice as long for you (and everyone else) to view Web pages on the Internet.
Worm(definition)-A subclass of virus. A worm generally spreads without user action and distributes complete copies (possibly modified) of itself across networks. A worm can consume memory or network bandwidth, thus causing a computer to stop responding.
Because worms don't need to travel via a "host" program or file, they can also tunnel into your system and allow somebody else to take control of your computer remotely. Recent examples of worms included the Sasser worm and the Blaster worm.
What is a Trojan? (Top)
Today's Trojans are computer programs that appear to be useful software, but instead they compromise your security and cause a lot of damage. A recent Trojan came in the form of an e-mail message that included attachments claiming to be Microsoft security updates, but turned out to be viruses that attempted to disable antivirus and firewall software.
Trojan(definition)-A computer program that appears to be useful but that actually does damage.
Trojans spread when people are lured into opening a program because they think it comes from a legitimate source. To better protect users, Microsoft often sends out security bulletins by e-mail, but these bulletins will never contain attachments. Security alerts on the Microsoft Security Web site before we send notice of them to our customers.
Trojans can also be included in software that you download for free. Never download software from a source that you don't trust. Always download Microsoft updates and patches from Microsoft Windows Update or Microsoft Office Update.
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