About viruses, worms, and Trojan horses
On this page:
Defining viruses, worms, and Trojan horses
According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a computer virus is "a computer program usually hidden within another seemingly innocuous program that produces copies of itself and inserts them into other programs or files, and that usually performs a malicious action (such as destroying data)". Computer viruses are never naturally occurring; they are always man-made. Once created and released, however, their spread is not directly under human control.
-
Macro viruses: A macro is a piece of code that
can be embedded in a data file. A macro virus is thus a virus that
exists as a macro attached to a data file. In most respects, macro
viruses are like all other viruses. The main difference is that they
are attached to data files (i.e., documents) rather than executable
programs.
Document-based viruses are, and will likely continue to be, more prevalent than any other type of virus.
-
Worms: Worms are very similar to viruses in that
they are computer programs that replicate functional copies of
themselves (usually to other computer systems via network connections)
and often, but not always, contain some functionality that will
interfere with the normal use of a computer or a program. Unlike
viruses, however, worms exist as separate entities; they do not attach
themselves to other files or programs. Because of their similarity to
viruses, worms also are often referred to as viruses.
- Trojan horses: A Trojan horse is a program that does something undocumented which the programmer intended, but that users would not accept if they knew about it. By some definitions, a virus is a particular case of a Trojan horse, namely, one which is able to spread to other programs (i.e., it turns them into Trojans too). According to others, a virus that does not do any deliberate damage (other than merely replicating) is not a Trojan. Finally, despite the definitions, many people use the term "Trojan" to refer only to a non-replicating malicious program.
Resources and more information about viruses
- For details on avoiding viruses, see Best practices for securing your computer, accounts, and data.
- For virus information of particular interest to Indiana
University, visit Protect IU, the
web page of the University Information Security Office
(UISO).
- For news about current viruses, check Symantec's
Security Response site, the McAfee Security Center, and the
Total Defense Malware Encyclopedia.
- For news about the antivirus industry, see the SecurityFocus virus page.
