Virus

The word virus is perhaps the most commonly misused term for an infection. It is often referred to as a Trojan, a worm, or other types of malicious content. Though it can modify and copy itself, a virus can only spread when a host computer is introduced to a compromised machine. For instance, a user may send it across a network, through the internet, or by installing it from a floppy disk or CD. A virus also spreads through computers by corrupting items through the partitions that are accessed by another machine. With so many computers connected to the web and various networks, viruses and other malicious codes spread rather frequently. A virus often takes advantage of vulnerabilities in email and file sharing platforms, sometimes making them hard to distinguish from worms and Trojan horses. Many people have alternately coined a virus to be any type of self-replicating infection.