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The State of Malware Report. A computer virus is a type of malware that attaches to another program and can replicate and spread to other computers. Think you have a computer virus? Download Malwarebytes free to scan your computer. Cybersecurity Basics.
Computer Virus. For Home View all Malwarebytes products. A computer virus is a type of malware that attaches to another program like a documentwhich can replicate and spread after a person first runs it on their system.
For instance, you could receive an email with a malicious attachment, open the file unknowingly, and then the computer virus runs on your computer. Viruses are harmful and can destroy data, slow down system resources, and log keystrokes. Viruses and malware continue to evolve, and often cybercriminals use the type that gives them the best return at that particular time.
While a computer virus is a type of malware, not all malware are computer viruses. The easiest way to differentiate computer viruses from other forms of malware is to think about viruses in biological terms. Take the flu virus, for example.
The flu requires some kind of interaction between two people—like a hand shake, a kiss, or touching something an infected person touched. Worms, on the other hand, are able to spread across systems and networks on their own, making them much more prevalent and dangerous.
Famously, the WannaCry ransomware worm spread around the world, took down thousands of Windows systems, and raked in an appreciable amount of untraceable Bitcoin ransom payments for the alleged North Korean attackers.
They are still a harmful type of malware, but they are not the only type of threat out there today, on your computer or mobile device. Many computer viruses target systems running Microsoft Windows. Macs, on the other hand, have enjoyed a reputation as virus-proof super machines, but in Apple's own admission, Macs do get malware.