virus A type of intrusive malware that replicates itself and inserts copies of itself in legitimate programs, where it carries out unwanted and often damaging operations. Viruses initially were spread through infected floppy disks, which users frequently exchanged to share data and software. The most common contemporary methods of propagation are through attachments to Internet e-mail and programs downloaded from Websites. Viruses can be prevented if users open attachments only from trusted correspon- 74570c22.qxd 9/12/07 12:48 AM Page 523 |