Viruses are a type of malicious software program designed to infect legitimate software programs. Once a virus is executed, it can corrupt or delete data on a computer, replicate itself, and spread to other files and systems. Unlike worms, which can spread across networks on their own, viruses usually require some form of user interaction, such as opening an infected email attachment or downloading and executing a malicious file, to propagate. Trojans and spyware, while also malicious software, serve different malicious purposes, such as creating backdoors for attackers (Trojans) or spying on users' activities (Spyware).
[References:The Incident Handler (ECIH v3) certification materials categorize various forms of malware and explain their behaviors, impacts, and propagation methods. Viruses are specifically highlighted for their ability to attach to legitimate programs and files, causing damage or data loss upon execution., ]
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