Well, the best definition we have been able to come up with is the following:
#1 A virus is a program that is able to replicate, that is create (possibly modified) copies of itself.
#2 The replication is intentional, not just a side-effect.
#3 At least some of replicants in turn are also viruses by the same definition.
#4 A virus has to attach itself to a “host”, in the sense that
execution of the host implies execution of the virus.
#1 distinguishes viruses from non-replicating malware, such as ANSI bombs.
#2 distinguishes between viruses and programs such as DISKCOPY.COM that can replicate.
#3 is needed to exclude certain “intended viruses”, that attempt to replicate, but fail – they simply do not qualify as “real” viruses.
#4 is necessary to distinguish between viruses and worms, which do not require a host.
A Trojan is a program that pretends to do something useful (or at least interesting), but when it is run, it may have some harmful effect, like scrambling your FAT (File Allocation Table), formatting the hard disk or releasing a virus.
Viruses and Trojans may contain a “time-bomb”, intended to destroy
programs or data on a specific date or when some condition has been fulfilled. If your computer is infected with a virus – DON’T PANIC! Sometimes a badly thought out attempt to remove a virus will do much more damage than the virus could have done. If you are not sure what to do, leave your computer turned off until you find someone to remove the virus for you.
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