Virus
nounid
4617·updated May 9, 2026verified
A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus might corrupt or delete data on a computer, use email programs to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on a hard disk.
polysemous
Attested in
No recorded attestations. They are written when an MWE tagging stage is completed, stamped with the pack version and the document’s digest.
Classifications
Entity Type
Threat90%rule-basedr:entity.threat.attack.v1
Sensitivity
unclassified
Information Class
unclassified
Variants
- synonym
- computer virus
- plural
- Viruses
- possessive
- Virus's
- pluralpossessive
- Viruses'
Framework definitions
- §1
- A hidden, self-replicating section of computer software, usually malicious logic, that propagates by infecting - i.e., inserting a copy of itself into and becoming part of - another program. A virus cannot run by itself; it requires that its host program be run to make the virus active.
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) Cybersecurity Lexicon1 senseview framework →
- §1
- A computer program that can replicate itself, infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user, and then spread or propagate to another computer.
- §1
- A program with the ability to reproduce by modifying other programs to include a copy of itself Scope Note: A virus may contain destructive code that can move into multiple programs, data files or devices on a system and spread through multiple systems in a network.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) IT Examination Handbook Infobase, Glossary1 senseview framework →
- §1
- Malicious code that replicates itself within a computer.
- §1
- A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus might corrupt or delete data on a computer, use email programs to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on a hard disk.
- §1
- A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus might corrupt or delete data on a computer, use email programs to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on a hard disk.
- §1
- (virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts
- §2
- a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer
- §3
- a harmful or corrupting agency
- §1 · legacy_primary
- A computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus might corrupt or delete data on a computer, use email programs to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on a hard disk.DR-088 backfill from the noun definition column
Outgoing relationships
- related
- →macro virusnoun
Incoming relationships
- related
- ←macro virusnoun