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What is the Difference Between Malware and Virus?

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Ishaan Chaudhary

Many people use the terms "virus" and "malware" interchangeably. Yet, there is a technical distinction between the two, making the question of malware vs. viruses significant. Malware is any harmful software, regardless of function, purpose, or spread. Viruses propagate by infecting other apps. The first computer virus was created in 1982 for the Apple II, although it has been around since the commercial internet began. Viruses propagate by infecting other files and programmes and are spread via infected websites, USB drives, and email attachments. When a victim launches the infected programme or opens the infected file, the virus is activated. When activated, viruses can destroy or encrypt data, alter software, or even stop essential processes from working. That’s why securing data, software and applications is important.


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Examples of Malware vs. Viruses


The viral family tree is quite large. What follows are the three most typical cases:


  1. The infector file may hide among executable files and then propagate over a network. An infected file has the potential to completely reformat a hard disc and even replace the operating system.
  2. The macro virus targets applications with macro functionality. In most cases, macro infections travel through spam emails that include a zipped file or a Word or Excel document. False file names are used to trick receivers into opening the infected files and releasing the infections. Despite their age, macro viruses are still widely used as a malicious programme.
  3. Self-modifying viruses are known as polymorphs. The virus copies itself and encodes the copies, tweaking its code just enough to avoid detection by anti-virus software.
  4. Malicious software (malware) includes viruses and other forms of malicious software that are designed to do harm. Many malicious programmes want to do the following:
  5. Use deception to get someone's personal information and use it for criminal purposes.
  6. Commit identity theft by stealing customers' credit card or bank account information
  7. Take over a network by flooding it with requests or by hijacking a large number of machines.
  8. Exploiting infected machines to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies


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The Difference Between Malware and a Virus

There are several key characteristics between malware and viruses besides the issue of self-replication. Knowing the differences between these two cyber dangers might help the user respond appropriately.


Attack Type: Once again, malware represents a broad class of malicious software. Ransomware, keyloggers, trojans, worms, spyware, and viruses are all included in this category.

Many different kinds of viruses exist, but they all have the same basic property: they may multiply by copying themselves.

Method of Infection: Malware infections often begin with a user opening a malicious attachment or downloading a malicious file, often as the result of a social engineering or phishing scam.

Viruses may be disseminated via a variety of channels, including infected websites, downloadable material, and compromised storage devices, although they are most often delivered through online applications, software, and email.

Attack Operations: Each kind of malware has its own purpose, but they all aim to give attackers full network and system access and better interpretation of data. After entering, the virus relays information to its creator. It may send confidential data, keystrokes, and camera images. Viruses wait until the victim opens an infected program, downloads a corrupted file, or clicks on a malicious link. If active, the virus may delete files, encrypt data, take over system operations, disable security settings, and more.

Attack Outcomes: How a malware attack plays out is conditional on the specific sort of malware used. When a computer is infected with malware like ransomware, the bad guys want money in exchange for fixing the machine. In other cases, like a DDOS assault, the hacker may not be motivated by anything other than to cause chaos.


Viruses aim to damage the user's device or the network, regardless of complexity. Unless the infection is part of a broader malware campaign like ransomware, the attacker does not immediately gain from the action, even if it may disrupt operations and cost a lot to fix.


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Ishaan Chaudhary
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