| slovo | definícia |
computer virus
(encz) | computer virus, |
computer virus
(gcide) | Virus \Vi"rus\, n. [L., a slimy liquid, a poisonous liquid,
poison, stench; akin to Gr. ? poison, Skr. visha. Cf.
Wizen, v. i.]
1. (Med.) Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific
ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; -- applied to organic
poisons. [Archaic]
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. the causative agent of a disease, . [obsolescent]
[PJC]
3. any of numerous submicroscopic complex organic objects
which have genetic material and may be considered as
living organisms but have no proper cell membrane, and
thus cannot by themselves perform metabolic processes,
requiring entry into a host cell in order to multiply. The
simplest viruses have no lipid envelope and may be
considered as complex aggregates of molecules, sometimes
only a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a coat protein. They
are sometimes viewed as being on the borderline between
living and nonliving objects. They are smaller than living
cells in size, usually between 20 and 300 nm; thus they
pass through standard filters, and were previously
referred to as filterable virus. The manifestations of
disease caused by multiplication of viruses in cells may
be due to destruction of the cells caused by subversion of
the cellular metabolic processes by the virus, or by
synthesis of a virus-specific toxin. Viruses may infect
animals, plants, or microorganisms; those infecting
bacteria are also called bacteriophages. Certain
bacteriophages may be non-destructive and benign in the
host; -- see bacteriophage.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
4. Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or
moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the
soul; as, the virus of obscene books.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Computers) a program or segment of program code that may
make copies of itself (replicate), attach itself to other
programs, and perform unwanted actions within a computer;
also called computer virus or virus program. Such
programs are almost always introduced into a computer
without the knowledge or assent of its owner, and are
often malicious, causing destructive actions such as
erasing data on disk, but sometime only annoying, causing
peculiar objects to appear on the display. The form of
sociopathic mental disease that causes a programmer to
write such a program has not yet been given a name.
Compare trojan horse[3].
[PJC] |
computer virus
(wn) | computer virus
n 1: a software program capable of reproducing itself and
usually capable of causing great harm to files or other
programs on the same computer; "a true virus cannot spread
to another computer without human assistance" [syn:
virus, computer virus] |
computer virus
(foldoc) | virus
computer virus
viruses
A commonly used term for any kind of malware.
Originally, by analogy with biological viruses, via science fiction,
"virus"
meant software that "infects" other programs by embedding a copy of
itself in
them, so that they become Trojan horses. Executing an infected
program would run
the virus too, allowing it to propagate, normally without the user's
knowledge.
A virus has an "engine" - code that enables it to propagate - and may
also have a "payload"
- what it does apart from propagating. It needs a "host" the
particular hardware and
software environment on which it can run and a "trigger" - the event
that starts it running.
Unlike a worm, a virus cannot infect other computers without
assistance.
It is propagated by vectors such as users downloading infected
software.
Viruses written by particularly antisocial crackers may do
damage, like deleting files or encrypting them for ransomware.
By the 1990s, viruses had become a serious problem, especially among
Windows
users. The production of special antivirus software became an
industry
in itself, until it finally became a default part of the operating
system.
See boot virus, phage. Compare back door. See also {Unix
conspiracy}.
[Jargon File]
(2024-01-21)
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