Word spotted:

Computer viruses and the like have long been far more common on Windows computers than on Apples, simply because those who write them target the bigger market share. But now two Mac worms have surfaced and, reports the Wall Street Journal, they "tripped alarm bells …. because they were part of a very small handful of malicious Mac programs, known in the tech world as malware."

New word to me. By the way, can anyone explain to me the differences between a virus, a worm, and a trojan?

quote:

Originally posted by shufitz:
By the way, can anyone explain to me the differences between a virus, a worm, and a trojan?

A trojan is what you wear on your worm so you don't get a virus. I thought everyone knew that.

Tinman

Tinman, it's amazing how much we think alike!

Scary, too.

Tinman

Hilarious, Tinman!

quote:

Originally posted by tinman:
Scary, too.

Tinman

Only if the Trojan breaks.

I'd really love a technical answer to the question Shu asked. What is the difference between those 3? (Note, I didn't repeat them. )

malware
Last modified: Friday, March 11, 2005

(mal´wãr) (n.) Short for malicious software, software designed specifically to damage or disrupt a system, such as a virus or a Trojan horse.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=virus

This explains it better than I could. To summarize, a virus is something which infects your computer. A Trojan is a virus which infects another program, and when you launch that program, the virus gets launched as well. A worm is a like a virus, but it can copy itself onto other computers.

Thanks, Sean. That's a great, succinct, explanation. Is a worm the worst of the three?

Hmm ... for some reason, I just thought of the phrase, "the early bird gets the worm."

Tinman

Typically a worm is the worst, as it infects other machines, while a virus only hurts one. The terms tend to be used interchangeably though, with virus the generic term for all malicious computer programs.

Sean: Thank hou for that def. With your permission I intend to incorporate it in my upcoming Dictionary of Neologisms