Types of Malware: What is a Computer Virus?

A computer virus is a type of malicious software that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. When this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be “infected” with a computer virus. Computer viruses currently cause billions of dollars’ worth of economic damage each year, due to causing system failures, wasting computer resources, corrupting data, increasing maintenance costs, etc.