Why trojans are often called viruses…

  • November 7, 2001
  • 1 min read
DefinitionVIRUS“:

A virus is a programm that adds itself to a file and forms a modified .exe-file – that’s why you can’t recognize it as a virus file at first sight or remove from the file system. The most common charactaristic of a virus is that it is able to spread itself on its own impulse when it has been activated; further distribution occurs by copying infected files over networks – for example per email. Viruses can delete or change files/data, to delete them efficiently the boot sequence has to be eliminated out of the infected executable file.

DefinitionTROJAN“:

The primary difference between virus and trojan is that trojans don’t spread on their own. A trojan is a standalone program that makes certain areas of interest for other users/computers on the internet available. Therefore it has to be run at every system reboot, what’s done by autorun keys in the system registry. A trojan is an .exe file that hides somewhere in the system but in the opposite to viruses it removable manually – if you know how to do it.

Have a Great (Malware-Free) Day!

What to read next