malware

/ˈmælwɛr/

/ˈmælwɛ/

Look out! Computer programs that are intended to cause harm or damage your computer are malware. Viruses and spyware are common types of malware.

Malware is a code or file that's meant to injure computer users by stealing their data, secretly monitoring their activity, or harming the computer itself. The term malware, which was first used in 1997, is short for "malicious software." If your computer has a firewall or antivirus software, that's your protection against malware. You can also avoid it by not clicking on mysterious links sent from unknown email addresses.

Definitions of malware

1. noun

   a computer program designed to have undesirable or harmful effects
   synonyms: malevolent program

   types:

   logic bomb, slag code

   a set of instructions inserted into a program that are designed to execute (or `explode') if a particular condition is satisfied; when exploded it may delete or corrupt data, or print a spurious message, or have other harmful effects

   trojan, trojan horse

   a program that appears desirable but actually contains something harmful

   computer virus, virus

   a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer

   worm

   a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network

   type of:

   computer program, computer programme, program, programme

   (computer science) a sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute