Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "AM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus companies include "A97M" and "AM".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "AplS/".

Anti-Virus reports these applications with the prefix "App/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "Bat/".

The BIOS is the very first piece of software which runs when your computer is switched on, so it must be present for your computer to work. Without it, your PC is effectively useless.
The BIOS is stored in special chip on the motherboard which maintains its contents even when the power is switched off. This is supposed to ensure that the BIOS is always there when you need it.

On many computers the BIOS can be upgraded using software supplied by the BIOS manufacturer. It can also be damaged by viruses such as W95/CIH-10xx and the damage may mean you cannot boot up your PC at all. If the BIOS chip cannot be replaced (some BIOS chips are soldered into position), you may even need to replace your computer's motherboard.

An email which urges the recipient to forward the email to other people.

The CMOS settings maintain fundamental system configuration information, which is stored in a special chip on the motherboard. This chip, usually powered by a battery, can operate independently of the rest of the computer. It keeps things like the system clock up-to-date even when the power is switched off.
The CMOS settings also record what sort of disks are installed in the PC, whether or not a password is required at start-up, and which devices (e.g. floppy, hard disk, CD-ROM or network) should be used when trying to boot up the computer. If your CMOS settings are inaccurate, then your computer may not work properly.
Some viruses and trojans, such as Troj/KillCMOS-E, deliberately corrupt these settings to try to stop your computer working. Although it is usually fairly easy to correct the CMOS settings, the procedure for doing so varies from computer to computer. You may need to refer to your computer's manual or the manufacturer's website for assistance.

One of the CMOS settings is called the "boot sequence". This determines whether the computer will try to boot from floppy disk or not. Because accidentally booting from a floppy can introduce boot sector viruses such as Form, recommends changing this setting so that the computer routinely boots from the hard disk. Please read Guidelines for Safer Computing.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "CSC/".

A day zero threat is a new threat released in the wild before threat detection signatures are available to protect against it. Fast moving threats such as internet worms can cause huge amounts of damage at day zero.

DOS Boot Sector (aka DOS Boot Record) of hard disks and boot sector of floppy disks.
DOS Boot Sector viruses can infect any Intel-compatible PC which is configured to boot from a floppy drive.
More secure operating systems such as Windows NT can be infected but may prevent the virus from replicating.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

Anti-Virus does not report these worms with a special prefix.

Does not replicate.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "XF/" or "XF97/".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "XM/" (earlier versions used "Excel").

When an infected document is opened the viral macros are copied into a file in the XLSTART directory. This is automatically loaded into other documents when they are opened.
Some viruses such as XM97/Papa also use mail programs such as Outlook to automatically send infected files to names listed in the address book.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "XM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus companies include "X97M".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "JS/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "JS/".

Anti-Virus reports these files with the prefix "Joke/".

A program that records users keystrokes with the intention of capturing sensitive information such as credit card details.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Linux/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "Linux/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus vendors include "Unix".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Mac/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "Mac/".

Macromedia Flash files associated with the Flash 5 player.

Typically the virus replicates itself by copying itself to the script at the start of the Flash file.

MapInfo.

MapBasic.

Infects the MapInfo application so as to infect other MapInfo Map files.

Master Boot Sector (aka Master Boot Record) of hard disks and boot sector of floppy disks.
Master Boot Sector viruses can infect any Intel-compatible PC which is configured to boot from a floppy disk drive.
More secure operating systems such as Windows NT can be infected but may prevent the virus from replicating.

Loads into memory when an infected PC is booted and then infects any floppy disk used in the PC. A PC which boots from an infected floppy disk becomes infected.
If the BIOS settings are changed to prevent the PC booting from the floppy drive then the PC cannot become infected.

There is no standard naming convention for this type of virus.

This prefix is used to denote viruses that infect in the middle of a file rather than at the traditional entry point. Some viruses are reported with this prefix if they are detected at the email gateway and with a different prefix at the desktop.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Mid/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "mIRC/" or "pIRC/".

A problem which is often erroneously attributed to computer viruses.

systems running Microsoft Command Shell.

When an infected script is run it infects other MSH files

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "MSH/"

Each detected virus, Trojan and worm, and family of virus, Trojan and worm variants, are each given a name. The programming code in all variants within a family will be similar (it is often copied and only altered slightly) and the effects will usually also be similar.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "OF97/".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Palm/".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "PM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus vendors include "PP97M".

The prefix in the name of a virus, Trojan or worm explains either what the program does, or which operating system it affects.

PUA is a term used to describe an application that is not inherently malicious, but is generally considered unsuitable for the majority of business networks. Potentially unwanted applications include adware, dialers, remote administration tools and hacking tools.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "REG/".

A fraudulent business scheme or swindle.

A warning about a possible threat which has been greatly exaggerated.

Spyware is a term used to describe a broad set of applications that send information from a computer to a third party without the user's permission or knowledge. Spyware Trojans and spyware worms are Trojans and Win32 worms that also exhibit behaviour attributed to spyware.

A spyware Trojan is a seemingly legitimate computer program designed to disrupt and damage computer activity by sending information from a computer to a third party without the user's permission or knowledge.

Spyware worm is a term used to describe malware that has the ability to self-replicate without a host program and send information from a computer to a third party without the user's permission or knowledge.

Spyware worms spread using Windows networking APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), email, or by exploting vulnerabilities of the operating system or another application. They have identical spreading capabilities to Win32 worms but they also exhibit behaviour attributed to spyware.

The suffix in the name of a virus, Trojan or worm denotes the variant. It is the part of the name that follows a hyphen and will be a letter or letters of the alphabet.

Devices running Symbian OS.

Infects other Symbian devices using bluetooth.

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "Symb/".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Troj/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "Unix/".

A computer program that copies itself. Often viruses will disrupt computer systems or damage the data contained upon them. A virus requires a host program and will not infect a computer until it has been run. Some viruses spread across networks by making copies of themselves or may forward themselves via email. The term 'virus' is often used generically to refer to both viruses and worms.

A warning about a non-existent virus. Usually urge users to forward them to everyone they know.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "VBS/".

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "VBS/".

Infects other executable files by a variety of mechanisms.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "Win/".

Infects other executable files by a variety of mechanisms.
Some viruses such as W32/ExploreZip also use Outlook or other programs to distribute infected files by email.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "W32/"(earlier versions used "Win32").

Anti-Virus reports these worms with the prefix "W32/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus vendors include "Win32".

Infects other executable files. Some viruses become memory resident and infect other programs when they are run. Others actively seek out other files to infect.
Some viruses such as W95/Babylonia also distribute infected files by email.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "W95/"(earlier versions used "Win95").

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "W98/" (earlier versions used "Win98").

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "WNT/" (earlier versions used "WinNT").

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "W2K/".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "WM/" (earlier versions used "Winword").

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "WM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus companies include "W97M".

Some of these viruses copy the viral macros into the global template (usually NORMAL.DOT) in the same way as Word macro viruses. This method of transmission does not work with MS Office 97 SR1 or later.
Most of the recent viruses copy the viral macros into another file and modify the global template to import them when another document is opened.

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "WM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus companies include "W97M".

Anti-Virus reports these viruses with the prefix "WM97/". Prefixes used by other anti-virus companies include "W97M".

If a virus, worm or Trojan uses multiple components within the Windows Scripting Host framework Anti-Virus reports them with the prefix "WSH/".