The Difference Between a Computer Virus, andTrojan Horse

What Is a Virus?
A computer virus attaches itself to a program or
file enabling it to spread from one computer to
another, leaving infections as it travels. Like a
human virus, a computer virus can range in
severity: some may cause only mildly annoying
effects while others can damage your hardware,
software or files. Almost all viruses are attached
to an executable file, which means the virus may
exist on your computer but it actually cannot
infect your computer unless you run or open the
malicious program. It is important to note that a
virus cannot be spread without a human action,
(such as running an infected program) to keep it
going. Because a virus is spread by human action
people will unknowingly continue the spread of a
computer virus by sharing infecting files or
sending emails with viruses as attachments in
the email.
What Is a Trojan horse?
A Trojan Horse is full of as much trickery as the
mythological Trojan Horse it was named after.
The Trojan Horse, at first glance will appear to
be useful software but will actually do damage
once installed or run on your computer. Those
on the receiving end of a Trojan Horse are
usually tricked into opening them because they
appear to be receiving legitimate software or
files from a legitimate source. When a Trojan is
activated on your computer, the results can vary.
Some Trojans are designed to be more annoying
than malicious (like changing your desktop,
adding silly active desktop icons) or they can
cause serious damage by deleting files and
destroying information on your system. Trojans
are also known to create a backdoor on your
computer that gives malicious users access to
your system, possibly allowing confidential or
personal information to be compromised. Unlike
viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by
infecting other files nor do they