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computer virus

A computer virus is a hidden, self-replicating software program, usually containing malicious logic that propagates by inserting copies of itself into and becoming part of another host program.

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It is designed to infect and gain control over vulnerable systems without the user's knowledge or consent and is activated when a user runs or opens its host program. Computer viruses can cause frequent computer crashes or pop-up messages, corrupt or delete data on a computer, reformat the hard drive, use an email program to spread the virus to other computers, or flood a network with traffic, ultimately making it impossible to perform any Internet activity.

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