A virus is a type of malware that inserts itself into a computer program. The program becomes the host of the virus. Every time the host program is run, the virus starts spreading and affecting other files on the same computer. Viruses can delete files and alter programs, rendering them useless.
Like real living viruses, a computer virus can spread to anything that comes into contact with it. So if your computer is virus-infected, any device that you plug into it can suffer the same consequences.
Other interesting terms…
