malware
MAL-wair
/ˈmælˌwɛər/
Software intentionally designed to cause disruption, damage, or unauthorized access to a computer system.
An overarching umbrella term covering viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware, and trojans.
The story behind the word. Coined in 1990 by computer scientist Yisrael Radai by combining 'malicious' (from Latin 'malus', meaning evil or bad) and 'software'. Before 'malware' gained widespread adoption, people colloquially referred to all malicious code as 'computer viruses', even when they were trojan horses or logic bombs.
Word relationships
- malicious software: Malicious software is the full two-word phrase of which malware is a portmanteau.
- virus: A virus is a specific type of malware that self-replicates by attaching to other files, whereas malware includes non-replicating threats like spyware.
- firmware: Permanent software programmed into read-only memory to operate devices safely.
- bloatware: Unnecessary bundled software that wastes space but is not inherently malicious.
Commonly confused with
- vulnerability: A vulnerability is a flaw or hole in software; malware is malicious code designed to exploit that flaw.
Collocations
- malware infection
- malware detection
- remove malware
- malware attack
Example sentences
- "The antivirus program scanned the incoming download and immediately quarantined the detected malware." Endpoint Defense
Memory hook
MAL stands for bad (like malicious), so MALware is BAD software. MALicious softWARE.
When not to use
Do not use to describe accidental software bugs or glitches that were not created with malicious intent.
Fun facts
- The world's first PC malware was the 'Brain' boot sector virus created in 1986 by two brothers in Pakistan—originally intended to track unauthorized copies of medical software!
Related words
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