Comment Re:not a worm or a virus! (Score 1) 450
Granted a trojan is not necessarily a worm, but a trojan definitely IS a virus.
Trojans are a SUBSET of viruses that don't always self-replicate, but that lie in wait until some condition arises to activate the code to deliver its payload.
Even calling these Mac viruses "trojans" is quite a stretch, because installing it by entering an admin password, or running the executable is not enough to be able to call this a trojan. If it were enough, then we'd have to categorize ALL viruses as trojans because they are "activated" by being installed, or are activated by installing itself, or been activated by discovering an open port etc,
and so had lied in wait on someone else's system for the opportunity to attack our machine.
But regardless of whether or not the Mac virus is a trojan, saying a trojan isn't a virus is like saying a Lion isn't a cat.
It's still a virus, but with additional specific characteristics that differentiate it from viruses in general.
Trojans are a SUBSET of viruses that don't always self-replicate, but that lie in wait until some condition arises to activate the code to deliver its payload.
Even calling these Mac viruses "trojans" is quite a stretch, because installing it by entering an admin password, or running the executable is not enough to be able to call this a trojan. If it were enough, then we'd have to categorize ALL viruses as trojans because they are "activated" by being installed, or are activated by installing itself, or been activated by discovering an open port etc,
and so had lied in wait on someone else's system for the opportunity to attack our machine.
But regardless of whether or not the Mac virus is a trojan, saying a trojan isn't a virus is like saying a Lion isn't a cat.
It's still a virus, but with additional specific characteristics that differentiate it from viruses in general.
