malware spyware trojans virus'...

[Dwere13]

And in relation to "n00bs" - a noob isn't just someone who doesn't know much, it is practically synonymous with skiddy. You can not know much about an area but not be nooby.

To emphasize this:
Newb= New person/player/whatever, usually without a lot of knowledge, but willing to learn.
Noob/n00b/narb/n33b/any other lame online slang for "noob" is actually referring to a person/player who thinks they know a lot, and are very good, but really know very little about what they are doing/talking about and can barely even do what they're talking about. etc. etc.
So, yeh, much like a script kiddy.

As for Malware spyware trojans virus...
Malware= I always thought was a general term for ALL of them in one, though I don't pretend to be an expert.
Spyware= software used to spy on the infected machine.
Trojan= Well, you ever hear about the trojan horse? sneak in, then fuck Troy up from the inside out? Yep, that's where the name came from. They hide in files that look like they're system files, and/or in files that don't appear to have anyone visiting them regularly.
Viruses = They are designed to cause damage. Attack your hard drive, and anything and everything on it, depending on the virus of course.

[thedotmaster]

Technically a trojan horse is a virus that says it is a friendly file. But yer, you get the jist.

[Zelth]

I wrote an article about Trojan horses.... but it's not professional XP. Anyways, Google is your best friend, and maybe you could search up some books, you know, like...cryptovirology is a subject I stumbled upon, using cryptography with viruses...pretty cool stuff.

[thedotmaster]

Don't you think that instead of designing things to destroy computer systems, it would be better to spend your time programming something that would improve them for everyone? Sure, cryptovirology will be very interesting and you could use your knowledge of it to build an antivirus program. But making viruses is so pointless.

[Jimmy_Riddle]

Eh no virus problems with *nix, sorry its just those systems that like to auto-acript things...

They just deserve to be pwnt, is it *nix "no" is it lindows "no" is it <shock><horror> "winblows!" nyesh! Case rests they deserve to die!

[myhexhax]

Just to provide some clarification, a virus isn't always destructive, and everything destructive is not a virus.

The one and only requirement for something to be a virus is for it to be able to copy itself and infect systems without the user's knowledge.

And about the virus that makes your computer smoke, there was one that would run a set of commands, tying up a register and causing the processor, without sufficient cooling, to overheat.. I was thinking it was the F00F bug, but I just checked and apparently it's not. It was on a very specific processor model, but still pretty interesting. If I remember the specifics, I'll post them.

Still going along the lines of software damaging hardware, someone could write a program that would cause a large number of reads to the floppy disk drive (if present), causing unnecessary wear to it's motor (which is high load, low duty). Or you could make a program that maxes the computers display resolution and refresh rate beyond the bounds of the monitor's supported range (possibly causing damage if it is a CRT, but at least rendering the computer unusable until the settings are reverted)

[thedotmaster]

A virus is always destructive. You are talking about a worm, which is not always destructive and are occasionally used for patching security holes.

[myhexhax]

A virus is always destructive. You are talking about a worm, which is not always destructive and are occasionally used for patching security holes.

I think I would have to debate that point.

A worm is self-duplicating, yes, and does not always cause damage. The point that makes a worm different from a virus is that a worm does not have to attach itself to an executable to replicate, in that it spreads from computer to computer, possibly exploiting vulnerabilities in network services (see MyDoom). This is why they are well known for their adverse affects on network performance, usually resulting in massive service degradation. A virus, on the other hand, relies on its ability to infect executables on the target operating system to spread. (see definition of Resident and Non-resident virii) Although the above is definitely a good talking point, as the definitions of either are not the strictest in the world, and the aforementioned are my own interpretations of the definitions as provided by available technical sources.

Regardless of the above, I would suggest that *all* virii can be considered 'destructive' in that they must modify and/or create files to replicate. That depends on your definition of destruction, whether that be deleting files, overwriting boot sectors, making additions to executables, using disk space to create files, or over-utilizing network bandwidth.

[beagle]

A virus is always destructive.

Not always. Some viruses only replicate, and this does not always cause damage.
For the most part, though, yes, I think viruses are destructive.

[thedotmaster]

A virus is always destructive.

Not always. Some viruses only replicate, and this does not always cause damage.
For the most part, though, yes, I think viruses are destructive.

Lmao. A self-replicating program is a worm, not a virus. And that does cause damage by clogging up your network.
By definition, a virus always causes damage.