The six main types of virus.
There are six categories of viruses: parasitic, bootstrap sector, multi-partite, companion, link, and data file, collectively known as Malware (amongst other names!).
Parasitic viruses infect executable files or programs in the computer. They leave the contents of the host program unchanged but append to the host in such a way that the virus code is run first. These viruses can be either direct-action or resident.
A direct-action virus selects one or more programs to infect each time it is executed. A resident virus hides in the computer's memory and infects a particular program when that program is executed.
Bootstrap-sector viruses reside on the first portion of the hard disk or floppy disk, known as the boot sector, and replace either the programs that store information about the disk's contents or the programs that start the computer. Typically, these viruses spread by means of the physical exchange of floppy disks.
Multi-partite viruses combine the abilities of the parasitic and the bootstrap-sector viruses, infecting either files or boot sectors.
A companion virus does not modify a file. Instead, it creates a new program with the same name as a legitimate program and tricks the operating system into running it.
Link viruses modify the way the operating system finds a program, tricking it into first running the virus and then the desired program. Entire directories (sections) on a computer can be infected by a link virus, and any executable program accessed within that directory will trigger the virus.
Other viruses infect programs that contain powerful macro languages (programming languages that let the user create new features and utilities), which can open, manipulate, and close data files. These viruses, called data-file viruses, are written in macro languages and automatically execute when the legitimate program is opened.
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