Mention two ways of classifying a computer virus.

A computer virus can be classified into two categories based on their behaviour:

1. General infectors: These viruses infect the data files and application softwares of the computer system. They often make copies of themselves and try to reach other systems through e-mail. For example- worm, trojan and bomb.

2. System infectors: These viruses infect the files and system softwares of a computer system. As a result, the entire system crashes and the user is unable to work on the system. For example- boot sector virus, program virus, macro virus, stealth virus.