Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 4 in the text, watch the Technology in 10: Malware, Viruses, Worms, and More (Links to an external site.) video, and review the Cisco What Is the Difference: Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, and Bots? (Links to an external site.) article.

Computer viruses are considered to be the oldest form of malware that can infect a system. These types of viruses have been around since the inception of the personal computer. The modern landscape of computing has given rise to a number of newer and more sophisticated viruses, Trojan horses, and worms that can infiltrate a computer system, opening the user to heightened risks of being victimized by cyber criminals. Individual computer users are not the only targets of these malware programs; computer criminals and hackers now target governmental and corporate computer systems on a regular basis.