November 25, 2009

companion virus

Last modified: Friday, June 13, 2008 

A type of computer virus that compromises a feature of DOS that enables software with the same name, but different extensions, to operate with different priorities. For example you may have program.exe on your computer, and the virus may create a file called program.com. When the computer executes program.exe, the virus runs program.com before program.exe is executed. In many cases, the real program will run so users believe that the system is operating normally and aren't aware that a virus was run on the system.

See The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.
Also see Preventative Maintenance Tips for Your PC in the Did You Know? section of Webopedia.

  Related Links

eSecurity Planet 
A resource for daily information on e-security targeted to IT managers. The site provides users with information from a variety of sources, including experts at security product and services firms, and the consultants who follow the security industry.

Webopedia's "Did You Know?" Article
The Difference Between a Virus, Worm and Trojan Horse.

Webopedia's Quick Reference Section
Use this Webopedia reference section for information on common Internet and computer facts and occurrences.

Related Categories

Security

Viruses

Related Terms

DOS

executable file

execute

exploit

virus

Virus Application Programming Interface

virus scanner

virus signature

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