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🗣️ Spreader of ideas 🦟 Spreader of disease 💻 Malicious program
infector

infector

8.3
A program that attaches to files and spreads to other computers
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈfɛktər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : virus
  • Another example of a current file infector is the Win32/Virut family, which, in addition to infecting executable files, changes HTML files to insert an IFRAME to a malicious site.
  • boot sector infector
  • sector infector
  • program infector

Examples

  • An infector can attach itself to legitimate files, making it difficult to detect.

  • To protect against an infector, regularly update your antivirus software and avoid suspicious downloads.

  • This infector spreads by embedding itself in files shared over the internet.

Synonyms

virus
vsinfector
  • Specialized
137 3.3

A harmful computer program that copies itself and can damage files

attaches itself to programs or files to spread
computer virus
vsinfector
  • Specialized
16 3.5

A program that copies itself and damages files on a computer

attaches itself to programs or files to spread
trojan
vsinfector
  • Texting
8.2

A harmful computer program that looks safe but damages your files

attaches itself to programs or files to spread
malevolent program
vsinfector
  • Specialized
8.0

Software that harms computers, for example by stealing data

attaches itself to programs or files to spread

Antonyms

antivirus
  • Specialized
18 3.5

A program that finds and removes computer viruses and other harmful programs

How Harmful

ransomware
  • Specialized
8 7.9
worm
  • Specialized
26 7.4
infector
  • Specialized
8.3
spyware
  • Specialized
21 4.8
adware
  • Specialized
2 4.4

Surface Forms

infector singular
infectors plural

Morphology

infector = infect (transparent) = infect + or

The agentive '-or' applied to 'infect' produces a clear 'program that infects' reading via an established computer-metaphor extension.

Etymology

Infector comes from the verb infect, built from in- 'into' and -fect 'make', the same root you see in factory. So a computer infector is a program that 'puts' malicious code into files or systems, which is why we call some viruses 'infectors'.