Definition of "computer virus" []

• A computer program that is designed to replicate itself by copying itself into the other programs stored in a computer. It may be benign or have a negative effect, such as causing a program to operate incorrectly or corrupting a computer's memory. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He continued to go on missions for the S.C.E., and wound up being vital to a mission to remove a computer virus from the world-controlling computer Ganitriul Fatal Error."
• "In 2376, a group of Pevvni Purists sabotaged Ganitriul with a computer virus that sent Eerlik into chaos, until the damage was repaired by the crew of the U.S.S. da Vinci Fatal Error."