Definition of "malware" []

• Malicious computer software that interferes with normal computer functions or sends personal data about the user to unauthorized parties over the Internet. (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.

• "The term malware, derived from "malicious software," refers to any software specifically designed to harm your computer or the software it's running."
• "The term malware can be used to describe a program that is as harmless as an annoying pop-up box that attempts to direct a user to a website in order to increase the website's traffic."
• "ScanSafe says the malware is still active on parishilton. com, and some 15,000 other sites are similarly compromised."