Life Cycle of Virus:

The typical life-cycle of a computer virus takes place in four stages; the dormant
phase, the propagation phase, the triggering phase, and the execution phase.
During the dormant phase, the virus has accessed its victim's computer or software,
but it does not do anything yet. The virus will wait until a "trigger" gives it the
command to execute. This trigger could be anything from a predefined date to the
user taking a specific action, like double-clicking an icon.
In the propagation phase, the virus is fruitful and multiplies. The virus will start to
insert copies of itself into other programs or areas on the disk. These copies are often
altered in some way to make detection more difficult.
The triggering phase is designated when the virus changes from being dormant to
being activated.
Finally, during the execution phase, the virus gets to work. The virus's payload is
released, and the end user will begin to notice problems with their computer such as
deleted files, the system-crashing, or endless popups on the screen.
Types of Computer Viruses:
Every virus has a payload that performs an action. The threat actor can code any
malicious activity into the virus payload, including simple, innocuous pranks that
don’t do any harm. While a few viruses have harmless payloads, most of them cause
damage to the system and its data. There are main virus types, some of which could
be packaged with other malware to increase the chance of infection and damage.
Major categories for viruses are:
1. File Infector virus: It infect or corrupts the program or data files.
2. Boot Sector virus: The system area of a disk is infected. It also infects the
boot sector and thus spread itself when the system is booted
3. Email virus: Spreads with email message. It automatically replicates itself to
the people in victim’s email address book.
4. Macro virus: Microsoft Office files can run macros, and these macros can be
used to download additional malware or run malicious code. It infects data files like
MS Word, Power point, Access, Excel etc.
5. Resident virus:A virus that can access computer memory and sit dormant
until a payload is delivered is considered a resident virus. This malware may stay
dormant until a specific date, time, or a user performs an action.
6. Stealth virus: It is designed to avoid detecting itself from ntivirus software.
7. Web Scripting virus:Most browsers have defenses against malicious web
scripts, but older, unsupported browsers have vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to
run code on the local device.