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A computer virus is a computer program written to alter the way a computer operates, without the permission or knowledge of the user. Though the term is commonly used to refer to a range of malware, a true virus must replicate itself, must execute itself, and must somehow modify an existing module or code to hide itself and ensure that it is loaded at runtime (similar to how biological viruses are dependant upon other living organisms). The latter criteria are often met by a virus which replaces existing executable files with a virus-infected copy. While viruses can be intentionally destructive, destroying data, for example—some viruses are benign or merely annoying.