He opened an attachment that looked harmless, but it installed a computer virus that started corrupting files.
computer virus = harmful software that spreads from computer to computer
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After the computer virus hit, she restored her laptop from a backup and changed her passwords.
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The thing that has me worried, Roger, is that computer viruses, especially sophisticated ones like this, are usually designed to infiltrate networks to get information out.
(source)
Matthew Mather, Cyberstorm, 2013
Show 3 more sentences
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Zombie says they're not like these tiny bugs in our brains, but somehow they downloaded themselves into us like a computer virus or something.†
(source)
Rick Yancey, The Infinite Sea, 2014
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Like a computer virus.†
(source)
John Ringo, Live Free or Die, 2010
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It's like a computer virus.†
(source)
Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, 2003