File Infecting Viruses

File infecting viruses, or file infectors, generally copy their code onto executable programs such as .COM and .EXE files. Most file infectors simply replicate and spread, but some inadvertently damage host programs. There are also file infectors that overwrite host files. Some file infectors carry payloads that range from the highly destructive, such as hard drive formatting, or the benign, such as the display of messages.