cryptovirus

English

WOTD – 13 January 2023

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɪptəʊˌvaɪɹəs/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɪptoʊˌvaɪɹəs/
    • (file)
  • Hyphenation: cryp‧to‧vir‧us

Etymology 1

From crypto- (prefix meaning ‘hidden; invisible’) + virus.

Noun

cryptovirus (plural cryptoviruses)

  1. (biology) A kind of plant virus associated with latent infection of the host, and not transmissible by many means.
Hypernyms
Translations

Etymology 2

From crypto- (prefix meaning ‘cryptographic’) + virus.

Noun

cryptovirus (plural cryptoviruses)

  1. (computer security) A type of malware that is used for extortion by encrypting user files and asking for payment in exchange for the decryption key.
    Synonym: cryptoransomware
Hypernyms
Translations
See also

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.