Which term describes malware delivered by e-mail attachments that can propagate to other systems?

Which term describes malware delivered by e-mail attachments that can propagate to other systems?

• A. E-mail virus
• B. Persistent virus
• C. Non-persistent viruses
• D. Add-on viruses

Answer: (A)

Malware that uses email attachments to spread is described as an e-mail virus. This type of virus relies on the email delivery method—when an attached file is opened or the embedded code runs, it activates and can propagate to other systems by sending itself to contacts or by infecting files on the host that are then shared or executed. The terms persistent or non-persistent refer to how the infection behaves in memory rather than how it spreads, and add-on viruses isn’t a standard label for this scenario. So, e-mail virus is the best fit because it directly captures the delivery method and the replication aspect through email.

Malware that uses email attachments to spread is described as an e-mail virus. This type of virus relies on the email delivery method—when an attached file is opened or the embedded code runs, it activates and can propagate to other systems by sending itself to contacts or by infecting files on the host that are then shared or executed. The terms persistent or non-persistent refer to how the infection behaves in memory rather than how it spreads, and add-on viruses isn’t a standard label for this scenario. So, e-mail virus is the best fit because it directly captures the delivery method and the replication aspect through email.