Which broad category includes malware such as viruses, trojans, worms, and ransomware?

• A. Malware
• B. Adware
• C. Spyware
• D. Botnet

Answer: (A)

Malware is the broad category for software designed to harm, steal, or take control of systems. Viruses, trojans, worms, and ransomware are all types of malicious software, so they all fall under this umbrella. Each type has its own behavior: viruses attach to legitimate programs and spread when those programs run; trojans disguise themselves as harmless software but perform harmful actions in the background; worms propagate across networks without user action; ransomware encrypts data and demands payment for release. The other terms describe more specific kinds of unwanted software or networked threats (adware shows ads, spyware secretly collects data, a botnet is a network of compromised devices used for attacks), but they don’t encompass all four malwares as a single category.