malware
n.software that is designed to damage or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. It is a general term for things like viruses, worms, and spyware.
n.software specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to a computer system. Often used as a collective term for various types of malicious code.
“You should install antivirus software to protect your computer from malware.”
“The company's network was compromised after an employee accidentally downloaded malware from a suspicious email attachment.”
“Sophisticated malware can remain dormant within a system for months, collecting sensitive data before being remotely activated by its creators to launch a coordinated attack.”
Malware is uncountable; to refer to specific types, use 'pieces of malware' or 'types of malware'.
“At least one misconfigured site is directing visitors, human or AI, to live malware.”
“The malware in the Pass-ta-key attacks uses its access to the Google account—and in some cases, the user or device key stored in the TPM—to obtain the secret passkeys.”
A portmanteau formed from the prefix mal-, derived from the Latin malus meaning bad, and the noun software.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.