What type of virus attaches itself to the master boot record of a hard drive?

The type of virus that attaches itself to the master boot record (MBR) of a hard drive is known as a boot sector virus. This type of virus is designed to infect the boot sector of storage devices, which includes the master boot record. When a computer boots up, it reads the MBR to initiate the loading of the operating system. By attaching itself to this crucial part of the hard drive, the boot sector virus can execute before the operating system loads, allowing it to take control of the system as soon as the computer is powered on.

Boot sector viruses can replicate and spread by infecting other floppy disks or drives that are used with the infected computer. Their method of infection is particularly insidious because they can bypass traditional antivirus software that may scan files after the operating system has started. Understanding the role of the master boot record is key, as this area must be clear of malware for a computer to boot correctly and operate without interference.

In contrast, other types of viruses, such as stealth viruses, macro viruses, and polymorphic viruses, operate in different ways. Stealth viruses may disguise their actions to avoid detection, macro viruses typically target applications like word processors and spreadsheets, and polymorphic viruses constantly change their code structure to evade