TYPES OF COMPUTER SECURITY RISK What Is a Computer Security Risk? A computer security risk is really anything on your computer that may damage or steal your data or allow someone else to access your computer, without your knowledge or consent. There are a lot of different things that can create a computer risk, including malware , a general term used to describe many types of bad software. We commonly think of computer viruses, but, there are several types of bad software that can create a computer security risk, including viruses, worms, ransomware, spyware, and Trojan horses. Misconfiguration of computer products as well as unsafe computing habits also pose risks. Let's look at these in more detail. Viruses, Worms, & Ransomware Viruses are malware that are attached to other files in your system and may be used to destroy your data. Viruses have many capabilities, but, unlike worms, they usually require human interaction to spread from system to system, even if