Resident virus
Updated: 03/06/2020 by Computer Hope
A resident virus is a computer virus that stores itself within memory, allowing it to infect other files even when the originally infected program is no longer running.
Being stored in memory allows the virus to spread easier because it has more access to other parts of the computer. For example, a memory-resident virus could be in memory when a writable drive is connected, or a diskette is inserted into the computer. Once initialized, the virus could infect the drive or diskette and spread itself to any other computer that uses that drive or diskette.