[jpcosta]

I don't really think it pays off to make such distinction between virus and trojan.

`Trojan` is often used to refer to malware that provides a backdoor into your system, and if someone gets to run code on your machine it isn't your machine anymore.

[derekp7]

The real value is in evaluating your risk, which includes an analysis of the infection vector. A virus (or worm) can be more risky because it typically exploits a weakness in the system. And some trojans are more risky to some demographics than others, depending on which social engineering techniques they use to trick a user into installing them.

[mike_d]

If you are making a risk evaluation based on the generic term someone else uses to describe a threat, you've already lost.

The genie is out of the bottle and there is no putting it back - virus, malware, worm, trojan, etc. are all interchangeable marketing terms now.