Payload - The destructive effect of a piece of malicious software. The payload can range from the mildly annoying (e.g., changing your browser's homepage) to the potentially devastating (e.g., deleting information). However, even malicious software with no apparent payload can be destructive in the method that it spreads. An e-mail worm with no payload at all can grind a computer network to a halt if it creates and transmits enough copies of itself.
