zombie program
A 'zombie program' often refers to software that continues to run or consume resources unnecessarily, particularly in computing contexts.
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Definition
B2General Computing
(technical)A program that runs in the background without user interaction.
Example
- The zombie program was consuming a lot of CPU resources, slowing down the system.
C1Operating Systems
(technical)A process that has finished executing but still has an entry in the process table.
Example
- The operating system eventually cleaned up the zombie program after the parent process terminated.
B2Malware and Security
(technical, informal)A dormant or inactive program that can be reactivated or triggered under certain conditions.
Example
- The security software detected a zombie program that could be reactivated by a remote command.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "zombie program":
zombie organizationzombie institutionzombie carzombie dancephone zombieliving deadcomputer program