Difference between Virus and Trojan

[burdekin]

I have been using Mac for about 12 months and have found it to be really great to use. My question is what is the difference between a Virus and a Trojan and how do they affect your mac. I know you do not get a virus on a mac so what does the Trojan actually do?. Can it harm your machine or damage your data?
I do not use my machine for banking or sensitive data and the web sites i use are very boring business related. I do not run any windows os or applications on the machine just mac and mac software which i find runs without any problems. Also do not try to touch much as i have little knowledge so keep my fingers out of things. Thank you.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Have you read the following yet?

There are currently no viruses for Mac OS X in public circulation, only a handful of trojans and other malware, which have to be installed manually via entering the administrator password.
The only anti-virus you need to protect your Mac is education and common sense.
Also know, that the term "virus" is often used to refer to other kinds of malware, but there are differences, which you can find out by reading the following:
Mac Virus/Malware Info by GGJstudios​