Viruses are also classified as either being "in the zoo" or in the wild". In the zoo viruses are those that exist, are not currently spreading, and typically have a "cure" developed by anti-virus company such as ViTrap Pte Ltd, Symantec, Network Associates and Trend Micro. Currently, there are approximately 60,000-70,000 know viruses "in the zoo". Fortunately, these are not a real danger.

However, there are approximately 300 reported "in the wild" viruses that are actively spreading at any given time. Because they are active, these viruses pose a genuine threat to organizations even though they also tend to have cures already developed.