What is master boot record (MBR)? And what is the relationship of master boot record with BIOS?
Master Boot Record (MBR) is a single and first disk sector that is read during the initial stages of a boot process in a computer system startup. Moreover, it determines which media drive or partition contains the operating system (OS) and then instructs the system to read the boot sector of that partition to load the operating system.
Master Boot Record (MBR) is prone to virus attacks and these types of viruses, which are commonly referred to as boot sector viruses, act by redirecting the system to an infected boot sector, which loads the virus into main memory before loading the OS from the legitimate boot sector in the computer. It is also vulnerable to Bootkits or Bootloader Level Rootkis that replace the legitimate boot loader with a malicious payload and thereby enabling the Bootkits to activate before the OS starts running. Bootkits are cyberattacks that infect startup codes likewise Volume Boot Record (VBR), Master Boot Record (MBR) or boot sectors of computer operating systems.