Why is ethanol effective as a disinfectant?

At concentrations ranging from 60% to 80%, ethyl alcohol is a powerful virucidal agent. It effectively inactivates lipophilic viruses, including vaccina, herpes and influenza viruses. It is also effective against numerous hydrophilic viruses such as  enterovirus, adenovirus, rhinovirus, and rotaviruses. However, ethyl alcohol does not exhibit the same eff