Happy Birthday Virus
This month is the 20th anniversary of the PC virus! The Brain Virus was the first PC virus created. It was not a very common virus because it was only transmitted through floppy discs
No one can tell exactly when the Brain virus was created, but the the most commin theory is that it was created by two engineers, named Basit and Amjad, at a software firm in Pakistan.
The virus reportedly replaced the executable code on a bootable floppy disk with the Brain code designed to infect each floppy subsequently opened on the PC.
In 1983 Fred Cohen, a computer scientist first used the phrase "computer virus".
He defined it as "a computer program that can affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself."
In 1990, Symantec launched Norton Antivirus, one of the first antivirus programs ever developed by a major software company. The move by Symantec spawned a new industry. In 1992, some 1,300 new viruses were created, a 420 percent increase from December 1990.
Between 1990 and 1998, the computer world suffered from all kinds of new viruses, even those that could change their appearance with each new infection to thwart antivirus software. This era also saw the birth of e-mail-borne malware and Microsoft Word viruses. Currently, there are some 150,000 viruses circulating in the wild.
"In 20 years, viruses have moved from floppy disks to file viruses, to e-mail viruses, to Internet worms, to targeted Trojan-horse attacks," said Graham Cluley, senior security consultant at Sophos.
Evolving Threat
In the 1990s, viruses amounted mostly to electronic graffiti. Occasionally, the virus would cause some financial harm, but only with regard to damage to computers. Today, viruses have become the bread and butter for a new breed of criminals and crime syndicates.
An FBI computer crime survey of 2,000 public and private organizations released last week found that, in 2005, nine out of 10 organizations experienced "computer security incidents."
Viruses topped the list of attacks with nearly 84 percent of respondents saying that they had been adversely affected, with spyware coming in second at just under 80 percent. The financial impact of attacks from viruses and worms accounted for some $12 million in losses out of total losses of $32 million.
My oppinion:
Why in the hell would anyone be stupid enough to create computer viruses? I mean really. If you want to annoy someone do it in a more creative and less evil way. Sure even the average joe can create a virus nowadays with even microsoft word. But why would you want to?Cyberterrorist's annoy me.The FBI survey was insane. 12 million dollars of losses??? wow thats insane. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAIN VIRUS!!!
No one can tell exactly when the Brain virus was created, but the the most commin theory is that it was created by two engineers, named Basit and Amjad, at a software firm in Pakistan.
The virus reportedly replaced the executable code on a bootable floppy disk with the Brain code designed to infect each floppy subsequently opened on the PC.
In 1983 Fred Cohen, a computer scientist first used the phrase "computer virus".
He defined it as "a computer program that can affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself."
In 1990, Symantec launched Norton Antivirus, one of the first antivirus programs ever developed by a major software company. The move by Symantec spawned a new industry. In 1992, some 1,300 new viruses were created, a 420 percent increase from December 1990.
Between 1990 and 1998, the computer world suffered from all kinds of new viruses, even those that could change their appearance with each new infection to thwart antivirus software. This era also saw the birth of e-mail-borne malware and Microsoft Word viruses. Currently, there are some 150,000 viruses circulating in the wild.
"In 20 years, viruses have moved from floppy disks to file viruses, to e-mail viruses, to Internet worms, to targeted Trojan-horse attacks," said Graham Cluley, senior security consultant at Sophos.
Evolving Threat
In the 1990s, viruses amounted mostly to electronic graffiti. Occasionally, the virus would cause some financial harm, but only with regard to damage to computers. Today, viruses have become the bread and butter for a new breed of criminals and crime syndicates.
An FBI computer crime survey of 2,000 public and private organizations released last week found that, in 2005, nine out of 10 organizations experienced "computer security incidents."
Viruses topped the list of attacks with nearly 84 percent of respondents saying that they had been adversely affected, with spyware coming in second at just under 80 percent. The financial impact of attacks from viruses and worms accounted for some $12 million in losses out of total losses of $32 million.
My oppinion:
Why in the hell would anyone be stupid enough to create computer viruses? I mean really. If you want to annoy someone do it in a more creative and less evil way. Sure even the average joe can create a virus nowadays with even microsoft word. But why would you want to?Cyberterrorist's annoy me.The FBI survey was insane. 12 million dollars of losses??? wow thats insane. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAIN VIRUS!!!
posted by Bryan Posey-Weekly at 4:50 PM
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