The Most Dangerous Computer Viruses In History

Computer viruses (malware) have been around for decades, wreaking havoc in some cases. With the passage of time, malicious codes have gone from being simple jokes to being complex programs that can perform the most varied functions. From encrypting information, obtaining passwords, to the espionage of bank data, damage to the system, etc.

The two platforms most affected by these viruses are Microsoft Windows and Android, both of which coincide with the most used operating systems. Therefore, they are the juiciest to spread this type of malicious code. However, other platforms do not get rid of this type of problem, although they are somewhat safer …

A review of the most dangerous computer viruses in history

Morris

Morris is a particular type of malware, it is a worm that spread in November 1988. Although it was not dangerous, it came at a time when cybersecurity was very green.

At that time, it infected 10% of the 60,000 computers connected to the Internet that existed in that decade. Nothing surprising if you compare them with some current viruses, but at the time it represented a serious problem.

It even affected government teams, the Pentagon, NASA, etc. Although the only thing that produced was a decrease in performance on infected computers, as well as creating processes and files in some temporary folders.

Its author was Robert Tappan Morris, hence its name. At that time a young student at Cornell University. In 1990 he would be sentenced to pay more than $ 100,000 and perform 400 hours of community service. After that, he used his talent to make a fortune on the Internet with various projects and is currently an associate professor at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

CIH / Chernobyl

Another of the worst malicious codes in history was CIH / Chernobyl, which made its appearance in 1998. This time the Internet was booming, although security was still highly questionable.A student from the University of Taipei named Chen Ing Hau developed this malware that formatted the hard drive of the affected computer, deleting all its information.

It affected Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows 98. Thus demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the antivirus of the time and affecting 60,000 computers around the world and causing millionaire losses.

Melissa virus

In 1999 Melissa arrived. This virus came through email, with a message saying ” Here’s the document you asked me for … don’t show it to anyone .”A very juicy message that made victims sting and when opening the file, forwarding to the first 50 contacts in the agenda and infecting the team.

This produced very important economic losses, estimated at around 80 million at the time. Therefore, its creator, David L. Smith, was sentenced to prison for 20 months. After that, he began collaborating with the FBI to find the creator of the virus Anna Kournikova.

I Love You, malware

I Love You was another virus that threatened computers in 2000, along with the famous 2000 effect. It made a huge impact on the Internet, infecting 50 million computers every week.

Philippine student Onel de Guzman was its creator. And, probably, he did not imagine that his work ended up affecting teams of the Pentagon or the British Parliament. Ultimately, he would be saved from prison as he lacked laws on this type of security threat in his country of origin.

Like Melissa, this virus also used social engineering to capture its victims. It was spread by mail with a love message ” Love letter for you “. When it infected the computer, it substituted files for copies and tried to steal user information.

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