History of Computer Viruses
Computer Virus/Malware History
Computer viruses and attacks have proliferated across the internet in recent years, as more people are becoming accustomed to using the World Wide Web as a vehicle of communication and file exchanging. Computer viruses were first termed simple ‘bugs' when systems were found to be crashing or incurred various technical problems. In the early 1940s, this wasn't a problem that could spread to other computers so easily since networking and linking computers through a large-scale computer communication system was not developed.
As more people became comfortable with developing programs and computer software on their own, it also became easier to share files and results with other people. Programmers and developers began to save information and code on disks, package it as software, and send it out to other users for small fees or free of charge. Opening these files and running the programs on independent computer was more acceptable without any scanning or checking; instead, at this time, computers were potentially vulnerable to a variety of threats and conditions.
The rise of hackers in the early 1980s became paramount as the U.S. government discovered various security breaches and Trojan horse programs attacking the country's important computer networks. In 1983, Fred Cohen of the University of Southern California termed the concept of a ‘computer virus' as any program that could modify other programs and possibly self-replicate. Virus defense techniques were then initiated by his research and other computer experts.
As computer networks evolved and established into the personal and business sector during the early 1990s, more people realized the need for the best antivirus software and shielding networked computers from potential threats. The increase in computer users also resulted in an increase of hackers and computer programmers who could develop and release malicious software, programs, and code. Antivirus software companies began developing counterattacks and highly secure software systems as early as 1995, and the Internet boom that followed shortly thereafter resulted in multiple downloads of secure software.
In 1999, the Melissa virus was one of the first sets of viruses that reached epic proportions of computer damage. At this time, thousands computer users began taking more control and installing antivirus software and suite packages to protect themselves from infection. Between 2001 and 2003, several “famous” worms and viruses were released to the public in a variety of forms; some were attached to frequently-downloaded images, while others were sent as e-mail attachments from suspicious third parties. The Code Red worm, the Nimda virus, and the Klez worm were just a handful of vicious viruses that spread throughout some of the top companies and personal computers at record speeds. In 2004, the MyDoom email worm damaged millions of computers by persuading people to open the e-mail attachment through a social engineering initiative.
The History of Computer viruses has had a parallel history with the boom of the Internet, and as more people are using the World Wide Web to stay connected, threats and security risks are on the rise. E-mal attachments, visiting suspicious websites and downloading free software all pose various risks depending on the security level of the computer. Norton antivirus programs can scan a computer user's system periodically, detect viruses and other threats, and help to eliminate and remove them from the system. The same programs can also prevent viruses and other forms of Internet based threats to infect the system with its real-time protection.