History of Computer
Viruses

1970-1974

1971

Creeper Virus : Was the first virus, developed by Bob Thomas and infected Computers that ran the TENEX Operating System. Its purpose was not malicious, as it only was created to prove that programs could duplicate
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1974

Rabbit (Wabbit): Rapidly duplicated itself so that it would clog and eventually crash the computer system

1975-1979

1975

ANIMAL: Was the first non-malicious Trojans. It spread to other UNIVACs when computer users discovered the game due to overlapping permissions. It discovered new software possibilities like the first two viruses discussed^

1980-1984

1981

Elk Cloner: Was created by Richard Skrenta as a prank. It infected the Apple DOS 3.3 and spread to other computers by floppy disk transfer. Although it did not cause dangerous negative effects, the "Elk Virus" was responsible for being the first computer virus to cause a massive outbreak ever in history^

1985-1999

1998

Happy 99: Happy 99: is an email/newsgroup worm that also behaves in some ways like a virus and trojan. It was created by Spanska and affected Outlook Express and Internet Explorer on Windows 95 and 98^

1991

Chameleon: Was created by Mark Washburn and with its every changing appearance, it became widespread and difficult to detect. It would later become the blueprint for many viruses to come^

2000-2004

2003

SoBig: Is a worm that looks for security software vulnerabilities. Before some users knew they got infected by the virus, the worm had spread through their emails.The Sobig computer virus cost approximately $30 billion^

2004

MyDoom: Was the fastest email and file sharing computer worm that allowed hackers to access the infected computers hard drive. It is considered by many to be the most dangerous computer virus in history, the Mydoom virus cost around $38 billion worth of damage but also new firewalls to be created^

2005-2009

2008

Mocmex: One of the first serious viruses was made in China where digital frames picked up the virus during the manufacturing process. They passed Mocmex to PCs when connected via USB cable and spread rapidly. With the amount of damage done, security experts rushed to adapt to the situation and insure it would not happen again^

2010-2019

2019

Clop Ransomware: Encrypts the victims files and threatens to leak the confidential information if no ransom is paid. To date, it is estimated Clop ransomware has successfully extorted more than $500 million from various organizations. However, with modern technology today, there have been numerous methods created to solve this virus

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