What are some of the most well-known computer viruses?

A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. When this insertion copies itself into another program, it is usually referred to as a virus. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessible by another computer. When a virus infection occurs, the virus code causes the host program, which is usually a legitimate application or system file, to perform its tasks in an unauthorized way. The result is often destruction or alteration of data, although some viruses do not have any easily observable effect.

The term “virus” is also used, more generally, to refer to a range of malware, including computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and ransomware.

Some well-known computer viruses include:

– The Morris worm: One of the first worms to gain widespread attention, the Morris worm was written by a student at Cornell University in 1988. It was designed to exploit vulnerabilities in Unix systems and quickly spread to thousands of computers. The worm caused significant damage and led to the development of better security measures.

– The ILOVEYOU virus: This virus, which appeared in 2000, was spread via email and caused significant damage, particularly to businesses. It was estimated to have caused $5.5 billion in damage.

– The Code Red worm: The Code Red worm was first discovered in 2001 and quickly spread, infecting over 250,000 computers in just a few days. The worm exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) and caused significant damage, particularly to web servers.

– The Slammer worm: The Slammer worm appeared in early 2003 and caused a significant denial-of-service attack on the internet. It exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft’s SQL Server and spread quickly, resulting in widespread internet outages.

– The Mydoom worm: The Mydoom worm appeared in early 2004 and was spread via email. It caused significant damage, particularly to businesses, and was estimated to have caused $32 billion in damage.

– The Conficker worm: One of the most well-known worms, Conficker appeared in 2008 and continues to infect computers today. It spreads via network shares and has infected millions of computers, although its effects have been relatively mild.

– The Stuxnet worm: Stuxnet is a sophisticated worm that was discovered in 2010. It is believed to have been created by the US and Israeli governments to target industrial control systems, and it is considered to be the most sophisticated malware ever created.

How are computer viruses created?

Computer viruses are created by individuals with malicious intent. These individuals write code that is designed to cause harm to computers or the data stored on them. The code is then spread to other computers, where it can replicate itself and cause further damage. In some cases, the code can be spread without the creator’s knowledge, for example, through email attachments or infected websites.

We used malwarezero.org to write this article about computer viruses. Click here to learn more.