Archives for 2013

Viral programs have a long, and sometimes honourable, history. (I do not intend, by this statement, to be involved in the current debate about whether … [Read more...]

One of the factors involved in the success of viral programs is a study of the mindset of the user: a study of the psychology or sociology of the … [Read more...]

No historical overview of viral programs can be complete without mention of the work of Fred Cohen. Hi Fred. (Just kidding.) In the early 1980s, … [Read more...]

Pranks are very much a part of the computer culture. So much so, that one can now buy commercially produced joke packages which allow you to perform … [Read more...]

The earliest case of a virus that succeeded "in the wild" goes back to late 1981, even before the work of Fred Cohen. In fairness, this does not … [Read more...]

The autumn of 1987 really seemed to get the ball rolling with regard to virus research. The first message to awaken interest was sent by one "LUKEN" … [Read more...]

The "Brain" virus is probably the earliest MS-DOS virus. At one time it was the most widespread of PC viral programs. (Yet more support for the … [Read more...]

On February 7, 1988, users of Compuserve's Hypercard Forum were greeted with an intriguing warning message. It told them that the NEWAPP.STK Hypercard … [Read more...]

A virus may or may not present itself. Viruses attempt to spread before activating whatever malicious activity they may have been programmed to … [Read more...]

Once a virus has been detected, it is possible to write scanning programs that look for telltale code (signature strings) characteristic of the virus. … [Read more...]