The First Computer Virus

The First Computer Virus

We can read here very brief story about computer virus and other malware. This can help us to have a more clear
idea about them. They are not so strong and strange that a normal person like me can not understand them. We
can try together :

The first computer viruses were introduced in the early 1980s. These first attempts
were largely experimental and relatively simple self-replicating files that would
display simple taunts or jokes when executed.
It should be noted that providing a definitive history of virus evolution is all but impossible.
The illegal nature of malware means that it is in the interests of the perpetrators to hide
the origins of the malicious code.

By 1986, the first viruses to attack Microsoft® MS-DOS® personal computers had
been reported; the Brain virus was generally thought to be the first of these computer
viruses. However, other firsts in 1986 included Virdem (the first file virus) and
PC-Write (the first Trojan horse, a program that appears to be useful or harmless but
that contains hidden code designed to exploit or damage the system on which it is
run.) In the case of PC-Write, the Trojan horse masqueraded as a popular shareware
Word Processor application of the same name.

As more people began exploring virus technology, the number of viruses, platforms
being targeted, and virus complexity and diversity all began to increase substantially.
Viruses focused on boot sectors for some time, and then began to infect executable
files. In 1988, the first Internet worm (a type of malware that uses
self-propagating malicious code that can automatically distribute itself from one
computer to another through network connections.) appeared. The Morris Worm
caused Internet communications to slow substantially. In response to this and the
growing number of outbreaks, the CERT Coordination Center at: www.cert.org, was
founded to help ensure the stability of the Internet by assisting in the coordination
of responses to outbreaks and incidents.

In 1990, the Virus Exchange BBS went online as an exchange for virus writers to
collaborate and share their knowledge. Also, the first book on virus writing was
published, and the first polymorphic virus (commonly referred to as Chameleon or
Casper) was developed. A polymorphic virus is a type of malware that uses an
unlimited number of encryption routines to prevent detection. Polymorphic viruses
have the ability to change themselves each time they replicate, which makes them
difficult to detect by signature-based antivirus software programs that are designed
to “recognize” viruses. Shortly thereafter, Tequila, the first major polymorphic virus
attack, was released. Then in 1992, the first polymorphic virus engine and virus
writing toolkits emerged.

Since then, viruses have become more sophisticated: viruses started accessing e-mail
address books and sending themselves to contacts; macro viruses attached themselves
to various office-type application files to and attack them; and viruses written
specifically to exploit operating system and application vulnerabilities were released.
E-mail, peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, Web sites, shared drives,
and product vulnerabilities are all exploited for virus replication and attack.
Backdoors (secret or hidden network entry points introduced by malware) are created
on infected systems to enable virus writers, or hackers, to return and run whatever
software they choose. A hacker in the context of this guidance is a programmer or
computer user who attempts illegal access to a computer system or network.
Malware is discussed in detail in the next section of this chapter.

Some viruses come with their own embedded e-mail engines that enable an infected
system to propagate the virus directly via e-mail, bypassing any settings in the
user’s e-mail client or server. Virus writers have also begun carefully architecting
their attacks and using social engineering to develop e-mail messages with an
authentic “look and feel.” This approach seeks to engage users’ trust to open
the attached virus file, and dramatically increases the likelihood of a large-scale

Throughout this malware evolution, antivirus software has continued to evolve as
well. However, the majority of current antivirus software is almost entirely reliant
on virus signatures, or the identifying characteristics of malicious software to identify
potentially harmful code. An opportunity still exists between the initial release of a
virus and the time when its signature files are broadly distributed by antivirus
vendors. As a result, many viruses released today demonstrate a dramatically rapid
infection rate in the first few days, and are then followed by a sharp decline once the
signature files are distributed to counteract them.