What are the most deadly computer viruses in history?
The most deadly computer viruses in history have done more than simply cause havoc on individual computers – they have caused large-scale devastation, taking down systems and even whole companies. Here are five of the most notorious viruses to have ever hit the digital world.
The CIH Virus
The CIH virus, also known as Chernobyl, was discovered in 1998 and quickly became one of the most destructive viruses of all time. The virus was programmed to trigger on a specific date – April 26th – and would infect executables, overwriting sector zero of the hard drive and rendering the computer inoperable. Because the virus hid itself within legitimate files, it was difficult to remove and caused billions of dollars in damage, mostly to businesses who didn’t have proper backup systems in place.
The ILOVEYOU Virus
The ILOVEYOU virus is a perfect example of how computer viruses can spread like wildfire. This virus, which was unleashed in 2000, arrived in users’ inboxes disguised as a love letter. Once opened, the virus would overwrite important files and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The ILOVEYOU virus caused an estimated $5.5 billion in damage and is believed to be responsible for infecting more than 50 million computers.
The Melissa Virus
The Melissa virus, named for a stripper in Florida, was first discovered in 1999. Like the ILOVEYOU virus, it spread quickly through email, but this time by taking advantage of a vulnerability in Microsoft Word. The virus would arrive in an email with the subject line “Here is that document you asked for…” and, once opened, would replicating itself and send itself out to the first 50 people in the victim’s address book. The Melissa virus caused an estimated $80 million in damage.
The Code Red Worm
The Code Red worm was discovered in 2001 and quickly spread across the internet, infecting more than 350,000 computers in just a matter of days. The worm took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft’s IIS web server software and, once on a system, would deface any web pages hosted on that server. The worm also created a backdoor on the infected computer, which could be used to gain remote access and install other malware. The Code Red worm caused an estimated $2 billion in damage.
The Sasser Worm
The Sasser worm was discovered in 2004 and, like the Code Red worm, exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s IIS web server software. However, the Sasser worm didn’t just deface web pages – it caused infected computers to crash, rendering them unusable. The Sasser worm spread quickly, infecting more than 1 million computers in just a matter of days. The Sasser worm caused an estimated $30 million in damage.
What are the most common types of computer viruses?
It is estimated that there are between tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of types of computer viruses. The most common types of computer viruses include the following:
1. Boot sector viruses: These viruses affect the boot sector of a disk, making it impossible to boot up your computer.
2. File infectors: These viruses infect executable files, causing the infected file to launch the virus when executed.
3. Macro viruses: These viruses infect files created using certain applications, such as Microsoft Word or Excel. The virus is executed when the infected file is opened.
4. Multipartite viruses: These viruses are a combination of both boot sector viruses and file infectors.
5. Polymorphic viruses: These viruses encrypt themselves in order to avoid detection by antivirus software.
6. Script viruses: These viruses are written in scripting languages, such as VBScript or JavaScript. They are usually spread through email attachments.
7. Spyware: This is a type of virus that is used to collect information about a user, such as their surfing habits or credit card information.
8. Trojans: This is a type of virus that masquerades as a legitimate program in order to trick the user into executing it.
9. Worms: These viruses spread themselves by creating copies of themselves and sending them to other computers on a network.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most deadly computer virus. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.