40th Anniversary of the Computer Virus 60
Orome1 writes "This year marks the 40th anniversary of Creeper, the world's first computer virus. From Creeper to Stuxnet, the last four decades saw the number of malware instances boom from 1,300 in 1990, to 50,000 in 2000, to over 200 million in 2010. Besides sheer quantity, viruses, which were originally used as academic proofs of concept, quickly turned into geek pranks, then evolved into cybercriminal tools. By 2005, the virus scene had been monetized, and virtually all viruses were developed with the sole purpose of making money via more or less complex business models."
What a pointless piece...! (Score:5, Insightful)
This is a typical puff piece by an ignorant reporter. Why didn't they ask a real virus researcher about some of the most influential viruses? Where is there no comment about BRAIN, the first international-spread virus which invented the boot-sector infection path? Why no mention of the amazing prevalence of FORM, which constituted about 1/3 of all infections in the world at its height? Why is there nothing about CONCEPT, the Microsoft-written virus which ushered in the era of high-level language macro viruses?
Why are the only viruses mentioned ones which there has been some public fuss about? I know - because the author knows nothing about this arcane technical subject, but hasn't let that get in the way of writing 500 words....
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)