• About us
  • Advertising
  • Send Press Release
  • ICT Indicators
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
  • Login
TechSansar.com • Nepal Information and Technology Navigator Website from Nepal
  • Startups
  • Tech Events
    • Submit Tech Events in Nepal
  • Services
    • Shop
    • Web hosting Features
    • Projects initiated by Team TechSansar
    • Windows Apps developed by Team TechSansar
  • Top Posts
    • ICT Organizations in Nepal
    • Top Websites in Nepal
    • Trending Topics related to Nepal
    • Wi-Fi Access Directory Nepal
    • SEO Guide to Nepalese Bloggers – नेपाली ब्लगरहरुलाई SEO सम्बन्धि सुझावहरु
  • Market
    • LG TV Prices
    • Galaxy Tablet Prices
    • Samsung TV Prices
  • Categories
    • Gadgets
    • Nepali IT
    • Telecom
    • Freebies
  • QnA
    • Ask a Question
  • नेपाली संस्करण
Shop
TechSansar.com • Nepal Information and Technology Navigator Website from Nepal
  • Startups
  • Tech Events
    • Submit Tech Events in Nepal
  • Services
    • Shop
    • Web hosting Features
    • Projects initiated by Team TechSansar
    • Windows Apps developed by Team TechSansar
  • Top Posts
    • ICT Organizations in Nepal
    • Top Websites in Nepal
    • Trending Topics related to Nepal
    • Wi-Fi Access Directory Nepal
    • SEO Guide to Nepalese Bloggers – नेपाली ब्लगरहरुलाई SEO सम्बन्धि सुझावहरु
  • Market
    • LG TV Prices
    • Galaxy Tablet Prices
    • Samsung TV Prices
  • Categories
    • Gadgets
    • Nepali IT
    • Telecom
    • Freebies
  • QnA
    • Ask a Question
  • नेपाली संस्करण
TechSansar.com • Nepal Information and Technology Navigator Website from Nepal
No Result
View All Result

Some of the worst computer viruses of all time

11 years ago
in Computing
Reading Time: 17 mins read
0 0
A A
4
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInQR Code

Other similar Posts

No Content Available

We’re going to take a look at 10 of the worst computer viruses.

1)Melissa virus.

It was then spring of 1999, a man named David L. Smith created a computer virus based on a Microsoft Word macro. He built the virus so that it could spread through e-mail messages. Smith named the virus “Melissa,” saying that he named it after an exotic dancer from Florida [source: CNN].The virus spread rapidly. The United States federal government became very interested in Smith’s work — according to statements made by FBI officials to Congress, the Melissa virus “wreaked havoc on government and private sector networks” [source: FBI]. The increase in e-mail traffic forced some companies to discontinue e-mail programs until the virus was contained.Smith  received a 20-month jail sentence for his work. Although, the Melissa virus didn’t cripple the Internet, but it was one of the first computer viruses to get the public’s attention.

2)I love you virus

A year after the Melissa scandal a digital menace emerged from the Asian side Philippines. Unlike the Melissa virus, this threat came in the form of a worm — it was a standalone program capable of replicating itself. The ILOVEYOU virus initially traveled the Internet by e-mail, just like the Melissa virus. The subject of the e-mail said that the message was a love letter from a secret admirer. An attachment in the e-mail was what caused all the trouble. The original worm had the file name of LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs. The vbs extension pointed to the language the hacker used to create the worm: Visual Basic Scripting [source: McAfee].

Who created the ILOVEYOU virus? Some think it was Onel de Guzman of the Philippines. Filipino authorities investigated de Guzman on charges of theft — at the time the Philippines had no computer espionage or sabotage laws. Citing a lack of evidence, the Filipino authorities dropped the charges against de Guzman, who would neither confirm nor deny his responsibility for the virus. According to some estimates, the ILOVEYOU virus caused $10 billion in damages.

3)The Klez Virus

The Klez virus marked a new direction for computer viruses, setting the bar high for those that would follow. It debuted in late 2001, and variations of the virus plagued the Internet for several months. The basic Klez worm infected a victim’s computer through an e-mail message, replicated itself and then sent itself to people in the victim’s address book. Some variations of the Klez virus carried other harmful programs that could render a victim’s computer inoperable. Depending on the version, the Klez virus could act like a normal computer virus, a worm or a Trojan horse. It could even disable virus-scanning software and pose as a virus-removal tool [source: Symantec].

Shortly after it appeared on the Internet, hackers modified the Klez virus in a way that made it far more effective. Like other viruses, it could comb through a victim’s address book and send itself to contacts. But it could also take another name from the contact list and place that address in the “From” field in the e-mail client. It’s called spoofing — the e-mail appears to come from one source when it’s really coming from somewhere else.

4) Code Red and Code Red II

he Code Red and Code Red II worms popped up in the summer of 2001. Both worms exploited an operating system vulnerability that was found in machines running Windows 2000 and Windows NT. The vulnerability was a buffer overflow problem.A Windows 2000 machine infected by the Code Red II worm no longer obeys the owner. That’s because the worm creates a backdoor into the computer’s operating system, allowing a remote user to access and control the machine.

5)Nimda

In 2001,  it was the Nimda (which is admin spelled backwards) worm. that spread through the Internet rapidly, becoming the fastest propagating computer virus at that time.

6)SQL Slammer/Sapphire

In late January 2003, a new Web server virus spread across the Internet. Many computer networks were unprepared for the attack, and as a result the virus brought down several important systems. The Bank of America’s ATM service crashed, the city of Seattle suffered outages in 911 service and Continental Airlines had to cancel several flights due to electronic ticketing and check-in errors.The Slammer virus hit South Korea hard, cutting it off from the Internet and leaving Internet cafes like this one relatively empty.

7)Mydoom

he MyDoom (or Novarg) virus is another worm that can create a backdoor in the victim computer’s operating system. The original MyDoom virus — there have been several variants — had two triggers. One trigger caused the virus to begin a denial of service (DoS) attack starting Feb. 1, 2004. The second trigger commanded the virus to stop distributing itself on Feb. 12, 2004. Even after the virus stopped spreading, the backdoors created during the initial infections remained active

8)Sasser and Netsky

Sometimes computer virus programmers escape detection. But once in a while, authorities find a way to track a virus back to its origin. Such was the case with the Sasser and Netsky viruses. A 17-year-old German named Sven Jaschan created the two programs and unleashed them onto the Internet. While the two worms behaved in different ways, similarities in the code led security experts to believe they both were the work of the same person.

The Sasser worm attacked computers through a Microsoft Windows vulnerability. Unlike other worms, it didn’t spread through e-mail. Instead, once the virus infected a computer, it looked for other vulnerable systems. It contacted those systems and instructed them to download the virus. The virus would scan random IP addresses to find potential victims. The virus also altered the victim’s operating system in a way that made it difficult to shut down the computer without cutting off power to the system.

9) Leap-A/Oompa-A

Mac computers are partially protected from virus attacks because of a concept called security through obscurity. Apple has a reputation for keeping its operating system (OS) and hardware a closed system — Apple produces both the hardware and the software. This keeps the OS obscure. Traditionally, Macs have been a distant second to PCs in the home computer market. A hacker who creates a virus for the Mac won’t hit as many victims as he or she would with a virus for PCs.But that hasn’t stopped at least one Mac hacker. In 2006, the Leap-A virus, also known as Oompa-A, debuted. It uses the iChat instant messaging program to propagate across vulnerable Mac computers. After the virus infects a Mac, it searches through the iChat contacts and sends a message to each person . Message contains a corrupted file that appears to be an innocent JPEG image.

10) Storm Worm

It was late 2006 when computer security experts first identified the worm. The public began to call the virus the Storm Worm because one of the e-mail messages carrying the virus had as its subject “230 dead as storm batters Europe.” Antivirus companies call the worm other names. For example, Symantec calls it Peacomm while McAfee refers to it as Nuwar. This might sound confusing, but there’s already a 2001 virus called the W32.Storm.Worm. The 2001 virus and the 2006 worm are completely different programs.

The Storm Worm is a Trojan horse program. Its payload is another program, though not always the same one. Some versions of the Storm Worm turn computers into zombies or bots. As computers become infected, they become vulnerable to remote control by the person behind the attack. Some hackers use the Storm Worm to create a botnet and use it to send spam mail across the Internet.

Many versions of the Storm Worm fool the victim into downloading the application through fake links to news stories or videos. The people behind the attacks will often change the subject of the e-mail to reflect current events. For example, just before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, a new version of the worm appeared in e-mails with subjects like “a new deadly catastrophe in China” or “China’s most deadly earthquake.” The e-mail claimed to link to video and news stories related to the subject, but in reality clicking on the link activated a download of the worm to the victim’s computer [source: McAfee].

Several news agencies and blogs named the Storm Worm one of the worst virus attacks in years. By July 2007, an official with the security company Postini claimed that the firm detected more than 200 million e-mails carrying links to the Storm Worm during an attack that spanned several days [source: Gaudin]. Fortunately, not every e-mail led to someone downloading the worm.

[source]

ShareTweetShareScan
Previous Post

Head to head speed test comparison of Windows 7 vs Windows 8

Next Post

Microsoft kills Hotmail to promote Outlook.com

Also check out other Similar posts

CPU utilization in Windows 11
Computing

6 things you can do to speed up your Windows 11 computer

April 14, 2022
Fix that Brave browser sluggishness in Windows 11
Computing

Fix for slow or not responding Brave browser in Windows 11 #BraveBrowser #Windows11

January 5, 2022
Enable public Live Events aka Webinar in Microsoft Teams
How To

[How to] Enable public Live Events aka Webinar in Microsoft Teams #MSTeams #LiveEvents #Webinar

December 26, 2020
It Is Important to Consider Using Electronic Signature for Your Businesses
Computing

Why It Is Important to Consider Using Electronic Signature for Your Businesses

November 16, 2020
Top 5 Programming Language to learn Nepal
Computing

Top 5 Programming Language to learn Nepal

September 14, 2020
How to Send a Wireless Fax on A Printer in 3 steps?
Computing

How to Send a Wireless Fax on A Printer in 3 steps?

July 16, 2020
Next Post

Microsoft kills Hotmail to promote Outlook.com

Comments 4

  1. bidur says:
    11 years ago

    nice

  2. bidur says:
    11 years ago

    nice

  3. Pingback: Facing Facebook Facts - Infographics | TechSansar.com
  4. Pingback: Facing Facebook Facts - Infographics | TechSansar.com
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Apply now for the $25,000 UNESCO Prize for Your Education Technology Solution
  • Daraz announces the biggest sale of the year – Up to 80% off, mega vouchers up to 11,111 & more
  • 6 things you can do to speed up your Windows 11 computer
  • Vivo Launches V23 5G Smartphone with 50MP AF Portrait Selfie Camera and Elegant Color-Changing Exterior
  • Fix for slow or not responding Brave browser in Windows 11 #BraveBrowser #Windows11
  • Speed up your Windows 11 computer by reducing startup time, here is how to
  • What is band steering and why you should use it #WiFi #Networking
  • Messages for Android and Web saves you tonnes of time and features!
  • Great! Nagarik App now supports Vehicle Tax and Bluebook Info #NagarikApp
  • 👍 Nepal moves 15 spots up in Global Cybersecurity Index 2021

Recent Comments

  • onlinenepali on Top Websites in Nepal
  • Hikmat Bahadur Sunuwar on Micromax Service Center & Authorized Dealers in Nepal
  • Lorine on Top Websites in Nepal
  • shailendra on Top Websites in Nepal
  • Gloria Brooks on Daraz announces the biggest sale of the year – Up to 80% off, mega vouchers up to 11,111 & more

Listen to TechSansar Podcast

Categories

RoboForm: Learn more...

Recent Posts

  • Apply now for the $25,000 UNESCO Prize for Your Education Technology Solution January 3, 2023
  • Daraz announces the biggest sale of the year – Up to 80% off, mega vouchers up to 11,111 & more November 12, 2022
  • 6 things you can do to speed up your Windows 11 computer April 14, 2022
  • Vivo Launches V23 5G Smartphone with 50MP AF Portrait Selfie Camera and Elegant Color-Changing Exterior April 11, 2022
  • Fix for slow or not responding Brave browser in Windows 11 #BraveBrowser #Windows11 January 5, 2022
  • Speed up your Windows 11 computer by reducing startup time, here is how to December 23, 2021
  • What is band steering and why you should use it #WiFi #Networking November 25, 2021
  • Messages for Android and Web saves you tonnes of time and features! July 7, 2021
  • Great! Nagarik App now supports Vehicle Tax and Bluebook Info #NagarikApp July 5, 2021
  • 👍 Nepal moves 15 spots up in Global Cybersecurity Index 2021 July 1, 2021

Latest Questions

  • Wifi doesn’t turn back automatically Windows 10 asked by Chandani, 2 years ago
  • Your feed file is too big – Facebook Instant Articles asked by , 2 years ago
  • What is businessfocus.info ads? asked by , 2 years ago
  • MSDOS Boot creation problem. asked by , 3 years ago
  • Why does Google Site Kit keeps disconnecting? asked by Editor, 3 years ago
  • Best eBanking in Nepal asked by Editor, 4 years ago
  • Traditional Nepali Font asked by Malvika Shrestha, 4 years ago
  • Cloud servers VPS in Nepal asked by Sunita, 4 years ago
  • Cloud servers VPS in Nepal asked by Sunita, 4 years ago
  • Cloud servers VPS in Nepal asked by Sunita, 4 years ago

Categories

  • ADSL
  • Apple
  • Applications
  • Broadband
  • Broadcasting
  • Cell Phones
  • Cloud Computing
  • Computing
  • Default
  • Featured
  • Gadgets
  • Google
  • How To
  • India Inc
  • Internetworking
  • Microsoft
  • Nepali IT
  • New Release
  • Products
  • SMS & related
  • Social Networking
  • Software
  • Startups
  • Support
  • Tech Fun
  • Tech News
  • Technology
  • Technology in Effect
  • Telecom
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Tutorials
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Websites
  • Windows
  • Windows-7
  • टिप्सहरु
  • नेपाली टेक संसार
  • QnA Platform
  • Gadgets
  • Tech News
  • Tips & Tricks
  • About us
  • ICT in Nepal
  • Market

TechSansar.com, ICT For Media Pvt Ltd, Regd #249079/077/078, VAT #609868175. 
By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookies and privacy policies.
Here is our Do Not Track (DNT) Guide. Hosted on a VPS in Singapore and uses this beautiful WordPress theme. You can also subscribe to our newsletter.
Creating tech contents for the b̶o̶t̶s̶ humans since 2009 • Team TechSansar • ICT4M with ❤ from Nepal

No Result
View All Result
  • Startups
  • Tech Events
    • Submit Tech Events in Nepal
  • Services
    • Shop
    • Web hosting Features
    • Projects initiated by Team TechSansar
    • Windows Apps developed by Team TechSansar
  • Top Posts
    • ICT Organizations in Nepal
    • Top Websites in Nepal
    • Trending Topics related to Nepal
    • Wi-Fi Access Directory Nepal
    • SEO Guide to Nepalese Bloggers – नेपाली ब्लगरहरुलाई SEO सम्बन्धि सुझावहरु
  • Market
    • LG TV Prices
    • Galaxy Tablet Prices
    • Samsung TV Prices
  • Categories
    • Gadgets
    • Nepali IT
    • Telecom
    • Freebies
  • QnA
    • Ask a Question
  • नेपाली संस्करण

TechSansar.com, ICT For Media Pvt Ltd, Regd #249079/077/078, VAT #609868175. 
By continuing to use this site, you agree to our cookies and privacy policies.
Here is our Do Not Track (DNT) Guide. Hosted on a VPS in Singapore and uses this beautiful WordPress theme. You can also subscribe to our newsletter.
Creating tech contents for the b̶o̶t̶s̶ humans since 2009 • Team TechSansar • ICT4M with ❤ from Nepal

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

We are running on limited supplies. Kindly, chat with us before sending payments. Dismiss