25 Interesting Facts About Computer Viruses You Really Should Know
Computer viruses were more of an urban myth than a real threat a few decades ago, but over the years, the situation has changed drastically. These days, malicious executable software programs are great menaces to anybody and anything from governments and big international corporations to small businesses and individual computer users. Created and programmed by anybody from experienced hackers to keen amateurs and even children, computer viruses are malware programs that - when executed - replicate by inserting copies of themselves into other computer programs, data files, or the boot sector of the hard drive. Viruses often perform some type of harmful activity on infected hosts, such as stealing hard disk space or CPU time, accessing private information, corrupting data, displaying political or humorous messages on the user's screen, spamming their contacts, logging their keystrokes, or even rendering the computer useless. Needless to say, computer viruses are major annoyances and can lead to some dire consequences. Protect and inform yourself about these malicious bugs with these 25 interesting facts about computer viruses. There's not a person in this world who is not at risk from a computer virus attack (no matter how powerful your antivirus software maybe). Therefore, the more you know, the more you'll be able to protect yourself. Follow us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/list25 Facebook: http://ift.tt/19DaPvG Website: http://list25.com Instagram: http://ift.tt/18MI0Bn Pinterest: http://ift.tt/1BGjHke Check out the physical list here: http://ift.tt/1RUN1xf The very first computer virus was the Creeper Virus that was detected on ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, in the early 1970s. It was an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN Technologies in 1971. Currently, there are three basic categories of malicious software threats: viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. While the behavior of them differs, they are all built from the same basic instructions and computer logic. The typical malicious software author is male between fourteen and twenty-five years of age. Only a few female virus writers have been known so far. About 70% of virus writers work under a contract for an organized crime syndicate. Melissa virus (March 1999) was so powerful that it forced Microsoft and many other large companies to turn off their e-mail systems until the virus could be removed completely. Before computer networks became widespread, most viruses spread on removable media, particularly floppy disks. In the early days of the personal computer, most users regularly exchanged information and programs on floppies. According to the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report and Consumer Reports, 40% of US household are affected by computer viruses. Amazon.com was the most exploited target for phishing attacks, followed by Apple and eBay. Internationally, US is at the highest risk of being attacked by computer viruses, followed by Russia. Yet, computer virus writing is not considered an illegal act in US. Some other countries are beginning to draft computer crime laws that are far stricter than those in US. In Germany, for instance, mass exchange of computer viruses for any reason is restricted and Finland has recently made writing a computer virus an illegal act. And more... Outro Links: 25 Ways That Your Body Is Weirder Than You Think: http://bit.ly/1WZCYoI 25 Things You Didn’t Know About The Mobile Phone: http://bit.ly/1TkGKKz Music: Itty Bitty 8 Bit by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (http://ift.tt/1bFo3O7) Source: http://ift.tt/1S9O8H7 Artist: http://incompetech.com/
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