The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the ILOVEYOU virus
It was the early hours of Tuesday, May 4th when Filipino programmer Onel de Guzman released his new virus into the world. It was called “loveletter” or “ILOVEYOU”, and it would go on to become the most destructive computer virus of all time.
ILOVEYOU worked by emailing itself to everyone in the victim’s address book, with the subject line “ILOVEYOU” and the message “Here is a love letter for you”. The email looked innocuous enough, but it actually contained a malicious script that would delete vital system files and overwrite any files ending in .vbs, .mp3, .jpg, .gif, .mp4, and .mp2.
Within days, ILOVEYOU had spread to tens of millions of computers in 150 countries, causing billions of dollars in damage. It bring down government agencies, businesses, and even individual users. Hospitals were forced to cancel surgeries, airlines were grounded, and the US Military’s Pacific Command had to disconnect its email servers.
The ILOVEYOU virus was finally stopped when a security researcher released a “kill switch” that disabled the virus. But even then, the damage had been done. ILOVEYOU was responsible for the largest outbreak of computer viruses in history, and it remains a cautionary tale of the devastation that can be caused by just a few lines of code. Learn more
The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Melissa virus
In March of 1999, a new computer virus was unleashed on the world that would come to be known as the Melissa virus. This virus was different than anything that had come before it. Melissa was a pervasive virus, spreading quickly and easily through email. It would quickly become the most widespread virus in history.
The Melissa virus was named after a stripper in Florida. The creator of the virus, David L. Smith, chose the name because he liked the name and because it was easy to remember. The virus was created using a program called Microsoft Word 97. The code for the virus was hidden in a macro, which is a set of instructions that can be automatically executed by a word processor.
When someone opened an email that contained the Melissa virus, the virus would automatically infect their computer. Once the computer was infected, the virus would send itself out to the first 50 people in the infected person’s address book. As more and more people became infected, the virus would spread exponentially.
The Melissa virus caused a lot of damage. It caused computers to crash and it filled up people’s email inboxes with copies of the virus. It is estimated that the virus caused $80 million in damage.
The Melissa virus was finally stopped when Smith was caught and arrested. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Today, the Melissa virus is considered one of the most dangerous computer viruses ever created. It was the first virus to cause widespread damage and it showed just how easily a virus can spread.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous computer virus ever. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.