40th anniversary of the computer virus

[DenGar]

No cake or party for this anniversary: http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1668

[HansV]

Eh, congratulations?

[John Gray]

The first 'real' computer virus that I remember on a proper PC was Brain in 1986.

In those days you could get fired for having a virus on your PC (because you had done something naughty...!)

[HansV]

The first one that I encountered was the Ping Pong virus, in 1988.

[StuartR]

The first virus that I encountered was actually a worm. This was before PCs were invented and it circulated within my employer's private network. A team of security consultants spent a weekend creating a counter-worm that used the same mechanism to spread round the network and inoculate any system that it downloaded to.

[BobH]

The first virus that I encountered was actually a worm. This was before PCs were invented and it circulated within my employer's private network. A team of security consultants spent a weekend creating a counter-worm that used the same mechanism to spread round the network and inoculate any system that it downloaded to.

The PC by IBM was introduced in August or 1981. There were other manufacturers who preceded them in the marketplace. That means that the worm Stuart encountered was more than 30 years ago.

As an old IBM mainframe guy who had about 1500 terminals under CICS on his network, I'm curious to know what type of network had the worm before the PC.

[StuartR]

...I'm curious to know what type of network had the worm before the PC.

This worm infected VMS systems on the Digital Equipment Corporation internal network. This was a DECnet network, not TCP/IP. The worm relied on the fact that people didn't change the default password on various system accounts.

[Bowlie]

The first 'real' computer virus that I remember on a proper PC was Brain in 1986.

But of course Elk Cloner, on the Apple ][, preceded that one by four years - but you are taking about virus that you remember! Ironic, because there are very few (if any) viruses for the Mac OS now. (A couple of worms and a few trojans though )

[ChrisGreaves]

This worm infected VMS systems ... people didn't change the default password ...

This sounds like the story recounted in Clifford Stoll's "The Cuckoo's Egg" copyright 1989, and probably a year old then.

(later)
Microsoft helps U.S. police cripple spam email network

[StuartR]

...This sounds like the story recounted in Clifford Stoll's "The Cuckoo's Egg" copyright 1989, and probably a year old then...

No, this event was much earlier, before we had the Internet, and the perpetrator was an employee who was stupid rather than malicious.

[John Gray]

The first 'real' computer virus that I remember on a proper PC was Brain in 1986.

But of course Elk Cloner, on the Apple ][, preceded that one by four years - but you are taking about virus that you remember! Ironic, because there are very few (if any) viruses for the Mac OS now. (A couple of worms and a few trojans though )

I did talk about a 'proper' PC...!

[Bowlie]

The first 'real' computer virus that I remember on a proper PC was Brain in 1986.

But of course Elk Cloner, on the Apple ][, preceded that one by four years - but you are taking about virus that you remember! Ironic, because there are very few (if any) viruses for the Mac OS now. (A couple of worms and a few trojans though )

I did talk about a 'proper' PC...!

I did notice that comment, but you were obviously preferring to a Sinclair, a Commodore 64 or a Radio Shake TRS-80, not one of the original proper PC's like the Apple ][

[StuartR]

Coincidentally, one of my ex colleagues told me this week that Digital Equipment Corporation registered the domain name DEC.COM in September 1985. It was the 5th domain name to be registered.

[Bigaldoc]

Hmmm, my old stompin' ground was number 11.