The Computer Worm Turns 25

Nick Gillespie | July 26, 2007

The Christian Science Monitor talks with Richard Skrenta, widely credited with creating the first computer virus back in 1982, back when Alan Alda was pitching Ataris (no wonder they didn't make it). The first virus, notes CSM, was written for the Apple II and deposited doggerel on your flippy-floppy drive: "It will get on all your disks/ It will infiltrate your chips/ Yes it's Cloner!"

Then things changed:

There was the infamous "Morris worm" that wiggled through the nascent Internet in 1988. Programmed by a Cornell University student, the worm clogged systems across the country and cost researchers up to $10 million in lost time as they weeded out the self-replicating code.

Then came the "Michelangelo virus," a ticking-bomb program that threatened to erase thousands of hard drives simultaneously on March 6, 1992. Like the Y2K bug that followed, however, Michelangelo scared more people than it hurt.

These early codes and the scores that came in between had a much different goal than today's crop of malware. They were designed to vandalize, earn bragging rights, and tinker with new technology. It was a time of hobbyists, says Zulfikar Ramzan, a senior principal researcher at the computer security firm Symantec in Cupertino, Calif.

But around 2001, the trend shifted. Amateur-made viruses gave way to a new breed - one that was more evolved, relied on stealth, and targeted your wallet.

Ah for the all good old days, when we wuz young and green and viruses were done for the fun of it, not just filthy lucre.

The computer virus may well have morphed into a useful metaphor for an age of infectious and chronic but not deadly diseases (think herpes) and social realities (think terrorism). They are out there, they're really a pain in the ass, they waste time and money, and the best we can do is keep it all at arm's length via detection and eradication programs. Hell, maybe the computer virus is a useful metaphor for government, too.

More about computer viruses here.

Comments

|7.26.07 @ 9:42AM|#

I had an Apple II+ There was a time when, I refused to run software I didn't write myself. Not that I wrote anything really useful. It was fun playing abound with code, and doing my own upgrades. I was so sure I was ahead of the curve and would be one of the geeks that ruled the earth by the time I was 30. Was I ever so young?

Guy Montag|7.26.07 @ 10:00AM|#

There are 10 kinds of people in this world . . .

Robert|7.26.07 @ 10:16AM|#

Alda was pitching Atari, but George Plimpton was pitching Intellivision.

highnumber|7.26.07 @ 11:15AM|#

Yes! Plimpton! I believe he emceed my first Venetian Night circa that time.

|7.26.07 @ 11:26AM|#

I was in a spelling bee emceed by Plimpton (I was the adorable kid with the big glasses).

highnumber|7.26.07 @ 11:34AM|#

Did we "pants" you?

The Wine Commonsewer®|7.26.07 @ 2:04PM|#

Did we "pants" you?

SPLAT! That was a mouthful of coffee careening off the 21" plasma monitor.........

Thanks. LOL

The Wine Commonsewer®|7.26.07 @ 2:07PM|#

Warren, we were never that young.

Yesterday I'm laying tile in the downstairs bathroom (I'm too old for that crap).

I'm wearing a headband cuz my hair is getting in my face and it bugs. The boy and his buddy come home from school. His buddy says to me

Wow, TWC, you're wearing a headband. Are you a rapper or something?

You know the rest of the conversation that ends with the kid asking me what a hippie is.

VM|7.26.07 @ 3:05PM|#

hier is the new product launch by URKOBOLD in honor of this day.

|7.26.07 @ 3:14PM|#

I remember not being allowed to turn on the computer that day due to fear of the Michelangelo virus.

highnumber|7.26.07 @ 3:38PM|#

I still won't bring prairie dogs into my home.

|7.26.07 @ 4:22PM|#

ILOVEYOU

|7.27.07 @ 3:42AM|#

Alan Alda was pitching Ataris (no wonder they didn't make it)

Alda and Cosby (TI 99/4A) were no match for Captain Kirk (VIC-20).

Robert|7.27.07 @ 9:33AM|#

I met George Plimpton too, at a fireworks competition in Jersey City that he was a judge at. Or if not a judge, a celebrity guest. I asked him if he could do anything (as unofficial NYC fireworks commissioner) about Giuliani's crackdown, and he said he wished we could.