The Evolution of the Computer Virus, Hacking and IT E-Book Dump Release
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The Evolution 1
Running head: THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPUTER VIRUS
The Evolution of the Computer Virus
Shaun DeRosa
University of Advancing Technology
October 30, 2006
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Abstract
In the last twenty years our societyÓs dependence on technology has grown exponentially.
With the advent of the internet geographical boarders were in effect broken; distance is no longer
a factor in human communication and interaction. Unfortunately, with the expansion of
technology and all of the positive aspects associated with it comes the opposite; malware or as
they are more commonly referred to as: viruses.
Computer viruses have taken much the same path of evolution as the computers they
infect. Starting as simple programs in the early days of computer technology, they have adapted
and evolved into complex programs. As we see new horizons opening up before us with the ever
expanding internet and new technologies, authors of malicious programs see the possibility of
new exploits and security flaws, and so the constant battle to protect ourselves from these attacks
will go on indefinitely.
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The Evolution of the Computer Virus
As is true with every aspect of our world, for every up there is a down, for every true
there is a false and for every good there is a bad. So it was inevitable that with the advent of new
technology that would bring people together there would be new technology with a malicious
intent to do harm. That technology would be come to be known by many names, most often it is
referred to as a ÐvirusÑ. A virus is in effect only one type of malware, trojans and worms being
the other two main agents. It is important to remember that while malwareÓs intent is to do harm
or collect information, its main purpose is to replicate itself and spread. For now we will focus
on the virus and its history.
The first detected virus, named the Brain virus, was discovered in 1986. Brain was a
boot sector virus that only infected 5.25-inch floppy disks, and yet the virus was able to replicate
itself and spread around the world without the use of the internet or email. Boot sector viruses
such as Brain require that the victim execute an infected file in order for the virus to take effect
and replicate. As more and more people came online through the 1990Ós a new breed of boot
sector virus emerged known as the macro-virus. One such macro virus was named Concept. ÐIn
1996, Concept became the most common virus in the world, infecting Word documents on both
the PC and the Mac Î the first cross-platform virus.Ñ (Schultz, 2006, p. 12) Soon after came
Melissa, a virus much like Concept except it had evolved to automatically send itself to users in
the host computers Outlook address book. Then came viruses aimed at servers and network
infrastructure, such as CodeRed, Nimda and Slammer. The authors of these malicious codes
began to take ideas and pieces of previous agents and combine them into new and more powerful
programs.
Viruses are no longer restricted to computers. Cell phones, PDAs and Bluetooth
technology are all vulnerable in todayÓs networked environment. With the rapid expansion of
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todayÓs technologies, the trend has been to network everything in oneÓs life together. Phones,
computers, personal planners, banks, bills, email and countless other aspects of everyday life
have all been networked together to make our busy lives easier to manage. ÐToday, an estimated
1.21 billion people (Computer Industry Almanac) are connected to the internet with millions of
computer hosts connected chatting, exchange files, emails and communicating in general. Can
you imagine how easy it is to spread a virus or malware?Ñ (On the Origin and Evolution of
Computer Viruses)
Computer viruses, worms, trojans and all other various forms of malware continue to
evolve, adapt and infiltrate more and more aspects of our digital lives every day. There is
undoubtedly a new virus being developed and written right now somewhere in the world that has
the potential to affect our lives in the future. The one glimmer of hope in the world of malware
is the knowledge that somewhere there is a group of software engineers developing new tools
and concepts to help protect us from the future evolutions and variations of computer viruses.
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References
On the Origin and Evolution of Computer Viruses
. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2006, from
Schultz, K. (2006, January 30). Marking 20 Years of Viral Havoc.
Info World
,
28
, 12.
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