January 1992 saw the Self Mutating Engine (MtE) from Dark Avenger. At first, all we saw was a virus that we named Dedicated, but shortly after that, … [Read more...]

Early in 1993, XTREE announced that they were quitting the antivirus business. This was the first time that a major company had given up the … [Read more...]

There will be more viruses - that's an easy prediction. How many more is a difficult call, but over the last five years, the number of viruses has … [Read more...]

Narrative histories are available from several sources. Robert M. Slade's is a somewhat more technically oriented history and is available here with … [Read more...]

Viral programs have a long, and sometimes honourable, history. (I do not intend, by this statement, to be involved in the current debate about whether … [Read more...]

One of the factors involved in the success of viral programs is a study of the mindset of the user: a study of the psychology or sociology of the … [Read more...]

No historical overview of viral programs can be complete without mention of the work of Fred Cohen. Hi Fred. (Just kidding.) In the early 1980s, … [Read more...]

Pranks are very much a part of the computer culture. So much so, that one can now buy commercially produced joke packages which allow you to perform … [Read more...]

The earliest case of a virus that succeeded "in the wild" goes back to late 1981, even before the work of Fred Cohen. In fairness, this does not … [Read more...]

The autumn of 1987 really seemed to get the ball rolling with regard to virus research. The first message to awaken interest was sent by one "LUKEN" … [Read more...]