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A computer virus [1] is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. [2] [3] If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus, a metaphor derived from biological viruses. [4]
The first IBM PC compatible "in the wild" computer virus, and one of the first real widespread infections, was "Brain" in 1986. From then, the number of viruses has grown exponentially. [14] [15] Most of the computer viruses written in the early and mid-1980s were limited to self-reproduction and had no specific damage routine built into the ...
The first IBM PC virus in the wild was a boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, created in 1986 by the Farooq Alvi brothers in Pakistan. [14] Malware distributors would trick the user into booting or running from an infected device or medium. For example, a virus could make an infected computer add autorunnable code to any USB stick plugged into it.
Computer viruses generally require a host program. [11] The virus writes its own code into the host program. When the program runs, the written virus program is executed first, causing infection and damage. A worm does not need a host program, as it is an independent program or code chunk.
To combat computer viruses and other malicious software, many security advisory organizations and anti-virus software developers compile and publish virus lists. When a new virus appears, the rush begins to identify and understand it as well as develop appropriate counter-measures to stop its propagation.
Appearance of Lehigh virus (discovered at its namesake university), [18] boot sector viruses such as Yale from the US, Stoned from New Zealand, Ping Pong from Italy, and appearance of the first self-encrypting file virus, Cascade. Lehigh was stopped on campus before it spread to the "wild" (to computers beyond the university), and as a result ...
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