The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Code Red virus
On July 13th, 2001, a new computer virus began infecting computers across the internet. This virus, known as Code Red, was unlike any other virus that had come before it.
Code Red was designed to specifically target computers running Microsoft’s IIS web server software. Once a computer was infected with Code Red, the virus would launch a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack against the website of the White House.
For weeks, Code Red caused havoc on the internet, infecting millions of computers and bringing down thousands of websites. The virus was so powerful that it even caused problems for major companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
Eventually, Code Red was brought under control and its spread was stopped. However, the damage had been done. Code Red had proven that even the most well-protected computer systems could be vulnerable to attack.
Today, Code Red is considered to be one of the most dangerous computer viruses ever created.Click here for more
The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Melissa virus
The most dangerous computer virus ever: the story of the Melissa virus
In 1999, a computer virus called “Melissa” spread like wildfire across the internet, infecting over one million computers in just a few days. Melissa was one of the first mass-mailing viruses, and was particularly insidious because it infected computers by using the victims’ own email addresses to spread the virus.
The Melissa virus was created by a software engineer named David L. Smith, who used the pseudonym “Kwyjibo” (a reference to a character from The Simpsons). Smith reportedly created the virus in just a few hours, using existing code from a previous virus called “AOHell”.
Smith released the virus on an internet chat room on March 26, 1999. Within a few days, the virus had spread to over one million computers, causing billions of dollars in damage. The virus caused so much damage that the United States Postal Service was forced to shut down its email system to prevent the virus from spreading further.
The Melissa virus was finally stopped when Smith was arrested and charged with felony computer crime. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released on parole after serving just 20 months.
Today, the Melissa virus is considered one of the most dangerous computer viruses of all time. It serves as a reminder of the importance of computer security, and the damage that can be caused by even a simple virus.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous computer virus ever. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.