Analysis Today, 19 January is the 20th anniversary for the appearance
of the first PC virus. Brain, a boot sector virus, was let loose in
January 1986. Brain spread via infected floppy disks and was a
relatively innocuous nuisance in contrast with modern Trojan, rootkits
and other malware. The appearance of the first Windows malware
nonetheless set in train a chain of events that led up to today's
computer virus landscape.
Boot sector viruses ceased to appear when floppy discs went out of
fashion but they continued to be a nuisance between 1986 to 1995, when
internet technology started to penetrate the consumer market. These
types of viruses relied on people to exchange infected discs and virus
outbreaks often took months to spread.
The creation of macro viruses, which exploited security weaknesses in
Microsoft word and other applications, meant that malware outbreaks
peaked after days instead of weeks and months. Macro viruses ruled the
roost for around four years between 1995 and 1999 before email became
the main vector for viral distribution.
Harnessing the internet meant that the time it took the first email
worms, such as the Love Bug, to spread dropped from days to hours.
Email worms such as the Love Bug and Melissa caused widespread
disruption and confusion in 1999 before they were brought to heel.
By 2001, network worms such as Blaster were created that automatically
and indiscriminately infected Windows PCs without adequate protection.
Email and network worms remain a problem today but the greatest problem
these days is posed by key-logging Trojans designed to snoop on user's
private information, such as online account details, and the many
strains of malware that turn infected PCs into zombie drones under the
control of hackers.
The biggest change over the last 20 years has been in the motives of
virus writers rather than in the types of malware they've cooked up,
according to anti-virus firm F-Secure.
"The most significant change has been the evolution of virus writing
hobbyists into criminally operated gangs bent on financial gain," said
F-Secure's chief research officer Mikko Hypponen. ?This trend is
showing no signs of stopping."
"There are already indications that malware authors will target laptop
WLANs as the next vector for automatically spreading worms," he added.
?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/19/pc_virus_at_20/
Comments
Post a Comment