Futuríveis
domingo, janeiro 22, 2006
PC viruses hit 20 year milestone
...
It was during the opening weeks of 1986 that the first PC virus, called Brain, was discovered in the wild.
Though it achieved fame because it was the first of its type, the virus was not widespread as it could only travel by hitching a ride on floppy disks swapped between users.
Now 20 years after they first appeared there are more than 150,000 malicious programs in existence.
The origins of the Brain virus are disputed. It is thought to have been created by a Pakistani software firm to help protect the software it created and sold.
The virus was discovered in January 1986 but may have been written some time before that as it used a relatively slow method to travel.
...
"The most significant change has been the evolution of virus writing hobbyists into criminally operated gangs bent on financial gain," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure.
This week the FBI released figures which suggest that 84% of US businesses were attacked by viruses, spyware and other malicious programs in 2005.
On average, dealing with the attack cost US businesses $24,000, said the FBI.
...
BBC NEWS | Technology | PC viruses hit 20 year milestone
It was during the opening weeks of 1986 that the first PC virus, called Brain, was discovered in the wild.
Though it achieved fame because it was the first of its type, the virus was not widespread as it could only travel by hitching a ride on floppy disks swapped between users.
Now 20 years after they first appeared there are more than 150,000 malicious programs in existence.
The origins of the Brain virus are disputed. It is thought to have been created by a Pakistani software firm to help protect the software it created and sold.
The virus was discovered in January 1986 but may have been written some time before that as it used a relatively slow method to travel.
...
"The most significant change has been the evolution of virus writing hobbyists into criminally operated gangs bent on financial gain," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure.
This week the FBI released figures which suggest that 84% of US businesses were attacked by viruses, spyware and other malicious programs in 2005.
On average, dealing with the attack cost US businesses $24,000, said the FBI.
...
BBC NEWS | Technology | PC viruses hit 20 year milestone
posted by CMT, 6:09 da tarde
