History of computer viruses
Imagine you have a secret diary that you keep under your pillow. You don't want anyone else to read it because it's personal to you. But what if someone sneaks into your room, reads your diary and changes what you've written? This is how viruses work on a computer.
A virus is a type of computer program that is designed to sneak into a computer and do things without the owner's permission. Just like a cold virus, these computer viruses can spread from one computer to another. They can be passed through email attachments, downloads, or infected websites.
The first computer virus was created in 1971 by a man named Bob Thomas. It was called "Creeper" and it infected computers running the early ARPANET system. It displayed a message "I'm the creeper: catch me if you can!" This virus was created not to cause harm, but to demonstrate the possibility of doing it.
But in the 1980s, viruses became more malicious. They were designed to harm the computer or steal personal information. One of the most famous viruses from this time was called the "Morris Worm," which infected about 10% of all computers connected to the internet. It caused the system to slow down or crash entirely.
As computers became more advanced, so too did viruses. In the 1990s, viruses started to use the internet to spread more quickly. They could now hide in emails or even be embedded into websites. This made them harder to detect and remove.
But as technology improved even more, antivirus software was developed to help people protect their computers. Now, if a virus is detected, the software can usually quarantine or remove it before it has a chance to spread.
So, in short, just like how you protect your personal diary, it's important to protect your computer from harmful viruses by using antivirus software and being careful about what you download or open.
A virus is a type of computer program that is designed to sneak into a computer and do things without the owner's permission. Just like a cold virus, these computer viruses can spread from one computer to another. They can be passed through email attachments, downloads, or infected websites.
The first computer virus was created in 1971 by a man named Bob Thomas. It was called "Creeper" and it infected computers running the early ARPANET system. It displayed a message "I'm the creeper: catch me if you can!" This virus was created not to cause harm, but to demonstrate the possibility of doing it.
But in the 1980s, viruses became more malicious. They were designed to harm the computer or steal personal information. One of the most famous viruses from this time was called the "Morris Worm," which infected about 10% of all computers connected to the internet. It caused the system to slow down or crash entirely.
As computers became more advanced, so too did viruses. In the 1990s, viruses started to use the internet to spread more quickly. They could now hide in emails or even be embedded into websites. This made them harder to detect and remove.
But as technology improved even more, antivirus software was developed to help people protect their computers. Now, if a virus is detected, the software can usually quarantine or remove it before it has a chance to spread.
So, in short, just like how you protect your personal diary, it's important to protect your computer from harmful viruses by using antivirus software and being careful about what you download or open.
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