Table of contents

1 2004 2 2003 3 2001 4 2000 5 1999 6 1998 7 1988 8 1987 9 1982

2004

• MyDoom emerged in late January, 2004 and now holds the record for the fastest-spreading Internet worm ever. It was designed to attack the websites of Microsoft and the SCO Group with a distributed denial of service attack, and also to enable remote control of the infected PC.

• In late August 2003, two major worms named the Sobig worm and the Blaster worm began to attack millions of Microsoft Windows computers, resulting in the largest down-time and clean-up cost ever. The worms have also had political consequences as many companies in several countries have started to call for government action to prevent further damages from Windows worms.
• On January 24 2003, the SQL slammer worm attacking Microsoft SQL Server caused widespread problems on the Internet.

• The klez worm is first identified On October 26, 2001.
• In the summer of 2001, the Code Red worm attacking Microsoft's Internet Information Server was released. It was just another computer worm but it got much publicity because it targeted the White House website.
• The Sircam worm was released this summer as well, spreading both through e-mails and unprotected network shares.

• The VBS/Loveletter worm, also known as the "I love you" virus, appeared in May 2000.

• On March 26, 1999 the Melissa worm was released, targeting Microsoft Word and Outlook-based systems, and creating considerable network traffic.

• The first version of the CIH virus appeared on June 2, 1998.

• The Morris worm infected DEC VAX machines connected to the Internet, and becoming the first worm to spread widely in the wild.

• (c)Brain, the first virus written for IBM PC compatibles, emerges.
• November: the SCA virus, a boot sector virus for Amigas appears, immediately creating a pandemic virus-writer storm. A short time later, SCA releases another, considerably more destructive virus, the Byte Bandit.

• A program called Elk Cloner, written for Apple II systems, is credited with being the first computer virus to appear "in the wild" -- that is, outside the single computer or lab where it was created.