Most lethal viruses to windows computers

 

1.     Worm Morris (1988)

One of the first and most dangerous viruses in the history of computing, which also arrived when cybersecurity was just beginning. In November 1988, when it was activated, the Internet was still far from being that fertile and recurring field that it is today. However, it was enough to infect about 10% of the 60,000 connected computers that existed. It even got into trouble for the NASA Research Center and the Pentagon itself.

The malware greatly slowed down the computers it was hosting on, as well as creating processes and files in temporary folders. Its creator, named Robert Tappan Morris, was then a young student at Cornell University. He was sentenced in 1990 to pay more than $ 100,000 and to perform 400 hours of community service. After making his fortune on the internet thanks to various projects, he is currently teaching as an associate professor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

2.     CIH/Chernobyl (1998)

If the Morris Worm had managed to shake up the incipient internet of the late eighties, Chernobyl was its perfect replacement ten years later, when the network was already booming. Its name comes from the day it was activated: April 26, the same day that the well-known nuclear hecatomb took place in Russia. The CIH, programmed by a student at the University of Taipei named Chen Ing Hau, formatted the hard disk of the computers erasing all the stored information. At the same time, it wiped out the contents of the BIOS (which caused the computer to fail to boot) and infected executable files on Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems.

The goal of the creator, as specified, was to demonstrate the vulnerability of the antivirus of the time. Which he achieved by damaging 60,000 computers around the world and causing millions in losses.

3.     Melissa (1999)

This virus used social engineering techniques in order to deceive the user. It came by email, and the subject could read "Here is the document you asked for ... do not show it to anyone." Once the message was opened, it was forwarded to the first 50 contacts found in the affected person's account.

Melissa caused enormous economic losses, it is estimated that there are around 80 million. Its creator, David L. Smith, suffered less luck than the previous two. Despite showing regret, he failed to escape the prison sentence. After spending 20 months behind bars, he began to collaborate with the FBI in order to find the creator of the virus Anna Kournikova.

4.     Ilove you (2000)

Created in the Philippines by computer science student Onel de Guzmán, ILove You spread rapidly through computers around the world, infecting 50 million devices in one week. It even caused problems for the British Parliament and the Pentagon.

Like Melissa, ILove You employed social engineering. The malware was presented as a love message, called "Love letter for you", which reached those affected disguised as an email. Once activated, the virus replaced the files on the device with copies and tried to download a Trojan that stole all the user's information. Guzmán was saved from prison because the Philippine justice did not have regulations regarding computer crimes at that time. Shortly after, he started working for a cybersecurity company.

5.     Mydoom (2005)

To this day, it is not known who was behind the creation of the code of this malware, although it is believed that its origin is in Russia. To talk about Mydoom is to talk about the virus that has spread the fastest in history. It is estimated that it reduced internet traffic by 10%. It came to computers under a message in which words like "Error" or "Test" could be read. Once activated, the computer notebook would open, in which garbled text began to appear. After this, it was forwarded to all the user's contacts.

In addition, it had a back door, allowing other users to access infected computers.

6.     Conficker (2008)

Like Mydoom, Conficker was capable of replicating himself; however, its characteristics were much more damaging than this one. Once activated, the infected computer lost several Windows services. At the same time, it was trying to download a Trojan. This malware turned Microsoft upside down. So much so that the company even offered a reward of $ 250,000 for the name of its creator. The virus affected 6% of computers around the world.

7.     WannaCry (2017)

The last great massive attack in the history of computing. This virus, allegedly of North Korean origin, put companies around the world in check, including Telephones. The Spanish communication company was forced to ask its employees to turn off their computers to prevent the problem from spreading.

WannaCry was dedicated to encrypting the data it found on the systems it infected, causing them to be inaccessible to the user. Later, a ransom of $ 300 was requested in exchange for the keys needed to regain control of the computer. It caused losses close to 200 million euros.