22 years ago, when my computer IQ bore the same digit as my age, I really thought that the cold virus was the most common malware that infects PCs. I used to stand up and move away from the PC every time I cough, fearing that the virus residing in my body might actually cause harm to the data inside my floppy disks.

Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I was harboring a foolish misconception. My computer class teacher clarified this to me in a manner that mitigated my embarrassment (she told me to cut my joke about biological viruses as being one and the same with the electronic ones). I should’ve realized that even before I enrolled for summer computer classes. I mean, come on, cough syrups for computers?

At present, nobody would most likely commit the mistake that I did in distinguishing biological viruses from electronic ones. I guess I could be forgiven for my ignorance back then since PCs were still esoteric and quite uncommon 2 decades ago. Of course, such a mistake would already be unforgivable today.

Re-Tweet This Post

What does it take to create your very own computer virus?

Back in the 80s when the PC was just starting to make its way into ordinary people’s homes, computer viruses were often mistaken as also the ones that make us sneeze or induce us to cough. Some were not even aware of its existence. If a program crashes due to a virus infection, many just thought that the software expired or just naturally got corrupted. Needless to say, antivirus programs were also not fashionable during the time when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the reigning kings of the NBA.

Coke-Bottle Glasses a Prerequisite

Programmers or software authors were thought to be computer science majors or math geeks who have too much grudge on the world. Everything about the computer back then was esoteric. Many harbored the belief that one has to have an IQ of 500 in order to make one simple program. You might think that such a thought is an exaggeration, but in a way, they were partly right.

The programming language that software authors preferred at that time was the Assembly Language. Purists explain that it’s the language that computers speak since it mainly deals with numbers, the only characters that PCs understand. Only seasoned programmers could create applications using that language. This difficulty warded off many aspiring virus authors. While there are a significant number of people who wants to know what it’s like to wreak havoc to other people’s systems, only a few have the persistence and the talent to pursue such a pernicious goal.

Breeding Snakes

In a bid to spur interest in computer programming, software makers released programming languages that are more user-friendly. Since then, the number of persons who knows how to create applications has increased astronomically. While many of them are not that knowledgeable enough to create spyware, viruses, and other malicious applications, the few who does are enough to cause global headaches.

Most of the novices who attempt to create malicious applications end up seeing their creations crushed by antivirus and anti-spyware applications. Virus and spyware authors have to create a more cunning design in order to camouflage their malware from PC sentinels.

One Stop Shop

At present, one does not need to read programming books as thick as the white pages in order to create something that could make your hard drive spin like crazy. A programming kit is currently circulating around the Web that allows a person to exploit holes and weaknesses in Windows, WinZip, QuickTime, and Web pages. The destructive kit could easily be used by ordinary persons. Of course, this tool is not available on e-Bay or on any online store. It’s sold in cyberspace’s black market, with the price tag pegged at $400. The application works by identifying holes or weaknesses in Web sites. It then exploits gaps by allowing the user to control or take over the vulnerable pages. He could then modify the site so that it may control the PCs that log on or visit the page.

It would seem that every Web site could be a potential booby trap. Don’t allow your system to fall victim, or worse, be a host to malicious programs. Invest on an antivirus, registry cleaner, and other system tools. As the saying goes, a megabyte of prevention is better than a gigabyte of cure

Re-Tweet This Post