ClassyJudy
When you hear the word virus, you probably think of sickness. But computers caught the word too — long before most of us had laptops in our homes. The history of computer viruses is not just about broken machines. It’s about curiosity, pranks, and the strange side of human creativity.
The first widely known computer virus was called “Creeper”, created in the early 1970s. But it wasn’t written by a criminal. It was made by a programmer who simply wanted to test an idea:
“What if a program could move from one computer to another by itself?”
The Creeper virus didn’t steal money or erase files. All it did was show a message on the screen:
“I’m the creeper. Catch me if you can!”
It was more of a joke and it also gave birth to the first antivirus program, called “Reaper”, which was written to chase and delete Creeper.
By the 1980s and 1990s, personal computers were spreading. With them came new viruses, but at first many were made by hobbyists not criminals.
Some of them spread as pranks. A virus called “Cascade” made text on the screen fall like rain. Another, the “Happy99” worm, attached itself to emails and sent fireworks animations to friends.
For programmers, it was a way to show off skills, like leaving graffiti in the digital world. But there was a problem. These jokes often caused crashes and data loss, even if that wasn’t the main goal.
Eventually, things changed. People realized viruses could do more than play tricks — they could make money.
By the late 1990s and 2000s, viruses were being used to steal information, spread spam, and even hold computers hostage. The fun and curiosity of early virus writers turned into organized cybercrime.
That’s when names like “ILOVEYOU”, “Melissa”, and “Conficker” made global headlines, costing billions of dollars in damages.
The history of computer viruses is surprising because it doesn’t just tell us about technology. It tells us about people.
- Some viruses came from curiosity — “What if I try this?”
- Some came from playfulness — “Look at my digital prank!”
- Some came from greed — “How much money can I make?”
In a strange way, viruses are digital mirrors. They reflect the best and worst sides of human imagination.
Today’s viruses are far from harmless. Modern threats, like ransomware, can lock hospitals out of their own systems or shut down entire cities. But the roots of these dangerous programs started with something much smaller: an experiment, a prank, a message that said, “Catch me if you can.”
Most people only think of computer viruses as dangerous. But their history shows how technology often begins with curiosity and how it changes when money, power, or mischief get involved.
Computer viruses started as playful whispers in the machine. Now, they roar across the internet.
ClassyJudy
