List of Computer Viruses

Since the PC industry started in the 1970’s, hackers have created viruses to attack them and cause damage. These threats have been created for various reasons, ranging from financial gain to a simple challenge for the hacker. Here is a list of prevalent system threats over the past 50 years.

Virus name	Date(s)	Type	How It Infects	Typical Damage Caused
Creeper	1971	Experimental self-replicating TENEX operating system Worm	Gained access using the ARPANET	“Displayed the message ““I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!”””
Rabbit	1974	Fork bomb denial-of-service attack	“Uses the fork system call, and can fork endlessly”	“Makes multiple copies of itself on a single computer until it clogs the system, reducing system performance. This finally reaches a threshold and crashes the computer.”
Elk Cloner	1982	Apple II virus		“The first virus observed ““in the wild.”” It displayed a message but caused very little damage.”
Brain	1986	MS-DOS computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette	The virus slows down the floppy disk drive and makes seven kilobytes of memory unavailable to DOS.
Vienna	1987	Computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette DOS .com-infecting virus	Causes a warm reboot when the program is run.
Lehigh	1987	Computer virus	DOS virus that infects via floppy disk or diskette	“After 4 infections, it overwrites the boot sector and file allocation table.”
Stoned	1987	Boot sector virus family	It only infects 360 kilobyte 5.25 inch floppies and hard drives	“The infected computer will beep and display the message ““Your PC is now stoned! LEGALIZE MARIJUANA!”” Any files with directory entries on that sector will be lost. It can also cause the disk’s FAT to be corrupted.”
Cascade	1987	Computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“It causes a ““falling letters”” effect on the screen, and may also cause some noise.”
Jerusalem	1987	DOS file infector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“It infects DOS.EXE files. Delivers two payloads, one that is annoying but relatively harmless and the other destructive. The non-destructive one creates a ‘black window’ on the screen. Then the system slows down due to a time-wasting loop installed on each timer interrupt. The destructive payload activates on any Friday the 13th, deleting any program run on that day. Sometimes this causes the files to consume all available storage space.”
SCA	1987	Amiga boot sector virus	3.5 and 5.25-inch floppy disk or diskette
Christmas Tree	1987	Mass-mailing worm	“Email with the subject line ““Let this exec run and enjoy yourself!”” The user must execute the program by typing ““christma”” or ““christmas.”””	“Paralyses a network when executed and displays an ASCII Christmas tree. It then reads the files ““NAMES,”” ““NETLOG,”” and files containing the addresses of communication partners. It emails itself to every address in these files.”
MacMag	1987	Classic Mac OS computer virus	Compuserve forum	“Infects any disks inserted into the computer. Replicates until 3/2/1988, when it displays a message from MacMag and then deletes itself.”
nVIR	1987	Classic Mac OS computer virus	“Floppy disk, diskette, or a network”	Crashes or slows a system and causes printing errors.
SCA	1987	Amiga Boot sector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Displays a message on the screen, but is mostly harmless. May destroy a legitimate non-standard boot block.”
Morris Worm	1988	Computer worm	Exploits security flaws in Unix systems	Launches denial of service attacks.
Ping Pong	1988	DOS boot sector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Harmless to most computers. Shows a small ““ball”” bouncing around the screen in both text mode (the ASCII bullet character “”•””) and graphical mode. Systems may crash during the ball’s appearance on the screen.”
Byte Bandit	1988	Amiga boot sector virus	3.5 and 5.25-inch floppy disk or diskette	It causes the screen to go black.
Scores	1988	Classic Mac OS computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Infects the System, Scrapbook, and Notepad files that are run and crashes programs.”
Swap	1989	Boot sector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“It causes ““falling letters”” effect and may also cause some noise. infects any diskette that is inserted into the system”
Ghostball	1989	Multipartite computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Drops a copy of the Pingpong virus on diskettes.
AIDS	1989	“Trojan, ransomware”	Email lists	Displays a notice asking for $189 to be sent to a post office box in Panama to get a decryption program.
Alabama	1989	DOS computer virus		“Infects .EXE files. Files infected increase in size by 1,560 bytes. Displays message 1 hour after execution.”
ANTI	1989	Classic Mac OS computer virus		The first Mac OS virus not to create additional resources. It only patches existing CODE resources. Causes small overall effects.
Lamer Exterminator	1989	Amiga boot sector virus	Storage media	“Writes bootblocks 84 times with the ““LAMER!”” string.”
SevenDust	1989	Classic Mac OS polymorphic virus	Various storage media	Deletes non-application files.
WDEF	1989	Classic Mac OS computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette
Form	1990	DOS boot sector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	It causes clicking noises and severe data damage. It will infect any media inserted into the machine.
1260	1990	DOS polymorphic virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Infects DOS executable files.
4K	1990	DOS virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Infected systems will hang on September 22 of each year, which is also the date of birth of Bilbo Baggins.”
AIDS	1990	DOS virus		“AIDS is the first virus known to exploit the DOS ““corresponding file”” vulnerability.”
AIDS II	1990	DOS virus		Targets .EXE files. Displays message and plays a song.
Ambulance	1990	DOS virus		Infects .EXE files.
CDEF	1990	Classic Mac OS Computer virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Infects application and system files. It causes various levels of damage.
MDEF	1990	Classic Mac OS Computer virus	Storage Media	Infects menu definition resource fork files.
Ontario	1990	DOS file infector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Infects .COM, .EXE. and .OVL files. Increases file size by 512 bytes, 1023 bytes. Corrupts the hard drive over time.”
Scott’s Valley	1990	DOS file infector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Infects .COM and .EXE files. Causes system slowdown.
Whale	1990	DOS Polymorphic virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Infects .COM, .EXE files. Simulates rebooting a system. May display the message: ““THE WHALE IN SEARCH OF THE 8 FISH I AM ‘~knzyvo}’ IN HAMBURG address error D9EB,02.”” It also causes a system slow down.”
Zuc	1990	Classic Mac OS computer virus	“Storage media, internet, or a network”
Michelangelo	1991	DOS boot sector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	“Overwrites all data on the hard disk with random characters. Infects sector 28 on 1.2-megabyte floppy disks. Ran on March 6th, Michelangelo’s birthday. Makes data irretrievable by the user.”
Ada	1991	DOS virus		“Targets .COM files, usually COMMAND.COM. Beeps from system speaker, hangs the system, shows ““Disk full”” error.”
Eliza	1991	DOS virus		Infects .COM and .EXE files. Low-level threat.
Koko	1991	DOS virus	Storage media	Payload activates on July 29 and February 15. It can erase data on the user’s hard drive. Displays a message.
Ontario.1024	1991	DOS file infector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Infects files and corrupts hard drives over time.
Freddy Krueger	1992	Memory resident infector	Diskettes or connected computer	Deletes infected files. It will also infect any program run by the user.
Bomber	1992	DOS polymorphic memory-resident computer virus	Diskettes or connected computer	“Works via a ““patchy infection”” technique. The beginning of the virus code contains the unencrypted text: COMMANDER BOMBER WAS HERE.”
5lo	1992	DOS computer virus		Infects .EXE files only. Total free system memory will decrease by 2K.
Acid	1992	“DOS, Windows 95, 98 virus”	Inserted storage media	“Infects COM file, and .EXE files. Disk directory listing will not be altered. Programs have the first 792 bytes overwritten with Acid’s own code.”
Acme	1992	“DOS, Windows 95 virus”		Infects another .EXE in the current directory by making a hidden .COM file with the same base name.
ABC	1992	DOS Computer virus		It causes keystrokes on the infected computer to be repeated.
ARCV-n	1992	DOS Computer virus		Infects .COM and .EXE files. Displays text messages.
INIT 1984	1992	Classic Mac OS computer virus	“Storage media, email, internet connection”	Triggered at bootup on Friday the 13th. Infects startup INIT files. Changes file names to random strings. It has a low threat level.
Ontario.2048	1992	DOS file infector virus	Floppy disk or diskette	Infects files and corrupts hard drives over time.
Abraxas	1993	“DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 virus”		“Infects COM file. Overwrites files, displays ““ABRAXAS”” in ASCII art and plays a series of sounds.”
OneHalf	1994	Polymorphic DOS boot virus	Diskettes or connected computer	“Will display the message: ““Dis is one half…Press any key to continue …”””
Natas	1994	“DOS multipartite, stealth, polymorphic virus”	Floppy disk or diskette	Affects .COM and .EXE files.
SMEG engine	1994	DOS polymorphic virus engine		Creates other viruses.
Concept	1995	Macro virus for MS Word	CD’s released by some major corporations. Email mass mailings	Affects MS Word documents.
Bizatch	1995	MS Windows 95 virus	“CD’s, diskettes or connected computer”	“On the 31st of any month, it displays a message box praising the VLAD group and listing the current members of VLAD.”
Hare	1995	“DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 virus”	“Storage media, email, internet connection”	“Infects .COM and .EXE files, master boot record of hard disks, and boot sector of floppy disks. Activates on August 22 and September 22. Erases hard disk and displays the message: ““HDEuthanasia by Demon Emperor.”””
Ply	1996	DOS non-encrypted polymorphic virus	“CD’s, diskettes or connected computer”	Infects all .exe files it finds.
Laroux	1996	Microsoft Excel virus	“CD’s, diskettes or connected computer”	“Adds the Excel macro ““laroux”” to PERSONAL.XLS. The virus will then infect any Excel workbook available.”
Staog	1996	Linux virus	“CD’s, diskettes or connected computer”	“Never been wild, and had no destructive payload. No damage caused.”
Alcon	1997	DOS computer virus		Overwrites random files on a disk causing damage over time.
Esperanto	1997	“DOS, MS Windows, classic Mac OS, multi-processor virus.”	“Storage media, email, internet connection”	Infects .COM and .EXE files. Runs when computer is started. Displays a message on 26 of July.
CIH	1998	File virus	“Pirated software, a ““PWA-cracked copy”” of Windows 98”	“Makes it impossible to boot from the hard drive. It may be impossible to recover some of the lost data. Nothing may be displayed when the user starts the computer. The virus can only spread on Windows 95, 98 and ME systems.”
Happy99	1999	Email / newsgroup worm	“Email or news post with attachment named ““Happy99.exe”””	No destructive payload and never caused any damage.
ExploreZip	1999	Mass-mailer worm	Email mass mailings	“Destroys certain files, disrupts email systems.”
CTX	1999	Computer virus	Spreads via the Cholera worm	Overwrites parts of .exe files.
Kak	1999	JavaScript worm	Uses a bug in Outlook Express to spread itself	“Uses SHUTDOWN.EXE to initiate a shutdown and show a popup with the text ““Kagou-anti-Kro$oft says not today!”” A minimized window appears on startup with the title ““Driver Memory Error.”” Another message may pop up saying ““S3 Driver Memory Alloc Failed!”” This happens on day 1 of each month at 6:00 pm.”
Marker	1999	“MS Word Polymorphic, Macro virus”	“Internet, various storage media”	Infects Word Documents. Keeps a log of infected computers.
Pikachu	2000	Email worm	“An email arrives titled ““Pikachu Pokemon”” and the body of the e-mail includes the text ““Pikachu is your friend.”””	“Adds the lines ““del C:\WINDOWS”” and ““del C:\WINDOWS\system32″” to the file ““autoexec.bat.”” Commands would be executed at the next boot, attempting to delete two critical directories of the Windows operating system. However, users would be given a prompt asking whether or not they wanted to delete those folders.”
Navidad	2000	Windows mass-mailer worm	Email	Displays messages in Spanish and makes the system unusable. Spreads further through email clients. Adds NAVIDAD.EXE as an attachment. Adds an icon in the system tray.
Anna Kournikova	2001	Computer worm	Email with an attachment .jpeg image that automatically sends itself to all contacts in a user’s Windows Address Book.	Caused problems in email servers due to the quantity spread. No other real damage.
Klez	2001	Computer worm	“E-mail message, spoofing. Sends itself to people in users’ address books.”	Could render a victim’s computer inoperable. It could even disable virus-scanning software and pose as a virus-removal tool.
Nimda	2001	Computer worm	“Email. open network shares, back doors, and compromised websites.”	Brings internet traffic to a crawl.
Sadmind	2001	Computer worm	“Network, email, CD, or diskette.”	Exploits vulnerabilities in both Sun Microsystems’ Solaris and Microsoft’s Internet Information Services.
Sircam	2001	Mass-mailer worm	Emailed out to email addresses in the host’s address book. It could also spread via open shares on a network.	Personal or private files were emailed to people who otherwise should not have received them.
ZMist	2001	Windows metamorphic virus	“Storage media, internet, or a network.”	Requires 32 MB of memory. Decompiles portable .EXE files.
Beast	2002	Trojan horse	Used the client-server model. The server is what would infect the victim’s computer.	It gave the attacker complete control over the infected computer. Infected other applications as well.
Mylife	2002	Mass-mailer worm	Emails to all contacts in Microsoft Outlook.	Affected home users mostly.
Simile	2002	Windows metamorphic virus	“Internet, various storage media.”	“Displays a message, ““Free Palestine!”” and infects .EXE files.”
SQL Slammer	2003	Computer worm	Affected Microsoft’s SQL Server and Desktop Engine database products.	Launched denial of service attacks. Dramatically slowed down general Internet traffic.
Graybird	2003	Trojan horse	“Email, CD, diskette, USB ports, or internet connection.”	“Downloads files from remote web sites, records keystrokes, extracts passwords, and steals PC information.”
ProRat	2003	Trojan horse	“Via a network, it uses a client and a server.”	“Logs keystrokes, steals passwords and gains full control over files.”
Blaster worm	2003	Computer worm	“Email, CD, diskette, USB ports”	“Displays in Windows the following message and then automatically reboots, usually after 60 seconds: “This system is shutting down. Please save all work in progress and log off. Any unsaved changes will be lost.”””
Welchia	2003	Computer worm	“Email, CD, diskette, USB ports”	“Floods a network, installs its own Microsoft patches.”
Sobig	2003	Computer worm	“Emails with the sender address “”big@boss.com“””	Used as a backdoor for spammers to mass email.
Swen	2003	Mass-mailing computer worm	“Microsoft Security update, email, Internet Relay Chat, Kazaa filesharing, and newsgroups.”	Tries to shut off antivirus programs and firewalls.
Sober	2003	Computer worm	“E-mail attachment, fake webpages, fake pop-up ads, and fake advertisements.”	Copies itself to one of several files in the Windows directory. Adds appropriate keys to the Windows registry and can e-mail itself to all addresses in a user’s e-mail address book.
Agobot	2003	Computer worm	“Email, CD, diskette, USB ports”	“Perform denial-of-service attacks, steal data, send spam, and allows the attacker to access the device and its connection.”
Bolgimo	2003	Win32 computer worm	Windows patch	Downloads the patch to the user’s desktop and run the patch installer.
Sasser	2004	Windows worm	Exploits buffer overflow vulnerability in Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)	“Slows down and crashes the computer, while making it hard to reset without cutting the power.”
Mydoom	2004	Windows worm	Appears as an email transmission error. Spreads through email address books.	Creates a backdoor that allows remote access. Launches denial of service attacks.
Sasser	2004	Virus	Spread by email and social engineering	It causes system crashes and resource usage.
Bagle	2004	Mass-mailing worm	Mass-email as an attachment	It is a botnet causing e-mail spam.
Netsky	2004	Computer worm	“E-mail, social engineering tactics.”	Scans the computer for e-mail addresses and e-mails itself to all addresses found.
Witty	2004	Computer worm	Via hosts connected to the internet.	Attacks firewalls and other computer security products written by specific companies.
Caribe	2004	Computer worm	“Mobile phones running Symbian OS, and through Bluetooth wireless signals.”	“Displays the message ““Caribe”” on the phone’s screen, and is displayed every time the phone is turned on. The worm then attempts to spread to other phones in the area.”
Vundo	2004	Trojan horse	“E-mail attachment carrying a trojan, browser exploits, and browser plug-ins.”	“It causes popups and advertising for rogue antispyware programs, performance degradation, and denial of service with some websites.”
Santy	2004	Computer worm	Uses Google to spread across the Internet.	“Infected servers and displayed the message ““This site is defaced!!! This site is defaced!!! NeverEverNoSanity WebWorm generation X.”” X is a number of the generation of the worm.”
Zotob	2005	Internet worm	Plug-and-play	Makes an infected computer a part of a botnet.
Copy protection rootkit	2005	Rootkit	Included on music CDs sold by Sony BMG.	“Creates vulnerabilities on affected computers, making them susceptible to infection by worms and viruses.”
Zlob	2005	Malware Trojan downloader	Disguised as a needed video codec in the form of ActiveX.	“Random computer shutdowns or reboots showing random comments. Runs a file called ““zlberfker.exe.”” Redirects to websites and shows a number of inline videos. Playing the video activates a request to download an ActiveX codec that is malware. It prevents the user from closing the browser in a normal way.”
Nyxem	2006	Internet worm	Infected email attachments and network shares.	“The virus removes antivirus programs from remote computers before attempting to infect them. It activates on the third day of each month. On activation, the virus overwrites data files of many common types, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents; ZIP and RAR archives; and PDFs. It can destroy files on fixed and removable drives and tries but fails, to affect data on network drives. It also attempts to disable antivirus programs or deletes the antivirus programs directly.”
Brontok	2006	Mass-email worm	“It arrives as an attachment to an e-mail named ““kangen.exe.”” “	“Reboots the computer. Blanks out address typed in Windows Explorer before completion. Sends itself to email addresses it finds on the computer, even faking the own user’s email address as the sender. The computer also restarts when trying to open the Windows Command Prompt. Prevents the user from downloading files. It also opens the default Web browser and loads a web page which is located in the ““My Pictures”” folder.”
Stration	2006	Mass-mailer worm	Email	“Disables security features, sends itself to other computers via e-mail attachments.”
Kama Sutra	2006	Windows computer worm	Email	“Destroys common files, such as .doc, .pdf, .zip, .xls and disables antivirus software.”
Oompa	2006	Mac OS X worm	iChat message attachment	Displays a message. Marks other files.
RavMonE.exe	2006	Trojan horse worm	“iPod videos, removeable storage drives, email attachments, internet files.”	Allows unauthorized access to a computer.
Storm	2007	Trojan horse worm	“Used the click bait headline ““230 dead as storm batters Europe” which accompanied a link to the “story.””	Turns computers into bots that re-distribute the email.
Alureon	2007	Botnet trojan	“Manual download, rogue software bundle”	“Steals data through network traffic, blocks Task Manager and desktop, Windows Update, disables antivirus programs. It also redirects search engines to fraud sites.”
Conficker	2008	Windows worm	Uses flaws in the OS to create a botnet.	Installs software that will turn the computer into a botnet slave. Includes scareware to obtain money from users.
Mocmex	2008	Trojan horse	Digital photo frame	“Collects passwords for online games, recognizes and blocks antivirus protection.”
Torpig	2008	Botnet	“Trojan horses, emails”	Collects sensitive personal and corporate data such as bank accounts and credit card information.
Bohmini.A	2008	Trojan horse	Malvertising via the social networking site Facebook.	Turns the computer into a bot or remotely controls it.
Fun	2008	Windows virus	Email attachment	Sends email with attachments as a response to any unopened emails in Outlook Express.
Zeus	2009	Trojan horse	Drive-by downloads or phishing scams	“Endangers FTP accounts and computers. Theft of login credentials. Performs various criminal tasks, usually man-in-the-browser keylogging and form grabbing.”
Daprosy	2009	Trojan worm	“Local area network (LAN) connections, spammed e-mails, USB mass storage devices.”	Steals online-game passwords in internet cafes.
MegaPanzer	2009	Trojan horse	Network and internet connections	Intercepts Skype and voice over IP traffic on Windows XP systems.
Kenzero	2009	Computer virus	Online via peer-to-peer networks (P2P)	Monitors the browsing history of users.
Stuxnet	2010	Computer worm	Via an infected USB flash drive	Used in cyberwarfare. Affected Iran’s nuclear program.
Waledac	2010	Mass-mailer worm	Email mass- mailings	“Sends spam emails and malware, harvests password info.”
Psyb0t	2010	Computer worm	Routers and high-speed modems.	Affects data and internet traffic flow.
here you have	2010	Trojan horse	Email	“Sends a copy of itself to everyone in the Windows Address Book, Microsoft Outlook address book and delivers a payload.”
SpyEye	2011	Malware	Attacks web browsers on Windows PCs.	Uses keystroke logging and form grabbing to steal user credentials for malicious use.
Anti-Spyware 2011	2011	Trojan horse	Poses as an anti-spyware program.	“Disables security-related processes of anti-virus programs, blocks access to the Internet, and prevents updates.”
ZeroAccess	2011	Trojan horse	“Malvertising, affiliate scheme.”	Downloads other malware on an infected machine from a botnet while remaining hidden using rootkit techniques.
Duqu	2011	Computer worm	Microsoft Word document	It looks for information that could be useful in attacking industrial control systems.
Flame	2012	Malware	LAN or USB	“Records keyboard activity, network activity, screenshots, and skype conversations.”
Shamoon	2012	Computer virus	Spreads using a network.	“Overwrites the master boot record of the infected computer, making it unusable.”
NGRBot	2012	Computer worm	IRC network for file transfer.	“Steals user information, infects HTML pages, blocks security updates, monitors network activity.”
CryptoLocker	2013	Trojan horse	“Infected email attachments, Gameover Zeus botnet.”	“Encrypts files on a user’s hard drive, then prompts them to pay a ransom to the developer in order to receive the decryption key.”
Gameover ZeuS	2013	Peer-to-peer botnet	Through use of the Cutwail botnet.	Steals users’ login details on popular web sites that involve monetary transactions. Used for banking fraud and distribution of the CryptoLocker ransomware.
Linux.Darlloz	2013	Computer worm	“Internet of things, PHP vulnerability.”	“Infects routers, security cameras, set-top boxes.”
Regin	2014	Trojan horse	Spoofed web pages	“Downloads extensions of itself, making it difficult to be detected via anti-virus signatures. Used as a tool for espionage and mass surveillance.”
BASHLITE	2015	Linux malware	Local network	Launch distributed denial-of-service attacks.
MEMZ	2016	Trojan horse	Internet	“Moves the mouse cursor slightly, opens up humorous Google searches on the user’s web browser, and opens various random Microsoft Windows programs.”
Locky	2016	Ransomware malware	“Email, exploit kits, Word and Excel attachments with malicious macros, DOCM attachments, and zipped JS Attachments.”	Demands a payment of between 0.5 and 1 bitcoin that victims must pay to decrypt their files.
Tiny Banker	2016	Trojan malware	Networks	Man-in-the-browser attacks and network sniffing.
Mirai	2016	Botnet malware	“Internet, online consumer devices.”	DDoS attacks infecting the Internet of Things.
Mirai	2016	Linux Malware	Hacker forums as open-source.	Turns Linux system into a bot for a botnet. Launches Internet of Things Denial of service attacks.
Petya	2017	Trojan ransomware	Fake job emails.	Destroys user data.
Xafecopy	2017	Trojan horse	Mobile payments on websites.	Charges the user’s mobile carrier bill and subscribes to unwanted paid services.
Wannacry	2017	Ransomware	SMB port	Charges ransom of $300 to undo.
Xafecopy	2017	Android Trojan	“Downloadable apps, battery optimizers.”	Clicks on web pages to subscribe that charge money to the user’s phone bill.
Thanatos	2018	Ransomware	Deceptive advertising	“Charges a $200 USD ransom payment to one of the listed Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Bitcoin Cash addresses.”
Titanium	2019	Trojan horse	Internet	“Remains undetected, steals, and spies on user.”
AntiCMOS	1994-1995	DOS computer virus		“Due to a faulty virus code, it will not erase CMOS information as designed.”
Melissa	1999-present	Microsoft Word macro virus	Mass email. Primarily affects Microsoft Word and Outlook-based systems.	Mass mails itself using contact lists. Disables safeguard features on Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Word.
ILOVEYOU	2000-present	Computer worm	Email messages and mailing lists.	“Overwrites files, sends itself to all addresses in the Microsoft Outlook address book.”
Code Red	2001-present	Computer worm	Targets Microsoft IIS web server buffer overflow workflow issue.	“Eats up system resources, launches denial of service attacks, and leaves the message: ““Hacked By Chinese!”””
Code Red 2	2001-present	Computer worm	Exploits a security hole in Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) webserver software.	Creates a backdoor that allows further attacks.
Bifrost	2004-present	Backdoor Trojan horse	Server client	“Remote user can execute arbitrary code at will on the compromised computer. Some file attributes changed to ““Read Only”” and ““Hidden.”””
Rustock	2006-2011	Botnet	“Trojan horses, emails”	Sends spam messages with trojan horses and incorporates machines into the botnet.
Koobface	2008-2010	Computer worm	Spread via infected social media posts.	Targets mostly Facebook. It gets users to download malware.
CryptoLocker	2013-2014	Trojan horse ransomware	Various ways including email	Users must pay a ransom to undo by a certain deadline.
Commwarrior	2013-present	Symbian Bluetooth worm	Bluetooth and MMS	Spreads through MMS and Bluetooth to other devices. Little damage caused.
Reveton	2012-2013	Ransomware	Drive-by downloads	Locks computer and demands payment
Shamoon 2	2016-2017	Wiper malware	Network shares	Overwrite and erase hard drives
XData	2014-2020	Ransomware	Email attachments	Encrypts Office files on network shares
Petya/NotPetya	2016–2017	Ransomware	MITM attacks	Disk wiping rather than encryption
WannaCry	2017	Ransomware	Exploiting SMB vulnerability	Encrypts files and demands Bitcoin
Trickbot	2016-2020	Banking trojan/botnet	Exploit kits	Installs backdoors for harvesting bank info
Emotet	2014-2020	Botnet	Phishing emails	Harvesting credentials and dropping malware
Ryuk	2018-2020	Ransomware	Trickbot and Emotet	Targeted ransomware attacks
RobbinHood	2017-2020	Ransomware	Exploiting remote access tools,production servers
DanaBot	2018-2020	Banking trojan	Spam campaigns	Harvesting online banking credentials
GandCrab	2018-2019	Ransomware	Exploit kits	File encryption for ransom
Lazarus	2009-2020	APT malware	Targeted phishing/ trojans	Bank theft
DanaBot	2018-2020	Banking trojan	Spam campaigns	Harvesting online banking credentials
GandCrab	2018-2019	Ransomware	Exploit kits	File encryption for ransom
Lazarus	2009-2020	APT malware	Targeted phishing/ trojans	Bank theft
Triple X	2021-2023	Botnet	Phishing emails	Installs remote access trojans
Vicesky	2019-2023	Ransomware	Email phishing	Sensitive data theft and extortion
Quantum	2022-2023	RAT	Social engineering	Data theft and crypto mining
Deadbolt	2022-2023	Ransomware	Unsecured QNAP devices	Device encryption for payment
ZuoRAT	2021-2023	Remote access trojan	Spear phishing	Surveillance and data theft

This expansive table covers the history of notable computer viruses, worms, and other malware from 1971 through 2023. As you can see, malicious software has evolved dramatically from early experimental viruses like Creeper and Elk Cloner to the highly sophisticated cyberthreats facing us today.

Over the decades, viruses and worms have multiplied and become more damaging as personal computing and the internet grew exponentially. Mass-mailing worms like Melissa, ILOVEYOU, and Anna Kournikova caused worldwide havoc by overloading email servers and wreaking technical trouble. Later came more advanced threats like Conficker, CryptoLocker, and WannaCry which turned infected computers into botnet armies and encrypted files for ransom.

Modern malware leverages social engineering and vulnerabilities in popular software to carry out attacks. Trojans often pose as legitimate programs and rely on users unknowingly installing them. Meanwhile polymorphic and metamorphic viruses constantly mutate to avoid detection. State-sponsored advanced persistent threats (APTs) present ongoing high-level cybersecurity challenges.

As cybercriminals grow more sophisticated, computer security must evolve as well. This threat landscape shows the increasing importance of antivirus software, firewalls, updates and patches, backups, strong passwords, and cyber hygiene education. Both individual users and organizations must remain vigilant against the cybersecurity dangers posed by malware. Understanding this history helps frame the escalating arms race between black-hat hackers and cyber defenders.

For protection from these threats and others, see our Antivirus Mega Review Roundup here.

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