{"id":25690,"date":"2022-11-02T18:26:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T18:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esecurityplanet.com\/?p=25690"},"modified":"2023-03-29T17:07:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T17:07:50","slug":"computer-viruses-and-malware-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esecurityplanet.com\/threats\/computer-viruses-and-malware-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of Computer Viruses & Malware"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

If you\u2019ve used a computer for more than 5 minutes, you probably know a thing or two about computer viruses and malware<\/a>. On the modern Internet, malware is a near-constant presence. Whether it\u2019s infected emails<\/a> stealing employee access credentials or the plague of r<\/a>a<\/a>nsomware<\/a> that has menaced the business world in recent years, there are a number of ways malware can disrupt your organization.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Though often conflated with one another, malware and computer viruses aren\u2019t necessarily the same thing. While all computer viruses are malware, not all malware are computer viruses. The key difference between computer viruses and other types of malware is that computer viruses function, as the name implies, similar to the way biological viruses function. They begin by attaching themselves to programs or files on a computer then spreading to other computers when those infected programs or files are accessed. Computer viruses can also self-replicate to attach themselves to even more programs and files. This isn\u2019t necessarily true of other types of malware. Ransomware, for example, usually doesn\u2019t self-replicate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s important to learn as much as you can about computer viruses and malware, now more than ever. According to a recent Statista report, there have been 2.8 billion malware attacks<\/a> worldwide in just the first half of 2022. A 2020 study of pentesting<\/a> projects from Positive Technologies revealed that external attackers could breach 93% of company networks<\/a>, with 71% being vulnerable even to novice-level hackers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Even as we focus on current cybersecurity threats<\/a> and protections<\/a>, it can be just as important to take a look at the history of these malicious pieces of software and how their beginnings inform the way they\u2019re used and circulated today. The history of computer viruses and malware goes almost as far back as the history of the field of computer science itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Looking to Protect Yourself Against Malware? Read <\/b>Top Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) Solutions in 2022<\/b><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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