The most dangerous PC viruses of all time
The most dangerous PC viruses of all time
In the history of personal computing, there have been a handful of viruses that have caused widespread panic and damage. Here are four of the most dangerous PC viruses of all time.
The Morris Worm
The Morris Worm was released in 1988 by a graduate student at Cornell University. The worm was designed to replicated itself across the internet, but it had a flaw that caused it to spread much faster than intended. As a result, the worm quickly overloaded servers and caused widespread damage. The Morris Worm is estimated to have caused $10 million in damage, making it one of the most costly computer viruses in history.
The ILOVEYOU Virus
The ILOVEYOU Virus was a simple piece of code that was released in 2000. The virus was spread through email, with the subject line “I love you”. The virus would then infect the recipient’s computer and proceed to send itself out to everyone in their address book. The ILOVEYOU Virus is estimated to have caused $5.5 billion in damage, making it the most costly virus in history.
The Code Red Worm
The Code Red Worm was released in 2001 and quickly spread across the internet, infecting tens of thousands of computers. The worm took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft’s IIS web server software, which allowed the worm to gain control of the server. Once the worm had control of the server, it would display a message on the web page that said “Hacked by Chinese!”. The Code Red Worm is estimated to have caused $2 billion in damage.
The Mydoom Worm
The Mydoom Worm was released in 2004 and quickly became the fastest-spreading email virus in history. The worm was spread through email attachments and would infect the recipient’s computer. Once the worm was on the computer, it would proceed to send itself out to everyone in the address book. The Mydoom Worm is estimated to have caused $30 billion in damage, making it the most damaging virus in history. See original website
The 20 most destructive PC viruses
of all time
There is no denying that PC viruses have caused a lot of damage over the years. Some of them have been so destructive that they have managed to do serious damage to both individuals and organizations. Here is a list of the 20 most destructive PC viruses of all time.
1. ILOVEYOU
The ILOVEYOU virus is largely considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in May 2000 and quickly spread throughout the world, causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. The virus was disguised as a love letter and enticed users to open it. Once opened, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The ILOVEYOU virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
2. Melissa
The Melissa virus emerged in March 1999 and quickly spread throughout the world. The virus was spread through email and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened an attachment that contained the virus. Once infected, the Melissa virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
3. Code Red
The Code Red virus emerged in July 2001 and quickly became one of the most destructive viruses of all time. The virus was spread through web servers that were not properly patched. Once a web server was infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to any computer that accessed the infected web server. The Code Red virus caused a lot of damage because it was able to spread so quickly and easily.
4. Nimda
The Nimda virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in September 2001 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Nimda virus was spread through email, web servers, and network shares. Once a computer was infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to any computer that was connected to the infected computer. The Nimda virus caused a lot of damage because it was able to spread so quickly and easily.
5. Solitaire
The Solitaire virus is a particularly destructive virus that emerged in May 2002. The virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Solitaire virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
6. Sobig
The Sobig virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in January 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Sobig virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Sobig virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
7. MyDoom
The MyDoom virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in January 2004 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The MyDoom virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The MyDoom virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
8. WannaCry
The WannaCry virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in May 2017 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The WannaCry virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The WannaCry virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
9. Sasser
The Sasser virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in May 2004 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Sasser virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Sasser virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
10. SQL Slammer
The SQL Slammer virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in January 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The SQL Slammer virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The SQL Slammer virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
11. Blaster
The Blaster virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in August 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Blaster virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Blaster virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
12. Conficker
The Conficker virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in November 2008 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Conficker virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Conficker virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
13. Stuxnet
The Stuxnet virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in June 2010 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Stuxnet virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Stuxnet virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
14. Flame
The Flame virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in May 2012 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Flame virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Flame virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
15. Gaobot
The Gaobot virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Gaobot virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Gaobot virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
16. Doomjuice
The Doomjuice virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in 2008 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Doomjuice virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Doomjuice virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
17. Nimda
The Nimda virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in September 2001 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Nimda virus was spread through email, web servers, and network shares. Once a computer was infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to any computer that was connected to the infected computer. The Nimda virus caused a lot of damage because it was able to spread so quickly and easily.
18. Mydoom
The Mydoom virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in January 2004 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Mydoom virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Mydoom virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
19. Sober
The Sober virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in October 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Sober virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Sober virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
20. Zafi
The Zafi virus is considered to be one of the most destructive viruses of all time. It first emerged in December 2003 and quickly became one of the most widespread viruses in history. The Zafi virus was spread through email attachments and would infect a victim’s computer when they opened the attachment. Once infected, the virus would replicate itself and send itself to everyone in the victim’s address book. The Zafi virus caused a lot of damage because it replicated itself so quickly and easily.
Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous pc viruses. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.