Running head: EXAMPLES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES
Computer Viruses: Comprehensive Analysis and Case Studies of Popular Infections
Students Name
Computer Viruses
A computer virus is an authored code or malicious program that compromises a device or
a local network. These malicious codes can damage the local file system, interrupt services,
download malware programs, steal data, or other actions that might be coded into the program by
the author of the malicious application (Dychka et al., 2018). Many viruses masquerade as
genuine applications in order to manipulate users into running them on their device, transmitting
the payload of the computer virus. Every virus contains a payload that accomplishes a
specific action. The malicious actors may incorporate any harmful action into the virus payload
or harmless pranks that do not cause any damage. While some viruses have innocuous payloads,
the vast majority of them harm a system and the data. There exist nine types of viruses. Several
of which are bundled with other malware to enhance the chances of infection and damages. They
include polymorphic, multipartite, macro, resident, browser, boot sector, web scripting, file
infector, and direct-action virus. The internet is packed with many types of viruses. However,
this paper will focus on various examples of computer viruses that have gained popularity and
infected many machines. Below are examples of computer viruses.
SQL Slammer
This virus was first witnessed in 2003 when it caused the denial of service on several
internet hosts, thus slowing the whole internet traffic (Chindipha & Irwin, 2017). The worm was
vital such that it infected 75000 victims in a duration of ten minutes. It was responsible for; the
Bank of America’s ATM service crash, several Continental Airlines flights cancellation, and
, EXAMPLES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES 2
Outages in 911 service in Seattle. In addition, it damaged numerous critical systems, causing
massive fear and damaging more than a billion dollars. However, this security breach may have
been easily avoided. The worm took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft’s SQL Server. Although
the patch to prevent it was available six months before the attack, many companies disregarded it
or did not apply it in time.
CryptoLocker
This is malware that can damage any data-driven organization. It infects a computer and
then encrypts files in hard drives and any connected media storage. Once executed, the malware
encrypts these files “holds them for ransom,” forcing any user who attempts to access the file to
pay a charge to decrypt them (Srinivasan, 2017). CryptoLocker only attacks computers running
the Windows version of the Operating system. It uses asymmetric encryption to lock files. It uses
two keys, a public key that a hacker deploys to encrypt data and a unique key required to decrypt
the data. The hackers then send you a warning message on your computer indicating that if you
do not pay a ransom to get the private key, they will compromise your data.
Morris Worm
It is also known as the “Great Worm” since it was the first computer virus to be spread
across the internet and the first to be given attention by the media. It was developed by Robert
Tappan Morris Jr, a Cornell graduate. It was released in 1998 as a 99-line of code to measure the
ARPANET size. Unfortunately, Robert Morris made a serious error, transforming the worm
from potentially innocuous software to a DDoS attack machine(Obimbo, Speller, Myers, Burke,
& Blatz, 2018). The worm was meant to query if there exists a copy executing on the computer,
and somehow it simply repeatedly generated copies of itself, dragging the system down.
Computer Viruses: Comprehensive Analysis and Case Studies of Popular Infections
Students Name
Computer Viruses
A computer virus is an authored code or malicious program that compromises a device or
a local network. These malicious codes can damage the local file system, interrupt services,
download malware programs, steal data, or other actions that might be coded into the program by
the author of the malicious application (Dychka et al., 2018). Many viruses masquerade as
genuine applications in order to manipulate users into running them on their device, transmitting
the payload of the computer virus. Every virus contains a payload that accomplishes a
specific action. The malicious actors may incorporate any harmful action into the virus payload
or harmless pranks that do not cause any damage. While some viruses have innocuous payloads,
the vast majority of them harm a system and the data. There exist nine types of viruses. Several
of which are bundled with other malware to enhance the chances of infection and damages. They
include polymorphic, multipartite, macro, resident, browser, boot sector, web scripting, file
infector, and direct-action virus. The internet is packed with many types of viruses. However,
this paper will focus on various examples of computer viruses that have gained popularity and
infected many machines. Below are examples of computer viruses.
SQL Slammer
This virus was first witnessed in 2003 when it caused the denial of service on several
internet hosts, thus slowing the whole internet traffic (Chindipha & Irwin, 2017). The worm was
vital such that it infected 75000 victims in a duration of ten minutes. It was responsible for; the
Bank of America’s ATM service crash, several Continental Airlines flights cancellation, and
, EXAMPLES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES 2
Outages in 911 service in Seattle. In addition, it damaged numerous critical systems, causing
massive fear and damaging more than a billion dollars. However, this security breach may have
been easily avoided. The worm took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft’s SQL Server. Although
the patch to prevent it was available six months before the attack, many companies disregarded it
or did not apply it in time.
CryptoLocker
This is malware that can damage any data-driven organization. It infects a computer and
then encrypts files in hard drives and any connected media storage. Once executed, the malware
encrypts these files “holds them for ransom,” forcing any user who attempts to access the file to
pay a charge to decrypt them (Srinivasan, 2017). CryptoLocker only attacks computers running
the Windows version of the Operating system. It uses asymmetric encryption to lock files. It uses
two keys, a public key that a hacker deploys to encrypt data and a unique key required to decrypt
the data. The hackers then send you a warning message on your computer indicating that if you
do not pay a ransom to get the private key, they will compromise your data.
Morris Worm
It is also known as the “Great Worm” since it was the first computer virus to be spread
across the internet and the first to be given attention by the media. It was developed by Robert
Tappan Morris Jr, a Cornell graduate. It was released in 1998 as a 99-line of code to measure the
ARPANET size. Unfortunately, Robert Morris made a serious error, transforming the worm
from potentially innocuous software to a DDoS attack machine(Obimbo, Speller, Myers, Burke,
& Blatz, 2018). The worm was meant to query if there exists a copy executing on the computer,
and somehow it simply repeatedly generated copies of itself, dragging the system down.
