Computers have been around for only about 50 years. Initially, very few people could use computers and the main difficulty was how to solve the problems of the day with the limited resources that were available. The first computers in the 1940s and early 50s were used primarily as sophisticated calculators to solve complicated numerical problems. Then in the mid-50s, computers were used by the business sector. Within a few short years the computer has become an indispensable tool in almost all organizations.
Misuse of computers did not become a problem until the 1970s when timesharing system gained widespread popularity. Even then, the computer virus was unheard of because of the layers of security present in most mainframe computer system. Problems of the 70s involved young college students trying to get past security systems to explore the data on computer.
The personal computer or PC has been around for over ten years. Also known as microcomputers, they became popular with the introduction of first the Apple IIs and then later with the arrival of the IBM PC. In the early years of personal computing there were few if any instances of computer viruses. Each PC was typically isolated electronically from other computers and there was only limited software available for sharing.
Hackers are primarily young men and women who want to learn as much as possible about computers. Although hackers have been around since the early 70s, only recently have they been blamed for the malicious introduction of computer viruses in computer systems. The fist hacker was reported to be Captain Crunch who devised a way to make free phone call using a whistle found in a breakfast cereal box. Most hackers are not malicious. Only a few individuals, often referred to as “wormers”, are responsible for most of the virus problems today.
Everything has changed in the last few years. ‘Today, computer viruses are the number one threat to secure computing.” [McAffee, 1989]. A week doesn’t go by when there is not at lest one article on computer viruses in the local newspapers. Computer viruses has made the cover story of time magazine and business Week. It’s hard to avoid computer viruses and impossible
Not to be aware of them as “A sury of over 600 companies and government agencies in the U.S and Canada shows that 63% in 1990. The organizations participating in the survey have at least 300 PCs…” [Communications, 1992]. These are only the documented cases in America. Worldwide, the situation is much worse. At the time of writing, there are more than 1300 named viruses.