Daily Time Capsule

January 30, 1982 - The First PC Virus Was Created

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Pete

Pete

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On this day, January 30, 1982, the world’s first personal computer virus was written by 15-year-old Richard Skrenta from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known as "Elk Cloner," the virus was disguised as an Apple II boot program, and it is widely considered the first widespread computer virus.

"Elk Cloner" spread via floppy disks, a common medium for data exchange in the early 80s. It didn’t cause any serious damage but displayed a poem on infected systems after the 50th boot. This act of digital mischief marked the beginning of an era where cybersecurity would become a global concern.

Fun Fact: The poem displayed by "Elk Cloner" humorously warned users about its presence. It read:

"Elk Cloner: The program with a personality
It will get on all your disks
It will infiltrate your chips
Yes, it’s Cloner!
It will stick to you like glue
It will modify RAM too
Send in the Cloner!"​

Trivia Question: What year was the first antivirus software created, and which company developed it?
 
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