Top Ten viruses of 2015
Viruses Are a BUGGER! And heres what you should look out for on your PC!
Here Is an article from smithsonjian Magazine;
1) Stuxnet (2009-2010) The arrival of Stuxnet was like a cartoon villain come to life: it was the first computer virus designed specifically to cause damage in the real, as opposed to virtual, world. While previous malware programs may have caused secondary physical problems, Stuxnet was unique in that it targeted software that controls industrial systems. Specifically, Stuxnet was designed to damage machinery at Iran’s uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Based on the available information, including data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, experts believe Stuxnet caused a large number of Iran’s centrifuges—essentially giant washing machines used to enrich uranium—to spin out of control and self-destruct. Though Stuxnet was discovered in 2010, it is believed to have first infected computers in Iran in 2009.
2) Conficker Virus (2009)In 2009, a new computer worm crawled its way into millions of Windows-based PCs around the world, creating a massive botnet army of remotely controlled computers capable of stealing financial data and other information. Its complexity made it difficult to stop, and the virus prompted the creation of a coalition of experts dedicated to stopping its spread. At its height, the Conficker worm infected millions of computers, leading anti-virus researchers to call it the “super bug,” or “super worm.” But the real mystery of Conficker, which still infects a large number of computers, is that no one knows what it was meant to do: the botnet army was never used for any specific purpose, to the best of anyone’s knowledge. Conficker’s real purpose still confounds security experts.
3) agent.btz (2008) This piece of malware’s claim to fame is that it temporarily forced the Pentagon to issue a blanket ban on thumb drives and even contributed to the creation of an entirely new military department, U.S. Cyber Command. Agent.btz spreads through infected thumb drives, installing malware that steals data. When agent.btz was found on Pentagon computers in 2008, officials suspected the work of foreign spies. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynne later wrote that agent.btz created “a digital beachhead, from which data
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-most-destructive-computer-viruses-159542266/#eRvU01HEg8YcVjFc.99
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Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-most-destructive-computer-viruses-159542266/#eRvU01HEg8YcVjFc.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-most-destructive-computer-viruses-159542266/#eRvU01HEg8YcVjFc.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter