The Creeper Virus: The First Computer Virus

The first computer virus, known as the Creeper virus, was written in 1971 by a student at BBN Technologies. The virus was designed to replicate itself and spread to other computers on the ARPANET, the early version of the internet.

The Creeper virus was not malicious; it simply displayed a message on the infected computer's screen that said "I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!" However, because it replicated itself and caused computers to crash, it quickly became a nuisance.

In response to the Creeper virus, another student at BBN Technologies wrote the world's first antivirus program, called "The Reaper." The Reaper was designed to seek out and delete instances of the Creeper virus.

While the Creeper virus is no longer active, it is considered to be one of the most significant viruses in history. It was the first example of a self-replicating program that could spread itself across networks. Additionally, it showed that antivirus programs could be effective in combating malware.