Difference between revisions of "The dying art of computer viruses"
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| − | = History = | + | == History == |
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_viruses_and_worms Timeline of Viruses and Worms (wikipedia)] | * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_viruses_and_worms Timeline of Viruses and Worms (wikipedia)] | ||
| − | = Working of a Virus = | + | From Gramam Cluley [https://www.virusbulletin.com/virusbulletin/2013/08/dying-art-computer-viruses]: |
| + | In those days, it was often hard not to be aware that you had a virus. The New Zealand virus declared ‘Your PC is now Stoned!’, the Italian virus bounced a ping-pong ball across your screen, and the Maltese Casino virus played Russian Roulette with your file allocation table. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Sure, all of these viruses were irritating – they spread without your consent, and ate up system resources – but only some of them were deliberately destructive. In many ways, a lot of the malware could justly be compared to an electronic form of graffiti – the Green Caterpillar, for instance, which crawled across your screen, eating up letters and pooping them out in a shade of brown. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Even as malware turned nastier and more destructive, there was still some art to be seen. Virus-writing gangs like Phalcon/SKISM used colourful ANSI-style art to declare that they had infected your computer. Viruses like Phantom, with its use of 256-colour palette cycling and displaying a large skull, and Spanska, with its simulated flight across the Mars landscape, probably demonstrated a high point for art in viruses. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Working of a Virus == | ||
* [http://virus.wikidot.com/virus Description of Virus types on virus.wikidot.com] | * [http://virus.wikidot.com/virus Description of Virus types on virus.wikidot.com] | ||
* [[media:The_Technology_and_Evolution_of_an_Artificial_Life_Form.pdf]] | * [[media:The_Technology_and_Evolution_of_an_Artificial_Life_Form.pdf]] | ||
| − | = Collections = | + | == Collections == |
* [http://vxheaven.org/ VXHeaven] | * [http://vxheaven.org/ VXHeaven] | ||
| + | * [https://www.youtube.com/user/danooct1/playlists youtube user danooctl shows many viruses in action] | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Setting up the lab environment == | ||
| + | * Download [https://www.virtualbox.org/ virtualbox] | ||
| + | * Create a freedos environment following: http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/VirtualBox | ||
| + | * As virtual disk choose the supplied VDOS.vdi (or new if you want to set it up yourself) | ||
| + | |||
| + | == A virus in processing == | ||
| + | It is even possible to write a virus in processing. | ||
| + | See an example in the WdKA Github, but remember, for educational purposes only. Use with care! | ||
| + | <br>[https://github.com/mywdka/ProcessingVirus https://github.com/mywdka/ProcessingVirus] | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Research]][[Category:Processing]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:09, 22 November 2022
History
From Gramam Cluley [1]: In those days, it was often hard not to be aware that you had a virus. The New Zealand virus declared ‘Your PC is now Stoned!’, the Italian virus bounced a ping-pong ball across your screen, and the Maltese Casino virus played Russian Roulette with your file allocation table.
Sure, all of these viruses were irritating – they spread without your consent, and ate up system resources – but only some of them were deliberately destructive. In many ways, a lot of the malware could justly be compared to an electronic form of graffiti – the Green Caterpillar, for instance, which crawled across your screen, eating up letters and pooping them out in a shade of brown.
Even as malware turned nastier and more destructive, there was still some art to be seen. Virus-writing gangs like Phalcon/SKISM used colourful ANSI-style art to declare that they had infected your computer. Viruses like Phantom, with its use of 256-colour palette cycling and displaying a large skull, and Spanska, with its simulated flight across the Mars landscape, probably demonstrated a high point for art in viruses.
Working of a Virus
- Description of Virus types on virus.wikidot.com
- media:The_Technology_and_Evolution_of_an_Artificial_Life_Form.pdf
Collections
Setting up the lab environment
- Download virtualbox
- Create a freedos environment following: http://freedos.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/VirtualBox
- As virtual disk choose the supplied VDOS.vdi (or new if you want to set it up yourself)
A virus in processing
It is even possible to write a virus in processing.
See an example in the WdKA Github, but remember, for educational purposes only. Use with care!
https://github.com/mywdka/ProcessingVirus