Most Disastrous Computer Viruses of All Time!

Computers, laptops, and gadgets are one hell of an investment. They cost hundreds and thousands, and it just takes a tiny virus to turn them into lifeless blocks of no use anymore. Such is the deadliness of some malware programs that are considered the most destructive ones in the history of technology. Sure, there are a bunch of strongest antiviruses out there, and you can even fetch concessions on them from websites like TopVouchersCode. However, these malware programs are not like those frail viruses that can be cleaned with an antivirus or by restoring your device to factory settings. Instead, they cause extreme harm to your computers, hack into your accounts & information, and can cost you a loss of millions of dollars. Here are some of the most deleterious viruses that were complete disasters. 

ILOVEYOU

Sounds like a sweet love confession? Well, it is one of the most harmful viruses ever created. Around 10% of the world’s computers were infected, causing damages of over $10 billion. The virus stemmed in May 2000 and was created by two young students who aimed to steal the passwords and use internet services from others’ accounts. At that time, they didn’t have any idea that this virus would spread worldwide. The bug spread through an attachment in emails and came as a message from sources usually considered safe. Once the user clicked, it sent itself to every contact in the mailing list, overwrote files, and made the computers unbootable. The large corporations shut down their entire mailing systems for protection and went offline. 

Melissa

What looks like a pretty name here is actually a harmful computer worm developed by David L. Smith in 1999. The virus was named after a dancer from Florida and originated in the form of an infectious word document containing passwords for porn websites. This made people inquisitive and had them download the file. When they opened the file, it prompted the macro and dropped the payload. Also, the virus would mail to the top 50 contacts in the user’s mailing list, causing an increase in the email traffic and disturbing the email services of big corporations and government entities. 

Conficker

Conficker is a bug that first appeared in 2008. It used the flaws in the operating system to infect the computer and create a botnet. The virus, also known as Downadup or Downup, counts among the deadliest malware programs ever to spread. It infected over 9 million computers worldwide, including individuals, businesses, and governments. The worm infected the computers by blocking windows updates and antivirus software & sites, locking out user accounts, and resetting account lockout policies. After, it installed software that converted the computer into a botnet slave to scam money from the user. The approximate damage caused by this malware was around $9 billion. 

Zeus

Zeus was one of those viruses that aimed to perform criminal tasks. It’s a Trojan horse first detected in 2009 with its primary functions including form grabbing and modifying web transactions. Most computers were infected by scam emails targeting users or drive-by downloads. Thousands of computers and FTP accounts were defiled from huge companies, multinational corporations, and banks counting in Oracle, Amazon, Cisco, Bank of America, and more. The botnet operators retrieved the login credentials of emails, bank accounts, and social networks. More than 1 million computers were affected by this malware which involved individuals from around the world smuggling and transferring money to their leaders in Europe. Later, around 100 people were booked for being involved in the entire operation, whereas in 2010, the virus’s creator announced his pullback.