Computer viruses and malwares are one of the most prominent problems that computer and internet users all over the world have to face on a regular basis. There have been thousands of computer viruses which have affected millions of computer users world over.
In this article, I am going to post the top five most dangerous computer viruses of all time according to me:
1. I Love You Virus: The undisputed leader of the list of the most annoying virus ever to have affected any computer is the “I Love You” virus. It was the most disturbing virus at the dawn of the new century and it infected millions of computers and caused more damage than any other computer virus till date. The users were infected though email, chat, shared file systems etc. and it sent its own copies using infected users’ Outlook mail client address book entries with the mail subject line, “ILOVEYOU.”
2. Melissa Virus: This virus mainly attacked company networks and was detected in 1999. It was also sent through Microsoft Outlook and when a user opened an email containing an infected Word attachment, the virus was sent to the first 50 names in the user’s address book. It fooled a lot of recipients as it was sent in the name of someone familiar to the recipient being from the address book. Even huge corporates like Intel and Microsoft had to turn off their e-mail servers at times due to this dangerous virus as it was capable of jumping from one computer to another on its own.
3. Magistr Virus: This was one of the most complex virus ever to have hit the computer world. It was again propagated through email using Microsoft Outlook Express and was first detected in March 2001. It sent messages to everyone from the infected user’s Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail address book. It was a very destructive virus which overwrote hard drives and erased CMOS and flashable BIOS preventing computers from even booting.
4. Klez Virus: This virus is not as destructive as other popular viruses but the reason it is in my top five virus list is because it has remained active for the longest period of time and is very widespread. It was first detected in 2001 but it has not yet been removed completely from the computer world even after nearly a decade. It spreads through open network and email irrespective of the email program you use.
5. Google Redirect Virus: One of the most prominent viruses in recent years has undoubtedly been the Google redirect virus which hijacks your google search and other search engine results and instead takes you to some malicious websites. The virus has been affecting a lot of computers and is increasing at a rapid pace. It is a browser hijacking virus and it has been found to affect all web browsers on the affected computers. The virus is more destructive than most other viruses at the moment as it does not get detected by any of the normal anti virus or security software and hence cannot be easily removed.
Tags: BIOS, CMOS, ILOVEYOU, Microsoft Outlook Express
