The Creeper: The First Computer Virus that Crept its Way into History

The first computer virus Called the Creeper virus, was created in 1971 by Bob Thomasan, American programmer who worked for the BBN Technologies company. At that time, the term "virus" was not but in use to describe self-replicating software, however Thomas's application exhibited many of the characteristics of a present day virus.

The Creeper virus was designed to infect the ARPANET, which was an early precursor to the internet. It was written in the programming language PDP-10 assembly code and worked by transferring from one pc to every other via the network, displaying the message "I'm the creeper, catch me if you can!" on every infected machine's terminal. The virus did not cause any damage to the machines it infected, however it was once an early demonstration of the viable for self-replicating software program to spread through a network.

Shortly after the creation of the Creeper virus, another programmer named Ray Tomlinson wrote a software referred to as "Reaper," which was once designed to get rid of the Creeper virus from infected machines. This was once the first instance of antivirus software, and it set the stage for the ongoing fighting between virus creators and antivirus developers that continues to this day.

It's really worth noting that the Creeper virus used to be no longer malicious in the way that current viruses can be. It was once greater of a proof-of-concept that established the capacity of a software to self-replicate and go through a network. Nevertheless, it was an important milestone in the records of computing, and it paved the way for the development of more sophisticated viruses and antivirus software.