Blast from the Past: The ILOVEYOU virus

 The ILOVEYOU virus, or the Lovebug/Loveletter, affected millions in the 2000s. It was the world's first global computer virus.  It was started by two college students, with the simple motivation of internet access. Onel de Guzman ( one of the students) believed internet access should be a human right. He could not afford dial-up internet access at the time. He wanted to steal internet login details from users to access the internet. 

 

He used a simple Visual-based script, sent via an email attachment. It looked something like this:

(Picture from LinkedIn)

Once it was opened, it installed the virus in the computer. The virus exposed a vulnerability in the Windows system, as it was able to replicate the same email and send it across to other Microsoft users. 


To think of it, to create something like this, you need great skill. It's not easy. Almost all villains, real or mythic, are ingenious (more than the hero itself sometimes). It is a choice. It's how you want to use that intelligence, that creates the difference between the hero and the villain.


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