The term "computer virus" , whose comparison with a biological virus is quite similar, since both insert its essence (the malignant source code in the case of the computer virus) in systems that function normally and alter it in various ways depending on its type.
There are encrypted, polymorphic, resident, overwrite viruses, Trojans, worms … but they all have a common ancestor. The first computer virus on record is "Creeper" , a malware that attacked an IBM 360 Series machine in 1972. The virus in question displayed on the screen the message "I'm a creeper … catch me if you dog!" (I'm a creeper … grab me if you can!) And to eliminate it, the world's first antivirus called "Reaper" was created.
Despite the fact that the appearance of the first computer virus dates back to the early 70s, the adoption of the term "computer virus" did not occur until 1984, the year in which the American computer scientist Fred Cohen defined the term in his article "Experiments with computer viruses ”. Cohen, is known worldwide for his pioneering work on viruses and his defense techniques against them .
