What is a computer virus and who is the author?

     Computer virus - a malicious code or computer program. The virus also can perform arbitrary actions without the user, and the harm to the user or computer.
     Even if the creator of the virus did not program malicious action, the virus can lead to computer crashes due to errors. Viruses can occupy a certain place in the storage, hard drives and removable storage devices, selects some system resources. Therefore, the virus belongs to malware.
     Often, inexperienced users are subject to computer viruses other malware: spyware, etc. To date, thousands of known viruses, which are spread throughout the world via the Internet.
     Diffusion and creation of computer viruses, in Russia, is pursued by the Criminal Code. Under the doctrine of the information media in Russia are held legal scientists in ways in schools, colleges and universities for the Protection of computer information, combating destkoy information and computer viruses.
     Computer virus appeared, thanks to the idea of the American Programmer Bob Thomas, who at the end of the 70-xx's. devised a program data between two networked computers - "Slider". The program was developed for air traffic control and had to pass the current data on the status of an aircraft in the airspace between computers network connection.
     Thomas created a program to copy itself from one machine to another, and moved across the network, a message: "Catch me if you can! ". "Slider" moves between network nodes and entertained system administrators and users - so little program got its fame and history - continued.
     Bob Thomas has revived the idea of ​​the novel science fiction writer John Brunner. The basis of the work, which became a best seller, has laid down a modified history with the program "slider", with which the novel's hero fought against dictatorship and tyranny of the government. A similar program, "Worm", "travel" through a computer network, destroying the information.     With this novel, Hepp and Shock - employees of Xerox, which published the PC can be connected to a local network, decided to write a program like "worms" and named after the hero of the novel Brunner - "worm." By design, the program has a "worm" was a positive mission - moving from the network and check the network operating system PC for hidden defects and eliminating them.    However, it happened just the opposite - after the pilot run of the program, all of the company's computers were found in the morning, "hovering" state. This happened because of a minor error, which played a role in the uncontrolled proliferation of "worms" and block the work of the center. Happy Shock and had to sit down to work on a program-destroyer.     Thus began the emergence of an "era of computer viruses", which now have their wide distribution