by Casey LosierInternet viruses have been around almost as long as the internet itself. Today, much of this malicious software is designed purposely to crash systems, to collect data or to cause some degree of harm. However, in the earlier days of the internet many viruses and computer crime were not for any kind of gain or destruction, but for the thrill of the challenge, to “beat the system”, for fame or even just to cause mischief.
The Melissa virus, discovered on March 26th 1999 is a perfect example of such a virus. Over the course of several days, it managed to clog email services with infected emails and overloaded servers all around the world. Though its creator David Smith did not intend to cause any harm, damages caused by the virus were estimated to be over 80 million dollars.
Smith introduced the virus to the internet by posting an infected file on the website of “Alt.Sex”. To entice internet to download the document, it was disguised as a file containing the passwords for adult-content sites. However opening the document also caused the virus to be downloaded to the user’s computer. From there, it spread over email using Microsoft Outlook. Once a computer was infected, it would automatically email the first 50 contacts in the user’s outlook address book. The email contained the following message: “Here is that document you asked for ... don’t show anyone else;-).” It also came with an attached document which, when opened, spread the virus to the email recipient’s computer. The Melissa virus was the first to propagate itself using a mass-mailing system, this contributed to its rapid spread since a single computer could infect 50 computers which could in turn each infect 50 more. Melissa was spread at an exponential rate, what started as a small set of infected computers quickly grew into a problem that spanned the globe.
Authorities eventually traced the email and IP address attached to the initial posting of the infected file on “Alt.Sex” to David Smith’s computer. For releasing a virus onto the internet and causing over 80 million dollars worth of damage, Smith was charged with 20 months in prison, a 5000$ fine and was on parole for three years after his release. The condition of his release also stipulated that, unless he received court approval, he must not access the internet, internet discussion boards or computer networks. Finally, he was also ordered to do 100 hours of community service, preferably in the domain of information technology.
When compared to some viruses today that are created specifically to crash entire networks and cause billions of dollars worth of damage, the Melissa virus seems like a small threat. Even so, the Melissa mass-mailing virus was the fastest-spreading computer virus of its time, inspiring many copycat versions and earning a page in the history of computer crime.
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