Creeper virus
Encyclopedia
Creeper was an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN
in 1971. It was designed not to damage but to demonstrate a mobile application. It is generally accepted to be the first computer worm
, although the notion of a "computer virus
" did not exist in the 1970s. Creeper infected DEC
PDP-10
computers running the TENEX operating system
.
BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies is a high-technology company which provides research and development services. BBN is based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA...
in 1971. It was designed not to damage but to demonstrate a mobile application. It is generally accepted to be the first computer worm
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...
, although the notion of a "computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
" did not exist in the 1970s. Creeper infected DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
computers running the TENEX operating system
TOPS-20
The TOPS-20 operating system by Digital Equipment Corporation was the second proprietary OS for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. TOPS-20 began in 1969 as the TENEX operating system of Bolt, Beranek and Newman...
.