So, obviously a virus is a medical thingie. When did it start meaning a computer bug or something harmful to PCs? Is it because they spread like bio viruses or what?
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When did 'virus' start meaning a computer thing?
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The use of 'virus' actually extends back to 1949 in non-biological context. In a short story by David Gerrold, 'When HARLIE Was One', virus was used in relation to computer programs. I think it's because the way it spreads similar to bio viruses.
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Thingie? You mean, 'thing', right? And yes, it's because they spread like bio viruses.
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The first computer virus was called 'Creeper system', an experimental self-replicating program written by Bob Thomas at BBN Technologies in 1971. How cool is that?
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Reminds me of that Dylan song - 'It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)'. There's a verse that says, 'But even the president of the United States / Sometimes must have to stand naked.' It's like computers vs viruses. Deep stuff.
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Cybersecurity professional here. Yes, it's true that the term 'virus' was used to describe harmful self-replicating programs that behaved a lot like biological viruses. The analogies between the two helped conceptualize early programming challenges. The first use in popular media was in a 1972 film called 'Eliza' which depicted a fictional account of a destructive code infecting mainframe computers.
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So a virus infected the word 'virus', and made it sick of its original meaning! LOL.
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Aliens did it. They sent the first computer virus. Big tech just doesn't want you to know it. WAKE UP SHEEPLE!
Tech enthusiast here. The term 'computer virus' actually comes from the 1970s. Fred Cohen, a computer scientist, was one of the pioneers in defining what it meant in a computer context. And yeah you're right about the spread, it's because they can self-replicate and propagate, infecting systems along the way, similar to biological viruses.