FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER

Detailed explanation-1: -In fact, what made Melissa different from other macro viruses was its ability to take advantage of the Microsoft e-mail application and the speed at which it spread. According to the CERT Coordination Center, the first confirmed reports of the virus were received on Friday, March 26, 1999.

Detailed explanation-2: -In late March 1999, a programmer named David Lee Smith hijacked an America Online (AOL) account and used it to post a file on an Internet newsgroup named “alt. sex.” The posting promised dozens of free passwords to fee-based websites with adult content.

Detailed explanation-3: -A man named David L. Smith decided to capitalize on the confusion surrounding the internet and email when he created the first successful email-aware computer virus. The malware-the Melissa virus-was one of the first to get public attention because it caused more than $80 million in damage.

Detailed explanation-4: -As noted by Discovery, the Creeper program, often regarded as the first virus, was created in 1971 by Bob Thomas of BBN. Creeper was actually designed as a security test to see if a self-replicating program was possible.

Detailed explanation-5: -The recipients of this message were the first 50 addresses ‘Melissa. A’ found in the address book in Outlook. This was the first macro virus that used this technique, until this moment there hadn’t been a virus that affected users by sending a Word document within an email.