A history of malware, cont'd

First PC virus: Brain (1986)

• boot sector virus, spread via floppies

• not much damage

Started the PC virus panic

1. Vendors unwilling or unable to improve security; leading to

2. A security industry based on enumerating badness

   (See eg Ranum's “The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security”)

   Current products haul around lists of rougly 200,000 “signatures”