What is the First Computer Virus in the Philippines? Its Effects & Remedies
There is the first computer virus in the Philippines which is commonly known as ‘’ILOVEYOU’’. This virus is referred to as the ‘’Lovelette’’ or ‘’Love Bug’’ virus. On May 4, 2000, this virus emerged globally and affected millions of computer systems. If you are looking for the details relating to what is the first computer virus in the Philippines, you have come to the right place.
Why did the first computer virus emerge, and how it affect the computer systems worldwide? In this article, we will discuss the first computer virus in the Philippines’s emergence, effects and drawbacks.
What is the Love Bug Virus?
The ILOVEYOU or Love Bug is mistakenly introduced as a computer virus in the Philippines. It is compulsory for people to know the reality that it is, eventually, a worm. However, the distinction comes out during the method of propagation. The virus depends on the ‘’host file’’ and creates an infection to dismantle your computer system. It can be activated on each infected system. This is the process through which a worm diverges.
On the contrary to viruses, a worm does not need a host file for activation. It is self-replicated and spreads spontaneously across many systems. A worm has the potential to infiltrate a computer system. Moreover, it can transit itself to other infected computer systems without getting extra host files on human interference or each subsequent infection.
What is the First Computer Virus in the Philippines and how can it Propagate Itself?
The first computer virus was designed by the Filipino computer programmer named Onel de Guzman. He included virus into the source code and completed it as his final year project. Top on that, he was doing this being an undergraduate student at the AMA Computer College.
But his aim was not to destroy the victims’ computer systems. He drafted the objective of viruses in his thesis as well. Onel de Guzman wanted to acquire Windows passwords and extract internet accounts based on the storage of the victim’s computer. These were the goals Onel de Guzman had while making this virus.
The virus started to spread itself because of internet access in the Philippines. It included pay for dial-up connectivity on the basis of usage duration. That was entirely different from the flat-rate charges which started to prevail in many American and European parts.
What are the Benefits Onel De Guzman (Founder) mentioned in his Final Thesis?
Onel de Guzman claimed that individuals in third-one countries could take benefits from users’ connections in first-world countries. He also mentioned the adopted principles of worms in his final year thesis.
How did the First Computer Virus Spread?
A fake message was received in the Philippines through email on May 4, 2000. The line mentioned in that message was ‘’ILOVEYOU’’, so if you wonder what is the first computer virus in the Philippines, this is the first virus. Recipients opened the attached file and got a love letter from the sender. When people opened the email then the virus was automatically inculcated into their computer systems. People ignored the malicious nature of the virus and opened the file without reading its terms and conditions.
What was the Nature of the First Computer Virus in the Philippines?
The virus ‘’ILOVEYOU’’ included a VBScript program such as LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs attachment. Moreover, the email was taking an attachment that visualises the fundamental script. In addition to these, the worm identifies the Outlook of recipient address book. They distributed the infected message to each contact. Consequently, the first computer virus obliterates and overwrites the files of diversified formats.
To achieve this goal, a worm modifies the windows registry, manipulating its settings to propagate the implementation of malware on the basis of system startup. Similarly, the worms have the potential to exchange the content of numerous computer files. It ensures the encompassing of Word files and JPEG pictures.
These goals were accomplished by the replicated versions of worms. Everyone was affected by the first computer virus around the world, especially individuals in the Philippines. Moreover, users who had not a backup of files faced damage in the form of losing their complete data.
What Computer Damages did The First Computer Virus Introduce to the World?
The first computer virus created devastating effects on computer systems. Countries across the world faced its overreaching effects including North America, Asia and Europe. Similarly, another virus named Melissa virus have affected the world already before ILOVEYOU virus. That virus worldwide affected more than 1 million computer systems.
As a consequence of the first computer virus, the world’s top companies had to suspend their email servers. These companies include Microsoft, the United Kingdom’s House of Commons and the Ford Motor Company. Windows then dominated the whole market share and earned more than 95% shares of the world. The country which was badly affected by the virus was the United States of America.
People in America could not stop themselves from opening the ‘’love letter’’. Even military and civil institutions struggled in saving their data. These institutions include the Pentagon, the United States Army Forces Command.
Conclusion
People want to know the information on what is the first computer virus in the Philippines. The virus firstly prevailed in the Philippines and then all over the world. It affected millions of computer systems including the email servers of world’s top companies. We can consider this virus as a computer crisis. Thousands of people went unemployed in the world. According to official data, people had to face over $10 billion in financial loss as a result.
