Even though computers have facilitated an economic revolution, they have also been misused by people such as hackers to cause widespread damage. Hackers were originally known as individuals who had obtained a lot of knowledge about the intricacies of computer systems and computer security. Originally, the word did not have a negative connotation

From the examples above, it is evident that viruses and worms have the potential to completely shut down the global economy and disrupt our daily activities. The Love Bug virus was able to completely shutdown 10,000 organizations and it is possible that one day a stronger program could maybe shutdown all of the organizations of the world. This is a concern that many computer users have and these users have taken preventive measures to safeguard against possible attacks. In fact, in the fiscal year of 2001, the United States government allocated 20 billion dollars of their budget in order to fund computer security initiatives and research. Also, The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that organizations in the United States spend 4 billion dollars annually to protect their computers from attack. Companies such as Symantec, creator of Norton Antivirus, have capitalized on this opportunity and have made millions of dollars offering antivirus software. These companies also begin working on cures for viruses as soon as new ones are released. They usually find a cure within a few days and offer them to their customers to download as soon as they possible can. However, as shown by examples such as the Love Bug virus, billions of dollars of damages occur before the cure can effectively shutdown the virus.

After viewing how viruses and worms attack computers, it is evident that they can wreck havoc on computer systems and cause millions of dollars in damages due to their ability to spread quickly. At times, even the writers of viruses do not anticipate the level of destruction the virus could cause. One of the most famous viruses to attack computer systems across the world was the Melissa virus. This virus was created in the United States by a man named David Smith. After the virus was released in 1999 it was so powerful that it forced companies like Microsoft to completely shut down their e-mail systems u

Some topics in this essay:
, Love Bug, Code Red, LOVE YOU”, David Smith, Bureau Investigation, Norton Antivirus, Association America, De Guzman, Authorities Philippines, bug virus, love bug virus, virus spread, dollars damages, love bug, billions dollars, viruses worms, attack computers, computer virus, computer systems, virus released, virus spread fast, “i love you”, billions dollars damages, federal bureau investigation,