The ILOVEYOU virus was a self-replicating worm that spread through emails with the subject line “ILOVEYOU” and caused widespread damage to millions of PCs worldwide in May 2000. It disguised itself as a normal text file and deleted various file types. The virus overwhelmed mail servers and led to mainstream media coverage of computer viruses. The suspected authors were arrested in the Philippines but released due to a lack of cybersecurity laws.
The ILOVEYOU virus, also known as the Love Bug, was a computer worm that infected millions of personal computers (PCs) worldwide starting in May 2000. The worm spread via emails with the subject line “ILOVEYOU” and exploited both technical vulnerabilities and human behavior. After infecting a computer, it would send copies of itself to every contact it found in the infected computer’s address book. ILOVEYOU was notable for both the widespread damage it caused and the mainstream media attention it received. The suspected authors of the program were arrested in the Philippines, only to be released when authorities discovered that the country lacked any cybersecurity laws under which they could be charged.
While ILOVEYOU was commonly referred to as a virus, it exhibited behavior more traditionally associated with a worm. A worm is self-replicating and is usually a standalone program, while viruses can hide in infected files such as Office documents. However, most worms prior to 2000 did not delete files or cause extensive damage; viruses were much more destructive. The ILOVEYOU virus was something of a hybrid: a self-replicating worm that infects multiple spots on a target computer and deletes images, movies, and other file types.
E-mail systems around the world were flooded with infected messages with the subject line “ILOVEYOU” starting May 4, 2000. Exploiting a quirk in the way some Microsoft® software handled the display of file extensions, the virus was able to disguise itself as a normal text file. This deception, coupled with the program’s ability to mail itself to contacts within a user’s address book, led many to believe they were receiving a love letter from someone they knew.
While the ILOVEYOU virus has infected tens of millions of PCs worldwide, its impact has been felt even among Internet users who were not infected. The large amounts of network traffic generated by infected machines sending the virus to others has overwhelmed many mail servers, thus preventing legitimate traffic from passing through. Some large companies and institutions, including the US Senate and the British House of Commons, have shut down their email systems completely to address the problem. The massive impact of the ILOVEYOU worm led to some of the first mainstream media coverage of computer viruses.
Almost immediately after the virus garnered global attention, authorities pinpointed the Philippines as a possible source of the virus. Philippine police arrested two computer programming students in connection with their investigation, but the two were eventually released when it was discovered that the Philippines lacked laws specifically prohibiting the creation of computer viruses. The country passed such a law just three months after the ILOVEYOU virus appeared, but suspected perpetrators could not be charged with a crime committed before the legislation went into effect.
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