ILOVEYOU Worm

Wikipedia

Number of words	1150
Computer science content	medium
Math content	low
English language complexity	medium

Sub-areas covered

Computer virus
Computer worm
Popular worms/viruses

Learning objectives

to understand why the ILOVEYOU worm was so successful
to understand the architecture of the ILOVEYOU worm as a basic script virus
to recognize how big an effect a single virus can have on global IT

Keywords

VBScript

Visual Basic Scripting Edition - an Active Scripting (technology used in Windows to implement component-based scripting support) language developed by Microsoft

social engineering

practice of obtaining confidential information by manipulating users

Barok trojan

this trojan horse gathers information, such as user name, IP address, and passwords, and attempts to send the information to the creator of the virus

malware (złośliwe oprogramowanie)

software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent

Summary

The article provides information about the creation and history of a well-known computer worm called ‘ILOVEYOU’. The first section contains its basic description and explains the features of the worm that made it effective. The following sections describe how the worm spread and the effect it had worldwide. The article gives information about the author of the worm and the man who wrote the software that repaired the damage it caused. This is followed by a section on how the ‘ILOVEYOU’ worm affects computers. The text ends with brief information about legal action taken against the author of the worm.

Tekst opisuje jeden z bardziej znanych robaków komputerowych - ‘ILOVEYOU’. Pierwsza część zawiera podstawowe informacje o programie i tym, co uczyniło go efektywnym. Następna opowiada o rozprzestrzenianiu się wirusa. Kolejne przedstawiają globalne działanie robaka, informują o jego autorze oraz o twórcy programu naprawiającego szkody. Kolejna część tekstu dostarcza wiadomości o działaniach ‘ILOVEYOU’ na komputerze - co robi i jakie wywołuje szkody. Tekst kończy się informacją na temat konsekwencji prawnych wyciągniętych wobec autora ‘ILOVEYOU’.

Pre-reading questions

What attacks have you heard about?
Have you ever had a virus or worm in your mail?
Name a few of the most famous viruses.