• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Tech Spirited

Tech Spirited

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Articles

Things You Need to Know About the Melissa Virus

In 1999, the Melissa virus spread through the Internet, causing problems for over hundred thousand computer owners. In this article, we shall study the origins, working, symptoms, and much more about the Melissa virus.

You are here: Home / IT Jobs / Things You Need to Know About the Melissa Virus

Like it? Share it!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Things You Need to Know About the Melissa Virus

In 1999, the Melissa virus spread through the Internet, causing problems for over hundred thousand computer owners. In this article, we shall study the origins, working, symptoms, and much more about the Melissa virus.

Did You Know?
After being arrested for creating the Melissa virus, David Smith worked with the FBI to catch several international virus writers, using his contacts to work out a deal to reduce his sentence from 10 years to 20 months.

Would you like to write for us? Well, we're looking for good writers who want to spread the word. Get in touch with us and we'll talk...

Let's Work Together!

What is the Melissa Virus?
Also known as the Simpsons, Kwejeebo, Kwyjibo, or Mailissa virus was one of the most destructive computer viruses of the time. The virus was created sometime during the spring of 1999 by a man named David Smith from New Jersey. It was designed to spread from one computer to the next through email messages. It was first discovered by some antivirus and Internet security companies on March 26, 1999. The virus spread through the Internet at a very fast rate, and caused a lot of trouble to private sector and government networks, causing many Internet services to be disrupted, and forcing companies to temporarily shut down email services. The virus received a lot of attention, as it was one of the first mass-mailing viruses, which also ended up as the fastest-spreading virus of the time.

How Did it Work?
Based on MS Word 97 macro, the Melissa virus worked by spreading through email messages. The virus appeared in the recipient’s inbox marked as an important message from someone known, with a Word document named LIST.doc or ANNIV.doc attached. It tempted one into opening the message, with a title like ‘Here is that document you asked for. Don’t show it to anybody else.’ However, once the document was activated, the virus replicated itself in other Word documents, and sent itself out as a spam email to the top 50 people in the address book of the recipient’s email account. This often lead to confidential information in Word documents being leaked out through emails. As Melissa required user interaction to work, it was not considered to be a worm.

Warning Symptoms
The virus was not readily apparent to computer users, and often required experts to detect it. It could be identified through certain symptoms, such as crippled email systems, which sent out confidential information of an infected computer. However, prevention was the best way to stop the virus, and identifying the subject and the name of the file would be enough to mark the email as spam and keep the computer safe. A common test to check the virus was to execute the suspicious file when the minutes of the hour matched the day of the month. If this was done, the virus would insert text into an open MS Word document: ‘ Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters. Game’s over. I’m outta here.’

Damage
Although the Melissa virus did not damage or delete any files, it was a serious breach of security, which had many harmful effects, such as overloading email servers, causing companies like Microsoft and Intel to temporarily shut down some services. The virus affected hundreds of thousands of computers, usually those which operated MS Word and Outlook on Windows 95, 98, and NT, and Macintosh operating systems. This created chaos across the Internet, which caused investigative agencies, such as the FBI, the New Jersey State Police, and some Internet service providers to get involved to find the perpetrator. Although the virus did not cripple the Internet completely, it was the first virus to receive extensive coverage by the media, besides wide public attention. These attacks also led to monetary loss of around USD 1.2 billion, and breakdown in communications for several private companies. Other variants of such as viruses named Papa and Melissa.a and Melissa.i also soon came out, adding to the confusion.

How Was This Virus Stopped?
The author of Melissa virus posted the infected file on a popular newsgroup masquerading as a list of passwords to various websites. This post was easy to track for the investigators through the email address and I.P. Address of the computer it was sent from. This data was used to locate and arrest David Smith. Once Smith was arrested and accused of the crime, a lengthy and extensive trial took place. However, Smith lost the case, and after negotiating a plea-bargain for creating the Melissa virus, he received a jail sentence of 10 years, of which he served only 20 months, along with a fine of USD 5,000. He was also prohibited from accessing computer networks without authorization, by the court. It was later revealed that the Melissa virus was named after an exotic dancer David Smith had seen in Florida. Despite the author being caught, the virus continued to spread for many months, until software manufacturers could eventually create suitable patches to stop its progress, almost completely. There are very rare cases where files infected with the Melissa virus are found through emails today.

Although widespread, the Melissa virus was not created with monetary gains in mind. Rather, it was used just with the intention of causing mischief, unlike most virus attacks today. Nowadays, the business of viruses is all about big money, and it is up to users to constantly update their antivirus software, and also use discretion while surfing the Internet.

Related Posts

  • A Quick Guide to Email Virus Removal is Here

    Many viruses find entry into your computer system via email attachments and they can wreak havoc if left unchecked. Here, you will find some simple email virus removal tips which…

  • You Can Manually Remove a Virus from Your Computer: Here's How To

    Our computers have a threat from different types of computer viruses. In this write-up, we will know how to make our computers free of viruses.

  • Most Destructive Computer Viruses

    The most destructive computer viruses are programs that are designed to disrupt the smooth functioning of a computer machine and make it handicapped. Here's a look at the most powerful…

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Category iconIT Jobs

Get Updates Right to Your Inbox

Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox.
Blog Updates

Exploring the website?

Our site includes quite a bit of content, so if you're having an issue finding what you're looking for, go on ahead and use that search feature there!

Footer

We hope you are enjoying TechSpirited! We provide informative and helpful articles about the outlook for IT jobs throughout the U.S. Learn more about the career in IT you’ve always wanted, or find new tips to further your technology career.
  • Facebook
  • RSS

Copyright © Tech Spirited & Buzzle.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
6789 Quail Hill Pkwy, Suite 211 Irvine CA 92603

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsAccept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.