The 20 most costly PC viruses

When it comes to PC viruses, there are a wide range of attack vectors that can be used to spread malicious code. In many cases, the most costly viruses are those that exploit vulnerabilities in popular software programs to infect a large number of computers. Here are the 20 most costly viruses of all time, based on the estimated damage they’ve caused:

1. ILOVEYOU – Estimated damage: $15 billion

ILOVEYOU is a computer worm that first surfaced in 2000. It quickly spread via email, masquerading as a love letter. Once opened, the worm would replicates itself and send itself out to everyone in the victim’s address book. The worm caused major headaches for businesses, resulting in an estimated $15 billion in damages.

2. Mydoom – Estimated damage: $17 billion

Mydoom is a computer worm that surfaced in 2004. It was spread via email attachments and helped to create a network of infected computers, known as a botnet. The worm was used to carry out distributed denial of service attacks against major websites, including Google and Yahoo. The attacks caused major disruptions and an estimated $17 billion in damages.

3. Sasser – Estimated damage: $18.5 billion

Sasser is a computer worm that first appeared in 2004. It exploited a vulnerability in the Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business and banking operations. The estimated damages caused by Sasser are $18.5 billion.

4. SoBig – Estimated damage: $19 billion

SoBig is a computer worm that first appeared in 2003. It was spread via email attachments and caused a significant amount of damage, due to the fact that it replicated itself and caused clogged network traffic. The worm also downloaded and installed a keylogger, which could be used to steal sensitive information. The estimated damage caused by SoBig is $19 billion.

5. Storm – Estimated damage: $20 billion

Storm is a computer worm that first appeared in 2007. It was spread via email attachments and exploit kits, and it caused a great deal of damage due to the fact that it created a botnet of infected computers. The botnet was used to carry out distributed denial of service attacks and to send spam emails. The estimated damage caused by Storm is $20 billion.

6. Nina – Estimated damage: $20 billion

Nina is a computer worm that first appeared in 2004. It was spread via email attachments and exploit kits, and it caused a great deal of damage, due to the fact that it created a botnet of infected computers. The botnet was used to carry out distributed denial of service attacks and to send spam emails. The estimated damage caused by Nina is $20 billion.

7. WannaCry – Estimated damage: $4 billion

WannaCry is a computer worm that first appeared in 2017. It exploited a vulnerability in the Windows operating system to spread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business and health care operations. The estimated damages caused by WannaCry are $4 billion.

8. Gemini – Estimated damage: $5.5 billion

Gemini is a computer worm that first appeared in 2006. It exploited a vulnerability in the Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business and banking operations. The estimated damages caused by Gemini are $5.5 billion.

9. SQL Slammer – Estimated damage: $6 billion

SQL Slammer is a computer worm that first appeared in 2003. It exploited a vulnerability in the Microsoft SQL Server tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by SQL Slammer are $6 billion.

10. Code Red – Estimated damage: $2 billion

Code Red is a computer worm that first appeared in 2001. It exploited a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Microsoft IIS web server tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Code Red are $2 billion.

11. Nimda – Estimated damage: $2 billion

Nimda is a computer worm that first appeared in 2001. It exploited various vulnerabilities to spread itself and cause damage. The worm caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Nimda are $2 billion.

12. Blaster – Estimated damage: $2 billion

Blaster is a computer worm that first appeared in 2003. It exploited a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Microsoft RPCSS service tospread itself. The worm caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Blaster are $2 billion.

13. Zotob – Estimated damage: $2 billion

Zotob is a computer worm that first appeared in 2005. It exploited a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Plug and Play service tospread itself. The worm caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Zotob are $2 billion.

14. Conficker – Estimated damage: $9 billion

Conficker is a computer worm that first appeared in 2008. It exploited vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Conficker are $9 billion.

15. Slenfbot – Estimated damage: $11 billion

Slenfbot is a computer worm that first appeared in 2009. It exploited vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by Slenfbot are $11 billion.

16. CryptoLocker – Estimated damage: $3 billion

CryptoLocker is a computer worm that first appeared in 2013. It exploited vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by CryptoLocker are $3 billion.

17. CTB-Locker – Estimated damage: $3 billion

CTB-Locker is a computer worm that first appeared in 2014. It exploited vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm resulted in widespread infections and caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by CTB-Locker are $3 billion.

18. NotPetya – Estimated damage: $10 billion

NotPetya is a computer worm that first appeared in 2016. It exploited vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm caused significant disruptions, particularly to business operations. The estimated damages caused by NotPetya are $10 billion.

19. WannaCry 2.0 – Estimated damage: $4 billion

WannaCry 2.0 is a computer worm that first appeared in early 2018. It exploited a new vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system tospread itself. The worm caused significant disruptions, particularly to business and health care operations. The estimated damages caused by WannaCry 2.0 are $4 billion.

20. Emotet – Estimated damage: $1 billion

Emotet is a computer worm that first appeared in 2014. It is spread via email attachments and exploit kits, and it causes a great deal of damage, due to the fact that it creates a botnet of infected computers. The botnet is used to carry out distributed denial of service attacks and to send spam emails. The estimated damage caused by Emotet is $1 billion..View Source

The 20 most destructive PC viruses
of all time

Of all the computers viruses that have been created, only a handful have caused enough damage to be considered “destructive.” Here is a list of the 20 most destructive computer viruses of all time.

1. The CIH Virus

Also known as the Chernobyl Virus, this destructive computer virus was released in 1998 and was designed to overwrite the BIOS of a computer. CIH was one of the first viruses to show just how destructive a virus can be.

2. The Melissa Virus

Named after a stripper in Florida, the Melissa virus was a macro virus that infected Microsoft Word documents. The virus would replicate itself by emailing itself to the first 50 contacts in an infected person’s email address book.

3. The Love Bug Virus

One of the most famous viruses of all time, the Love Bug virus caused an estimated $10 billion in damage when it was released in 2000. The Love Bug was a emails itself as a love letter and would then delete important files from an infected computer.

4. The Sasser Worm

The Sasser Worm was released in 2004 and quickly became one of the most widespread computer viruses in history. The Sasser Worm exploit a vulnerability in the Windows operating system and would cause infected computers to reboot repeatedly.

5. The MyDoom Virus

The MyDoom virus was released in 2004 and was designed to launch a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the website of the SCO Group, a software company. The MyDoom virus was the first virus to ever reach 1% of all computers infected with a virus.

6. The Storm Worm

The Storm Worm was first spotted in 2006 and quickly became the most widespread computer worm in history. The Storm Worm was designed to spread itself through email and instant messaging networks.

7. The Flare Virus

The Flare Virus was released in 2008 and was designed to infect computers running the Windows operating system. The Flare Virus would delete important files and then display a fake antivirus program that would encourage the user to buy a product to fix the problem.

8. The Conficker Virus

The Conficker Virus was released in 2009 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system. The Conficker Virus would spread itself by infecting other computers on a network and would then disable security features on the infected computer.

9. The Stuxnet Virus

The Stuxnet Virus was released in 2010 and was designed to target industrial control systems. The Stuxnet Virus was the first virus to ever cause physical damage when it was used to destroy nuclear centrifuges in Iran.

10. The Flame Virus

The Flame Virus was released in 2012 and was designed to infect computers running the Windows operating system. The Flame Virus would steal information from an infected computer and then send that information back to a server controlled by the attackers.

11. The Red October Virus

The Red October Virus was released in 2013 and was designed to infect computers running the Windows operating system. The Red October Virus would steal information from an infected computer, including sensitive information such as passwords and usernames.

12. The Cryptolocker Virus

The Cryptolocker Virus was released in 2013 and was designed to encrypt files on an infected computer. The Cryptolocker Virus would then demand a ransom from the victim in order to decrypt the files.

13. The Gameover Zeus Virus

The Gameover Zeus Virus was released in 2014 and was designed to infect computers running the Windows operating system. The Gameover Zeus Virus would steal information from an infected computer, including sensitive information such as banking details.

14. The Shellshock Virus

The Shellshock Virus was released in 2014 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Unix Bash shell. The Shellshock Virus would allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on an infected computer.

15. The Petya Virus

The Petya Virus was released in 2016 and was designed to encrypt the hard drive of an infected computer. The Petya Virus would then demand a ransom from the victim in order to decrypt the hard drive.

16. The WannaCry Virus

The WannaCry Virus was released in 2017 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system. The WannaCry Virus would encrypt files on an infected computer and then demand a ransom from the victim in order to decrypt the files.

17. The NotPetya Virus

The NotPetya Virus was released in 2017 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system. The NotPetya Virus would encrypt the hard drive of an infected computer and then demand a ransom from the victim in order to decrypt the hard drive.

18. The Smominru Virus

The Smominru Virus was released in 2017 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system. The Smominru Virus would infect computers and then use those computers to mine cryptocurrency for the attackers.

19. The illustrate Virus

The illustrate Virus was released in 2018 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Illustrator software. The illustrate Virus would embed itself in an Illustrator file and then infect other computers that opened that file.

20. The Emotet Virus

The Emotet Virus was released in 2018 and was designed to take advantage of a flaw in the Windows operating system. The Emotet Virus would spread itself by infecting other computers on a network and would then steal information from the infected computers.

Visit malwarezero.org to learn more about most dangerous pc viruses. Disclaimer: We used this website as a reference for this blog post.