What is the origin of viruses?

What is the origin of computer viruses and why were they created?

• Answer:

  The first thing you should understand about a computer virus, is that it's a program. Viruses are software, written by programmers. The difference between a virus and an application, is the same as that of a weed and a flower. I may write a program that requires disk access to create or modify files. It's a good idea to store progress in files. That's what they're for. Suppose I were to use the same libraries to access and modify files I ought to have no interest in. Suppose I made it my business to seek out and delete your photos, or open text files looking for places you'd stored passwords or financial information. If you can think about it that way, the question becomes one if psychology. Why would anybody write a program that would cause another person harm? Some people are scumbags. Some scumbags can program.