The computer security world is currently abuzz about one of the latest computer viruses to hit the computing world, W32.Stuxnet. Containing a record four zero-day exploits, Stuxnet is the subject of much speculation about the intended target, as it infects and allows for exploits in Siemens systems control software, which is widely used in industrial systems. Security firm Symantec has disassembled and analyzed the virus, finding that it uses four previously unknown exploits in Windows and other software. Due to the complexity, sophistication and nature of the virus, many are theorizing that it was created by a large group, or potentially a governmental intelligence agency.
So, we decided to take a look back at 10 of the most destructive computer worms and viruses to ever be created. From the incredibly ancient (in computer time) worms such as CIH and Melissa, to the latest and rapidly spreading Conficker, these viruses and worms maximized their damage and wreaked havoc on the computer world.
10. CIH – $80 Million
This virus was considered one of the most dangerous and most destructive viruses ever because it had the ability to remain undetected in a computer’s memory, infecting every application that was run. First released in 1998, the CIH virus infected executable files of the operating systems Windows 95, 98, and ME. This virus also was accidentally distributed by a software vendor, contributing to the massive infection of computers. What made this virus dangerous was that it had a trigger date. Once that date was reached, it overwrote the files on the hard drive and completely destroyed its contents. It also had the ability to overwrite the BIOS of the computer to prevent it from booting up. This virus was also known as the Chernobyl virus because some variants were set to destroy data in computers that coincided with the nuclear power plant accident. -
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Here are some of the biggest, most destructive volcanic eruptions on Earth:
10. Deccan Traps – Deccan Plateau, India – about 60 million years ago
The Deccan Traps are a set of lava beds in the Deccan Plateau region of what is now India that cover an area of about 580,000 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers), or more than twice the area of Texas. The lava beds were laid down in a series of colossal volcanic eruptions that occurred between 63 million and 67 million years ago.
The timing of the eruptions roughly coincides with the disappearance of the dinosaurs, the so-called K-T mass extinction (the shorthand given to the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction). Evidence for the volcanic extinction of the dinosaurs has mounted in recent years, though many scientists still support the idea that an asteroid impact did the dinosaurs in. IMG SOURCE
Few words in the English language encapsulate as much horror, misery and doom as "plague." After all, infectious diseases have inflicted a great deal of damage throughout the centuries. They've decimated whole populations, ended blood lines, claimed higher casualties than wars and played pivotal roles in charting the course of history.
Early humans were no strangers to disease. They encountered the microbes that cause illness in drinking water, food and the environment. Occasionally an outbreak might decimate a small group, but they never encountered anything close to the widespread illnesses of the ages to follow. It wasn't until humans began gathering in larger populations that contagious diseases had the opportunity to spread to epidemic proportions. An epidemic occurs when a disease affects a disproportionally large number of people within a given population, such as a city or geographic region. If it affects even greater numbers and a wider area, these outbreaks become pandemics.
Humans also opened themselves up to new and deadlier diseases by domesticating animals that boast their own microbes. By putting themselves in regular, close contact with formerly wild animals, early farmers gave these microbes a chance to adapt to human hosts.
As humans expanded their territory, they came into closer contact with microbes they might otherwise have never encountered. By storing food, humans attracted scavenging creatures such as rats and mice, which brought more microbes. Human expansion also resulted in the construction of more wells and ditches, which provided more standing water for disease-carrying mosquitoes. As technology allowed for wider travel and trade, new microbes could easily spread from one highly populated area to another.
Ironically, many of the pillars of modern human society paved the way for one of its greatest threats. And just as we continue to grow, so too microbes continue to evolve. In this article, we'll take a look at 10 of the worst epidemics to ever plague mankind and how each disease works.
A street performer poses as the Grim Reaper for a small crowd. Ironically, the emergence of epidemic diseases closely follows the rise of crowded cities.
10. Smallpox
Before European explorers, conquerors and colonists began to flood into the New World in the early 1500s, the Americas were home to an estimated 100 million native people. During the centuries that followed, epidemic diseases decreased that number to somewhere between 5 and 10 million. While these people, such as the Incas and the Aztecs, had built cities, they hadn't resided in them long enough to breed the kind of diseases Europeans had, nor had they domesticated as many animals. When the Europeans arrived to the Americas, they brought with them a host of diseases for which the native peoples had no defense or immunity.
