Creeper and Reaper

Last updated

Screenshot of a Creeper simulation CreeperWorm.jpg
Screenshot of a Creeper simulation

Creeper was the first computer worm, while Reaper was the first antivirus software, designed to eliminate Creeper.

Contents

Creeper

Creeper and Reaper
Type Computer worm [1]
AuthorsBob Thomas
Technical details
Platform TENEX

Creeper was an experimental computer program written by Bob Thomas at BBN in 1971. [2] Its original iteration was designed to move between DEC PDP-10 mainframe computers running the TENEX operating system using the ARPANET, with a later version by Ray Tomlinson designed to copy itself between computers rather than simply move. [3] This self-replicating version of Creeper is generally accepted to be the first computer worm. [1] [4] Creeper was a test created to demonstrate the possibility of a self-replicating computer program that could spread to other computers.

The program was not actively malicious software as it caused no damage to data, the only effect being a message it output to the teletype reading "I'M THE CREEPER : CATCH ME IF YOU CAN" [5] [4]

Impact

Creeper had a minimal impact on the computers it infected. No more than 28 machines could have been infected, as that was the number of machines running the TENEX operating system on ARPANET. [6] The operators of the machines were also collaborators in the project, and Tomlinson needed permission to run the program on their machines. In an interview, Tomlinson also stated that there were no unintended effects from running the program. [6]

Reaper

Reaper
Original author(s) Ray Tomlinson
Initial release1972
Operating system TENEX

Reaper was the first anti-virus software, designed to delete Creeper by moving across the ARPANET. It was created by Tomlinson in 1972. [3]

Cultural impact

The conflict between Creeper and Reaper served as inspiration for the programming game Core War , [3] while fictionalized versions of Reaper have been used as antagonists in the anime Digimon Tamers [7] and the visual novel Digital: A Love Story . [8] A humanized Creeper has also appeared in the webcomic Internet Explorer, alongside the likewise personified Morris Worm. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer worm</span> Self-replicating malware program

A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. It often uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. It will use this machine as a host to scan and infect other computers. When these new worm-invaded computers are controlled, the worm will continue to scan and infect other computers using these computers as hosts, and this behaviour will continue. Computer worms use recursive methods to copy themselves without host programs and distribute themselves based on exploiting the advantages of exponential growth, thus controlling and infecting more and more computers in a short time. Worms almost always cause at least some harm to the network, even if only by consuming bandwidth, whereas viruses almost always corrupt or modify files on a targeted computer.

Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy. Researchers tend to classify malware into one or more sub-types.

In computing terminology, a macro virus is a virus that is written in a macro language: a programming language which is embedded inside a software application. Some applications, such as Microsoft Office, Excel, PowerPoint allow macro programs to be embedded in documents such that the macros are run automatically when the document is opened, and this provides a distinct mechanism by which malicious computer instructions can spread. This is one reason it can be dangerous to open unexpected attachments in e-mails. Many antivirus programs can detect macro viruses; however, the macro virus' behavior can still be difficult to detect.

The Morris worm or Internet worm of November 2, 1988, is one of the oldest computer worms distributed via the Internet, and the first to gain significant mainstream media attention. It resulted in the first felony conviction in the US under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. It was written by a graduate student at Cornell University, Robert Tappan Morris, and launched on 8:30 p.m. November 2, 1988, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of computer viruses and worms</span> Computer malware timeline

This timeline of computer viruses and worms presents a chronological timeline of noteworthy computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, similar malware, related research and events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raytheon BBN</span> American research and development company

Raytheon BBN is an American research and development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARPANET</span> Early packet switching network (1969–1990)

The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first computer networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet. The ARPANET was established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antivirus software</span> Computer software to defend against malicious computer viruses

Antivirus software, also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware.

The compilation of a unified list of computer viruses is made difficult due to their subsequent naming. To aid the fight against computer viruses and other types of malicious software, many security advisory organizations and developers of anti-virus software compile and publish lists of viruses. When a new virus appears, the rush begins to identify and understand it as well as develop appropriate counter-measures to stop its propagation. Along the way, a name is attached to the virus. As the developers of anti-virus software compete partly based on how quickly they react to the new threat, they usually study and name the viruses independently. By the time the virus is identified, many names have been used to denote the same virus.

SNDMSG was an early electronic mail program, chiefly notable because it was used to send what is considered the first networked email.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Tomlinson</span> American computer programmer (1941–2016)

Raymond Samuel Tomlinson was an American computer programmer who implemented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971; It was the first system able to send mail between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET. Previously, mail could be sent only to others who used the same computer. To achieve this, he used the @ sign to separate the user name from the name of their machine, a scheme which has been used in email addresses ever since. The Internet Hall of Fame in its account of his work commented "Tomlinson's email program brought about a complete revolution, fundamentally changing the way people communicate." He is credited with the invention of the TCP three-way handshake which underlies HTTP and many other key Internet protocols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interface Message Processor</span> Computer network device

The Interface Message Processor (IMP) was the packet switching node used to interconnect participant networks to the ARPANET from the late 1960s to 1989. It was the first generation of gateways, which are known today as routers. An IMP was a ruggedized Honeywell DDP-516 minicomputer with special-purpose interfaces and software. In later years the IMPs were made from the non-ruggedized Honeywell 316 which could handle two-thirds of the communication traffic at approximately one-half the cost. An IMP requires the connection to a host computer via a special bit-serial interface, defined in BBN Report 1822. The IMP software and the ARPA network communications protocol running on the IMPs was discussed in RFC 1, the first of a series of standardization documents published by what later became the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Mobile malware is malicious software that targets mobile phones or wireless-enabled Personal digital assistants (PDA), by causing the collapse of the system and loss or leakage of confidential information. As wireless phones and PDA networks have become more and more common and have grown in complexity, it has become increasingly difficult to ensure their safety and security against electronic attacks in the form of viruses or other malware.

Daniel L. Murphy is an American computer scientist notable for his involvement in the development of TECO, the operating systems TENEX and TOPS-20, and email.

The WANK Worm and the OILZ Worm were computer worms that attacked DEC VMS computers in 1989 over the DECnet. They were written in DIGITAL Command Language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pål Spilling</span> Norwegian computer scientist

Pål Spilling was a Norwegian Internet pioneer and professor at the University of Oslo and the UNIK Graduate Center at Kjeller in Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer virus</span> Computer program that modifies other programs to replicate itself and spread

A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus, a metaphor derived from biological viruses.

<i>Digital: A Love Story</i> 2010 indie visual novel

Digital: A Love Story is a visual novel by video game designer Christine Love, released for free in February 2010. Set "five minutes into the future of 1988", Digital tells the story of the protagonist's online relationship with a girl and their attempts to solve a mystery surrounding the deaths of several artificial intelligences. The game is presented entirely through the interface of a 1980s computer with online bulletin board system posts and messages from other characters; the protagonist's own messages are implied but never shown. The game's story is linear, with the player's actions unable to significantly change the course of the plot. The game was received positively, with critics especially praising the game's writing and plot, and it was noted in lists of the best indie games of 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PRNET</span>

The Packet Radio Network (PRNET) was a set of early, experimental mobile ad hoc networks whose technologies evolved over time. It was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). Major participants in the project included BBN Technologies, Hazeltine Corporation, Rockwell International's Collins division, and SRI International.

References

  1. 1 2 IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Vol. 27–28. IEEE Computer Society. 2005. p. 74. [...]from one machine to another led to experimentation with the Creeper program, which became the world's first computer virus: a computation that used the network to recreate itself on another node, and spread from node to node. The source code of creeper remains unknown.
  2. Thomas Chen, Jean-Marc Robert (2004). "The Evolution of Viruses and Worms" (PDF). Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 John Metcalf (2014). "Core War: Creeper & Reaper" . Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 From the first email to the first YouTube video: a definitive internet history. Tom Meltzer and Sarah Phillips. The Guardian . 23 October 2009
  5. Sahay, Manish (January 2023). "The History of the First Computer Virus on Windows, Mac, and Linux". thepcinsider.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Interview with Ray Tomlinson on Creeper/Reaper – OSnews". www.osnews.com. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  7. "Chronicle, The Background History". konaka.com.
  8. Christine Love (February 2010). Digital: A Love Story. *Blue Sky: When Mother realized the mistake it had made, *Reaper was created to combat the self-replicating mess it had created, and fabricated the story about a "creeper virus" in order to obfuscate the matter to human observers.
  9. "Internet Explorer – Ep. 50 – Creeper". webtoons.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.