What Is Jerusalem Virus?
It's a virus that's been around since before you could even say "computer virus." You might not have heard of it, but it's been infecting files for nearly 30 years. The Jerusalem virus is an oldie but a goodie. It was first discovered in 1987 and has survived the evolution of operating systems since then. A virus named after Jerusalem is said to have originated there, infecting only MS-DOS files. The Jerusalem virus became largely obsolete as newer operating systems were developed (and they all did). It's the virus that keeps on giving! The Jerusalem virus infects executable programs and files and then erases them on set days. The most fun part? It only infects programs on Friday the 13th of any month. The virus also infects executable programs repeatedly until they become too large to run on a computer. If you try to run a program infected with this virus, it will just keep coming back until your computer is so full of viruses that it can't run anything. One of the earliest known examples of a computer virus, the Jerusalem virus was notable for a number of unique characteristics when it was discovered. Some versions of the Jerusalem virus included cryptic slogans on the command line interface, in addition to the typical symptoms. It was postulated that some versions of the virus would restrict the operation of applications on certain days of the week, such as Saturday and Sunday. This and other effects led some to believe that the virus was religious or superstitious. Eventually, this particular variant ceased to cause problems for newer operating systems but not before contributing to some serious computer crashes worldwide. In 1988 alone, it was reported that this virus infected more than 100 computers—and those were just the reported ones!
Related Terms by Cyber Security
Join Our Newsletter
Get weekly news, engaging articles, and career tips-all free!
By subscribing to our newsletter, you're cool with our terms and conditions and agree to our Privacy Policy.
