Chernobyl virus

The virus was detected as early as 1998, but its payload was first triggered April 16, 1999 - which was the 13th anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Although U.S. and European computer users were affected, especially students and some businesses, most of Chernobyl's damage was wrought in Asia and the Middle East. Chernobyl actually is a variant of a virus known as CIH, the initials for the alleged author of the virus, Chen Ing-hau, a Taiwanese computer engineering student). Some CIH variants activate on the 26th day of each month, while others do their damage on April 26 or June 26.

CIH is sometimes referred to as a "space filler virus," referring to its ability to clandestinely take up file space on computers and prevent anti-virus software from running.

Users of Windows 95 and Windows 98 are more susceptible to the risk of contracting the CIH virus. It is under these programs that the virus replicates and becomes active. Users of DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Macintosh are not considered at risk.

Read more about Chernobyl virus: - ZDNet tells how the author of the CIH virus became a highly-sought after expert by companies in Taiwan. - SearchSecurity.com provides links to information about a number of CIH viral strains. - Symantec offers a CIH virus detecter and killer.

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