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Why Do People Create Computer Viruses? Now That's A Question!

Malware has become a fact of life for everyone using computers these days. This requires the use of Security software such Anti-virus and Anti-malware software, Firewalls, etc...

There were over 50,000 computer viruses in 2000 has only continued to grow. Sophos, in a print ad in June 2005 claimed that there were “over 103,000 viruses.” And, Symantec, claimed in April 2008 that there were over one million. These figures show how computer viruses and malware are being created at an increasingly fast rate.

This leads to the question of why anyone would create malware. And obviously, the answer is complex. With so many people creating viruses there are may be possibly hundreds of reasons, but most viruses are created to make money.

Who Creates Malware? And Why Do They Do It?

Almost all computer viruses and malware are written for profit. This has been the case for most of the last 20 years. Frequently, it is developed by criminal organizations. The most advanced and complexed viruses are now mostly created my these organizations. Many of these organizations operate similarly to legitimate companies, with different departments or individuals focusing on and specializing in the various stages of developing the viruses.

There are many revenue streams that are used to make money with computer malware. These range from tracking computer users and gathering information to target them with ads. Delivering ads via Pop-up windows is also a commonly used advertising related.

They can also be used to trick users into paying for fake tech support. This is done by using the virus to launch a pop-up window telling they have a virus or other computer problem and to call a number to receive help with the issue. If the user calls they will then be told they'll need to pay to have the issue fixed. Whether the issue (meaning the virus) is actually "fixed" or not varies, many times the computer is left infected with the same or different malware. Viruses also are frequently used to create Botnets. Botnets are used to place infected computers under the virus creators control. These botnets are used to make money thru DDoS extortion, where all of the computers in the Botnet are instructed to repeatedly visit a website in an attempt to take it offline, the website's owner is then instructed to pay the Botnet's controller to stop the attack. Another common way that botnets are used is to know as click fraud, click fraud is frequently used to create clicks on ads to generate ad revenue for the Botnet's controller. This is also frequently used by companies offering views, likes, subscribers, etc.. for pay. Additionally, viruses known as key-loggers are used to gather login info, such as bank, Paypal, and credit card information. The information is then either used by the Botnet's creator or sold to other criminals.
The newest and most frightening form of malware is known as ransomware. Ransomware encrypts data on the target computer. Then the computer's owner is instructed to pay a ransom to get a code to un-encrypts their data. According to the FBI over 4,000 ransomware attacks have occurred every day in 2016. Which is a 300% increase over 2015, and the rate has only increased since then, with Kaspersky estimating at least one attack occurs once every 2 minutes.

While profit is the main reason malware is created. Some are simply made by people or organizations wanting to be malicious or prove they can do something. This was especially common with early viruses. Additionally, malware can be created by governments and organizations for espionage purposes and to attack specific targets. An example of this would be Stuxnet which was used to target Iran's nuclear program and is believed to have been developed by the United States and Isreal. It targeted very specific computer configurations meaning that most infected machines suffered no damage. This was done by creators intentional to prevent collateral damage.

As the internet and computers continue to become more and more vital to everyday life it's important to attempt to protect your devices from malware. Always keep up to date malware protection and try to avoid websites that you don't know to be trustworthy. It's also wise to keep backups of any important files in case they are damaged or encrypted by malware.

These days it's less a case of if your devices will get malware and more a case of when...