20 notorious worms, viruses and botnets

The earliest worms and viruses were created for geeky fun and did little harm - oh, how times have changed. Here are 20 worms, viruses and botnets that show the evolution of malware, from Creeper to Flame.

By Joan Goodchild, CSO | Security, botnets, malware

Morris worm

Credit: Trevor Blackwell

Chris Larsen, Malware Lab Architect for Blue Coat Systems, points to the Morris worm, created in 1988 by Cornell University student Robert Tappan Morris, as the first internet worm.

"It's the one that got everyone's attention and demonstrated the possibility of computer malware for causing chaos," adds Kevin Haley, Director, Symantec Security Response.

(Morris also made our Rogues Gallery list of 10 infamous hacks and hackers.)