| Last October 2 marked 170 years of Charles Darwin's | | | | There was a time when viruses were no more than |
| return to England after five years spent around the | | | | the fruits of idle hands. Some might even describe |
| world collecting knowledge about flora, fauna, wildlife | | | | them as nothing more than hijinks by programmers |
| and genealogy. The information he gathered would | | | | out to make names for themselves. Even the naming |
| form the basis of his Theory Of Evolution. | | | | of the viruses reflected a level of triviality, some |
| Interestingly on the same day in 1985, actor Rock | | | | were named for particular computer hardware |
| Hudson would die from the AIDS virus. 149 years | | | | brands, some for the virus programmer's girlfriend, |
| separated two very contrasting albeit controversial | | | | one was a homage to a female tennis player known |
| events--one delving into the very origin of life while | | | | better for her curves than her on-court ability, and |
| the other,a death resulting from a threat with no | | | | who could ever forget the disarming "I Love You" |
| known cure. | | | | virus? It was indeed a nuisance for users when they |
| 1985 also saw the emergence of another kind of | | | | find out that their computer system was infected. |
| virus--the first computer virus. More than twenty | | | | But with a little foresight and the right tools, it was a |
| years later, computer viruses have morphed from a | | | | problem that could be handled. The cost for the |
| laboratory test into organized crime's new weapon of | | | | home user was time wasted, but in a business |
| choice. | | | | environment, time wasted meant money lost. |