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Article: High school practical joke 25 years ago ushers in era of malicious computer viruses
- Article from:
- Post-Tribune (IN)
- Article date:
- September 2, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright, 2007, Post-Tribune. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. (Hide copyright information)
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THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM PRINTED VERSION
Rich Skrenta works on his home computer at home in San Carlos, Calif.(PHOTO) (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
What began as a ninth-grade prank, a way to trick already-suspicious friends who had fallen for his earlier practical jokes, has earned Rich Skrenta notoriety as the first person ever to let loose a personal computer virus.
Although over the next 25 years, Skrenta started the online news business Topix, helped launch a collaborative Web directory now owned by Time Warner Inc.'s Netscape and wrote countless other computer programs, he is still remembered most for unleashing the "Elk Cloner" virus on the world.
"It was some dumb ...