Throwback Thursday: KAOS on the Superhighway?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to 1994, when KAOS4 was discovered on the Internet.

A new virus has been found on the Internet — today, this is an unfortunate fact of everyday life, and unless the virus is particularly interesting, not even noteworthy. In July 1994, however, the discovery of KAOS4 on the Internet was big news and prompted the question: how great are the risks associated with Internet access?

KAOS4 gained notoriety through its posting to the Internet newsgroup alt.binaries.pictures.erotica. Although, as a result of this method of distribution, KAOS4 became widespread, it was actually a relatively simple, non-resident COM and EXE file infector, designed to avoid detection by heuristic scanners. In September 1994,

VB

presented a full analysis of KAOS4 and took the opportunity to review some of the risks associated with Internet access.

VB

‘s review of the risks associated with Internet access, ‘KAOS on the Superhighway?’, can be read

here

in HTML-format, or downloaded

here

as a PDF.

The full analysis of KAOS4 can be read

here

in HTML-format, or downloaded

here

as a PDF (no registration or subscription required).

Posted on 25 June 2015 by

Helen Martin