Elk Cloner, the First "Wild" Computer Spread by Floppy Disk

1982
Screen shot of Elk Cloner, a boot sector virus considered the first wild virus for a personal computer.

Screen shot of Elk Cloner, a boot sector virus considered the first wild virus for a personal computer.

A program called 'Elk Cloner' is credited with being the first computer virus to appear outside the single computer or lab where it was created. Written by Rich Skrenta, it attached itself to the Apple DOS 3.3 operating system and spread by floppy disk.

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