Definition
ILOVEYOU is one of the most popular computer viruses in malware history. It emerged in 2000 and quickly spread worldwide, causing widespread devastation.
The worm was a self-replicating computer virus that spread primarily through email. It misled users into opening email attachments that seemed to be love letters or harmless files, but they were malicious, infecting their computers.
The virus was contained by temporarily suspending mail systems and through collaborative efforts between the CIA, internet service providers (ISPs), and cybersecurity experts. Fortunately, the incident made organizations enhance their security measures.
How Devices We Infected with ILOVEYOU
- Emails were the primary distribution mode, with the email subject as ILOVEYOU to attract the recipient’s attention and curiosity.
- The email attachment contained an extension that made it seem like a text file, such as ‘Love-letter-for-you.txt.vbs’.
- The malicious code will be executed after the target recipient opens the attachment.
- Once executed, the worm would self-replicate without the user’s knowledge or consent.
- Besides self-replicating, the virus would find specific file types (e.g., documents, audio, or images) and overwrite them, making them inaccessible and irreversibly damaged.
- The virus also altered the Windows registry, distorted system settings, and attempted to download and execute other malicious files.
Measures that Stopped ILOVEYOU
- Global cybersecurity companies, governments, and law enforcement agencies joined forces to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Antivirus providers developed and updated their software to detect and eliminate ILOVEYOU.
- ISPs and organizations enforced blocking mechanisms and email filters to stop further spread.