Today Rule ‘Do not open suspicious emails’, has become part of common sense in the online world. Of course there is a legitimate reason for this common sense, right?

However, this common sense was not so common in the past An unforgettable day in the cyber world of March 26, 1999 happened.

What exactly happened on that date?

On that day, hundreds of thousands of people around the world used Word documents and, it is estimated, It will cause a loss of $1.1 billion and received an email that would cripple multiple networks.

This computer worm, named Melissa, was a wake-up call for the Internet. But how can a Word document become a new respected document? What chaos on the World Wide Web why can it happen?

Melissa’s story started with 31-year-old programmer David Lee Smith.

Smith was computer literate and As someone who can foresee the future of the internet He reflected this foresight in the codes he wrote.

Although in the 90s the internet was a new and exciting field for everyone for malicious activities It also created a space.

such as Microsoft Outlook Through a popular email client, Melissa quickly spread like a macro virus.

This worm, a Word macro, attacks people’s email lists. It automatically sent itself to the first 50 people. This process happened again and again, paralyzing the networks.

Within hours, more than 300 companies, including Microsoft and the United States Marine Corps, had their Internet access cut off.

This is only in North America $80 million company is wasting time causes.

Even Melissa’s creator, Smith, didn’t think the virus would do so much damage. Despite cooperation with the FBI He was found guilty and sentenced to 20 months in prison.

However, the incident security software development and has helped make popular programs like Microsoft Office more secure.

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