History Main / ComputerVirus

* Subverted on BuffyTheVampireSlayer when Giles asks if they can use a computer virus to defeat a demon uploaded onto the internet. Jenny replies that he's seen too many movies.

** Srizbi: Outputed nearly nive times more spam than Storm, [[OhCrap and was capable of creating its own CnC servers.]]

[[AC: WebComics]]
* The {{Troll}}s in ''{{Homestuck}}'' contain two people who use viruses - Sollux, a hacker who creates really effective viruses, and Karkat, a script kiddie who calls himself a programmer but who gets Sollux to do all the hard work for him. The troll story starts when Karkat [[TooDumbToLive runs a ridiculously dangerous virus created by Sollux on his own computer in a fit of blind pique]], blowing it up and putting a {{Curse}} on himself, all his friends, and everyone he will ever meet.

--> --RedVsBlue

* In the ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'' episode ''Avenger 2.0'', Jay Felger and Major Carter write a computer virus that disables a DHD by scrambling its symbols and corresponding coordinates. While it is not clear whether these two studied computer science, all other work they do just concerns physics.
** Although Major Carter did write the dialing program which imitates a DHD for the (American) Earth gate, so it's not the first programming she has done along those lines.
** Physicists as a rule are versed in at least one, if not many more programming languages. It's very difficult to simulate things without knowing how to tell the computer what to do.

* Viciously parodied in ''RedVsBlue''. When Simmons is attempting to gain control of an enemy computer system and explaining the complications of doing so , Griff says "try uploading a virus into the mainframe, I find one with a laughing skull works the best."

* Personified with Megabyte of ''ReBoot''.

** But wait! [[ItGotWorse It gets better!]] The Storm botnet fell into decline, only to be replaced by ''more of the things.'' In no particular order:
*** Cornficker: Updated itself automatically and killed off Anti-malware programs.
*** Srizbi: Outputed nearly nive times more spam than Storm, [[OhCrap and was capable of creating its own CnC servers.]]
*** TDL-4: Deletes all other viruses to keep them from attracting attention, and has so far proven to be indestructible for Kaspersky and Symantec.
**** It is removable with tools such as Kaspersky's TDSS Killer.

* In ''[[TheMatrix The Matrix Trilogy]]'', the BigBad Agent Smith goes from being a program created to police the Matrix to being able to copy himself over other programs and even people after being killed by Neo at the end of the first movie. It's ironic considering his "humans are a virus" rant to Morpheus earlier in the same film.

* In the ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' episode ''Avenger 2.0'', Jay Felger and Major Carter write a computer virus that disables a DHD by scrambling its symbols and corresponding coordinates. While it is not clear whether these two studied computer science, all other work they do just concerns physics.

* ''YuGiOh'' does this early on: Seto Kaiba uses the supercomputer in his basement to whip up and send a computer virus that will weaken and destroy a hologram of his Blue Eyes White Dragon in only minutes. His method for finding a hole in Pegasus' security? Take over and literally [[ColonyDrop crash a satellite]] into the building housing the main servers.

* In TronEvolution and [[{{Tron20}} Tron 2.0]], virus-infected Programs are major enemies, and the source of the virus comprises one of the major boss battles. Of course, with the universe in question, computer viruses are treated as a de facto ZombieApocalypse.

* In ''TheNet'', the main character is a computer programmer who collects the viruses that she combats. In one of the opening scenes, she's fixed a virus that was afflicting ''{{Doom}}''.

* In ''IndependenceDay'' a computer genius from MIT writes a computer virus overnight that wipes out the attacking technologically superior alien fleet. A lot of people found it implausible that a human computer could interface with alien technology and that the virus just happens to be compatible with the alien system. A deleted scene would have shown the guy studying the aliens' computer system in a crashed ship. It's also implied that human technology has been largely reverse-engineered from alien tech. The aliens were also established to be using Earth's satellites to relay messages, so their systems must have been compatible to some degree.

* ''Film/{{The Parole Officer}}'' features a [[TheCaper caper]] that relies on a computer virus, uploaded from a porn site, that sets off every building alarm in Manchester.
* In ''[[TheMatrix The Matrix Trilogy]]'', the BigBad Agent Smith goes from being a program created to police the Matrix to being able to copy himself over other programs and even people after being killed by Neo at the end of the first movie. It's ironic considering his "humans are a virus" rant to Morpheus earlier in the same film.

* Subverted on BuffyTheVampireSlayer when Giles asks if they can use a computer virus to defeat a demon uploaded onto the internet. Jenny replies that he's seen too many movies.

** An actual computer virus is, however, used in ''Valley of Darkness'' and gives the Fleet quite a lot of headaches in the following episodes before being purged.

* In TronEvolution and [[{{Tron20}} Tron 2.0]], virus-infected Programs are major enemies, and the source of the virus comprises one of the major boss battles. Of course, with the universe in question, computer viruses are treated as a de facto ZombieApocalypse.

* Personified with Megabyte of ''{{ReBoot}}''.

-->'''[[YugiohTheAbridgedSeries Kaiba]]:''' Hooray for cyber-terrorism.

* In [[TheMatrixTrilogy]], the BigBad Agent Smith goes from being a program created to police the Matrix to being able to copy himself over other programs and even people after being killed by Neo at the end of the first movie. It's ironic considering his "humans are a virus" rant to Morpheus earlier in the same film.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Worm Storm Worm Trojan horse]], a professionally produced virus, can show [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel scary]] one of these things can be. Collectively, the computers it has infected form a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_botnet botnet]] that was once of the most powerful supercomputers ''in the world''. [[OrSoIHeard Some people even thought it was a fetal]] AI.

** But wait! [[ItGotWorse It gets better!]] The Storm botnet fell into decline, only to be replaced by ''more of the things.'' In no perticular order:

* ''YuGiOh'' does this early on: Seto Kaiba uses the supercomputer in his basement to whip up and send a computer virus that will weaken and destroy a hologram of his Blue Eyes White Dragon in only minutes. His method for finding a hole in Pegasus' security? Take over and literally crash a satellite into the building housing the main servers.

[[quoteright:350:[[{{Gunshow}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/virus_5609.PNG]]]]

* Personified with Megabyte of ''{{ReBoot}}''. The accuracy of his representation of computer viruses [[YourMileageMayVary varies at best]].

* ''TheParoleOfficer'' features a [[TheCaper caper]] that relies on a computer virus, uploaded from a porn site, that sets off every building alarm in Manchester.

-->-- ''CallahansCrosstimeSaloon''

--> ''RedVsBlue