Multiple choice general knowledge science & technology

Which year marks the first documented computer virus?

  1. 2000

  2. 1883

  3. 1983

  4. 1801
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

1983 is significant because it's when Fred Cohen first demonstrated the concept of computer viruses at a security seminar and coined the term 'virus' for self-replicating programs. The Elk Cloner virus (1982) and Creeper (1971) were earlier but 1983 marks the formal academic definition and documentation of computer viruses.

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