Antivirus software, also called anti-malware, is software built to prevent, detect and remove malicious software, originally aimed at computer viruses but now covering a broader range of threats including malicious links, spam and phishing attempts. Ray Tomlinson wrote a program called the Reaper in 1971 to remove the Creeper virus infecting Digital Equipment Corporation's PDP-10 mainframes, an early removal tool that was itself technically a virus, leaving its status as the first true antivirus program disputed; the German programmer Bernd Fix is credited with the first clearly documented removal of a virus found in the wild when he eliminated the Vienna virus in 1987. Commercial antivirus development followed quickly afterward with no single agreed founder: John McAfee released VirusScan in late 1987, Andreas Luning and Kai Figge released G Data's first antivirus product for the Atari ST the same year, and the British company Sophos, founded in 1985, also entered the market during this period.
Facts
Partially Attested
YearEarliest antivirus is disputed: Reaper (1971) is arguably itself a virus; first documented wild virus removal was 1987 Sources
1. Antivirus software (Wikipedia)
History
Possibly, the first publicly documented removal of an 'in the wild' computer virus (the 'Vienna virus') was performed by Bernd Fix in 1987.
In Group: Network and Authentication Security Technologies, Lead
Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is software intended to prevent, detect, and remove malware.
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