The Most Devastating Computer Viruses In History (Infographic)

Today, many of us are pretty vigilant whenever we’re online. We’re likely to be able to spot a dodgy-looking pop-up ad or know if something’s not quite right with a website, but throughout the web, there are a significant number of viruses circulating. Supersized viruses are still common, although they were at their peak around a decade or so ago, as we’re about to prove.

Looking at the infographic below, the five biggest viruses of all time have a few things in common. As well as infecting hundreds of thousands of machines in a short space of time, they also managed to cost billions each to clean up. If they’re not stopped in their tracks or if people don’t take the necessary precautions, machines can become unusable while websites can be destroyed.

The damage from any virus can be incredibly difficult to repair. At their worst, they can erase files, require infected machines to be fixed completely and see precious data lost forever. All this helps to explain why viruses can be so expensive, which makes it all the more important for anyone with valuable files and such to keep their devices safe at all times.

Credit: Norton Anti-virus