Episode 14 - Creeping Towards Viruses

Computer viruses today pose a very real threat. However, it turns out that their origins are actually very non-threatening. Today, we are going to look at some of the first viruses. We will see how they developed from technical writing, to pulp sci-fi, to traveling code. I talk about The Scarred Man by Gregory Benford in this episode, you can read the full short story here: http://www.gregorybenford.com/extra/the-scarred-man-returns/ Like the show? Then why not head over and support me on Patreon. Perks include early access to future episodes, and stickers: https://www.patreon.com/adventofcomputing Important dates in this episode: 1949: John Von Neumann Writes 'Theory and Organization of Complex Automata' 1969: 'The Scarred Man' Written by Gregory Benford, Coined Term 'Virus' 1971: Creeper Virus Unleashed

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This episode was published on October 6, 2019.

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