“Melissa” was the first virus that spread through e-mail.  It was created by David Smith who was 31 in 1999 when he built it.  The virus turned 10 years old today and it caused about $80 million in damages and infected one million PCs.

The subject line of the virus was “Here is that document you asked for … don’t show anyone else;-)” and it contained an infected file called LIST.doc.  The document contained passwords to 80 pornographic websites.  The virus spread through Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2003, Outlook 97, and Outlook 98.

There were about four variations of the virus.  Smith was sentenced 20 months in prison and was charged $5,000.  Smith was also told to stay clear of computer networks and the Internet without court authorization.

[via TGDaily]