Creeper was the first
computer worm, while Reaper was the first
antivirus software, designed to eliminate Creeper.
Creeper
Creeper was an experimental computer program written by Bob Thomas at
BBN in 1971. Its original iteration was designed to move between
DEC PDP-10
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)'s PDP-10, later marketed as the DECsystem-10, is a mainframe computer family manufactured beginning in 1966 and discontinued in 1983. 1970s models and beyond were marketed under the DECsystem-10 name, espec ...
mainframe computers running the
TENEX operating system using the
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
, with a later version by
Ray Tomlinson
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016) was an American computer programmer who implemented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971; It was the first system able to send mail be ...
designed to copy itself between computers rather than simply move.
This self-replicating version of Creeper is generally accepted to be the first
computer worm.
Creeper was a test created to demonstrate the possibility of a self-replicating computer program that could spread to other computers.
The program was not actively
malicious software
Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, ...
as it caused no damage to data, the only effect being a message it output to the teletype reading "I'M THE CREEPER. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"
[From the first email to the first YouTube video: a definitive internet history](_blank)
Tom Meltzer and Sarah Phillips. ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. 23 October 2009
Reaper
Reaper was the first anti-virus software, designed to delete Creeper by moving across the ARPANET. It was created by
Ray Tomlinson
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016) was an American computer programmer who implemented the first email program on the ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet, in 1971; It was the first system able to send mail be ...
in 1972.
Cultural impact
The conflict between Creeper and Reaper served as inspiration for the
programming game
A programming game is a video game that incorporates elements of computer programming, enabling the player to direct otherwise autonomous units within the game to follow commands in a domain-specific programming language, often represented as a v ...
''
Core War
''Core War'' is a 1984 programming game created by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney in which two or more battle programs (called "warriors") compete for control of a virtual computer. These battle programs are written in an abstract assembly languag ...
'',
while fictionalized versions of Reaper have been used as antagonists in the
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
''
Digimon Tamers
is a Japanese anime television series and the third television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series takes place in a new setting separate from the preceding series, ''Digimon Adventure'' and ''Digimon ...
''
and the
visual novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
''
Digital: A Love Story''.
A humanized Creeper has also appeared in the
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be c ...
Internet Explorer, alongside the likewise personified
Morris Worm.
References
ARPANET
Computer viruses
Computer-related introductions in 1971
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