Anna Kournikova (computer virus)
Encyclopedia
The Anna Kournikova computer virus was a computer virus
authored by Dutch
programmer Jan de Wit on February 11, 2001. It was designed to trick email users into opening a mail message purportedly containing a picture of tennis player Anna Kournikova
, while actually hiding a malicious program. If set off, the program plunders the address book of the Microsoft Outlook
e-mail program and attempts to send itself to all the people listed there. The Kournikova virus tempts users with the message: "Hi: Check This!", with what appears to be a picture file labelled "AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs". The worm arrives in an email with the subject line "Here you have, ;0)" and an attached file called AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs. When launched under Microsoft Windows the file does not display a picture of Anna Kournikova but launches a viral Visual Basic Script that forwards itself to everybody in the Microsoft Outlook
address book of the victim.
The virus was created using a simple and widely available Visual Basic
Worm Generator program developed by an Argentinian programmer called “[K]Alamar”. While similar to the ILOVEYOU
virus that struck a year earlier, in 2000, the Anna Kournikova virus did not corrupt data on the infected computer.
Apparently, the author created the virus in a matter of hours. "The young man had downloaded a program on Sunday, February 11, from the Internet and later the same day, around 3:00 p.m., set the virus loose in a newsgroup." De Wit turned himself in to authorities in the town of Sneek
located in the northern province of Friesland in the Netherlands
. "By the time he understood what the virus did, he had conferred with his parents and decided to turn himself in to the police,"
It has been reported that the efforts of another virus writer working undercover for the FBI, David L. Smith, led to the identification of Jan de Wit and that the FBI passed the information to authorities in the Netherlands. De Wit turned himself in to the police in his hometown Sneek
on February 14, 2001, a few days after the virus was released.
Reportedly, and resembling the cases of other computer virus writers, only a few days later the mayor of Sneek, Mayor Sieboldt Hartkamp, made a tentative job offer to De Wit, quoting his programming skills.
De Wit was tried in Leeuwarden and was charged with spreading data into a computer network with the intention of causing damage, a crime
that carried a maximum sentence of four years in prison
and a fine of 100,000 guilders (US$41,300).
The lawyers for Jan de Wit called for the dismissal of charges against him, arguing that the worm caused minimal damage. The FBI submitted evidence to the Dutch court and suggested that US$166,000 in damages was caused by the worm. De Wit admitted he created the worm using a virus creation toolkit but told the court when he posted the virus to a newsgroup he did it "without thinking and without overseeing the consequences". He denied any intent to cause damage. De Wit has been sentenced to 150 hours community service or 75 days in jail.
, Ross's laptop was infected by the Kournikova virus when Chandler checked his email on it. The version of the virus in the episode was more malicious than the real thing, as it deleted Ross' speech on paleontology when it was opened.
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
authored by Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
programmer Jan de Wit on February 11, 2001. It was designed to trick email users into opening a mail message purportedly containing a picture of tennis player Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
, while actually hiding a malicious program. If set off, the program plunders the address book of the Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
e-mail program and attempts to send itself to all the people listed there. The Kournikova virus tempts users with the message: "Hi: Check This!", with what appears to be a picture file labelled "AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs". The worm arrives in an email with the subject line "Here you have, ;0)" and an attached file called AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs. When launched under Microsoft Windows the file does not display a picture of Anna Kournikova but launches a viral Visual Basic Script that forwards itself to everybody in the Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
address book of the victim.
The virus was created using a simple and widely available Visual Basic
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
Worm Generator program developed by an Argentinian programmer called “[K]Alamar”. While similar to the ILOVEYOU
ILOVEYOU
ILOVEYOU, also known as Love Letter, is a computer worm that successfully attacked tens of millions of computers in 2000 when it was sent as an attachment to a user with the text "ILOVEYOU" in the subject line. The worm arrived e-mail on and after May 4, 2000 with the simple subject of "ILOVEYOU"...
virus that struck a year earlier, in 2000, the Anna Kournikova virus did not corrupt data on the infected computer.
Apparently, the author created the virus in a matter of hours. "The young man had downloaded a program on Sunday, February 11, from the Internet and later the same day, around 3:00 p.m., set the virus loose in a newsgroup." De Wit turned himself in to authorities in the town of Sneek
Sneek
Sneek is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland . As for 2011 it is part of the municipality Súdwest Fryslân...
located in the northern province of Friesland in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. "By the time he understood what the virus did, he had conferred with his parents and decided to turn himself in to the police,"
It has been reported that the efforts of another virus writer working undercover for the FBI, David L. Smith, led to the identification of Jan de Wit and that the FBI passed the information to authorities in the Netherlands. De Wit turned himself in to the police in his hometown Sneek
Sneek
Sneek is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland . As for 2011 it is part of the municipality Súdwest Fryslân...
on February 14, 2001, a few days after the virus was released.
Reportedly, and resembling the cases of other computer virus writers, only a few days later the mayor of Sneek, Mayor Sieboldt Hartkamp, made a tentative job offer to De Wit, quoting his programming skills.
De Wit was tried in Leeuwarden and was charged with spreading data into a computer network with the intention of causing damage, a crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
that carried a maximum sentence of four years in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and a fine of 100,000 guilders (US$41,300).
The lawyers for Jan de Wit called for the dismissal of charges against him, arguing that the worm caused minimal damage. The FBI submitted evidence to the Dutch court and suggested that US$166,000 in damages was caused by the worm. De Wit admitted he created the worm using a virus creation toolkit but told the court when he posted the virus to a newsgroup he did it "without thinking and without overseeing the consequences". He denied any intent to cause damage. De Wit has been sentenced to 150 hours community service or 75 days in jail.
In popular culture
In the episode The One in Barbados, Part One of the sitcom FriendsFriends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Ross's laptop was infected by the Kournikova virus when Chandler checked his email on it. The version of the virus in the episode was more malicious than the real thing, as it deleted Ross' speech on paleontology when it was opened.
See also
- List of computer viruses
- List of convicted computer criminals
- Timeline of notable computer viruses and wormsTimeline of notable computer viruses and wormsThis is a timeline of noteworthy computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses.- 1966 :* The work of John von Neumann on the "Theory of self-reproducing automata" is published...