Witness History
Witness History
Brain: A personal computer virus
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25 July 2023
10 minutes
Available for over a year
'Welcome to the dungeon' was the message that flashed up on computer screens in 1986.
This was widely reported as the first virus for PCs and became known as 'Brain'.
'Brain' spread around the world and became infamous when it was featured in newspapers and magazines.
Amjad Farooq Alvi tells Gill Kearsley how he and his brother, Basit, came to develop this accidental virus from their shop in Lahore, Pakistan.
(Photo: The 'Brain' computer virus. Credit: Amjad and Basit Alvi)
