Antedating of "Computer Virus"

[Dave Wilton]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of Fred Shapiro
> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 8:36 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Antedating of "Computer Virus"
>
>
> The OED's first citation for the term "computer virus" is dated 1984.
> Wikipedia claims that "The term 'computer virus' also appears in the comic
> book 'Uncanny X-Men' No. 158, published in 1982."  I have not verified
> this claim.

I haven't seen the actual comic book or even images of the pages (I've
located a copy of the comic, but it will be some weeks before I can get my
hands on it), but this web site provides quotes for the use of "virus" in
the X-Men comic:

http://www.kernelthread.com/publications/security/viruses.html

"Kitty Pryde: NO PROBLEM. WE SIMPLY DESIGN AN OPEN-ENDED VIRUS PROGRAM TO
ERASE ANY AND ALL REFERENCES TO THE X-MEN AND PLUG IT INTO A CENTRAL FEDERAL
DATA BANK. FROM THERE, IT'LL INFECT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IN NO TIME."

and

"Carol Danvers: THERE - THE VIRUS PROGRAM IS PRIMED AND READY TO GO. ONCE
I'VE PUNCHED UP THE X-MEN DATA FILE ... "

There is also a 1972 novel by David Gerrold, "When HARLIE Was One," that
features a computer program called "VIRUS," that propagates like a modern
computer virus.

--Dave Wilton
  dave at wilton.net
  http://www.wilton.net