One of the earliest computer viruses, the Brain virus is widely considered the first IBM PC virus in history. It originated in Lahore, Pakistan, during the 1980s, and was created by two brothers, Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi. What made Brain especially unique was that it was the first virus to openly include its creators’ real names, address, and phone number in its code, but more on that shortly.
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Why It Was Created
Amjad and Basit ran a company called Brain Computer Services, which sold medical software. Unlike today’s malicious viruses, Brain wasn’t designed to damage systems. Instead, it was created as a response to software piracy. The brothers discovered that unauthorized copies of their software were being distributed, so they developed the Brain virus as a way to discourage piracy by alerting users that their software had been copied illegally.
However, the plan backfired – the virus spread uncontrollably due to the widespread use of floppy disks at the time. Even the creators didn’t anticipate the scale of its spread. They reportedly received complaint calls from around the world, much to their surprise.
How It Worked
Brain infected mostly floppy disks. It worked by targeting the boot sector, which is the first part of the disk the computer reads when starting up (even before loading the operating system). Once a computer booted from an infected floppy, the virus would load into system memory. From there, it could silently infect any other floppy disk inserted into the machine. The virus did not delete or corrupt files on the infected disks, but reduced their reading/writing performance instead.
One of the most curious aspects of the virus was its embedded message, visible when viewing the disk’s raw data using a hex editor. This “signature” contained the brothers’ names and contact info, intentionally placed so people could visit their computer workshop for assistance. Here’s the actual message:
Welcome to the Dungeon
© 1986 Basit & Amjad (pvt) Ltd.
BRAIN COMPUTER SERVICES
730 NIZAM BLOCK ALLAMA IQBAL TOWN
LAHORE-PAKISTAN
PHONE :430791,443248,280530.
Beware of this VIRUS….
Contact us for vaccination………… $# @%$@!!Although the Brain virus wasn’t designed to destroy data or cause visible damage, it showed that it was possible to modify the boot process and replicate across disks — something never before seen on PCs. While relatively harmless, it exposed serious vulnerabilities in early computer systems and helped kickstart awareness about digital threats(you can learn more about cybersecurity here).
Impact
There’s no definitive number of infected systems, but it’s estimated that over 100,000 floppy disks were affected globally(source). Since floppy disks were the primary method of file sharing at the time, the Brain virus spread fast across the globe.
Its emergence served as a wake-up call for the computer industry, highlighting the need for stronger security measures and leading to the early development of antivirus software. Today, Brain is often cited in cybersecurity discussions as a pioneering example of early experimentation with self-replicating code – more a curiosity than a threat, but historically significant nonetheless.
How It Was Erased
As Brain spread, antivirus solutions began to emerge. One of the first was McAfee VirusScan, which became one of the earliest commercial antivirus tools. It could:
- Detect the infected boot sector
- Restore clean boot sectors
- Scan memory and other disks to prevent reinfection
Users were also encouraged to scan every floppy disk before using it.
For tech-savvy users, manual removal was also possible:
- Boot the system using a clean, write-protected floppy disk (to prevent the virus from loading into memory).
- Use DOS commands like SYS A: to overwrite the infected boot sector.
What happened to the creators
Despite creating the first major PC virus, Basit and Amjad were never prosecuted. Their goal wasn’t to cause damage – Brain was meant as a copy-protection mechanism, not malware.
Their transparency (including their real names and contact info in the virus) showed they weren’t trying to hide. In fact, they later founded Brain Telecommunication Ltd., which became one of Pakistan’s largest ISPs, and is still active today.
They’ve even spoken publicly about Brain in interviews and documentaries, embracing their place in tech history as accidental pioneers of computer viruses.
You can watch Brain’s creators take on the virus here: