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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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The Computer Virus Turns 25

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(Newser) – A long time ago (1982), in a galaxy not so far, far away, Rich Skrenta, then a clever 9th grader, invented what may have been the first computer virus—Elk Cloner. It was, by current standards, a benign virus that Skrenta installed on his school computer, so that every time one of his fellow students copied a floppy disk, some doggerel from Skrenta appeared on their screens.

Despite his mischievous nature, or perhaps because of it, Skrenta went on to become a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, founding NewHoo and Topix.net. He recently stepped down as CEO of Topix following the sale of 75% of the venture to three newspaper companies for about $60 million.

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'   (R. Skrenta)
Rich Skrenta is the founder of Topix.com, a Palo Alto, California, company that provides local news for every ZIP code in the country.
Rich Skrenta is the founder of Topix.com, a Palo Alto, California, company that provides local news for every ZIP code in the country.   (KRT Photos)
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