Computer Viruses Artificial Life And Evolution

Volume 2.

Volume 2.

Are computer viruses alive? Can computer viruses evolve like life and become more complex on their own? Could that threaten computing as we know it? Could these digital organisms teach us anything about creation and evolution? All of these questions and more are discussed at length in this incredibly thought-provoking book. You will never think computer viruses are nothing more than a menace again.

Are computer viruses alive?Can computer viruses evolve like life andbecome more complex on their own?Could that threaten computing as we know it?Could these digital organisms teach usanything about creation and evolution?All of these questions and more are discussedat length in this incredibly thought-provokingbook. You will never think computer virusesare nothing more than a menace again.

This definitive work on computer viruses discusses the techniques modern viruses use to propagate, evade anti-virus software, cause damage, & compromise system security. Unlike most works on the subject, THE GIANT BLACK BOOK doesn't stop short of giving the reader what he needs to fully understand the subject. It is a technical work which contains complete, fully-functional commented code & explanations of more than 37 computer viruses & 3 anti-virus programs, alone with detailed discussions of stealth technology, polymorphism, evolutionary viruses & good viruses. The book discusses viruses for DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix systems, & more. Also see related listings: Mark Ludwig, COMPUTER VIRUSES, ARTIFICIAL LIFE & EVOLUTION (ISBN 0-929408-07-1), an in depth discussion of whether computer viruses are alive, & the implications of evolutionary reproduction in the world of viruses. Mark Ludwig, THE MILITARY USE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES (ISBN 0-929408-11-X). George Smith, THE VIRUS CREATION LABS (ISBN 0-929408-09-8) a popular inside account of the computer virus subculture. Call American Eagle Publications at (800) 719-4957 for a catalog of books & software related to computer viruses, computer security & cryptography, or write P.O. Box 1507, Show Low, AZ 85901.

This book brings together a series of overview articles that appeared in the first three issues of the groundbreaking journal Artificial Life.

This enthralling book alerts us to nothing less than the existence of new varieties of life. Some of these species can move and eat, see, reproduce, and die. Some behave like birds or ants. One such life form may turn out to be our best weapon in the war against AIDS. What these species have in common is that they exist inside computers, their DNA is digital, and they have come into being not through God's agency but through the efforts of a generation of scientists who seek to create life in silico. But even as it introduces us to these brilliant heretics and unravels the intricacies of their work. Artificial Life examines its subject's dizzying philosophical implications: Is a self-replicating computer program any less alive than a flu virus? Are carbon-and-water-based entities merely part of the continuum of living things? And is it possible that one day "a-life" will look back at human beings and dismiss us as an evolutionary way station -- or, worse still, a dead end?