I’ve always wondered how computer viruses are made. If someone creates a virus on their own computer, wouldn’t it infect and potentially destroy their system first before it’s spread to others?
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Security researchers generally use the term Malware these days (malicious software). While the terms Malware and Computer Virus are generally used anonymously a computer virus refers to a specific type of Malware that infects files and self-replicates like a virus. While Malware can be any piece of software that runs on a machine for a nefarious purpose that doesn’t necessarily automatically spread. This is important to understand given your question.
Malware is not uncontrolled malicious code, it is meant to serve a specific purpose. When installed it doesn’t necessarily spread like a disease infecting every file and microchip in your computer like in the movies.
Malware and viruses are just computer programs like any other, they just happen to serve a nefarious purpose. They are written with computer code and often need to be compiled and run before they do anything. Like any other computer program it can sit on your computer and won’t do anything until something or someone runs it.
Hackers will use dedicated test machines and virtual machines to test malware rather than risking their own computers.
And yes sometimes they make mistakes, but running malware on your machine doesn’t automatically mean the machine is ruined. Running a keylogger for example that just records the keys on the keyboard, or stealing passwords from a computer are examples of viruses that won’t cripple a machine.
A cryptolocker virus on the other hand will destroy a machine in short order…
A hacker might also not be using Windows, it might be an Apple OS or Linux machine that they use to write malware for a Windows Computer. Hence that malware won’t even run on their own computer.
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