In 1983, which person was the first to offer a definition of the term ‘computer virus’?

McAfee
Smith
Cohen
Norton

The correct answer is: C. Cohen

Fred Cohen was the first to offer a definition of the term ‘computer virus’ in 1983. He was a computer science graduate student at the University of Southern California at the time. He wrote a paper titled “Computer Viruses: Theory and Experiments” in which he defined a computer virus as “a piece of code that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another.”

McAfee, Smith, and Norton are all well-known names in the field of computer security, but they did not offer the first definition of the term ‘computer virus’. McAfee is the founder of McAfee Associates, a leading provider of computer security software. Smith is the founder of Sophos, another leading provider of computer security software. Norton is the founder of Symantec, a leading provider of computer security software.

In 1983, Cohen wrote a paper titled “Computer Viruses: Theory and Experiments” in which he defined a computer virus as “a piece of code that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another.” Cohen’s definition of a computer virus is still used today.

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