| Virus Creation Laboratory | |
| Developer: | Nowhere Man |
| Operating System: | MS-DOS |
| Latest Release Version: | 1.0 |
| Latest Release Date: | July 5, 1992 |
| Genre: | Virus creation |
| License: | Freeware |
The Virus Creation Laboratory (VCL) was one of the earliest attempts to provide a virus creation tool so that individuals with little to no programming expertise could mass-create computer viruses.[1] VCL required a password for access, which was widely published alongside VCL. The password was "Chiba City",[2] a likely reference to the William Gibson novel Neuromancer.
A hacker dubbed "Nowhere Man", of the NuKE hacker group, released the software in July 1992.[3] [4]
However, it was later discovered that viruses created with the Virus Creation Laboratory were often ineffective, as many anti-virus programs of the day caught them easily. Also, many viruses created by the program did not work at all - and often, their source codes could not be compiled, thus rendering the virus program created unusable.[5] Despite its limitations, several viruses created with the program became widespread.[6]
. https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=366890&seqNum=7 . Advanced Code Evolution Techniques and Computer Virus Generator Kits . 25 March 2005 . The Art of Computer Virus Research and Defense . Péter Szőr . Addison-Wesley Professional . 978-0-321-30454-4.