America Online (AOL) and Time Warner announce the largest corporate merger in U.S. history, a transaction valued at $183 billion on the day it is made public. The takeover marks the first time a new corporate giant created by the Internet boom uses the “new economy” value of its stock to acquire an older Fortune 500 company. The new AOL Time Warner becomes the fourth-largest company in the United States and is valued at $342 billion.
Category Archives: 2001
The Nimda Worm
The CERT/CC received reports of new malicious code known as the “W32/Nimda worm” or the “Concept Virus (CV) v.5.” in September, 2001. This new worm appeared to spread by multiple mechanisms.
It modifies web documents (e.g., .htm, .html, and .asp files) and certain executable files found on the systems it infects, and creates numerous copies of itself under various file names.
View the original CERT advisory
The Code Red Worm
Code Red is a worm that gained notoriety when it appeared in July, 2001. It quickly spread among vulnerable IIS servers around the world. It is self-replicating malicious code that exploited a known vulnerability.
View the original CERT advisory.
Windows XP
An operating system introduced in 2001 from Microsoft’s Windows family of operating systems. Microsoft called the release its most important product since Windows 95. Along with a redesigned look and feel to the user interface, the new operating system is built on the Windows 2000 kernel, giving the user a more stable and reliable environment than previous versions. Windows XP comes in two versions, Home and Professional. The company has focused on mobility for both editions, including plug and play features for connecting to wireless networks. The operating system also utilizes the 802.11x wireless security standard. The “XP” in Windows XP stands for “eXPerience.”