Holy Inverse Function, Batman!! A virus for MATLAB!

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Apr 24, 20061 min

Math nerds beware: Finnish antivirus experts say they've found a virus that spreads on the MATLAB technical computing software!

Math geeks the world over will no doubt be looking crosswise at suspicious m-file attachments now that Finnish antivirus firm F-Secure has identified the first ever self replicating virus for Matlab, the super sophisticated technical computing software by Mathworks.

According to an entry in F-Secure’s blog, “Bagoly” is a virus written in Matlab, the programming language used by Mathworks products. The virus infects Matlab “m files” by adding its own replication code to the beginning of other m-files it finds on an infected system.

Fear not, this isn’t spreading in the wild (read: “home grown”)and doesn’t do anything more nasty than spread itself around, F-Secure said.

No word yet from Mathworks on this development — but if a computer virus writer could harness the minds of the worlds leading engineers and mathematicians, just imagine the destruction that would be caused!!

(To be continued…)