Posted on 04-07-2025 | Category: General | Views: 22
Antivirus software has been essential since the earliest personal computers. As viruses evolved from floppy-disk infections to internet-based threats, antivirus programs followed suit—from simple command-line tools to AI-powered suites.
This article traces the evolution of antivirus software, including an important Indian contribution to early virus protection: the IAVT Antivirus for DOS, developed by Nitin Chandra.
| Antivirus Name | First Released | Developer / Company | Platform | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VirusScan | 1987 | McAfee Associates (USA) | DOS | First commercial antivirus |
| Norton Antivirus | 1991 | Peter Norton / Symantec | DOS/Windows | GUI added later for Windows |
| F-PROT | 1989 | FRISK Software (Iceland) | DOS | Popular command-line scanner |
| IAVT (Indian Antivirus Toolkit) | 1994 | Nitin Chandra (India) | DOS | Powerful DOS-based antivirus, deep scan engine, India’s early standalone virus cleaner |
| AVAST | 1988 | ALWIL Software (Czech Republic) | DOS | Free version became popular in later Windows versions |
| ESET NOD32 (early version) | 1992 | ESET (Slovakia) | DOS | Efficient, low-memory scanner |
Full Name: IAVT – Indian Antivirus Toolkit
Developer: Nitin Chandra (India)
Platform: DOS (Disk Operating System)
Year Released: 1994 (initial)
Interface: Text-based command-line interface (CUI)
Key Features:
Root-level scan of boot sectors, memory, and executables
Manual virus signature updates
Detection of common Indian virus strains of the 90s
Portable (fit on a floppy disk)
Could run in minimal memory systems
Usage:
Widely used by early computer institutes, engineers, and hardware repair technicians across India
Especially effective during the floppy virus era (e.g., CIH, Brain, Cascade)
Legacy:
One of the first India-developed antivirus tools
Laid foundation for local virus detection in offline environments
Inspired many early ethical hackers and tech educators in India
Boot Sector Viruses – Infect the boot record (e.g., Michelangelo)
File Infectors – Attach to .COM and .EXE files
Memory-Resident Viruses – Stay in RAM and infect as programs are opened
Logic Bombs – Triggered by a specific date/event (e.g., time bombs)
Polymorphic Viruses – Change code patterns to avoid detection
Multipartite Viruses – Infect both boot and files simultaneously
Low resource usage
Portable via floppy disks
No need for graphical OS
Manual control for advanced users
Useful even when Windows is corrupted or fails to boot