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virus, to which they are often compared. The use of this term would later prove to be fortuitous to computer security experts; it would also provide an irresistible challenge to rogue computer programmers. But the metaphor was not entirely apt. Though computer viruses, like biological viruses, are spread unknowingly, and they can mutate while spreading, they are not created in the same way. Biological viruses are carried by small, natural organisms, over which man has little control; computer viruses, however, are simply programs - and computer programs are written by people.

Cohen's work quickly attracted attention, not least from a German computer system engineer named Ralf Burger. At the time he was twenty-six and lived in a small town near the Dutch-German border, not far from the city of Bremen. Burger became fascinated by the concept of viruses. In July 1986 he had succeeded in creating his own, complete, 'ready-to-use' computer virus, which he called Virdem. It was, to all intents and purposes, a simple self-replicating program, but one with a twist. For Burger, the 'primary function of the virus is to preserve its ability to reproduce . . .' After being loaded on to a computer, Virdem was programmed to hunt down and infect other files on the machine. When there were no more files to infect, the virus would begin 'a randomly-controlled gradual destruction of all files . . .'

In December 1986, Burger decided to attend the annual convention of the Chaos Computer Club in nearby Hamburg. This club had been founded in 1981 by Herwart Holland-Moritz - who prefers to be known as Wau Holland - and is a registered non-profit-making organization. Holland, who at the time was a thirty-two-year-old computer programmer, set up the club as a hobby; despite the sinister implications of the name, it was chosen only because 'there is a lot of chaos in the application of computers.' According to the club's constitution, it is dedicated to freedom of information.

Since its foundation the club has proved adept at organizing media events. That - and the connotations of its name - have given it a high profile. Like all clubs, Chaos brings together people with a wide range of interests: there are members who see computers as a weapon for sociological change, others who want simply to play computer games, those who want to know how computer systems work, and

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