The Day the World Stopped:

A little introduction to this virus:

The Melissa virus was one of the first and most notorious cyberattacks that shook the world in 1999. It was a mass-mailing macrovirus that infected Microsoft Word and Outlook systems, spreading through email attachments that promised access to pornographic websites. The virus was created by David L. Smith, who named it after a stripper he admired in Florida. The virus caused millions of dollars in damage and disruption as it overloaded email servers and forced many corporations and government agencies to shut down their networks. The Melissa virus exposed the vulnerability of the Internet and the need for better security measures. It also inspired a wave of copycat attacks that would plague the online world for years to come.

And now, on with the story:

It was a normal day at the office for John, a computer technician at a large corporation. He was busy fixing some minor issues on the network when he received an email from his friend Dave. The subject line read: "Important Message From Dave". John opened the email and saw a message that said: "Hi John, I sent you this document for your review. Please check it and reply to me as soon as possible. Cheers, Dave." John clicked on the attachment and opened it. It was a Word document with some text and images.

John scanned the document quickly and found nothing unusual. He replied to Dave: "Hi Dave, I checked your document and it looks fine to me. What is it for? John." He then closed the document and deleted the email. He thought nothing more of it and resumed his work.

Little did he know that he had just unleashed a deadly virus on his computer. The virus was called Melissa, and it was one of the most destructive viruses ever created. It was designed to infect Word documents and email them to the first 50 contacts in the user's address book. It also inserted a quote from The Simpsons into the infected documents: "Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters. Game's over. I'm outta here."

The virus spread rapidly through the network, infecting hundreds of computers and sending thousands of emails. It soon reached the servers of the corporation and caused them to crash. The entire network was paralyzed and all the data was corrupted. The virus also infected other networks that were connected to the corporation's network, such as suppliers, customers, and partners. The virus caused chaos and panic across the world.

John was unaware of the havoc he had caused until his boss came to his desk and shouted at him: "John, what have you done? You've infected our network with a virus! Do you have any idea how much damage you've caused? You're fired!" John was shocked and confused. He tried to explain that he had only opened an email from his friend Dave, but his boss didn't listen. He grabbed John by the collar and dragged him out of the office.

John was left on the street, bewildered and scared. He didn't know what to do or where to go. He tried to call Dave, but his phone was dead. He realised that Dave had probably sent him the virus on purpose, as a prank or a revenge. He cursed Dave and wished he had never met him.

He walked aimlessly around the city, feeling lost and hopeless. He saw people staring at their phones and computers, looking angry and frustrated. He heard sirens and helicopters in the air. He smelled smoke and fire in the distance. He felt like he was in a nightmare.

He wondered if there was any way to stop the virus or undo the damage. He wondered if anyone would ever forgive him or trust him again. He wondered if he would ever find a job or a friend again.

He wondered if he would ever wake up from this nightmare.