<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the most </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cyber-security" rel="" target="" title="infamous computer viruses of all time"><span>infamous computer viruses of all time</span></a><span> was created and sent out on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-11-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures/7eb20ff7-1c0f-4383-9877-d51096beb7e9" rel="" target="" title="February 11"><span>February 11</span></a><span>, 2001.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/netherlands" rel="" target="" title="Dutch 20-year-old Jan de Wit"><span>Dutch 20-year-old Jan de Wit</span></a><span> created the email virus as a hard-to-resist attachment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The virus was presented as a photo of </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/anna-kournikova-and-enrique-iglesias-welcome-fourth-child/a0cf499a-6a11-4ea0-bfee-9755b1262710" rel="" target="" title="Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova"><span>Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova</span></a><span>, labelled AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/today-in-history-february-8-what-happened-on-this-day/8f3f20f8-a98a-4100-9617-b4b8c1bde5c3"><strong><span>Crowd gasps as Julie Andrews takes revenge in acceptance speech</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The email had the subject title: "Here you have, ;0)".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When users opened what they thought was a photo, it instead infected their computer, then sent out the email to everyone in the victim's inbox.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Aside from embarrassing the user, the virus was entirely benign.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-11-what-happened-on-this-day-anna-kournikova-virus/75282564-a459-47fe-a48a-e789b2b87b98" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the curiosity of recipients to look at a photo of an athlete caused countless company email accounts to get clogged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an anonymous blog post, De Wit defended his actions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I never wanted to harm the people you (sic) opened the attachment," he wrote. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But after all: it's their own fault they got infected with the AnnaKournikova virus."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The virus was enough of a problem for the FBI to turn to another notorious hacker to track down the culprit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>David L Smith was already in custody over creating a similar virus, the so-called Melissa virus, two years earlier.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An estimated one million email accounts were infected by the Melissa virus.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Smith would help the FBI find De Wit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the young Dutchman would surrender to police of his own accord in his hometown of Sneek.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He faced a maximum of four years in prison and potentially tens of thousands in fines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the court was not so harsh, sentencing him to 150 hours of community service.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Within days of the virus being released, he was offered a job by the mayor of Sneek.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Smith wasn't so lucky, being sentenced to 20 months in prison the following year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-6-what-happened-on-this-day-john-wayne-gacy/44c38357-50f6-4e80-a53f-65eb0c116cd1"><strong><span>'Clowns can get away with murder,' serial killer told police</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time of the virus, Kournikova was at the height of her success, making the quarter finals of the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australian-open" rel="" target="" title="Australian Open"><span>Australian Open</span></a><span> just weeks earlier.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She later appeared in a video clip for a song by </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/anna-kournikova-rare-family-photo-expecting-fourth-child/0504a561-e5af-4317-b81b-c4bf1a5cde20" rel="" target="" title="Spanish crooner Enrique Iglesias"><span>Spanish crooner Enrique Iglesias</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The two fell in love and </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/anna-kournikova-rare-family-photo-expecting-fourth-child/0504a561-e5af-4317-b81b-c4bf1a5cde20" rel="" target="" title="have been a couple ever since"><span>have been a couple ever since</span></a><span>. She retired from tennis in 2003.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></a><span> </span><strong><span>and</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=9news.com.au"><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine"><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></a></p></li></ul></div></div>