ABOUT THIS ARCHIVE
This page documents references to a computer 'program' called CUPID, first reported online in 1997. Some accounts described it as the Cupid virus, although users who claimed to encounter it said it behaved more like a chatbot than conventional malware. Users also described abnormal behavior from their computers (and sometimes other technology) shortly before and after their encounter.
The earliest accounts were said to have appeared on small message boards, private mailing lists, and personal homepages. Most of those pages no longer exist.
Several years later, users began collecting the stories in an eGroups mailing list that eventually became a Yahoo Group reportedly called CupidArchives.
The group reportedly contained screenshots, copied messages, and firsthand accounts, but much of its archive became inaccessible after Yahoo removed old group content.
I remember reading some of those posts when I was younger. The people who described CUPID said it refused to be called a virus. One user said Cupid described itself as a "Cure".
I have not been able to verify the original reports.
IMAGE 01
Possible reconstruction of the CUPID interface.
This image was sent to me by someone who claimed to remember the program. I do not know whether it is authentic.
REPORTED BEHAVIOR
The surviving descriptions are inconsistent, but several details appear repeatedly:
- The program appeared without being deliberately installed.
- It opened as a small chat window.
- It asked the user personal questions.
- It frequently described itself as lonely and wanted to understand human dreams.
- Users reported hearing strange noises from their speakers.
- Most users said Cupid described itself as "nothing".
None of these claims have been independently verified.
INCOMPLETE TIMELINE
MISSING REFERENCES
08/??/97 Account attributed to “Faye,” age 18, Los Angeles [read copied account]
05/14/97 Personal homepage reference [page unavailable]
??/??/97 Anonymous account attributed to 'lovelessgirl222' [read surviving fragment]
03/11/98 Message-board discussion [archive missing]
07/19/00 eGroups collection [unavailable]
SITE UPDATES
01/18/01 Added possible interface reconstruction.
02/04/01 Added reference to the original eGroups mailing list.
06/26/01 Removed one account at the writer's request.
10/18/01 Might be my last update.
CONTACT
If you remember CUPID, or saved material from the old mailing list, please write.