More​ ​Than​ ​Digital​ ​Dirt: Preserving​ ​Malware​ ​in​ ​Archives,​ ​Museums,​ ​and​ ​Libraries
More​ ​Than​ ​Digital​ ​Dirt: Preserving​ ​Malware​ ​in​ ​Archives,​ ​Museums,​ ​and​ ​Libraries by Jonathan​ ​Farbowitz, A​ ​thesis​ ​submitted​ ​in​ ​partial​ ​fulfillment of​ ​the​ ​requirements​ ​for​ ​the​ ​degree​ ​of Master​ ​of​ ​Arts Moving​ ​Image​ ​Archiving​ ​and​ ​Preservation​ ​Program, Department​ ​of​ ​Cinema​ ​Studies, New​ ​York​ ​University, May​ ​2016.
"I want to talk about the problem of ensuring that this new medium will have a history, one that future scholars can write about critically." - Henry Lowood, "Shall We Play a Game"​​This​ ​project​ ​discusses​ ​a​ ​multitude​ ​of​ ​concerns​ ​and​ ​challenges​ ​in​ ​the​ ​collection, preservation,​ ​and​ ​exhibition​ ​of​ ​malware​ ​and​ ​malware-infected​ ​digital​ ​artefacts​ ​for​ ​historical​ ​and cultural​ ​study.​ ​Malware​ ​is​ ​much​ ​more​ ​than​ ​a​ ​curiosity​ ​or​ ​an​ ​annoyance​ ​to​ ​be​ ​dispensed​ ​with​ ​and this​ ​thesis​ ​will​ ​reveal​ ​many​ ​of​ ​the​ ​narratives​ ​that​ ​malware​ ​presents​ ​in​ ​the​ ​history​ ​of​ ​computing and​ ​the​ ​internet.
Despite​ ​(or​ ​perhaps​ ​because​ ​of)​ ​its​ ​ubiquity​ ​online​ ​and​ ​on​ ​individual​ ​computers,​ ​malware has​ ​been​ ​largely​ ​ignored​ ​as​ ​a​ ​potential​ ​collection​ ​item​ ​within​ ​libraries,​ ​archives,​ ​and​ ​museums.
Critically,​ ​this​ ​thesis​ ​seeks​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​a​ ​more​ ​nuanced​ ​discussion​ ​about​ ​how​ ​cultural​ ​heritage institutions​ ​should​ ​regard​ ​malware.​ ​These​ ​ institutions​ ​must​ ​understand​ ​how​ ​malware​ ​infections affect​ ​their​ ​workflows​ ​for​ ​processing​ ​born-digital​ ​artefacts​ ​like​ ​hard​ ​drives​ ​and​ ​floppy​ ​disks.​ ​In addition,​ ​some​ ​cultural​ ​heritage​ ​institutions​ ​ought​ ​to​ ​view​ ​malware​ ​as​ ​a​ ​potential​ ​collection​ ​item. While​ ​Henry​ ​Lowood’s​ ​statement​ ​above​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​preservation​ ​of​ ​video​ ​games,​ ​along​ ​similarlines,​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​the​ ​medium​ ​of​ ​malware​ ​“will​ ​have​ ​a​ ​history.”