Truth About Computer Security Hysteria

Q&A: What does 'über' mean when you say 'über-virus'?

It means "super-virus" in a loose German translation. Nietzsche coined the prefix to describe something which overcame all of its intrinsic flaws & weaknesses. An über-virus is the ultimate supervirus; an über-hacker is the ultimate superhacker; an über-threat is the ultimate computer security superthreat; and so on. Our columnists typically use the prefix in a sarcastic context.

Last updated: 2002/1/13