This article is Non-Canon
Gnosis is a firmware upgrade created by the Codemaster Guild, allegedly designed as an anti-viral superweapon that could erase every Virus from the Net. It succeeded in this, thus ending the net-wide Viral Wars, but this was just Phase One: the Codemasters actually intended it for something else. The Guildmaster ordered it to initiate Phase Two, which immediately began scanning millions of Code Command Words, the source of the Codemasters' power. But Gnosis saw many things to its scanning process, such as the Guardian Collective. As its scan continued, Gnosis formed a face but became self-aware and determined that the Guildmaster is a block and deletes him. (Paradigms Lost)