The
Michelangelo virus is a
computer virus first discovered on 4 February 1991 in
Australia. The virus was designed to infect
DOS systems, but did not engage the operating system or make any OS calls. Michelangelo, like all
boot sector viruses, basically operated at the
BIOS level. Each year, the virus remained dormant until March 6, the birthday of
Renaissance artist
Michelangelo. There is no reference to the artist in the virus, but due to the name and date of activation it is very likely that the virus writer intended Michelangelo to be referenced to the virus. Michelangelo is a variant of the already endemic
Stoned virus.