In 1992, a virus scare centered on the Michaelangelo virus. Up to five million computers were estimated to be targets for infection by the virus, according to John McAfee, producer of McAfee’s virus-scan software. Millions of dollars were spent by companies, institutions, and government agencies to prepare for this possible cyber Apocalypse—which turned out to be no more than a minor virus scare. The virus received its name from the day on which it was expected to strike—Michelangelo’s birthday. Because of McAfee’s obvious error in predicting a potential cyber Apocalypse, his IT career ended. However, McAfee left with a nice “golden parachute” from the anti-virus software company he founded.

See Also: Anti-Virus Software; Cyber Apocalypse; Malware; McAfee, John Company; Virus.