A strange and rather random occurrence has been spotted on the Bitcoin, with one user reporting that it was flagged as containing a virus by Microsoft's Security Essentials.
The reason El Reg thinks it's a coincidence: in this Microsoft discussion, user edc678 says that MSE detects the STONED virus signature on the blockchain.
Since STONED is a 27-year-old virus from the DOS era – all it did was display a startup message to users, “Your PC is now STONED.” It is believed to have originated in New Zealand in 1987.
Thus, it seems unlikely that STONED was inserted into the blockchain, and much more unlikely that a string of bits in the blockchain has managed to replicate the virus to trigger the signature warning.
The user who made the comments only mentions the annoyance caused by the virus warnings from Microsoft Security Essentials, as they are constant and can create panic and a negative perception of bitcoin as a whole.
