The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
sig virus
n.
A parasitic meme embedded in a sig block. There was a meme plague or
fad for these on Usenet in late 1991. Most were equivalents of ?I am a .sig
virus. Please reproduce me in your .sig block.?. Of course, the .sig
virus's memetic hook is the giggle value of going along with the gag; this,
however, was a self-limiting phenomenon as more and more people picked up
on the idea. There were creative variants on it; some people stuck ?sig
virus antibody? texts in their sigs, and there was at least one instance of
a sig virus eater.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
sig virus
A parasitic meme embedded in a sig block. There was a
meme plague or fad for these on Usenet in late 1991. Most
were equivalents of "I am a .sig virus. Please reproduce me
in your .sig block.". Of course, the .sig virus's memetic
hook is the giggle value of going along with the gag; this,
however, was a self-limiting phenomenon as more and more
people picked up on the idea. There were creative variants on
it; some people stuck "sig virus antibody" texts in their
sigs, and there was at least one instance of a sig virus
eater.
[Jargon File]