BonziBuddy - The Internet Spyware That Plagued Windows (Demonstration)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
- BonziBuddy (or "Bonzi Buddy") was a piece of internet spyware masquerading as a virtual assistant. It was created by Bonzi Software, a company that was once one of the most visited sites on the web but, through subsequent events, ended up meeting its massive downfall.
Depending on your age, your earliest memories of using a computer probably vary. Some of you might remember using the Apple IIc or watching Flash Animations, but I am sure that, for some of you watching this, your earliest memories are of this little guy (SHOW). It was in 1999 when the internet became home to this new computer program: BonziBuddy. Innocent looking enough, but what you probably didn’t know was that this cute virtual assistant was, at one point, responsible for more than $1 billion in punitive damages, but how?
Just like many pieces of malware and internet spyware, the software attracted many people with its seemingly useful features, with all its malevolent doings hidden within. It was designed to assist users during a time where mass-use and understanding of the internet was quite new, but in reality, the program was collecting user data for advertising purposes as well as contaminating Windows with irritating features and misleading system information. BonziBuddy was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or…purple gorilla clothing. But how was such a strange program able to do all of this? What is the story that gave BonziBuddy the legacy that it has today?
The events of this tale date all the way back to the mid 1990s, particularly during the prominence of Windows 95. Microsoft had gained tremendous success with its new operating system, marketing the product in a way that could appeal to the masses. Computers were no longer part of some niche community or only for businesses. Now, your grandmother could use a computer. When it came to design methodology, Microsoft made the bold move of making their target audience everyone. But now, it was time for them to make using the computer even easier, and they needed to figure out how. The answer was within their ambitious release of Office 97. Their approach with this program was strongly influenced by a research project from Stanford University conducted by Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves, theorizing that people subconsciously treat computers like human beings. Microsoft had to figure out a way to capitalize off this, and that is exactly what they did, with Introducing Office Assistant. Clippy was the answer to all your problems. Whether you have heard about it in retrospect or experienced it yourself, obviously this didn’t work. It seems that Microsoft took this research publication a little too literally. Clippy was universally hated and deemed way too distracting. It took a while for Microsoft to get the hint, and Clippy was ultimately removed from future Office versions in 2003, being mostly ignored during that stretch of time. Microsoft had been working on assistant technology for quite some time before Office 97, with Microsoft Bob for Windows 3.1, and its Microsoft Agent characters such as Peedy the parrot and Genie, sort of prototypes of Clippy.
What does this all have to do with BonziBuddy? Microsoft may have failed with Office Assistant, but other companies thought the idea still had potential and that they could do better. A couple years prior to Windows 95 was the formation of Bonzi software, created by brothers Joe and Jay Bonzi. Bonzi Software’s existence was the perfect concoction of timing and pretty brilliant marketing. They had popped up during a time where people didn’t really understand the internet, or know what direction it was going in. Bonzi Software didn’t really need a whole lot of ingenuity to become somewhat successful. What helped them take off was their voice-email application. Rather than sending text over email, you could send a voice recording of yourself! This might not seem very practical considering that you could just call somebody on the phone using the exact same phone line you use to get online, but it worked! This allowed them to create some other programs that would enhance your internet speed as well as protect your PC from potential security breaches.
In reality, they really didn't do anything other than basic system changes. By the time Clippy was popular, Bonzi Software had released the program all of you have been waiting for: BonziBuddy.
Website: www.nationsquid...
Forums: www.nationsquid...
Patreon: / nationsquid
Merchandise: teespring.com/...
Google +: just kidding.
Discord: / discord
Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.fi...
License: creativecommons...
A special thanks to these patrons:
- Swingadee
- Ciara Atkinson
- Winolotonolo
- Tommy Sharp
- Sl0rg
- Hannah Marsh
ENJOY THE PROGRAM.
Do you like 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀? Do you like listening to people who are obsessed with the Beatles talk about the Beatles? Do you like things Beatles related? Do you like me? Well then, I have 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹! You should 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 here! ua-cam.com/channels/GxwZk3oX6l_LpuDpC_2Yjw.html
Yes, this is the “Beatles” channel. 😎 I may also just upload other things that interest me as well. The format and content is very, 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁. It may not be what you are used to from me and it may be outside your comfort zone, so just a heads up on that. Although, I will also be making 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 in the format that you all are already familiar with. Nonetheless, I hope to see you over there! :)
As always,
NationSquid
Everything is no exept for "do you like me" question
Your cool
Hmmm, ok.
Nice vid by the way!😃
ok
I know this is promoting your second channel, but please do a video on the unsettling phenomenon of SMARTER CHILD on MSN Chat.
@Shanelle Connell this is very interesting. I'll check it out! :)
I love how tracking your information for advertisements used to be considered a virus....
Today you give permissions
69 😂
@@stachuvonokrutny7071 coerced permissions
@@Yuli-xk1lr govs dont care 😂
ua-cam.com/video/LyKbfXE3A4Q/v-deo.html
Imagine being a Bonzi's best friend as a kid and then out of nowhere he just stabbed you in the back
Me 😭😭
.
Bonzi: Thank you for being such a dear friend.
RIP 🥺
R.I.P Clippy
I would feel so betrayed if this cute mascot character ruined my computer
Bro same
It looks innocent for me idk why they saying it dangerous and i dont understand can someone tell me?
edit: i learned it now
Another edit: Tysm to ppl who told me
“Anikin, you were like a brother to me! I trusted you. You were supposed to save the :computer: not leave it in darkness!!!”
@@Мөнхбаяр-ю2х just because it looks safe doesn’t mean it is
Top 10 biggest Anime betrayals
I remember having to tell my grandmother that bonzibuddy was a virus and we had to delete/uninstall it, she didn’t care that it slowed her computer, she liked the purple gorilla.
Gigachad, not like she was afraid of her data being stolen anyway
@@izaaak281lmao
based
TRUE
You: "no!!! You need to delete bonzi buddy it's an evil virus slowing down your computer"
Grandma: "haha, purple gorilla funny"
Bonzi was the OG of stealing data before Facebook and Google became so popular lol
lol
haha.. oh wait hol up 👀
Give permission or forced to? There is a difference giving permission is a option and we can still use the service if we decline but we can’t use the service without giving that permission then we are being forced to give our data to use the service which isn’t right and is technically stealing our data
This was in the days before Windows Vista and those 'annoying' Administrator requirements and such. Back then Admin account only affect things like login and some program installations, but not when the program is already installed.
Wow original comment???????????????
Funny how 30 years ago, A program collecting data was considered malware while today its perfectly fine.
Well, not totally fine
I d say there is still some ppl not being aware of it
Perfectly fine to the uneducated, perhaps.
@@pyrotection .... Shhhhhh mark is listening......
and just like back then, we're giving the data away freely. People confuse me sometimes.
Well at least today there aren't annoying pop ups and it doesn't crash your computer
I refuse to ignore the “Wonkas Willy” word document on his desktop
"There is no earthly way of knowing, where the willy is really going."
wait what-
@Opposinn Dog "and cannalism, my dear children, is in fact frowned upon in most societies"
MOST
@Opposinn Dog "Hello, world!"
@Opposinn Dog "oompa loompa dubooty dum.... I got an knife and its pointed at you"
I love how many adults back then would freak out over Bonzi buddy and were vehemently against it and are the reason it died. Now they’re even older giving away more information away from free to like Facebook daily
Adobe recently updated their teams of service that to use their products, they get access to all of your files, which will be scanned by AI. And nobody bats an eye.
face book is just a bot farm
@@bluedistortionsWHAT,oh boy,every animating channel/flash game is done for
he also would ask you to buy "bananas" for him through the store and if you said no would pout and freeze up your computer. weird stuff. great childhood memories of accidently making bonzi mad.
I really wanna see this lol
@@WishfulLPS yeah lmao
I wanna see that but then again it's dangerous
@@IheartbreadcuzyesxD actually it's not that dangerous compared to the apps we already have now
@@IheartbreadcuzyesxD nothing about it is dangerous lmao, stuff that we all have on our computers by default these days is far worse.
I only had good memories of clippy, realizing that it was actually hated is an odd feeling.
Right?! I loved him so much 😭
Me too. Clippy and the cat assistant. I miss them.
fr i loved clippy he was literally so chill he just wanted to help
I was indifferent to him, kinda useful and cute, kinda annoying and odd
He was on all the library computers. I miss him :(
I remember my Dad, who worked as a computer consultant at the time, was so pissed at 8 year old me for downloading this on the family computer. I tried to convince him Bonzi wouldn't get in the way and wouldn't annoy anyone else other than me, the pop-ups began. I was a dumb little kid who had no idea how the internet worked.
Bonzi made pop ups think about Petey tho
what year was that-?
Then What happened
@@kidfury260 I was very closely monitored on the computer and wasn't allowed to install much of anything. I remember when napster came along and I was only able to use it because my older siblings downloaded it.
I was 14/15 when I downloaded this and convinced my friends to do the same.... I should have known better. But that little purple face!!!! 😅
Mannnn I remember getting beat for putting "viruses" on the computer yet my parents were the ones downloading these things. Jeez. Me going to the barbie website to play games really is what killed the family PC, huh mom? 😂
I didn’t get beat but I sure as shit got blamed for any virus we got. One almost bricked our PC and I got the blame. Turns out it was from some “free theme backgrounds” my mom had downloaded 😂
My mom was convinced that Wizard101 was causing the viruses on her computer. This is the woman who would download anything in an email without question. Parents just assumed it was us kids ruining their tech because they couldn't fathom that it may have been their fault.
some parents are proof that wisdom does not come with age 😭
@@fbidumbbee and some parents prove that sometimes virginity ain't such a bad thing
@@ozwellespencer955on god.
Bonzi: "WeLl HeLlO tHeRe"
Squid: (very politely) "ᴴᵉˡˡᵒ"
ᴴᵉˡˡᵒ
ᴴᵉˡˡᵒ
@@doggo_woo h
hello mario
hello
"Spyware? Collecting my data and selling it? Invading *my* privacy for profit? The 90s must've been a scary time to be an internet user. Well, I should get off of UA-cam. I've got homework to finish in Google Docs, on my chrome browser, on this chromebook that has been generously provided to me by my high school."
@Haoyuan Ma nope
@Haoyuan Ma ok…
Underrated comment lol
Nothing wrong
Was thinking this same thing lmao
In 10 years' time we'll be running the same story, except with Siri, Cortana and Alexa.
wtf is cortana
Windows version of alexa
...and basically every website, program and OS
Alexa, who is Siri?
@@donnelcrunk2122 its Windows's Virtual Assitant avaible in only windows 8 above
The fact this cleverly disguised piece of malware is still entertaining after all these years is a real tribute to the Bonzi bros
"Bonzibuddy why is my computer getting so many viruses!"
Bonzibuddy: *My goal are beyond your understanding*
-reverse flash
goals*
Guys pls laugh
@@clashoclan3371 haha
He has a singular goal that is beyond our collective understanding
1:05 So just like every social media platform and big tech companies. Got it :)
Hi! :0
Wut
Because the corporations own the government unlike china where the state owns the corporations
Yep
Omg
"dad what is technology ?"
" its magic joel, its magic"
"Ever since that day lil joel never be the same"
i scrolled far down to find this
@@BlackMetalBroad congrats!
E x p a n d d o n g
That line is legendary lmao
Haha a funny Sweden guy reference
I was the network admin over two school systems.
Every teacher installed this garbage on their machines and a couple even went so far as to install it on every single lab computer, caught them before they hit every lab.
That was a long, crappy month.
Oh god 💀
As a wise Bonzi once said:
E X P A N D D O N G
ITS TIME TO... EXPANDONGGGGG
Nice to meet you, Expand Dong!
Joelllll
I miss old Nikson
I died when I saw this-
As a kid I would type in incoherent profanity laden monologue and listen to it play back in that cheerful voice. Bonzi has a place in my heart
Brother!
The OG Moonman
XD
@Mark Ulis LMAO
good ol "hello, EXPAND DONG"
Bonzi’s voice is the stuff of nightmares.
I love his voice it’s funny and cute😂
@Jonathan Perez OMG YES
@Adolf hitler yes
Npc
@Jonathan Perez it’s the same text to speech voice
BonziBuddy didn't just use something similar to Microsoft Agent...it literally was just Microsoft Agent. MS Agent back in the days, along with their entire TTS suite, was free and programmable and had their own SDK for MS Visual Studio (and VBA, if you want that office integration) that anyone can download and use. My friends and I used to mess around with it all the time, turning Peedy into a narrator for MUDs and all sorts of weird stuff that teenagers did back then.
The only thing they did was commission their own agent model. That was it (and build the other features like calendar, etc.).
Off topic, but it is nice to see a fellow Spice & Wolf fan out here in the wild!
Wow a narrator for MUDs? :^O
Sounds awesome! Did the text to voice ever improve?
What other sort of stuff did you do?
R.I.P clippy
He was a real homie, he had no friends, so he always talked and helped us
F in chat for our fallen boi
F
F
F
F
tbh its kinda sad how such a cute buddy is a virus, he scares me
What means tbh?
@@Cocomelonander42069 to be honest
@@notasimpanymore9525 thanks
literally... behind those eyes, behind that smile... the things he did (or does?), it's unsettling
I felt betrayed lol
Imagine if Bonzi had custom lines he'd say after you were hacked, including denials and taunts to the user. Those would make amazing creepypasta material.
DON'T GIVE THEM IDEAS
I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave.
"Oh you got hacked? L for being trash to prevent that Loser!!!!!!"
@@inanimatedinsanity or "I'm sorry Bob bonzi always comes back....always "
O
I'm surprised that to this day bonzi buddy was never turned into some kind of ai horror I mean it's the perfect concept, an ai knowing more about you then you yourself and being able to possibly impersonate you is terrifying all with the false mask of "your best friend on the net"
Give it some time and someone will
When I was a kid I was scared of him lmao
I want to build one myself with AI tools. It's the only one I'd trust. I think it'll be possible soon.
Kinitopet is heree
@@guesty6128 YES
Clippy VS Bonzi Buddy would be a more ambitious crossover than endgame
We need clippy vs bonzi now
then people will be rooting for bonzi because he's a monke, smh
Someone call NicePeter and EpicLloyd, we got the next Epic Rap Battle!
I remember in primary school years ago everyone would love clippy. Yknow, as 6 year olds do. It was quite devastating to us when the school finally updated the computer system and clippy was removed
How tragic!! :(
Rip clippy, may be rest in peace.
@@TheKingOfSoup clippy is on rpblox games now
@@TheKingOfSoup so u can still see him
@@TheKingOfSoup in a game
I was a kid in school and my parents had just bought me my first PC, when a classmate told me about this awesome and cool character that lives in your PC and does all sorts of funny things. He told me to look it up and wrote down "bonzi buddy" on a piece of paper. For some reason I couldn't find it/install it and I was so disappointed. It remained in my memory and I remember me and my sister imagining and fantasizing how cool it would be if we had it in our PC. Years went by and today for the first time I read the name "Bonzi Buddy" again. Now I'm so glad I didn't manage to install it back then 😂
@Justin Martinez Wdym? You want his computer to crash?
@Justin Martinez Oof-same dude TnT
one time i joined a sorta roleplay thing (ace attorney online) as bonzi, that was pretty funny
@@tamozsenpai7896 Blox attorney
My dad had this on his pc when i was a kid he would type in things and bonzi would repeat it and it scared tf outta me thank god we and had nothing of value on the computer 😂
They never really let go of the PC personification bit completely. After switching away from Windows for almost a decade, I found phrasing in Win10 like "We're setting things up for you", "Let's get you connected to the internet" &c. very weird when I gave Microsoft another try.
Also, you had Cortana talk to you then as well. Win 11 still does that Minus Cortana's voice.
I was actually very confused when I saw it for the first time. "You're just a program, why the heck are you talking like... HELLO, YOU SAY?! Okay, what MS-idiot came up with this??"
"We're setting up new features for you. Don't worry, your files are right where we left them."
Whoever "we" are, they better not touch MY computer. Hey, wait, is that why they changed "My Computer" to "This PC"?
@@bitwizeprolly because school //business pcs are much more common now compared to back then.
Kind of makes more sense too.
i remember a kid in my old school who was allowed to use the teacher's laptop and he downloaded bonzi buddy on there. wonder how the laptop is doing lmao
god damn
R.i.p teacher's computer
real hero
I bet the teacher was pissed after finding out that someone installed bonzi buddy on the computer
Probably about as good as my laptop is :((( wish I had knows
I love how BonziBuddy could tell fun facts like 20 years ago. Siri nowadays can't even do that.
“That may be beyond my abilities at the moment.”
depends on what you're expecting. BonziBuddy most likely had a list programmed into in and reciting that, often being uninteresting to you. Or a remote connection to a list.
We'd expect Siri to intelligently search the web for facts based on your personal interests.
He used to sing to us too! What a treat.
Yup confirmed
Any of you here ever heard of AI language models like Bing and ChatGPT?
I remember seeing Bonzibuddy everywhere back then, I was at college at the time and you'd even find it installed on the computers there. The sad thing is, Bonzi actually had a very popular piece of software on their hands and if they'd treated their users with a bit more respect and not taken advantage of people, they could could have built it into a legit money spinner.
How would they have monetized it back then?
@@deleqtronica8733 same way lots of things monetized back then. Sell a default toolbar installer, sell the default search features website, & adspace in the games or their website. Kinda doubt it was expensive to operate considering they had other products as well.
Had they kept going until now without the malware aspects this product would be ideal for AI integration similar to replika or whatever that’s called.
@@deleqtronica8733it’s not even about back then, it’d still be an AI personality now. They could have been even 50% less greedy and still be around today. Bonzi was the first Siri.. Siri is now the go to name. Or Alexa. Big L
@@Delicioushashbrowns a lot of things weren’t monetized back then, the internet was a completely different market back then. Even giants like AOL and MSN weren’t able to find a way to monetize their product and ultimately failed.
@@deleqtronica8733I think they mentioned briefly that while the base program was free, you could pay for expanded features, so maybe that?
This guy put in the effort to customizing the captions. Whoever does that automatically earns my respect.
Literally every single website : *cookies*
Grandmas : are you challenging me
Underrated comment lol
Waiting for someone to get whoooshed....
Cringe
@@ibeatmywifeandkids9084 /r whooshhh
why is this hilarious
Clippy was hated??
I only experienced clippy during my elementary school years but I loved it :^)
I know, I loved clippy. :'(
I mean, just change him to be less annoying. Don't just kill the entire thing.
Clippy was worse than Stalin.
Wanna have your memories ruined? His name is actually clippit.
People are too negative and critical. Surprise surprise.
I guess you could call that a “bonzi scheme”
Why am I laughing so fucking hard
LMAO
LMFAO
Omg that's a good one lol
sorry to be the odd one out but i dont get it.. can someone explain?
kind of ironic how bonzi is considered a malware for being a spyware and most of todays software which is worse, is not considered malware
It would be nice if they came back now lmao
is bonzi actually malware tho
I’ve fallen down the “damaging virus in the 2000s” rabbit hole 😓 Anyway, love your videos!
Thank you!! I plan to make more content for your rabbit hole soon! :)
@@nationsquid Please do, this shit good.
@@plebisMaximus Thank you!! I have another computer virus video in the works, and also one on the history of Windows Vista! Have no idea which one will be out first, but stay tuned for that! Thank you for your support! :)
So uhmm im still here how did you get out?
MORE MORE THIS SHIT IS GOOD 😂
The program was collecting user data for advertisement purposes.
Why does that sound familiar...
Yes, something unfortunately quite commonplace nowadays.
Sounds like Google, Facebook and bunch of other sites bonzi was the OG of stealing data lol
The diference is... they don't steal nowdays, they collect with user consent ... Bonzy did steal =P
At least they ask permission.
@@Superficial_Intelligence yeah they do that in their 100 page terms of service that no one reads tho
"IM REALLY FUCKING TRYING GREGORY BUT WILLIAM AFTON INSTALLED BONZI BUDDY ONTO MY HARD DRIVE"
Poor Gregory LOL
"terrible job supershit"
@@Sleepy-Pile-of-Ashe I'm not into FNAF but this is pure gold
@@Sleepy-Pile-of-Ashe 🤣🤣
@@Sleepy-Pile-of-Ashe XD this is the funniest thing I've seen all day
1999: bonzibuddy
2024: KinitoPet
FR! EVEN SOUNDS LIKE KINITO!
@@FROGGYCAROLi think kinito was meant to represent bonzi but in a more terrifying way 💀😭
@@pansy4687 yeah
I'm so much better than him. Trust!
mall-ware
*yes*
*fuuny*
*tanks*
"Malware, it's bad... who knew?!"
huh
ILOVEYOU virus: *acts like a legit virus
Bonzi: ...
Ah, yes. the notorious "ILOVEYOU" virus
He's too extra, at least I try to be nice while I fuck up your PC ..
@@bonzibuddy1469 you’re still my bonzi buddy no matter how much you screw with my pc
@@somethingaboutsomething69420 awwee thanks
@@bonzibuddy1469 yw
All spyware aside, I would love if someone recreated it (without the bad stuff though)!!
there already is a clean version has been for years
@@casewhite5048 +if you got the original it wouldnt work since well the bonzi servers are dead
Game on, excepting the last part
@@casewhite5048 I mean personally I'd want a rebuilt modernized version. Newer text to speech, a new high res 3d model, etc.
Bonzi hd
What's funny is that a lot of spyware features bonzibuddy incorporates are prevalent in most tech companies nowadays
Fun fact: there exists actual licensed Bonzi Buddy plushies. They were made back when Bonzi Software was still in operation. And as such, not many were made, and they are now really rare and valuable.
honestly wondering, because I had a purple monkey/gorilla toy as a kid that looked just like this guy but was made of rubber. I can't find anything like him anywhere and I wonder if he was related somehow
The only one for sale right now is about $500
@@lowccperformance4059 it was sold
Lmaaooo no way, I remember everyone downloaded this guy to the school computers back in elementary/middle school, and the teachers all thought it was fine. We eventually had so many issues with the computers, we had to always work in groups due to the limited number of functioning pc's. Now it all makes sense 😂
😂😂😂😂bruh
Hahaha
Bonzi said no school
Lmao
Bonzi was just trying to get you some free time in school
one day i'm going to make a computer virus that plays rick astley never gonna give you up when you start the computer
yes
RickRoller
*Dialing the FBI*
And i will buy that and what will I never do
Never gunna turn it off
Wholesome 100 reddit moment
I used to use Bonzi Buddy.
Putting characters like a tilde in front of letters made him enunciate words/phrases strangely. It was hilarious.
You can do something similar with AI voices today. The Minecraft text to speech made the "cobblestone song" which is it repeating "cobblestone, "
His demonic voice is all I need to hear to determine that he has malicious intentions
His voice is cute and funnu
Just sounds like a Tomodachi Life Mii to me.
I think the scratchiness is just caused by this recording software. I’ve heard him without a demon voice.
@@fakeoverheaven4468 funnu
@@Kyoobur9000 actually, it seems to be a bug from the virtualization software used in the video
So if clippy is that old... does that mean the math worksheets I get at school are as old as him? 😨 He's always in the bottom corners giving me hints
Yo that's actually fucking weird to think about
your teacher might just add him to the corner as a cute hint bubble!
Lmao yep cause I remember seeing clippy on my school worksheets and I'm 27 now and have been out of school for 10 years now
hmm
When I was in school I had worksheets that had been clearly made before I was born. In social studies the teacher once gave us worksheets that described the Soviet Union as though it still existed. That was around 2004.
It's interesting, that in my language we have a word: "Bonzovat", that means Spy so Bonzi Buddy is in my language is Spy Buddy.
Oof
What Language is that
@@potato7540 czech
Its like they werent even trying to hide it, if the internet was the way it was now im sure so many czech people would have been warned us about the creepy name it has, least its dead though.
Funny how open they were about it, but they still hid it well enough to do what they did
True geniuses
0:03 'Wonka's Willy' 💀💀
It's actually kinda sad that this is a virus. I would like a little buddy that can talk and has many useful features.
On my way to make this thing but without the virus oart
@@Asim_mangi yes please
@@Asim_mangi let us know when its done
As someone whose friend had this thing on his computer back in the day, it was more annoying than helpful, just like Clippy.
@@FuckGoogle502 oh, sad.
90'S: need to download an trojan so they could get your data.
now: every device you own collects your data.
True af
I remember when this was all the rage. Me and all of my friends had Bonzi Buddy, we thought it was the coolest thing ever…I loved how whenever I got on my computer this friendly little cartoon swung onto my screen and started talking to me while I did my homework. I couldn’t understand why my parents wanted to ruin every last bit of fun lmao…makes sense now…although the info bonzi gathered is peanuts compared to Facebook
DO NOT READ MY USERNAME (ik You Did)!!**
@@RealCactusChannel you ain’t gonna do it
I didn’t have friends but i heard about it when i was 8 and deliberately tried to download this just to have it
Bonzi Buddy walked so Temu could run
😭Yess
12:27 If you see closely in top left corner when he opens bonzy buddy, you can actually see an really small window open, that's the windows that get your info.
Wow,what cheeky fucks
Might just be the type of way it displays on the screen and stuff.
@@doggo_woo They can't make stuff on the bakcground because it would alarm any antivirus that could be dowloaded on the victim's computer.
Holy cow your right! It’s so small
aaaaa i cant see it its so small;-;
hElLo, We DiDiN’t InTrOdUcE oUrSeLvEs PrOpErLy. I’m BoNzI
my dad was so pissed at me in 2002 or so when he had to spend a hour or 2 figuring out how to get rid of bonzi buddy from our family computer
LOL feel bad for your dad tho
mine is sick rn soooo
@@sushi7910 hope he gets better gamer
A year later and I still love the narration of these videos. Wonderful series!
I must admit, as a kid, I fell into this trap, but immediately understood something was wrong when the first error popped up, as my father said this when he bought me a PC: "you want it? Ok, but you'll have to take care of it and fix it on your own, no asking help from anybody", making me aware that the error was fake, not aware it installed a trojan though, but anyways I just formatted my PC and that was the end of bonzi for me.
one of the smartest kids in the comment section lmao
Well at least you saved yourself from bonzi
@@sadnnt lol thanks, although that was pretty much the extent of my abilities there XD
@@thesilentmarauder3758 True, but to this day, I still like the idea of such multi function assistant, aside for the negative effects of course XD
@@Warbandit100 It’s a great concept, which is why bonzi took advantage of it to create the bonzibuddy program
I liked clippy! He was cute, especially when he folded himself up as a diskette to save your files!
He reminded me of a veggie tale character or some character from random show on disney xd at like 3:am
Sad he was removed😭
@Littleguy123 Thanks for talking to me!
I dont have windows 95
I liked him to I hope he returns some day in some way
I remember around that time it was really hard to keep a pc clean. All sort of browser add-ons would self install, then slow your computer to a crawl, download other crap and generally make life hell. If you searched the internet for anti-virus software, for every genuine product there were ten more that were just malware designed to screw your machine up further. Even the genuine products tended to slow your machine down so much they felt like malware. In the end the only safe way to live was to start with a clean machine and only install/download from companies your really, really trusted. Except now we know that even they would sell your grandmother if they could see a profit.
was born in the early 2000s so I didn't get a chance to really understand the operating systems past windows 7 as I was too young, but I really agree with the last line. lol
Oh but even then I still remember the weird toolbars and programs I accidentally installed on windows XP and windows 7 because of my naivety, making the machines really slow.
In those days, the genuine product had to share scarce CPU power with whatever else you where doing at the time. These days CPUs have gotten to the point where you can basically run 10 of the old systems and still have the power left to go about life.
Imagine having a time machine and just going to ALL these historical malware sites and just archiving as much as possible of it. Then releasing the information today...
I think kitboga did something like installing all the okd viruses he could find
Bonzi Buddy gives me such ominous vibes, I don't know why, but I feel like they want to hurt me, somehow.
I mean- they technically do-
@@x3vb003 Gacha furries don’t need to talk.
@@dontreadmydescription4473 how mature 😐
@@dontreadmydescription4473 oh look, it’s that person who thinks their ‘cool’ by insulting people just doing what they love. Your more cringe!
@@twerq oh no, a low iq spammer is here
I love the way Bonzi speaks in a broken Speakonia voice because of not being supported by that operation system.
bonzi was voiced by the legend, dr steven hawkings.
@@YeetTheDuck hol up-
imagine if someone left bonzi's servers still running and it's still collecting info lol
I'd dowload it today lol
@@jesshunter634 happy virus day then
@@hazzesanimations8212 It doesn't work anymore and now cant give viruses or steal info.
5:26 "it looks like you are trying to orchestrate your plans for world domination. would you like help?" 💀💀💀
Peedy the parrot is a deep, unearthed memory from old Windows. I really loved that parrot.
I remember using Peedy and loving it but when it changed to the gorilla, I abandoned it!
5:27
Clippy: “It looks like you are trying to orchestrate your plans for world domination. Would you like some help?”
PFFC HAAHAA
I died
@mlg noob and rover is hisdog
LMAO I DIDNT NOTICE THAT UNDERRATED COMMENT XD
LMAOOO
Somebpdy probably owns the old bonzi DNS or IPs. You could theoretically use that to hijack bonzibuddy again if you wanted to for some reason.
Interesting. I never thought of that. Let's hope that doesn't happen!
Now I want to find it
Or they could make the good features work without any of the crap. They could resurrect and clean it. I never heard of this program and would have proably never been interested in it to begin with. Classic MacOS and I think Windows XP somewhere in the control panel have text to speech...
I remember on our mac changing to the organ voice and making it say the F word, it sounded funny LOL
@@MPG187 same lol
Wow, this unlocked a memory. My grandfather had this on his computer. I remember visiting him and him showing me the “purple gorilla” on his computer 😂😂
Bonzibuddy: "What did the digital clock say to the grandfather clock? Look Pa, no hands 🙂"
Brian: "Beautiful. That is totally my kind of stupid humor. 😃"
THAT MADE ME LAUGH FOR SOME REASON 💀
xd xd xd xd
Same here, and my name is also Bryan
Not to mention, it trashed your Internet Connection settings on the way out when you uninstalled, making it harder to effect repairs. Some "programmers" need to have their fingers broken to stop this kinda crap.
lets make a protest to break all "virus programmers" fingers, forever
@@crawlspacedweller Hear hear! Happy New Year!
break toes also😂(becuese they will program from toes when fingers would be broken)
@@ShinZprime yes break them
Must've been pretty late in its life that it started doing that, because I never had those issues. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I'm pretty sure it often enough tried to change your home page, though I don't remember it doing that either despite having the idea that it happens.
And then Microsoft makes Cortana.
Joel: Oh great. They made a f#&king diet coke Bonzi Buddy.
To be fair, I don't know anyone who uses cortana.
Cortana can't even set alarms.
@@arizonagreenbee
My teacher does
@@Systematic_Problematic How old is your teacher? Many older peopld use assistants more often than younger.
@@arizonagreenbee Honestly idk because it was my old teacher
Man, 8:40 . It's crazy to think like less than 25% of the screen actually being the website you're trying to browse was considered acceptable UI back in the day.
Because mobile websites are so well-designed these days and definitely don't do the same thing... besides those are just a bunch of useless toolbars that the user installed themselves
I never knew BonziBuddy existed until I found Vinesauce. For me the big thing was Cursor Mania.
Same till this video
What is Cursor Mania
@@alafonz A browser toolbar from around the Windows 98 era that provided you with a bunch of cursors.
@Weekblues
THE POPE
*e x p a n d d o n g*
In middle school, circa 1999, we all installed BonziBuddy on the school computers because it had a text-to-speech function. We spent SO MUCH TIME writing comedic genius like "Jim is a penis," and "Mrs. Dabney has big boobs." It's all we used it for and it was on EVERY PC in the school.
Middle schoolers now do the same thing, but on Google Translate using the speaker button lol
Should have made him say “natural selection”
MY ROFLCOPTER GOES SOISOISOISOISOISOISOI
Oh my God does Bonzi not sound like those cheap FNAF animations LOL
well, that's where those cheap fnaf "bonzi bonnie" animations came from. Bonzi Buddy.
He really do Lmao
he does
Those animations are the BEST, my bloody childhood!
no dave voice? (im an fnf dnb fan and im stupid too so i was kinda offended why-)
Ohh so thats what Kinito pet was inspired from :0
I miss the days when an entity harvesting as much data about us as physically possible while providing a sub-par service and selling said information for profit was considered "spyware"
Yeah, it was around the times that when you were buying a product it didn't require internet to function and lasted for years. And games didn't need day one patches several times bigger than the entire game because they just worked and didn't have half of the content cut out to be sold separately.
I dunno how we could live in those times, it was crazy!
RIP Clippy, you will forever live on in our memories! Sure, most of them are terrible, but you will live on in them nonetheless...
Seeing KinitoPET gameplay brought me back to this subject.
I love how some people say "luckily these things don't exist no more" as they mindlessly scroll down the feed on Facebook.
with smartphones you don't even need to scroll anything. or use it at all. just carry it around. it builds a profile of your life that any kidnapper would kill to have.
Do you remember 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮, and just how slow and buggy it was? Well, there was a reason for that! Check out 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼, which talks about why Windows Vista 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 for Microsoft!
ua-cam.com/video/tR847eIONnc/v-deo.html
Discord Server! discord.gg/k9mpFXsR
.
I don't have discord
:(
I’m commenting before this blows up
Cool video! Keep up the good work
I've never seen this channel before, but your voice is unexpectedly soothing to listen to. I could probably use your videos as a sleep aid or something.
Thank you so much! I am making more content soon! :)
Same lmao
Agreed! It's 3am, my cat just puked everywhere and I wanted something to get me back to bed. The voice is great, but you got me going at everyone hated Clippy. WHAAATTT?!? Not I sir. I loved that little bastard lol was always trying to see what I could get out of him.
0:24 HE SOUNDS LIKE KINITOPET AKANSJDKDKDNS
Yeah this was what it was based off of
2:36 the only time i’ve seen clippy before was in a meme a calling me a slur 👍🗿
First time i saw clippy was when someone spammed me with it saying the n word cus i said im brown and cant say it cus im technically still white 💀
the only time i seen clippy before was in literally roblox asking me to give feedback
The only time *ive* seen clippy before is when I played a roblox game
But it was for gamepasses
@@ratooooll was it called dyna blocks back than?
@@ratooooll hmmm i swear
My school didn’t upgrade their computer software or something cause I remember being in computer class and using clippy in 2005. I actually loved clippy, he was fun
*People in the 20-teens:* "Haha, who would ever fall for privacy invading Bonzi buddy?" *Also those same people:* "I sure do love my amazon Alexa!"
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
50 thousand men dead in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin watched
@@joecoffaro8280 Alexa did Hiroshima?
I was adding to his the more things change the more they stay the same quote
...girl put yo record on?
The more they get worse.
After watching this, I now fully realize how much KinitoPET was inspired by Bonzibuddy, the voice, the character being purple, being forced to put in personal information, amd the company behind the thing being started by 2 brothers with the thing's name as their last name.
Kinito is almost a 1 to 1 of Bonzi, which would probably make the game even scarier for people who actually used Bonzi.
" Ok, here I go! "
" Dai zee, dai zee.. give me your an sre true. I'm half cray zee.. "
- Friendly virus, Bonzi buddy..
Oh god i just watched that vid
@@celyn3846 same
"That was actually really good! Or is my bar for comedy just really low"
It's the latter
Go figure! 😆
*latter. Don't like to complain but that took me a few minutes to figure out
@@kkmac7247 are... are you stupid?
@@Ten_Thousand_Locusts they just didn't get the joke chill
@@kkmac7247 r/woooosh
I installed it on my brother's comp, thinking I was being nice to him. Luckily, my dad's a software engineer and was able to fix my mistake.
The fact that it caused this much trouble terrifies me even if I wasn’t there at the time.