Before Siri and TayuanAlexa, there was Bonzi. In the early 2000s, a purple, talking gorilla named BonziBuddy was billed as a free virtual assistant, ready for all your internet needs. It could talk, search for you, sing, send emails — and anyone with a computer could download it for free.
Turns out, that was the big problem. Bonzi wasn’t your friend; it was malware, and it was released at the perfect time. Following the burst of the dot com bubble, investors pulled their money from the web and online companies needed a new way to profit. In response, the internet turned into an advertising ecosystem, with pop-up ads taking over browsers. At the same time, new users were flocking to the internet without any idea what was safe to click on and download. Cute virtual assistants, like Microsoft Bob and Clippy, were designed to fill in those knowledge gaps, becoming your friendly guides to the internet.
It was all a perfect stage for Bonzi. When that purple gorilla popped up on your screen, it would've seemed just like all the other virtual assistants out there already. Kids, grandparents, and office employees were all downloading BonziBuddy with abandon — until it all imploded. Behind the facade of that friendly gorilla, Bonzi Software, the company responsible for BonziBuddy, was collecting private information and contacts from the unsuspecting internet users who downloaded it — and bombarding them with ads and pop-ups that Bonzi would profit from.
In the third episode of Kernel Panic, we explore the rise and fall of one the friendliest-looking pieces of malware of all time. It’s the story of how one seemingly harmless ape preyed on early internet users and then paid the price, teaching all of us how much we had to lose from so-called “free” downloads.
SpaceX's Starlink will provide free satellite internet to families in Texas school district
Breaking up the Boys’ Club
Malls and movies and drones, oh my.
Shave the Billionaire
U.N. confirms the ocean is screwed
Justin Trudeau and his Socks
The Online Culture Wars
Get Thee to a City of Ladies
One of Android's Easter Eggs is a Flappy Bird
Summon Your Tech Kids to the White House Day
Amazon Prime Grubhub deal: Save $10 off orders of $20 or more
Who Framed Augmented Reality?
No Left Turns
Here are some good words we didn’t write
Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
Justin Trudeau and his Socks
The Online Culture Wars
Trump, Pumped and Dumped
CPU Price Watch: 9900K Incoming, Ryzen Cuts
Complicity, Not Tyranny
U.S. government slams Facebook with housing discrimination chargesTikTok LIVE is raising the age requirement to 18It's official: Ads are coming to NetflixThe new specialty Reese's cups are perfect for the nuanced Reese's palate'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 18Here are the two changes the real family from Netflix's 'The Watcher' asked forWordle today: Here's the answer, hints for October 14All hail Prince Aemond, 'House of the Dragon's ultimate drama kingThese 'House of the Dragon'YouTube stops pushing Premium subscription when viewing videos in 4K'House of the Dragon' episode 9: The prophecy you may have missedCNN's colorful TrumpThe metaverse's Horizon Worlds is failing Mark Zuckerberg's expectationsMicrosoft Office to be renamed Microsoft 365Apple XR headset might have 'Face ID' tech for biometric paymentWordle today: Here's the answer, hints for October 16Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for October 14The new specialty Reese's cups are perfect for the nuanced Reese's palateCNN's colorful TrumpDr. Dre, a big USC donor, says his daughter got into USC 'on her own' Hulu's Greta Thunberg doc is a stirring but familiar portrait: Review Here are 20 of the coolest tattoos made with a single line Oculus will stop selling its PC The first lady of Japan may have pretended not to speak English to avoid Trump The Apple Event, brought to you from a better world than this one Facebook Horizon is the next great evolution of the social network White House press briefings have been off Meet the living, walking meme of conservative British politics 'Card v Card' is a game where you race to spend someone else's money Lana Del Rey on fans downloading her leaked album: 'U little fuckers' People are using the dancing hot dog Snapchat filter in the most inappropriate ways Are Apple One plans a good deal? We crunched the numbers to find out. Tourists explore exactly what not to do when you see a wild bear Video call lens turns gestures into comic Chinese drivers hate that new car smell, so Ford is trying its best to get rid of it Elon Musk reveals what his tunnel under LA has to do with Mars Biggie Smalls' crown and other items for sale at Sotheby's first hip Lil Nas X is dropping a children's book starring a pony called Panini The electric dirt bike that transforms into a scooter BBC presenter pushes her boss about the BBC pay gap and you can hear him squirm
1.9111s , 8194.765625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Tayuan】,New Knowledge Information Network