In the early 2000s, a purple, talking gorilla named BonziBuddy was billed as a free virtual assistant, ready for all your internet needs. But Bonzi wasn’t your friend; it was malware.
Storyboard
How a Purple Gorilla Made Us Regulate the Internet
Kernel Panic takes a deep dive into the hidden history of computers to reveal the dark, from the very first computer worm to the most dangerous malware the world has ever seen. In the third episode, we explore the rise and fall of BondiBuddy, 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.
BonziBuddy Explained
Previously, On 'Kernel Panic'
We take viewers back to the moment everything changed: 1988, when groundbreaking malware known as the Morris Worm spread across global networks, causing significant outages and worldwide panic.
We explore the most devastating hacks and exploits in the history of the internet. We spoke to Brett Johnson, the prosecutor who brought him down, and the FBI agent who went undercover on DarkMarket.
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