Man installs 100 viruses onto his MacBook to see how well Apple’s software can protect it
We've probably all done it where we've downloaded something we shouldn't have and ended up with a virus.
YouTuber Basically Homeless challenged 'the myth that MacBooks can't get viruses.'
And boy, did he go all out.
The YouTuber, who goes by the real name Nicholas Zetta, set out to install 100 viruses onto his Apple MacBook.
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For every download and dubious pop-up, he clicked 'yes' - you know, all those ads that scream 'spammy' that you wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.
He began searching 'search engine' in Google and downloading everything he found. He also came across a search engine called Brave to look for 'free game downloads.'
And there it was. Trying to open Angry Birds, his anti-virus software flashed a 'threat detected' warning of 'high risk.'
Zetta continued his quest to find a game - any game - to download.
Undeterred, he kept going, downloading BearShare and giving it access to all his folders and files as well as Internet Explorer 9 (that old thing!)
Finally, he came across a game, IGI 2: Covert Strike which ran extremely well to Zetta's complete and utter surprise.
Then, the serious stuff came in. Zetta downloaded two types of ransomware and began noticing his files appearing and disappearing in the file explorer.
'I think it's working. It's producing files and then the files go away. But I'm pretty sure that's what ransomware does until it's in the whole thing,' he described.
After a quick scan, his anti-virus software found 18 unsecured threats, falling short of his 100-virus goal.
So he began installing more and more ransomware until 'things that weren't supposed to be possible were happening.'
It wasn't long until his screen was flooded with pop-ups - some even doubled or tripled if you tried to close them - and dark, weird pictures, including unexplainable cat photos.
It became a full takeover.
The YouTuber's entire screen was filled with adverts, pop-ups and requests, including the familiar purple bear from the Bonzi Buddy virus, banners saying 'TROLOLOLOLOL,' and a mouse overwhelmed by countless icons.
When he finally scanned his laptop, it confirmed a whopping 141 viruses.
Not something most people would willingly do to their device, but Zetta’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
One viewer commented: 'I've never seen someone so excited to run ransomware on their own laptop,' whilst another wrote: 'I swear to god hes gonna be the first person to intentionally download 100 viruses on the neuralink.'
Others were concerned that he did it on his own home network which may have compromised his data, along with any connected devices like his iPhone.
'WHY DID YOU DO THIS ON YOUR HOME NETWORK I WENT INTO THIS VIDEO WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOU KNEW NOT TO DO THIS,' one user commented.
In response, another responded: 'I assumed the same! And I would never use that MAC after this. Any location on motherboard that allows persistent code updates is at risk.'