Fan boys and fan girls around the world have nothing on this anonymous hacker who hijacked 50,000 printers in a bid to keep PewDiePie on the top spot of YouTube’s most popular channels.
As absurd as it sounds it’s true, and in a parallel universe not so far away, it’s also spooky. A hacker fanboy has discovered a vulnerability which made 50,000 printers spit out messages in support of the Swede’s highly popular and controversial YouTube channel.
It all started a while back when T-Series, a channel dedicated to Bollywood trailers and songs started edging PewDiePie’s reign on subscriber numbers. The celebrity vlogger was quick to notice and started a campaign to keep him in the top spot.
TheHackerGiraffe took the pledge a step further and discovered a repository which shows open devices connected to the internet and took over 50,000 of them, causing a massive printout of messages in support of PewDiePie and steps for users to follow to help him maintain the most popular channel on YouTube.
Why are local printers being hacked for this pic.twitter.com/fAnNTIp6ds
— maddy (@m__benavente) November 29, 2018
The hacker now claims that this was all part of a plan to bring awareness to the vulnerabilities connected devices pose.
https://twitter.com/HackerGiraffe/status/1068498480174370816
An idiotic way to prove a serious point. A potentially brilliant and dangerous stint. We’re confused.
You might also like
More from YouTube
Smaller Creators Can Now Access YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program will now be open to creators once they reach 500 subscribers, allowing smaller creator to monetize …
YouTube Brings Unskippable 30-Second Ads To TV
YouTube is bringing longer unskippable ads to its TV app, unless you're paying for the platform's premium subscription YouTube says these …
YouTube Brings Shopping Features To Shorts
YouTube is testing affiliate marketing and in-app shopping features on Shorts, less than a week after TikTok began testing similar …
Get Ready To Choose Your YouTube Handle
YouTube is introducing handles to make it easier for members to find and connect with each other. Your handle will be …
YouTube Now Lets You Add A Voiceover To Your Shorts
YouTube is adding one of its most-requested features to Shorts; the ability to add a voiceover, like narration and original …
YouTube Starts Adding Watermarks To Downloaded Shorts Clips
YouTube has started adding watermarks to downloaded Shorts clips to stop users from cross-posting them to other platforms.
YouTube Expands Offense Warnings To Desktop, Updates Payments System
New updates for creators! A dedicated payments account within AdSense, and warnings on potentially offensive text detected by AI.
YouTube Offering Podcast Networks Up To $300k To Film Episodes
YouTube is offering financial incentives to podcasting networks to adapt their shows to a video format and share them on …
YouTube Adds Guided Support For Community Guideline Violations
YouTube has updated its review process to provide creators with specifics about the reportedly violative video and facilitate a resolution.