The Computer Virus That is Puzzling the Internet | BadBIOS

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Since the dawn of time, the world has been filled with threats and those who try to understand them. And this applies to the digital world as well, and there was certainly a time, not too long ago in fact, where most people didn’t understand these threats at all. So, throughout the 1990s, on the NEW worldwide web, you end up having these mass panics of computer viruses with alleged capabilities that go beyond the screen, almost supernatural. And of course, many people rode on these fears either in jest or to obtain some kind of control on those who are gullible. Just like how the satirical tabloid “Weekly World News” once published a story about a computer virus that can spread to humans. Because that’s ridiculous! We all know how a computer virus works, it’s a malicious piece of code that is able to replicate itself and infect other computers on the same network, whether it’s the internet or some kind of local network, where it can then do whatever it is programmed TO do. And that’s the key, you need SOME kind of connection to another computer. It’s not a real virus in the literal sense; it can’t spread through the air, right?
Well in October of 2010, something very unnerving allegedly happened. A man named Dragos Ruiu, the main developer behind the annual Pwn2Own hacking competition. He had just installed a new copy of Mac OS X on his MacBook Air, and it was then that he started to notice the computer suddenly had a mind of its own. For starters, his CD drive was no longer working, he couldn’t boot from any CD placed into his system. He thought okay, maybe this was just a hardware issue, but then noticed that all of his system configurations kept undoing themselves. His system data then started getting deleted. He was starting to think that this wasn’t a hardware issue, but instead some kind of malware. So he went ahead and completely wiped the hard drive and reinstalled the operating system, but sure enough, the problem still persisted. As it turned out, this issue wasn’t coming from the hard drive, but the BIOS, the motherboard of the computer, meaning that even a full system restore couldn’t fix it. But it doesn’t even stop there. He noticed that this malware was now spreading across other computers on his network, even ones with different operating systems. He quickly disconnected them from his network, but it just kept going. And so, as a last resort, he disabled his Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and even unplugged the power from his wall, relying only on the battery. This is a technique called “air-gapping,” as these computers were now completely independent from one another, in their own separate worlds…yet the virus was still spreading, even to computers who were never connected to the internet in the first place.
The malware became known as “BadBIOS,” which was capable of infecting Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD systems, and word quickly started getting around the internet that it may just be the very first instance of a computer virus spreading through the air, quite literally. Through its strange, completely unknown engineering, it was somehow able to bypass these “air gaps.” Surprisingly, it gets even weirder…actual word of the virus seems to have spread faster than the virus itself, and that’s because we...don’t even know if it exists. BadBIOS has become an incredibly controversial, divisive subject within niche parts of the tech community, with some people swearing by it, others scoffing at how ridiculous it is, and then those who believe it to be nothing more than an elaborate hoax. And today, we are going to talk about this strange origin story. This is BadBIOS, the world’s most mysterious computer virus.
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ENJOY THE PROGRAM.

[@nationsquid]

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[@eglol]

Your videos are always so interesting and fun to watch.

[@batorerdyniev9805]

Hi

[@VanadiumMC]

I like extra mustard too 🤣🤣

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

Hi

[@tubbunny]

Hi @nationsquid, I have a question. Is there a service that can delete spam mail automatically or filter maybe?

[@Robdeltonie]

I think I can debunk this once and for all: If the OP said the CD drive stopped working on his MacBook Air, then it's a hoax. It's impossible for a MacBook Air's CD drive to stop working. That's because they never had one. MacBook Airs never had a CD or DVD drive of any kind. It was one of the things mentioned in the keynote where Steve Jobs first announced the computer. So, if that's the first "symptom" of BadBIOS that Dragos Ruiu noticed, then I think it's safe to say the whole thing is made up.

[@w32u64]

Nevertheless, there was (and maybe still is) an official Apple USB SuperDrive to accomplish OS X installation, even 2010 MacBook Airs came with OS X 10.6 restore DVDs, but you did still need to buy SuperDrive separately to use those disks

[@FunkyFurret]

@@w32u64Yes, so they probably meant that.

[@deykiidey6495]

Your right bro good job

[@rumor2751]

I'm just going to believe this and like it so nationsquid sees it

[@Piipperi800]

​@@w32u64 it's still a thing, but for one, USB SuperDrive doesn't work with anything other than Mac OS X I think. Also, early MacBook Airs came with a USB flash drive to restore the OS (with DVDs as well)

[@pmc_]

Malware like this is a good spooky story, but it's entirely infeasible as far as I can figure out. You'd need a zero-day in basically every single sound card driver ever.

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

The posts were composed of near Halloween so probably just a joke but apparently NationSquid doesn't get it

[@Operater_Silverhandman]

Trust me it's real bro I made it no cap n0 click bait 2025

[@akam9919]

If you're the government, you theoretically could, "legally" and/or surreptitiously.

[@DashDaSlaya]

That is so true I mean how can it infect via sound I get it can send data and download it and run code but to get the code you would already need a payload on the device waiting to hear the sound and download it so it would need wifi to get the payload on the devices so it is clear if it was real that person did a stupid job a isolating the devices from wifi

[@SolitaryElite]

you know hes a skid when he says 'zero-day' ahahah

[@MysticClaws100]

My favourite part about the nirvana bit at 10:18 is you're not even playing Nirvana, you're playing an obscure Green day track from their first album

[@RiverboatPirate]

...Wait... -Was that not the joke?

[@Krono159]

@@RiverboatPirate it is exactly the joke :b

[@JuniperAbaddon]

It's "At The Library", for those interested

[@creatorglitch]

oh my god that's just beautiful

[@Nethuja_GunawardaneSL]

New fear unlocked: Science-fiction computer viruses

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

lol

[@joshuamccutcheon]

It's most likely a hoax, I wouldn't worry too much

[@Nethuja_GunawardaneSL]

@@joshuamccutcheon Dude, it's all about the chill right here on he Internet.

[@elvendragonhammer5433]

I work in IT/security (in software, hardware repair, & programming) Some years a go I did work for a client where a virus spread to 12 of his computers- it was NOT this virus though, if it ever existed. However there was a similarity- wiping the drives did just let it re-install. Started checking to see if it was creating a hidden partition on the HD & reinstalling from there, or staying in memory in an expansion card (there were some similar to this that could hide in your dedicated video or sound card & used it's processor & ram as a staging area to re-infect the system after a re-install). After a bit of tracing I found out the virus was actually in the router itself, & had originally gotten access because the routers access info had never been changed after the factory preset. After flashing the routers bios it wasn't an issue anymore, still tracked down where it came from & added lines into the windows hosts file of the server & router to make sure that it'd never be allowed to try to go back to those IP's or any domain/subnet connected to them. Was a tricky lil bugger for sure, but ultimately just needed the right insecticide- me.

[@NicksLocker]

Wow that is so cool! I was honestly wondering if it had to do with the router. Is there a name for this virus?

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

Smart of you to suspect the router, good job!

[@elvendragonhammer5433]

I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is. When I encountered it I was trying to fix 12 PC's + the router for a business client that got infected & didn't have the tools with me to do a flash dump of the bios from the router. He'd already lost thousands of dollars in revenue because of the downtime before he got ahold of me. So I didn't waste anytime killing it once I found out where it originated. Might not have been able to anyway- even if I had the tools with me; if it used weird voltages or pinouts, never done one on a router before anyway, so the software might not have worked either as they are usually written for a family of specific chips not just any random one- It would also matter if it was a PROM, EPROM or EEPROM. Some can't read/write certain types as well; sometimes not at all. I also haven't run into that router one again, apparently it was a shiny... Just for reference, even if you did find it or one similar & you let it loose outside of a virtual machine you can be prosecuted for it; even if it was an accident. The good antivirus companies, are like palworld trainers now- they have algorithms that as soon as they find a new virus, malware, trojan, in the wild it automatically contains, analyzes it & usually has a record of the first place it found it right down to the IP address & city. They also track it's spread & how many devices of what type, Servers, PC, android, linux, Mac, IOS etc that it infects & start working on an antivirus patch immediately. That's not including the other cyber security companies or ppl like me who report & upload stuff we come across. Then there's local police cyber crime units & government sanctioned ones too. (Also, Norton antivirus & McCafee are the bottom 2 worst on the list)@@NicksLocker

[@elvendragonhammer5433]

Thanks, appreciated. Been doing this stuuf for a long time.@@thatoneglitchpokemon

[@literallylondonn]

@@elvendragonhammer5433what would your recommendation be for a good antivirus?

[@DamianOchramowicz]

It is a fun creepypasta, nothing more. It would require an entire protocol to transfer the virus using speakers and microphone, with error correction and so on. It basically implies that you can control the operating system with microphone (saving executable file and then running it), you would need another protocol for that. Then you have problem of overwriting BIOS from the level of operating system, which I don't think is even possible. Back in the day you would have to run BIOS Setup before OS had even started to update it from the floppy.

[@Mavendow]

Not only is overwriting the BIOS possible from the OS, even the CPU microcode can be overwritten. How? It's called the IME or Intel Management Engine. Yes, Intel's AMT allows for a Ring -3 (negative three) rootkit, but it's turned off by default... Supposedly. We don't really know because the code is secret.

[@ShadowEO]

I mean, Windows PCs have a table in their ACPI allowing one to embed binaries to be dropped and run during Windows boot. (WBPT) But in this case, I mean, Apple has used OpenFirmware or EFI for years, so secure boot and/or their inbuilt boot chain protection would've been a factor for a long while.

[@infinitivez]

​@@Mavendow The shorthand is just ME, and good luck flashing anything onto it without the Hoffman tables for that particular unit. That's not a thing you're likely to be able to even pull off on your own system, let alone anyone else's. Unless of course the decryption tables were leaked out of Intel and I'm unaware of it?

[@UltimatePerfection]

Yeah, I don't think an ordinary cybercriminal would be capable of something like that. A dedicated state actor on the other hand?

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

@@Mavendow AMD does the same backdoor crap named Platform Security Processor.

[@ebmar]

QR code goes to The Beatles - All My Loving

[@CyanRooper]

Missed opportunity to have the QR code be a Rickroll.

[@T-Dawg75]

@@CyanRooperthat’s what I assumed

[@valmarsiglia]

"Communicating information with sound is not at all unheard of. We've been doing it for hundreds of years." Yeah, I think we've been doing that for a bit longer, lol.

[@presidentkiller]

The only two ways this could be possible are: 1. Somebody working at the computer companies know about a series of vulnerabilities that make this possible, and is actively exploiting them. 2. Some government agency has access to a backdoor that was discovered by a third party that exploits it, or the government agency itself (either willingly or because they've been compromised) is exploiting it. As you said, this is a very expensive and complicated way to make malware, so only those two options kinda make sense.

[@DinoTaken]

I... I don't think the government or an organization would be trying to hack people, they have no point to, and this happens rarely.

[@thebobbrom7176]

The 2nd one was the one i gravitsted towards if I'm honest The the vulnerability is on the BIOS then it wouldn't show up as a process on the computer so would be next to impossible to detect. And governments being able to shut down computers with a sound sounds too good for them to not at least try

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

​@@thebobbrom7176 The prebugged firmware may originally be installed by govt. But any e.g. antivirus programmer who coincidentally found a national trojan with code for accessing it, may disassemble it and sell that backdoor key over the darknet or do anything else malicious with it. So do not expect that undefeatable super-malware will necessarily come from a national bureau.

[@brianm.7421]

Anyone who works with electronics knows that coils in circuits can generate high frequency sounds, since the coil vibrates when working at high frequencies, and sometimes it is audible. Excellent story, it's for a black mirror episode haha 😂

[@MikePerreman]

Tfw you're constantly getting reinfected with that 60Hz line-frequency malware

[@drako_claw]

People forget that early Internet connections, especially early dial up (14.4k in particular) - the data connection was made entirely by sound. So you were receiving data via sound. The v.92 dial up modems were the first I saw that used a digitized connection after the initial dial in an handshake, which was still done by sound. (The noise of robots killing each other.)

[@jaymogrified]

Even if it’s not possible as written, I gotta give kudos to the “Bones” writer(s) who came up with the idea of malware carved into a skeleton; very creative and forward-thinking, especially if it’s theoretically possible for it to have done something under the right circumstances.

[@fusseldieb]

But not blowing up lmao

[@UltimatePerfection]

​​@@fusseldiebIf the malware stops system fans and overclock the components to the point of thermal failure, why not?

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

​@@UltimatePerfection You can reprogram a battery charging controller to set e.g. the cell voltage limit instead of 4.2V to e.g. 4.8V, so during the next charge it will go kaboom with a fireball. (Such tests were verified on ole Mac laptops.) In more sophisticated charge balancer chips it may be even possible to transfer charge from one cell to another to intentionally overcharge one of them to set it on fire without need of a mains connection to a charger. (An intelligent malware may wait until the device is left unattended tonight on a flammable sofa or such to also burn the house down.)

[@elbiggus]

"A lot less options to choose from computer-wise in the 80s"? Citation needed! In the here and now there are essentially two basic CPU platforms - x86 and ARM - and while there may be a gazillion motherboard manufacturers the underlying architectures are fairly homogenised (particularly in the x86 world). In the 80s, however, we had a myriad of CPUs - 8088, x86, Z80, 6502, 680x0, TMS9900, etc. - and even computers that shared a CPU would often have wildly different architectures. In the UK in the 1980s we had the ZX Spectrum, BBC/Acorn, Oric, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Dragon, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Amiga, PC, VIC-20/C64/C128, Mac, and probably a bunch more I've forgotten. The 80s were a wild time!

[@CazRaX]

Not even the Wild West, it was full out caveman warfare for the computer verse. I watch videos on all the old PCs and it gives me a headache how many different, same part using, yet not at all compatible computers there were.

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

Wikipedia moment

[@DinoTaken]

he said it can still happen

[@WolfPackGamingOfficial]

To be honest, a movie about AI turning evil and infecting computers due to a sound sounds like a cool plot. Nice video BTW!

[@CyanRooper]

"In 2077 what makes someone a criminal? Spreading computer viruses by playing Despacito in public."

[@Senjamin]

imagining bird box but for androids hearing things

[@memes_gbc674]

@@Senjamin there used to be a problem with certain frequencies in music that blue screened old laptops with mechanical hard drives, like if you were playing the music next to the laptop it would just crash

[@WolfPackGamingOfficial]

@@CyanRooper LOL

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

the sound sounds good 👌

[@Mempler]

UEFI and BIOS are still effectively the same. One of which are just easier to use. BIOS itself is a pain but very simple to use and implement. UEFI can be worse, UEFI implementations depend to have firmware bugs, super annoying shit when doing osdev But uefi has a lot of benifits like built-in boot-loader drivers and secure boot. and generally is indeed easier to use as it is a plain C api, every Win32 developer should be familiar with.

[@infinitivez]

a BIOS is the basic input output system and will always run in 16bit (where as UEFI can run under 32 or 64). - I find legacy bugs we used to run into far worse than any UEFI counterparts. But part of me does miss calling INT 13 for a quick reboot.

[@1will2000will1]

What if he was trying to get people thinking about the security of other parts of computer hardware and software? Sure, in this specific representation, the likelihood of a virus acting that way is slim... but it makes you wonder what else is actually possible.

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

Most BIOSes aren't too different from each other. They are often just licensed from Phoenix and the OEMs slap their custom GUI on top of it.

[@Subspace.T.Tripmine]

"It infects Linux, BSD, Windows". Me using templeos: You have no power here, Gandalf the grey.

[@keaton_m]

Great video. But the QR code example doesn't really work because standard it's built on has a lot of redundancy and error correction. That's the reason qr codes can have little images in the middle, the error correction fills in the missing data.

[@redo1122]

The same way as CD can be scratched, but still read properly

[@MightyDantheman]

That bone scanning malware isn't as ridiculous when you learn that HP's excuse for their printers requiring 1st-party ink cartridges is that it's possible for 3rd-arty ink cartridges to contain malware. Although, I guess the big difference here is that HP intentionally created a problem so that they could be the solution to said problem.

[@Amonimus]

The fact that you've managed to transmit an image by noise just for demonstration is spectacular on its own.

[@mrkoyunreis]

Not to break the vibe, but thats a really easy thing to do and there are lots of tools that will do it for you.

[@Meta7]

You can draw literally anything on a spectrogram and then converting it to a sound wave. It's really not that complicated.

[@alexanderkarren6455]

Transmitting data via audio really isn’t that impressive nowadays

[@lord_snigglebottom]

technology is a wonderful thing ,,

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

@@lord_snigglebottom2 comma crisis oh no 😟

[@gstcomputing65]

That's why I only use OS/2 Warp 4. I can't do anything with it, but I've never got infected with a virus.

[@krissjacobsen9434]

There is one possibility you didn't cover, and that is that the hardware shipped infected from the factory. Most computers are made in China (even MacBooks), and a lot of them are made from OEM manufacturers like Foxconn (even MacBooks). There has already been documented cases of chinese made american electronics "calling home" to chinese servers. If companies like Foxconn is instructed to ship computers and phones they make with infected firmware, they sure can. And then they can lay dormant until some weird code is transmitted via sound. Maybe even embedded into a hit song for all that I know. I believe this to be the most likely scenario, although this story itself seems very unlikely. All of it is theoretically possible, but to actually carry this out in the real world would be expensive and really difficult. Unless you're the corrupt government of one of the largest economies in the world.

[@Amphibax]

But in that scenario why should the virus make itself noticable? When your just stealing data its best stay hidden and never getting noticed. Still in theory one of the best explanaitions.

[@gabrielv.4358]

thats awesome to know

[@ShadowSora8491]

About that Bones episode you're talking about: the reason Angela's computer went up in flames (according to the logic of the show, not necessarily real life) is because the virus not only disabled the computer's cooling system, but also disabled any fail-safes against the inital disabling, which caused her computer to overheat. Like you, NationSquid, I dunno if that would actually cause it to go up in flames or not, but I just wanted to add some context to that scene. Anyway, I like that you covered what is essentially an urban legend, while explaining some of the logistics of it, instead of just calling it a hoax and calling it a day. I definitely learned a few things from this video.

[@Amphibax]

Im no expert but I would assume a CPU would physicaly destroy itself from the heat before the computer could catch on flames

[@ShadowSora8491]

@Amphibax I was only giving context to the scene and not claiming that they depicted things accurately.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

You can reprogram a battery charging controller to set e.g. the cell voltage limit instead of 4.2V to e.g. 4.8V, so during the next charge it will go kaboom with a fireball. (Such tests were verified on old Mac laptops.) In more sophisticated charge balancer chips it may be even possible to transfer charge from one cell to another to intentionally overcharge one of them to set it on fire without need of a mains connection to a charger. While the Bones story is too madeup (binary code printed on a scanned skeleton), setting a battery ablaze by software manipulation is in no way impossible.

[@jamesbender3809]

The spookiest part? The MacBook Air NEVER had an optical drive of any kind.

[@pixelcrow_]

hell yea ,, this channel is the best for watching videos from while eating a meal, perfect entertainment. i was so excited when i got the notif that this was uploaded the other day and i finally have some time to myself to sit down and enjoy it

[@emilypinto2346]

The way you explain stuff for us is so good. Like using the example of covering up a part of a picture of urself vs a QR code and the example of speaking French to a person who speaks English and the examples like that are SO helpful for me to understand. I subscribed because you take complex topics that I want to understand and make them something that I can understand and I love it

[@ordovicianinnova]

This is like a computer-based urban legend.

[@Hello09294]

egg man !!🥚

[@TSFboi]

"there's a high pitched sound in this room and it's giving computers viruses" is the kind of information that makes someone crazy with paranoia

[@ChinchillaJimmy]

I was wondering when the legend would upload once again. I love these types of videos! :)

[@KangJangkrik]

Sending data thru sound without errors is technically possible. We can use two different frequencies to represent high bit (1) and low bit (0) then add error correction such as hamming code. However, implementing this on BIOS is almost impossible because hacker need to squeeze the required hardware drivers into teeny tiny BIOS storage.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

The claim that acoustic background noise would make it fail is nonsense. Check how noisy e.g. the GPS satellite signal is, but they use plenty of CRC to reconstruct valid data. It only makes a modem connection slower.

[@KangJangkrik]

@@cyberyogicowindler2448 CRC can reconstruct? I didn't knew that before

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

​@@KangJangkrik I mean error correction algorithms. CRC/checksums are the basis of that.

[@cori11ian]

This is clearly a hoax. The main reason being, as you identified, that any target computer would already need to be compromised in order for the microphone to be enabled and software would need to be running on the OS to interpret the sounds as code. Audio hardware will not operate unless the OS has the correct driver running. That this guy had it isolated in a lab, yet hasn't produced any evidence in over 10 years seals the deal.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

The sound receiving backdoor is likely default part of the firmware requested by national agencies. In USA mobile phones are legally requested to contain a similar spy mode "roving bug" in its Baseband OS as official part of their mobile radio standard (i.e. sale of phones without would be illegal in USA).

[@_secret-star]

There are BIOS or UEFI viruses. There are even UEFI or BIOS scanners, like ESET has a UEFI scanner in it's EIS suitue. The "spread through the air" "don't care about airgap" is not very realistic.

[@petevenuti7355]

I thought those were only for the early generations of UEFI

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

@@petevenuti7355not only that but some modern pcs too

[@petevenuti7355]

@@thatoneglitchpokemon really? without having to disable secure boot or anything other security features? If that's true, it makes the whole UEFI thing seem like a pain in the ass & waste of time . Just run a Linux BIOS with emulator

[@DinoTaken]

no airgap is actually a real thing

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

@@petevenuti7355well, you are right, without secure boot, it's kinda impossible. still saying that, some legitamite services require secure boot to be turned off, and that can lead to some viruses leaking into uefi

[@gabriela7348]

I remember when one time Mutahar from SomeOrdinaryGamers said that when EAS is used in Japan some special signal is broadcasted that turns devices (like TV's) on to show the emergency broadcast (and then they start to emit that sound to activate more devices). No idea if it would work on PC's as well tho

[@Zuxtron]

I'm going to assume that Japanese televisions are specifically programmed to detect that sound and display the broadcast when they hear it. You couldn't just play that sound to any TV and have it react that way.

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

If that was possible loads of trolls would just play the sound

[@PeeperSnail]

The fact the subreddit dedicated to it is also mostly just about "electromagnetic targetting", mass surveillance, mind control, sound weapons, etc. etc. as well as being abandoned, there's not a lot of credence to the people outside of the original guy who claim to have also encountered the virus.

[@theguy04hi]

No premier? Thats new😂 good editing ad always !

[@ryzenfox5688]

I’m surprise you didn’t talk about SSTV at all, it’s what nasa used to send images back from space and such it’s really cool

[@Cowloverdude]

Yes absolutely really cool! Unfortunately the SSTV transmitter on the ISS is currently broken and awaiting repair last I checked :(

[@melsbacksfriend]

One thing worth noting is that error correcting code (ecc) exists. It's a means of putting redundant bits in data in case parts of the transmission are lost. One place you'll commonly see this is in methods of optically encoding data such as qr codes, bar codes and cds.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

CRC is the most basic part of every modem standard, so transmitting a picture the analogue way like in this example is misleading or even needs to be rated disinformation.

[@ipissinlitterboxes]

Listening to this at the gym, never missing a a new nation squid vid

[@justinhamilton8647]

don’t skip leg day brother

[@th3fish]

You do a great job explaining such complex topics

[@_SYDGAMING_]

I presume this is the same kinda thing when you call a mobile but it's still ringing but breaks for a slight second where you can hear the other person's phone but hasn't picked up yet. And continues ringing

[@Azurethewolf168]

What’s that?

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

What's that? Really?

[@fr33bird7891]

Love the shirt!! Halt and Catch Fire is so underrated.

[@vizthex]

i was waiting for a door to pop up in that intro while you said "welcome to the twilight zone" or something lol

[@tylern6420]

This would require physical manipulation of the BIOS chips, which is impossible on a large scale

[@Alej0731]

What MacBook Air has ever had a CD-Drive??

[@DinoTaken]

You can use Music to listen to the music on your CDs. In the Music app on your Mac, insert an audio CD into your computer's CD or DVD drive, or into an external drive that's connected to your computer. Apple said that idk

[@guyblack9729]

I'm surprised the Intel Management Engine or AMD Platform Security Processor weren't considered as possible parts of the explanation

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Exactly. The sound receiving backdoor is likely default part of the firmware requested by national agencies. Mobile phones are legally requested to contain a similar spy mode "roving bug" in its Baseband OS as official part of US mobile radio standard (i.e. sale of phones without would be illegal in USA). UEFI and BIOS are made by few companies and differ only in their config, thus the same sound modem code can easily run on many different hardwares.

[@multi-mason]

That QR Code probably would have scanned just fine. QR Codes typically include error correction. The image you transmitted could have been formatted with error correction as well.

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

Thinking about this I should probably scan it

[@coffeecat086]

The first thing I thought of when you spoke about the transmission through sound was that you would have to turn the microphone on in the first place, aside from all the other technical aspects, that’s the bit that seems off.

[@General_Grievous1998]

Babe wake up, new nation squid video dropped

[@Ghs6]

Already awake

[@tealover70]

I’m wide awake honey!!!

[@brian8507]

This meme died years ago. Stop

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

In Australia it's 1:24 perfect time for KZbin

[@lwfawn]

Erm, actually, the channel’s proper name is Nation’s Quid. Please reconsider your comment.

[@TrineDaely]

Some computers also have IR sensors that are used for communicating. Given the chance I turn off everything like that. I still expect to see malware spread via RFD.

[@the_pseudo_nim]

"Oh I love Nirvana! They make the best clothes" Really sent me. 😂😅🤣

[@vrclckd-zz3pv]

My phone can read the QR code at 16:56 perfectly line. The QR standard includes error correction bits for when a QR has been partially occluded.

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

It's hilarious that nationsquid has no idea about this when there are 5 comments about error correction

[@chartreusechartroos]

my favourite example of sound being used to communicate is the 2012 and boom furbies using ear-bleeding ultrasound

[@MrGrimm73]

QR code gold! Good one, I'm glad curiosity got the best of me. 😉

[@TheSayuVA]

You know it's a great day when a new NationSquid video drops!

[@yoshiyajoshuakiryu3198]

I worked in the government as an it tech. We had a virus that made the computer “sing”. We had to flash the bios and low level format the drive. So it did exist. And I hated that. We lost a lot of data because users refused to save to network. 😂 Luckily, he was in a very well shielded office using…Windows ME. Yeah. I know. 😂

[@Core_Of_The_Void]

It’s impressive how Pwn2Own still happens yearly to this very day even after the BadBIOS incident!

[@tjb3171]

Super interesting video!! Also- subtitles not working?

[@goregrindisthebestgenre]

Possibly your best virus video.

[@albertwesker2k24]

Something very similar happened to me back in 2013. I had to physically change the actual HDD because wiping the whole system didn't actually work.

[@Raveheart]

HAM radio operators have their own thing of sound-to-data, called SSTV. They send a ~30 second beepidy-boop through the shortwave band and the receiver, who can be thousands of miles away unter certain circumstances, can restore a low resolution still image from that. Basically you can send memes around the globe without internet. Sometimes even the ISS sends SSTV images, but you gotta plan the reception, because you can only get the signal if the station is visible at "your" sky. But it gets even crazier, a lesser known standard called NBTV whis is even lower resolution, but the image can move like a GIF.

[@oklahomasoonersfootball]

Great vid. I wish you make the history of windows computer and laptop

[@WildWildWeasel]

i keep thinking whoever created badbios/if it actually exists, was the same people who made windows 11 and the requirement to have "secure chips" to leave large swaths of the internet without being able to upgrade.

[@derrekclay7425]

Nice Green Day reference @10:19. Kudos, sir.

[@RogueCarrot]

MacBook Airs don't have optical drives. Never did. Even when Macs still had optical drives. That right there would be enough to discredit him in my eyes. lol

[@LunaStar666]

To me it just sounds like a creepypasta. Plus, since there's no evidence, I personally believe, it's not real.

[@joshuamccutcheon]

It's most likely exactly that, a creepypasta hoax.

[@ningayeti]

You almost figured it out when you mentioned Stuxnet. Yes; if it exists the only entity with the cash, brains, and manpower to pull it off is a nation state. Additionally; a vector alrrady known to be vulnerable are the video bios' of certain manufacturers leading to the possibility of a system bios being infected by a video bios

[@Saavik256]

Another good example of transmission of images via sound is SSTV. Also, darn, it's been literally decades since I last saw an acoustic coupler.

[@ynotw57]

This reminds me of the Rhythm Nation HDD failure situation.

[@corpix]

How would the infected computer be able to tell the uninfected computers through sound if they weren't listening? Meaning if the mic isn't on.

[@DinoTaken]

radio waves :D

[@themonkhinekie3243]

years from now, the future when we have bionic eye, upgradable memory then the virus spreading from pc to humans is normal

[@ErdrickHero]

Modems are literally just microphones and speakers relaying digital information in the form of sound. Congratulations on reinventing the modem.

[@JelloBoi-xr4qe]

Imagine a bioweapon that changes your eyes so that you become a computer virus on webcam

[@Kyle-xv5kv]

Macbook Air's don't have CD drives.

[@forbidden-cyrillic-handle]

The virus installed CD! OMG!

[@vonslask5749]

I found the part about the virus being transmitted through audio being a bit silly. Most regular speakers and microphones are locked somewhere between 20Hz - 20kHz, which is the range of sound audible to the human ear.

[@Kitkatcaitlin]

Its always a good day when nationsquid uploads

[@androntop]

Just started the video and I can tell that this video is gonna be amazing

[@y2keef]

Always a pleasure to see the Squid Kid! 😍

[@The-eater-of-flesh]

WE GETTIN OUT OF THE COMPUTER VIRUS WITH THIS ONE ‼️‼️‼️💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥💥💥💥🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@REALPapaLags]

I like that I learned about how computers, WiFi, and Bluetooth work through sound!

[@hackaboom]

Fun fact you can use sound to break encryption in your cpu. Sounds wild but basically anytime something(electron) is moving its gonna move stuff around which will make sound in our atmosphere.

[@ExploringNew1]

I don't have a microphone so I don't have to worry about this extinct virus 🗿

[@thatoneglitchpokemon]

Lol

[@stuffz4040]

I mean as a 2000s kid, these virus lore are a lot better than the sonic.exe tech horror I was brought up with

[@123moe]

Some of the details about UEFI are a little off. There aren't a million types of UEFI, there are really only 3 major vendors: Insyde, American Megatrends, and Phoenix (who were all incidentally major BIOS vendors before UEFI became a thing).

[@CaptWaffles]

I recently had something like this happen to me. My PC got a firmware virus that spread to my smart tv… now both were on the same network, but what’s interesting is my thermostat controls that are hardwired into my apartment buildings pelican network also got corrupted. I have no idea how that’s possible… I don’t even think it has anything but a 8 pin connector to communicate with the building’s system. Yet on all 3 devices the motherboards have exhibited the same problem and upped the voltage frying dives, ram and other devices connected to it. The only other common connection was the power outlets… but I find it hard to believe that it’s communicating via the wall plug

[@CaptWaffles]

Although my Apple products on the same network are unaffected

[@Fs_ailure]

tf why isnt this channel more popular

[@tylerdurdin8069]

It dont need to be a bios virus. It could have imbedded itself in the factory image of the backup so that it couldnt be removed by a reset. Got 4 bugs myself that does this.

[@cyberyogicowindler2448]

Some consumer grade Lenovo laptop types came with Chinese adware infested bios, that automatically reinstalled adware/spaware into the Windows partition when installing Windows.

[@TheCinemaMan777]

Love the Halt and Catch Fire shirt! Not enough people watched that gem

[@blackryan5291]

17:36 - This sounds like what I was thinking about this whole video. I was wondering that if your computer hears a sound and responds to that sound then there must be some encoder or decoder, a compiler, IDK...I figure there would be some protocol already built into the PC for listening to sound and processing those commands. And if that is the case then I am not worried about a virus. I'm worried about why that kind of protocol exists in the first place by default on my device and what the purpose of doing that was and what it is being used for.

[@ejonesss]

it is possible that an infected mac osx install flashed the parts of the hard drive normally off limits to the user. besides "bios" there is also firmware so maybe it can flash the firmware.

[@witchywoman2008]

I’d never heard of this before and now it is going to consuming my every waking thought for the next month.

[@FragileJesseLord]

16:57 The QR code is still readable! Thanks, error correction :D

[@bloctans_4]

at 16:56 your covering the most important part of the qr code, see. qr codes do indeed have error correction, but the part you covered contains very important info about the qr code (length, tracker and encoding)

[@bereversed7867]

QR codes have redundancy and data recovery built into them, you can partially cover them and the computers will still be able to read them. A better example would be bar codes.

[@korneliusfrik9545]

Can we once talk about how nicely he set up the compunters and all the vms

[@SleepyLuigi]

Wow! A video about what’s on my iPhone!

[@jdnart]

Lets go more computer virus videos!

[@its_deer]

my guy looks like the 90's "mature for my age" 19y old skater who smokes in the skatepark that my parents told me not to hang out with

[@Spidertails]

Strangely enough, my family was watching this on the tv, and as soon as they started testing out their audio theory, and the noise was playing, our tv went wonky :/ I know it probably wasn’t caused by it and is just a coincidence, but we’ve been laughing about it for a while