The Man Who Stole MySpace | Samy

Play WarThunder NOW to get a BONUS Pack and hours of PLANE fun! 🛩🚁
playwt.link/nationsquid
War Thunder is a highly detailed vehicle combat game containing over 2000 playable tanks, aircraft, and ships spanning over 100 years of development. Immerse yourself completely in dynamic battles with an unparalleled combination of realism and approachability.
On October 4, 2005, 19-year-old Samy Kamkar wanted to pull a practical joke on his new MySpace page to get a laugh out of his friends. Unbeknownst to him, he accidentally created a computer virus (JS.Spacehero), and in less than 24 hours, over one million users on MySpace would be infected with it. Not too long after, the computer worm shut the website down entirely. Did Samy just take brief control of the world's most popular social media? By using only his mouse and his keyboard?
Website: www.nationsquid.com/
Twitter: / nationsquidyt
Forums: www.nationsquid.freeforums.net
Patreon: / nationsquid
Merchandise: teespring.com/stores/squids-s...
Google +: just kidding.
Link for images licensed under Creative Commons (CC):
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
ENJOY THE PROGRAM.
Sources:
web.archive.org/web/200601010...
it.slashdot.org/story/05/10/1...
innotechtoday.com/looking-bac...
samy.pl/myspace/tech.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samy_Ka...
seon.io/resources/dictionary/...
forums.majorgeeks.com/threads...
/ the-tale-of-samy-the-worm
dbpedia.org/page/Samy_(comput...)
• Greatest Moments in Ha...
pro-motivate.com/speaker/samy...
darknetdiaries.com/transcript...
www.zdnet.com/article/this-su...
vsb2006001.pbworks.com/w/page/...
blogoscoped.com/archive/2005-1...

[@nationsquid]

Play WarThunder NOW to get a BONUS Pack of vehicles, boosters, and more! 🛩🚁 playwt.link/nationsquid

[@DAL-Entertainment.Channel]

its sponsor time

[@bucko0627]

Subscribe to nationsquid!!!

[@arthrub]

she WarThunder my BONUS Pack til i 🛩🚁

[@RandomBreakfast]

My girl stole my warthunder :(

[@DAL-Entertainment.Channel]

@@RandomBreakfast LMAO

[@LendriMujina]

And to think, this all could have been avoided if some dickweed didn't harass a ten-year-old for liking X-Files.

[@ninjadude183]

Super villain origin story

[@tamekkaknuth9612]

Do I look like I'm 10 years old

[@LendriMujina]

@@tamekkaknuth9612 ...considering there was absolutely no reason to assume I was talking about you, kind of, yes.

[@Eaten_squid_cake]

This place about to blow

[@seniorchonkza997]

Literally nobody is going to believe me but I remember a few years ago I was young and interested in these old computer vulnerability things and i was on I think it was a forum or web page danooct1 had set up and there was a chat room. I wanted to see what the deal was, so I go in, and I see "danooct1:" followed by a message containing the n word. Being so young and naive i was like hey that's bad you shouldn't say that, and from that moment forward (interrupting to clarify I don't remember if it was definitely him or maybe some imposter and I didn't look too close idk) but anyway pretty much every major website I was on he made impersonation accounts harassing me, because I didn't think this guy I looked up to should be racist

[@think_of_a_storyboard3635]

imagine joining a random chat room on your first search across the internet, and immediately being told to get out with your computer bluescreening shortly afterward.

[@BBWahoo]

If it wasn't for that encounter, he might've not become the man he was today !

[@arasiir]

couldnt be me

[@sky_lol]

@@BBWahoo yes

[@ashimochi]

And getting ur windows nuked LMAO

[@user-uy8ss3hg6g]

"Get out of here, stalker"

[@wordart_guian]

did not expect ebony dark'ness dementia raven way to show up 30 seconds into this video

[@obeseperson]

I pointed at my screen and screamed

[@AtomBacon]

XSS feels like the coding equivalent of being told No by one parent and then asking the other.

[@ChronDelta]

You have described it in such a way that I now fully understand the concept of it- how is that even possible :0

[@jameswest6161]

I love this example 😂

[@tataka20]

Pretty ironic how Samy actually became a hero, helping expose big corporations

[@obeseperson]

He was always a hero

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

"Man I'm tired of myspace, imma delete it off my pc" **Deletes all of myspace on accident** "OHH SHII-"

[@LegioXXI]

idk whats the problem? Just open the Recycle Bin and restore the file ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@sky_lol]

@@LegioXXI true 💀💀

[@Earthfairy021]

@@LegioXXI oki mr lenny

[@justdove1346]

was this supposed to be funny

[@St.MichaelsXMother]

😂😅😭😅😂

[@TonyGearSolid]

Imagine almost going to prison because you accidentally broke a website. I'm not sure if there is more to the story that caused there to be a FBI raid on his house, but man that just seemed needlessly excessive.

[@obeseperson]

Just your daily reminder that law enforcement is shit

[@toreadoress]

I mean in the end he didn't go to prison and I'm sure his motivations and immediately reaching out to myspace to expain about the exploit was taken into consideration in the court, but still there was some damage done, even if small from his actions and letting that go could give precedent to others who could have more malicious motivations. Plus he was able to turn the whole thing into something positive for his life after that.

[@bestestdev]

Tech companies wanted to send a message. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why he spends his time trying to keep them in check now.

[@JK-gm6kk]

Looking back, Myspace was actually way better imo. Especially knowing what we know now about their primary successor. Basically a cross between its successor fb and freakin soundcloud. Could still share content almost as well, at least well enough for the time. And way more customizable via html. No site before or since got me into learning HTML at a low level, or any other programming language in this way.Just didn't know how good we had it. L

[@lainiwakura1776]

Further proof that Steve Jobs ruined the internet with the introduction of the iPhone.

[@PhoebeTheFairy56]

It's not exactly the most popular site around, but tumblr still allows you to create a custom layout for your page with html, though it won't show up for mobile users

[@stuartward1755]

Unfortunately had MySpace remained on top they would've gone down the same path Facebook did. Hell they already were, which is so many people moved to Facebook to begin with.

[@justinianthegreatandnerd6377]

@@lainiwakura1776 how???

[@obeseperson]

@@justinianthegreatandnerd6377 he fucked it all up dude

[@Nathanator]

I find it hilarious how he managed to cause this whole fiasco after using the site for just a few hours, imagine being one of the friends who managed to get him to finally sign up and then this happens

[@B.L.U.S]

Friend: see the site ain't so bad imma get some memes to show you..... Alright I'm ba- *WHAT THE HECK HAPPEND HERE I WAS GONE FOR 5 SECONDS*

[@cardboardtoaster2169]

Imagine making a small code and accidentally make the biggest exploit worm. Skill issue

[@sky_lol]

That doesn't look like a skill issue to me

[@aftershowbrianna]

@@sky_lol yo like our own comment

[@solidgent7870]

Police when literal staff-threatening frequent shoplifters: I sleep Police when a harmless joke on social media: REAL SHIT

[@herodoesstuff]

i'm surprised this amounted to the fbi showing up at his door. it rly seems like a dumb teens prank gone a little out of his hands.. was it *that* severe that they had to step in? it seemed to do him a lot of good either way tho, its great to see him still using that skill and doing well today :]

[@HYDRAdude]

The federal government exists to serve the mega corporations.

[@Zombie_Trooper]

Well that "prank" affected a great deal of users and took down the biggest social network at the time. It might be inconsequential in the long term, but that's still illegal and affected the daily operations of a major site. That's angry users, that's downtime, that's money lost and people fixing the problem. Imagine you own a shop and someone pulls a fire alarm. You're not hurt, there's no fire, but they incited potential panic, halted your business, and you now have to use your resources to handle the fallout. That's no bueno. Prank or not, this wasn't a victimless crime and especially during the early days of cyber crime, the FBI would probably be the ones handling this. It's completely understandable, albeit silly in retrospect.

[@Mario583a]

I think the thing that tipped Tom off the alert the FBI was that email Samy sent.

[@lofiurbex2511]

@@Zombie_Trooper Yes but by that logic, that's like saying the person who pulled the fire alarm should have to pay an incredible amount of money and/or jail time. Should it be punished, yea sure, but to that extreme? FBI, community service, and $20k? Just seems a little bit disproportionate to the crime to me

[@Zombie_Trooper]

@@lofiurbex2511 Incorrect. That's an extremely lenient sentence quite frankly. And mind you my example isn't proportionate to the crime, the point I'm illustrating is that not all crime involves death and destruction, but it's illegal nonetheless and will be treated as such because there are still factors not considered that result from these actions. We can argue the "correct sentence" all day, but the reality is that's a very perception based issue. My stance is that any crime that impedes an entire business or affects livelihoods should face the music. This affected a lot of people. And let's not forget, the whole reason this tale lives in infamy is because it set a precedent. This wasn't a crack team of hackers, this was a bored kid, and as NS mentioned off the top, this sort of virus is now commonplace in the near 2 decades since it's inception. The fabric of our online geared world was changed thanks to a joke and not in a good way. And the FBI was involved since this was still the early years of cyber T-ism...so it only stands to reason they assumed it was a bigger threat and treated it accordingly.

[@billyhatcher643]

samy woke up alot of people who never knew their data is still being collected without their consent

[@cjlister8508]

Social media became the terrible thing it is today once they stopped allowing customisation. I miss MySpace and Bebo.

[@Syd448]

I never see anyone ever mention Bebo, so this made me so nostalgic. I miss MySpace and Bebo too, loved them so much growing up

[@cjlister8508]

@@Syd448 Same. Hardly one seems to remember it. It had the most customisable options from what I remember though.

[@hypnosismicrophone]

SpaceHey is very similar to MySpace and customizable the same way

[@sourcepotato_bwobby]

"Anyway, go check out War Thunder and *play among*--" I feel terrible that all my neurons activated at that moment

[@MusicallyQ]

*MySpace had so much potential, but then Fnckbook stole its thunder.*

[@Elijah910]

It's become my "space"

[@infernothegreat1041]

I've seen a lot of videos of Samy Kamkar starting with his wired interview. I particularly enjoyed his video on hacking garage doors lol

[@ShadowWolfe]

Why would the FBI show up, if he willingly told MySpace about it and basically cooperated? It wasn't something damaging either, so I'm confused.

[@guy-sl3kr]

They gotta justify their existence somehow, I guess

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

He destroyed an entire social media

[@history-jovian]

​@@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647 I don't think FBI would care if youtube was destroyed so why do they care about MySpace gettinng destroyed

[@bookworm4133]

​@@history-jovianthey probably would care, since many corporations host and advertise their brands/videos on KZbin.

[@LynnHermione]

by accident, and he told them and how to fix it. that's at most worth a fine. @@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647

[@Siegvaldi]

This is really interesting, I'm surprised I never heard about it before. Great video as usual. but most of all, samy is my hero

[@irisbaggins]

...of all things I expected of this video, My Immortal references thrown at my face was NOT it. Especially not when I recognise all of them....

[@theguy04hi]

To be honest, its one of the best channels i know, very understandable and his editing are awesome! Continue da good job☺!

[@WhatisAPaladin]

The*

[@theguy04hi]

@@WhatisAPaladin no, i said "da"

[@SoyLuciano]

@@WhatisAPaladin Pun ruined.

[@torterra1826]

*Continue

[@UndercoverDog]

The old times where XSS was possible on almost every website

[@LegioXXI]

@Safwaan welcome to the mobile era of the internet

[@BBWahoo]

@@drfm16 I miss page customization :(

[@yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

@Safwaan It wasn't because the user didn't have control or did, it's because web developers at the time didn't know or care enough to sanitize their inputs, thus making XSS pretty common on older websites. Nowadays, we have preventative measures in place on both the browser and web server to prevent XSS, but before it was like the Wild West. Nothing was secure

[@Historicat]

I’ve watched his channel every night, such great work!!

[@rumor2751]

This channel is awesome👍 great content

[@Dezo365]

You are the best documentary channel you have good writing and amazing graphics! I only watch others if I wanna fall asleep 😂

[@Dezo365]

Thanks for the heart NationSquid! Your video are really entertaining!

[@G4ZDTechTV]

A COMPUTER WORM LITERALLY TOLD THE MAN WHO MADE IT TO TOUCH GRASS.

[@MantisssssssMan]

I’ve seen this story several times over the years, but this one was by far the most in-depth yet entertaining videos out there… well done

[@neddreadmaynard]

Shout out going to the genius that put Helena Bottom Farter in the 'who I'd like to meet' section of the Myspace page. Classic!

[@tailsprower9542]

12:46 Spongebob photos from Christmas party lmao??

[@TälgatVerner]

"You could add music to your page" Me immediately thinking "that's a really good way to rickroll someone"

[@JoBot__]

Well, the Rickroll didn't even exist back then. :D

[@TälgatVerner]

@@JoBot__ I don’t remember commenting this but holy Jesus time flies And about your reply you have a point

[@JoBot__]

@@TälgatVerner Heh, to be completely honest I didn't notice that comment was a year old. I was a bit tired but I've taken a walk since then.

[@mikistrawberri]

I was on Myspace around this time (as an older teen). I vaguely remember all of this.

[@lukapuka8320]

guys he's going to sponsor warthunder again

[@darthvader8744]

lmaoooooo can't even play that game without having wallet kids spamming A-10s

[@baneblade__]

@yesnt4001 too bad, they're putting ads in the sky now

[@ImSoLuckyFr]

I think he sponsored warthunder again

[@lukapuka8320]

@@ImSoLuckyFr thats true he sponsored it the third time like we already know about it, also i think that war thunder is in love with him, thats why he keeps sponsoring war thunder

[@Elijah910]

Why does he do that, he keeps plugging ads? (Sponsorship)

[@BaronVonQuiply]

11:48 Very mild No-Hat story, but I was a member of a forum years ago that did not allow photos in signatures and blocked the [img/] tag outside the post itself. While poking around the editor and settings one day, I noticed that there was a second tag no one ever used that could be pointed to an image and would also function outside the main text. I became the first and only person on that forum to have a pic in their sig. IIRC, I made it my profile picture and then did something to the effect of quoting it into the signature without the image tags. Perhaps it was the [attach] tag and I simply realized it would function in the signature and not just the body, and I could call the profile pic without it being in a post.

[@britknee3019]

I love how you used Spacehey to help film this :3

[@screwyourhandle]

I noticed that too

[@Bruhmoment135]

What is that?

[@needyboysho]

​@@Bruhmoment135 a fan remake of myspace, its really good! u should def try it

[@salaprance5283]

It's always a good day when you come out with another video. I love the amount of research you put into these, as well as your very relaxing, documentary-like voice

[@citaxis]

I've been watching this channel for over a year and I look forward to each upload! Keep up the great work

[@IDontWantThisStupidHandle]

8:05 -- since this virus was created and snowballed in 2005, while Lady Gaga didn't start performing under that stage name until mid-2006 (but still not getting worldwide recognition under that stage name until late-2008) -- the user with the screen name "ladygagafan" must be from the future. ;p

[@rebelcat_1261]

These videos make me nostalgic for a time I never even got to experience. Sure, there were a lot more problems with internet security back then, and less knowledge on how to be safe online. But on the other hand, there were things like this. More freedom for people to play pranks or make something chaotic but harmless. I won't say it was better back then, because I can't really know, but I do wish I could have seen it myself.

[@Your_Local_Weirdo75]

Ad over at 3:55

[@calvinarrow]

I dunno man, the way the story was told and the visuals used make me think that YOU were Samy. 😂

[@TheanimationWorkstation]

I love the editing on all of these, his voice is so amazing

[@lucycockle5233]

You have such a calming voice and I love your content about computer viruses. Thank you for existing :))

[@Makslaskabata]

You are seriously underrated. How do you not have more subscribers? Loving your content!

[@InternetUnderground]

Ayyyy New NationSquid! So excited to watch this.

[@walenty2255]

0:28 is that our queen ebony darkness dementia raven way.

[@funkytime69]

yes

[@EsquedaDouble]

Man, Myspace was wild AF back in the day.

[@mr.hoosteen373]

absolutely love the vitameatavegamin reference during the ad!

[@mojofier1909]

Sigh, I miss MySpace for that customisability and oh boy seeing those older internet pages makes me feel oold, even though I'm not. LINKIN PARK NUMB / NUMB ENCORE INTENSIFIES

[@Krookzior]

1. It's a crime that this video sits just below 100k views at time of writing, super good stuff in this one. 2. I'm surprised and almost disappointed you didn't find a way to reference back "but most of all Samy is my hero" at the end from the now opposite angle from it originally being a joke. 3. Samy is my hero.

[@Schulky]

Thank you for the continued effort you make to bring us these educational videos.

[@loveformingi]

i have been waiting so long for a new video!! i am really happy it was dedicated to a virus because that’s one of my favorite topics, thank you nationsquid you are my favorite youtuber :)

[@fivebrosstopmos]

Love this channel, thanks Nationsquid! :)

[@borond]

the Myth, the Legend, the Icon, NationSquid is back!!!

[@Ultimatedogfan]

12:47 SpongeBob's photos from the Christmas Party

[@wma7271]

I come to learn about internet history and viruses, and I stay for the I Love Lucy references. Keep up the great work, NationSquid!

[@Kalebh2007]

Dang you and your amazing content! Kept me watching for sure lol.

[@feuerein]

dig the I Love Lucy ref in the ad lol

[@klocugh12]

Yay! New NS video! And how wholesome in the end.

[@sky-ic7ji]

okay normally i skip sponsor sections but you got me with the i love lucy vitameatavegamin reference.

[@axofox5419]

Same

[@jdnart]

Love this video thanks for uploading again

[@blakedellinger5300]

This was such a nice surprise to my day. Always amazing content!

[@nationsquid]

Thanks Blake!!!! :)

[@hileyjohnson1901]

I loved the customization of MySpace. MySpace was amazing!!

[@remukko5178]

I wonder, is there anything like myspace anymore? The whole idea of custom css profiles sounds absolutely amazing to toy around with, sadly i was born a bit too late to grow up with that.

[@shinekitten7669]

you could make a neocities site, it lets you build your own website with html and css! i've seen some pretty cool neocities sites

[@StoryTheSilly]

GREEN DAY AT THE BEGINNING HHHHH (LMAO I GOT EXCITED)

[@FangFire]

Lawd, I have watched your videos for so long man, If I'm bored or anything, I look forward to a NS Video, Thanks man ☺

[@Random_Idiot69420]

I love how you turn a harmless video about an internet glitch into a horror-ish murder documentary

[@Core533]

I better not miss this one again anyways love your videos

[@akibtafhim]

I must say, this is one of your best videos so far.

[@nationsquid]

Thank you so much!!! Glad you liked it!! :)

[@margaretrounds5622]

LOVE YOUR CHANNEL EVERYDAY I WOULD WATCH YOUR VIDEOS

[@abztract_]

I reckon the reason why we don’t have customization to this level anymore is because it can be abused easily to do such stuff like tinkering with your web browser to work a tad differently, and screw up big time. The reasons such few worms exist now, is because we take online security very seriously nowadays.

[@Khenfu_Cake]

Smartphones might also be part of the reason. Also just wider appeal: Facebook, Twitter etc. were more attractive to regular people who aren't very familiar with computers or the internet because of their simplicity.

[@tryxer]

another nice and chill video thx for that :)

[@LiamAnthony_]

Did not think id see Buck Hollywood in this video about a MySpace worm

[@CommanderTK9091]

All you gotta do is teach people how to create responsive web sites and we can bring back CSS customization.

[@FormulaFanboy]

6:18 I absolute thought you would say “searched the site for x-files”

[@apple_m2_delight]

1:36 isn't the iloveyou worm the fastest growing worm ever? And no, the Samy worm wasn't a virus but a worm

[@ashimochi]

Wasn't Iloveyou the most damaging worm? I also doubted but I think Samy was faster than ILY

[@apple_m2_delight]

@@ashimochi no, it has been stated multiple times that iloveyou worm is the fastest spreading worm ever. Samy worm is something else entirely

[@TheGuyWhoIsSitting]

Wow. Samy really is our hero.

[@TalonSky]

Samy really is our hero

[@BaronVonQuiply]

Circa 2008, I was running a game server on my desktop and spent much of the day writing new things into the game and bug fixing what was broken (open source). I was warned of a method to crash a server by using an item in an invalid way (IIRC it was to use an empty container on itself) so I added a line to handle it. A short time later a new person appeared and wanted power. I told them they could apply to start working their way up and they went straight to screaming. He told me to say goodbye to my game world, and then we both stood there as nothing happened. Him much more awkwardly than me.

[@mhymullaney]

this absolutely sounds like something i would have done. when i was in highschool i ran the windows command "shutdown -i" and found the deans computer on the network list. i sent a 0 second warning shut down, and was almost immediately nabbed by our schools Computer Tech. needless to say they were not impressed with my "hack" xD

[@jameswest6161]

Thank you nation squid beem awhile since i poped in on your channel but as always not disappointed

[@Dragon-Doxin]

This channel is gold

[@Kurtisie]

LiveJournal started the custom HTML layouts FYI

[@Kurtisie]

I’ll never forget hiding all the garbage stock stuff with a giant white table and just make an ENTIRELY custom page fully from scratch 😂

[@ry7xsfa872]

I'm sorry, but I started the video and just couldn't get over the example profile "Ebony Darkness" .....

[@kyanoang3l0_old]

Sorry for the random question, but was Samy really an introvert or perhaps someone with a form of social anxiety? There's a difference bet. the two and, in fact, extroverts are not immune to the latter. I went through a similar experience myself (minus the dropping out of high school and making a virus part). It confused me for a long time why being around people made me anxious and uncomfortable but also energetic asf while solitude did the opposite, lol.

[@DOCTORWHIMSY]

I started with your offiz vid last year and I’m still watching your vids

[@symphony-of-the-mint2008]

bruhhh this is so nostalgic 😭

[@KieranburgessBurgess]

You know this virus reminds me of the mindcrash from hypnospace outlaw

[@sussydata]

I'm sure the devs were inspired by such viruses!

[@growingup15]

That intro brought back memories :)

[@browniex5120]

These thumbnails are so good and detailed, I’m excited

[@starrush1818]

I guess it became... *theirspace*

[@Snappers1_]

9:59 I miss those so much!

[@vinnae]

Your voice is so nice to listen to and your videos are always quality, giving detailed explanations on very interesting topics. Thank you!

[@Cacaborea]

Samy is my hero

[@OmegaRejectz]

Another fantastic video!

[@LynnHermione]

I used to steal songs from myspace using the temporary internet files on windows 95, and I was never that tech savvy, the site was held with string and a prayer

[@gotenblack2542]

me as a harry potter fan sees my immortal Me; oh boy here we go

[@reesetube]

Bro I was convinced you were time traveling until 2:15 THATS FUCKING SPACEHEY YOU FOOL

[@Shrbie]

nah this dude had a whole villain back-story.

[@_xX_me_Xx_]

"Your Honor, I claim oopsie daisy"