Virus.MSWord.Ethan

/ danooct1
what would a virus warning about the year 2038 bug say? I envision a lot of memes.

[@rjskillz92]

Love how Ethan decries the "hoarding nitwits" and then instructs you to hoard a months supply of everything.

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

Sometimes, to beat a clown, you have to become a clown yourself.

[@oll303]

I was so caught up on that, he flips on it so quickly. "To combat the hoarding nitwits, I recommend being a hoarding nitwit." Do you want me to contribute to the problem or not???

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

@@oll303 My post wasn't actually totally a joke, in that I believe the intent he was getting at was "unfortunately due to hoarders causing shortages, you'll have to hoard supplies as well in case of an emergency", though he could have explained it better.

[@qwertzy121212]

outhoard the hoarders

[@Supertails224]

And if everyone is a hoarder… Then no one will be…

[@dbozan99]

The irony from the fact that this virus about a date bug has a date bug is hilarious. It's also funny that more people might have seen the messages since it was only intended to show up on one day per month when they may not have been working, although they'd likely see them out of order and several times. Also, it wrote a file but never used it for anything... I get the feeling that this macro was copied and modified from someone else's code.

[@ElleTGC]

Imagine writing a variable and immediately overwriting said variable, then not testing your informative virus before sending it anywhere. I know this was 1999 but it's really simple coder stuff, Ethan! You had one job!

[@ais4185]

tbf maybe Ethan only wrote 2 or 3 variables and then decided to add more for completeness? the lack of testing really hits hard, though

[@ElleTGC]

@@ais4185 Always test your code, 90% of the time it breaks in my experience

[@feefre]

It was the 90's and it was a macro virus, as dan said, these things were very prone to break cuz of last time additions or lack of testing, or both

[@ElleTGC]

@@feefre All of those are points I mentioned in my comment. Minus the macro virus bit

[@brojustcool]

Jeez I'm sorry...

[@Toxoid49b]

Funnily enough, this virus is kinda nostalgic to me as it's the first virus I ever made a video about back in 2015. Nice to see you make a proper video on it. Pretty entertaining payloads for sure.

[@ytreza732]

i've been watching danooct1's videos for over 12 years now, and it's still interesting as heck

[@Povilaz]

Yep, same

[@emiljohansson923]

I have also watched his videos for many years. I wonder who this guy is in real life.

[@brasilballs]

"while i don't think there will be shortages because of the millenium bug, hoarders will cause them, so to avoid problems become a hoarder yourself"

[@WishMakers]

to be fair to the virus author, they aren't... entirely wrong. if everyone cooperates and only gets what they need, no problems will occur. but people very rarely do that in panic, when coordination is needed the most lol

[@SunnyShuklathedoctor]

We can see this logic in action when they replaced mm month with mm minute and expected it to work.

[@thelinktothepastof7986]

Why are old viruses so fascinating to look at? I guess this one's a time capsule for a time...just as confusing as we're at right now lol

[@michaelcalvin42]

It wasn't a particularly confusing time. There was just a lot of media hype and misinformation around the Y2K bug. Which... I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[@feefre]

Ethan seems like a good guy, tried to warn everyone about y2k, wonder what is he doing now

[@Puda]

Protesting against vaccines and mask mandates is taking his entire time.

[@blaze4109]

@@Puda ethan doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to do that

[@boogiehasfun]

@@blaze4109ethan just replied to your reply on the guy who replied on the op’s comment (if you dont get the bad joke my name is Ethan in real life)

[@choppergunner8650]

@@Puda based Ethan

[@reallyhertv4566]

@@choppergunner8650 how is he based? Based on what?

[@GeneralPotatoSalad]

A face cord to last from January to the spring? Ethan lives somewhere warm. Also, to your last point. I remember a newspaper comic of the time. Kid says to his dad "The Smiths next door told me they're storing food and water in their basement in case this Y2K thing really happens. What are we doing?" The father pauses and replies "Making a list of what everyone else is storing and where they're keeping it."

[@Exponaut_R-01]

Working precisely he is

[@VestedUTuber]

Just to note, there were actually a couple different ways a computer could display an incorrect year due to the "y2k" bug. Depending on the design of the interface, you could end up with "1900" (output last two digits of variable), "19100" (output entire variable), "19a0" (hexadecimal, if last digit is greater than 9, add 6 to the value of the integer) or even "19▓0" with the glitch block representing a portion of a graphical tile map (if the software uses sprite maps for its fonts).

[@AaronOfMpls]

I know I saw the years "100" and "19100" on a web forum or two in early 2000, until the forum's software was updated. Not to mention a few other websites with date displays.

[@Rople50]

God damnit Ethan, I told you not to name the virus after yourself.

[@Crazymonkeyskills]

There was a bug in some systems especially Microsoft Exchange servers because they were storing the date as an 32-bit integer in the YYMMDDhhmm format. Which on January 1st, 2022, became larger than the integer is allowed 2201010001. So emails stop getting sent and started piling up on servers until it was patched

[@CZghost]

And this is where Unix was far more superior and from the very start utilized a very smart way to store date and time in a single numerical variable. The number of seconds since January 1st 1970 00:00 is what's called a Unix timecode. Nowadays, it's a 64bit variable, but it started out as 8bit variable, then it was quickly expanded to 16bit and 32bit of course. Once it is going to approach 64bit limit (which will be very far to be honest and it's going to be patched probably), a new system of storing the date and time should be used instead. Or use the same system, but with a new Epoch (January 1st 1970 00:00 is what's called a Unix Epoch). Sometimes you may see a Unix timestamp, which is a little bit different. It's number of milliseconds since Jan 1 1970 00:00. That's because timestamp isn't meant to be updated regularily, it's meant to store an exact moment and stay unchanged - and that requires a finer precision. Yes, the timespan within the integer limit is shorter, but it's still big enough to snap a moment of current date and time with precision down to milliseconds, and store it in a database. When the limit is going to be reached, I'm sure it's going to be patched already.

[@cjshields2007]

@@CZghost We'll have the heat death of the universe to worry about before that point

[@userPrehistoricman]

@@CZghost I'm quite confident that it didn't start out as an 8-bit variable. That gives you a whole 4 minutes and 16 seconds that you can use the time code for. I'm even pretty sure that a 16-bit value is useless since it works for less than 19 hours.

[@TheTrueLordOmega]

Y2K doomposting is such a nostalgic thing for many people (me included), great video!

[@longshotomega4258]

Thank you and thank Ethan for sharing a nostalgic trip back to a more naïve time in my life! I really enjoyed briefly reexperiencing the lack of anxiety I had back in 1999. BTW Ethan (assuming that's the author's name) seems like a pretty decent guy and I hope he's doing well these days.

[@semihguner1]

9:05 "sounds kinda familiar" AHAHAHA Wasn't expecting this line

[@rcmero]

"I'm noticing a distinct lack of toilet paper hoarding in this note." Well, you know what they say, history is prone to repeating itself.

[@k4m]

have you tried testing new age malware on systems older than intended? maybe that could be a future idea for the channel :)

[@cavifax]

With "new age virus" i can just imagine a virus that makes your pc play some yoga/meditation music, huh

[@ytreza732]

it should be possible to run "new-era" malware on old NT based systems (NT4, 2000 or XP), but on 95 or 98 it will be impossible to run it

[@CZghost]

@@ytreza732 Windows NT doesn't necessarily need to support modern programs actually. For example a lot of modern programs are built upon .NET framework architecture, which is by default preinstalled on Windows starting with Windows Vista. But that wasn't the case for versions of Windows up to XP, where .NET framework didn't come with the system automatically, but could be installed in addition separately from the internet or came bundled with some software that required it to run. Of course it won't work on 9x systems properly and definitely not in DOS. Modern age programs use APIs that didn't exist in prior versions of Windows (yes, Windows API is updating and adding new functions to the Windows API library, new functions to the kernel, so yes, it does depend on which version of Windows the program is built for). The only modern age malware that could run on those ancient Windows 9x DOS based systems would be macro malware (which recently saw a boom again, now using social engineering to get people enable macros in their Office). Because Visual Basic is pretty much old and outdated, it was basically never updated.

[@VectraQS]

Even Opaserv on Win95 required copying several DLLs. And if it's linked to a missing kernel function, it won't run at all.

[@karanssh]

most of these "new age" viruses just mine crypto, or steal credentials or be botnets. Not very fun for a video

[@NICK....]

9:26 Also noticing a _stunning_ lack of self-awareness

[@kenirainseeker539]

I thought it was going to teach you how to update your computer to fix the bug. Wasn't expecting the paranoid apocalypse shit.

[@yaziyo]

Instructions unclear, bought 40 packets of toilet paper.

[@Vuusteri]

I feel I learned Visual Basic just by watching these videos.

[@DimniV]

15 minutes of Daniel's soothing voice? What a treat

[@sobekshu]

this is the first danooct upload i’ve been early to and i’ve been watching your stuff for years, love your stuff man, you’re the reason i’ve always wanted to learn more about this kinda stuff!

[@DrewDoesThings]

This would actually be pretty cool in a movie (granted it was written by someone who didn't define the same variable multiple times by mistake :P). I imagine the main character continuously seeing these weird messages alluding to some apocalyptic event that it seems like nobody's talking about. At first they dismiss it and try to get rid of them, but over time they start making more and more sense and the main character starts to believe in it

[@-Solidwater]

I feel like it would be better as someone preparing for an actual apocalypse waiting for messages from an anonymous helper that might not even be alive anymore At least that's how I felt watching this video

[@siobhangaertner2046]

Yeah dang he was ahead of his time. That message on 11:13 really sounds like something they would say during the Texas snowstorm went all the power and everything went out

[@InsanePsychoRabbit]

My dad works as a computer programmer and he was one of the people who worked really hard to prevent the Y2K apocalypse from happening.

[@roymerkel8008]

ironically because of how everything was implemented, most languages weren't affected by Y2K bug (I think COBOL was an exception though -- hence all the panic as COBOL was used at the time ALOT in legacy business applications.)

[@FourthDerivative]

Wow, Ethan, great survival tips! Keep it up. Proud of you.

[@woop6727]

wow ethan, great payload, keep it up, proud of you

[@lajenehuen260]

Now we need a virus named Hila

[@RealLockheedMartin]

"I even trust the Russians and there nuclear arms!" Well, you shouldn't. Sincerely, 2022.

[@MaverickTsuki]

That didnt age well at all

[@crylune]

You say that yet 'merica is still the only country in existence to have ever dropped nukes on another country. I trust Russia with nukes (or shit, with anything) more than I trust 'merica to make any rational decision whatsoever

[@choppergunner8650]

I mean, you could somewhat trust Yeltsin, his drunk ass wouldn't be launching any nukes, but Putin is just a whole different story

[@goosebyte]

Insane how often you have to debug the viruses. Truly interesting to see what the virus writers were thinking.

[@Barberfrog]

I'm not sure why, but this video really stands out to me...

[@cyberparrot]

The messages are kind of a fun journey

[@Number2PIG]

Hello, fellow Ethan

[@prispalos]

dannoct1 you have raised me more consistently than my parents did

[@SmeddyTooBestChannel]

"I don't believe that the entire world infrastructure will be annihilated by the Y2K bug, but THE WORLD'S INFRASTRUCTURE IS DOOMED BUY A WOOD STOVE AND CANDLES TECHNOLOGY IS OVER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

[@WildCharger]

Probably one of your longest virus videos and the virus has my name. I feel special

[@ratclo]

maybe this non-destructive bug would've been useful in other times as well, just maybe

[@twxfive76]

Ethan Y2K Tips

[@AureliusR]

Ah, Y2K. As someone who lived through the time and was into computers at the time, it was certainly an interesting news cycle near the end of 1999. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me :)

[@IloveRumania]

2020: 2000, why didn't you end the world?

[@Povilaz]

First video of 2022! Awesome

[@Alexander-nc4vy]

The irony in this virus is magnificent.

[@Lunascaped]

"Ethan is now present on our system" is so funny to me for some reason

[@woooo_yeah]

so good to see you active again dan, godspeed my friend

[@justinhamilton8647]

I read that the variant Ethan.DS actually formats the C drive starting in 2001😅 kinda funny

[@CYXXYC]

That's it for this month. See you next month!

[@Fizzyguy201Sonicguy6]

I have a friend with the name Ethan, I should show this to him.

[@melissarobinson8628]

Holy crap, I missed you! 🖤 the man that kickstarted my interest in malware and cyber threats himself

[@daemonspudguy]

Discovered you in 2012. Been watching for 10 years. -What the hell is wrong with me- Here's to 10 more years of me watching this.

[@neko-uy3yg]

so glad you're posting videos again, i've loved watching your stuff since i was a young script kiddie and i still love it today

[@WishMakers]

What a fascinating and surprisingly benign virus! I really like the concept of this, thanks for showing it off in your typical style. Loved the toilet paper hoarding comment too, I giggled.

[@EthanCGamer]

I like this Ethan guy, seems like he really knew his stuff

[@ethanturner5298]

Huh. My name. After a virus. Dancoot thank you.

[@ethanturner5298]

Update Jesus it's really difficult watching the video when your name is in the virus, it makes it really hard not to pay attention.

[@rantzntirades1104]

I love how a computer virus is trying to educate people on y2k.

[@Fuhrious]

King of the Hill episode “Hillenium” summed up Y2K perfectly. “Dad.. where’s your drill?” “Traded it to a fool for a sack of corn”

[@lior_haddad]

wake up Ethan, you've been in a coma since the year 2000.

[@Underappreciatedclassics]

Very interesting piece of history there Dan. Thank for sharing!

[@emac05]

Greetings to all the ethans out there

[@rawrcharlieee]

is my man danooct1 posting some quality videos, hope the best for u my man.

[@santosh5572]

yooooooo finally

[@trismd3]

bruh i'm so glad you're back

[@princepines]

This is a good example on basic debugging, read and understand.

[@TN384]

"This is not an April fools joke."

[@unexplained_entity7514]

Buggy code aside, this was an interesting idea honestly. Points for creativity

[@Sypaka]

can you even define variables in Uppercase in VBS? because the ones for DD, MM and YY might have been uppercase, and hh, mm, ss lowercase...

[@sfisher923]

And this is why we use unique variable name in programming As for the Y2K thing - Was too busy being a baby to panic (Fall of 1999 right when the worst of this was brewing)

[@choppergunner8650]

I was literally in 2000, I missed all of this 😂

[@aycc-nbh7289]

Didn’t the Y2K apocalypse theory come from Nostradamus’s prediction that the world would end in 1999?

[@ethanbosch3227]

Finally after all these years of watching danooct1, you've decided to pay respects to me! Much appreciated!😂

[@noisegrrrl]

That trusting the russians part really hits differently two months later

[@The_Carmine]

thanks, ethan.

[@gabrieldeoliveirabaptista4630]

Very cool Danooct1!

[@reinatycoon3644]

I like this virus and this video both are some of my faves I've seen on this channel. I wish we could know the cool dude Ethan that wrote this virus script. Thanks for sharing, your videos are super entertaining and educational.

[@ZyteXtrabyte]

glad to see you’re still uploading!

[@TeraunceFoaloke]

what a nice, if slightly buggy, virus

[@phrenetikillo]

Happy new year, sir! Was missing your videos!

[@itsinfernover]

please be aware alex eggleston may be present on your hard disk drive.

[@agabrield]

08:56 We come full circle huh

[@nikolaiivanov2111]

Technically if you open it up at April 1 at any time where the minutes are 04, it isn't buggy 😀

[@Fishsta]

Blimey, this is a blast from the past... the first office I worked in got this virus!

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

RIP Window's 9x press F in chat to pay respect

[@thecodingethan]

y2k compliant

[@ethanbowering9944]

Can't believe they named a virus after me

[@kryob1]

Ethan knows how to influence

[@biscuitstix_]

Ethan seems like a lovely fellow. I hope he's doing well these days

[@SYSSMouse]

thank you for reminding us to hoard toilet paper.

[@6DAMMK9]

*Insert "it's almost y2k" jokes

[@Shymarxd]

I love all your Videos Keep updating! :D

[@CalicoStudiosOFFICIALOwner]

I like how this virus isn't trying to be destructive, but informative. Unlike any other viruses that we've seen, they just destroy your pc or softlock it

[@pifatech]

This virus is actually a “2k apocalypse teacher”!

[@smg4gaming-poppyfromdreamw136]

RE7 & 8 be like: 💉

[@karanssh]

You could take this advice and apply it to the zombie apocalypse

[@vinniemackelmore9319]

Such a heartwarming virus...

[@CheddarVG]

Ethan was a good sport.

[@Ravenna17]

Now this is the craziest virus I’ve ever seen. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@scopes8956]

love it for once something wholsome haha imagine calling a virus wholsome

[@ZeldaACFan17]

The Y2K38 Bug...? It's not even 2028 yet!

[@ZeldaACFan17]

But here's some info on the new bug if you want to learn more about it en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

[@haryman222]

Your last little comment really encapsulates all the problems with the techbro mentality

[@ryannorthup3148]

*_fIrSt_* jk lol, this vid's sounding nice already! Nice job Dan!

[@sha-384thegreatest]

idk what to comment but keep it up, mate

[@omidafluturel3253]

Damn, this community is filled with positive energy, I love it!

[@basilchapmanlft]

Finally I am that famous that a virus was based off my real name