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Twitter User Hacks 50,000 Printers To Tell People To Subscribe To a YouTube Channel (zdnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the stranger-things dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A Twitter user using the pseudonym of @TheHackerGiraffe has hacked over 50,000 printers to print out flyers telling people to subscribe to PewDiePie's YouTube channel. The message the printers received was a simple one. It urged people to subscribe to PewDiePie's YouTube channel in order for PewDiePie -- a famous YouTuber from Sweden, real name Felix Kjellberg -- to keep the crown of most subscribed to YouTube channel.

If this sounds ...odd... it's because over the past month, an Indian record label called T-Series has caught up andsurpassed PewDiePie, once considered untouchable in terms of YouTube followers. The Swedish Youtube star made a comeback after his fans banded together in various social media campaigns, but T-Series is catching up with PewDiePie again.

49 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Printers today, IoT tomorrow by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can't "wait" for the inevitable day when Internet of Things devices get mass hacked. Can we start calling them: Insecure of Things or "Insecure on 'Tubes" instead ? :/

    1. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by chispito · · Score: 1

      Can't "wait" for the inevitable day when Internet of Things devices get mass hacked.

      You don't read the news much, do you?

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    2. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 1

      Ah, missed that.

    3. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by mermeid007 · · Score: 1

      Thank you - I did too

    4. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Can't "wait" for the inevitable day when Internet of Things devices get mass hacked.

      It's already happened many times over.

      Can we start calling them: Insecure of Things or "Insecure on 'Tubes" instead ? :/

      Get with it, grandpa! It's called the Internet of Shit. ;)

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    5. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Can't "wait" for the inevitable day when Internet of Things devices get mass hacked.

      That day is here. Mostly they are used in botnets, fwiw.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by bn-7bc · · Score: 1

      You mean the FSB puppiet Putin I guess, the KGB dies noe exsist any more. I have no problem with you blsming russian inteligence but at least refer to them by a nsme that is not 23 years out of date. And no I’m not affiliated with them or ibdeed any russian organisation (as far as I know). Have a nice day

    7. Re:Printers today, IoT tomorrow by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I think you may have missed a lot. Not only have we had mass hacked IoT devices causing issues (recently an attack on DNS root servers was brought to you by Chinese internet connected webcams) but we've even had whitehat hackers hacking IoT devices to force them to apply updates to make them more secure, and grey hats hacking the devices to brick them so they stop polluting the web.

      I think we covered both here on Slashdot but I'm on time constraints so I'll leave the searching to you :-)

    8. Re: Printers today, IoT tomorrow by houghi · · Score: 1

      I have a Raspberry Pi. It has Linux. I am safe.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  2. Add this to the list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    of things I care nothing about

    1. Re:Add this to the list by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      of things I care nothing about

      ... until all the gadgets around your house are singing/displaying/printing adverts and shit.

    2. Re: Add this to the list by orlanz · · Score: 1

      Careful, you might not have paper left to print that list.

  3. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I weep for humanity.

    1. Re: Wow by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      Print Trump/Hillary (depending on your inclinations) toilet paper until the feed bin is empty. After all, it's not your paper that's being wasted.

    2. Re: Wow by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Print solid black sheets until the ink is empty.

    3. Re: Wow by crypticedge · · Score: 1

      This predates 4chan by a long time.

    4. Re: Wow by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Fake Anarchist? You mean, like one that doesn't actually have a real membership?

  4. Mass delusion by The+Evil+Atheist · · Score: 1

    People should drop the delusion that they're not easily controllable. The fact that it worked shows most people will just follow orders.

    --
    Those who do not learn from commit history are doomed to regress it.
  5. So, what are you in for? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    > I hacked printers to pimp a Youtube channel.

    If that doesn't make you someone's bitch I don't know what will.

  6. Like the good old days by AndyKron · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Kind of like the good old days when you come into work and find a pile of FAX paper on the floor. Grrrrrr!

    1. Re:Like the good old days by jfdavis668 · · Score: 2

      I had the same thought. Fax spam was a pain. We had a central fax machine, and someone got info on everyone in the company. They would send individual faxes to everyone, all to the same fax machine, always from a different number. About once a week or so we would come into this pile of faxes. We had to move to a digital fax server to stop it.

    2. Re:Like the good old days by LesFerg · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm out of paper, could you fax me some more?

      --
      If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.
    3. Re:Like the good old days by serviscope_minor · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm out of paper, could you fax me some more?

      I managed to feed the paper in but the machine broke when I tried to feed the shipping box through. It made that same funny cluking sound as it did when I tried to fax that floppy last week.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
  7. Some "hack" by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The only condition was that the printer was connected to the Internet, used old firmware, and had "printing" ports left exposed online.

    The hack relies on using automated scripts to send print messages to printers that have IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) ports, LPD (Line Printer Daemon) ports, and port 9100 left open over the Internet.

    So in other words... he printed to printers.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Some "hack" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Considering how many of the people in my office can't print to the printer that's been specifically set up for them, it probably sounds like arcane wizardry to most people.

    2. Re:Some "hack" by coofercat · · Score: 1

      It's amazing this stuff makes slashdot, especially in it's 'unfiltered' form. TFS is awful, exactly as you point out. The further 'enragement' is that the hacker used Twitter. Shocking indeed. If we ever find out he used blockchain, we could see a financial meltdown to rival the time when some coins fell through a hole in my pocket.

    3. Re:Some "hack" by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      The only condition was that the printer was connected to the Internet, used old firmware, and had "printing" ports left exposed online.

      So in other words... he printed to printers.

      Not just that, but the firmware doesn't even have to be old. There's newer printers with LPD support. Naturally, you should disable it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Some "hack" by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I can usually find the right printer, but getting the printout right the first time is pretty hit and miss. You have a 50/50 chance with portrait A4 document, but anything else will probably need several attempts to get the right paper size, orientation, scaling, page selection and collation.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Some "hack" by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

      The only condition was that the printer was connected to the Internet, used old firmware, and had "printing" ports left exposed online.

      So in other words... he printed to printers.

      Not just that, but the firmware doesn't even have to be old. There's newer printers with LPD support. Naturally, you should disable it.

      That doesn't follow. LPD is a perfectly cromulent printing protocol. What you should do is the same as for all other services on your LAN -- firewall them off from the outside world.

      --
      Chelloveck
      I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
    6. Re:Some "hack" by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Well, please let me rephrase that. If you're not using it, you should disable it. What if someone/thing gets loose inside your network?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Huh? by quonset · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Who or what is a PewDiePie and why should I care? Never heard of him/it so it can't be important.

    1. Re:Huh? by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 2

      There's a whole generation for whom YouTube stars are who they look up to. It's frightening.

    2. Re:Huh? by TheReaperD · · Score: 2

      Not any worse than football/basketball stars and movie stars. All have about the same track record of being ahem "quality" role models for out children. Since we idolize them instead of doctors, scientists, etc., the race for the first to spin down the drain picks up pace.

      --
      "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
    3. Re:Huh? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      He do have 70 million subscribers.
      More than that know about his existence.
      If 100+ million people know who you are how isn't that famous?
      Maybe not Michael Jackson famous but still pretty famous.

    4. Re:Huh? by Patent+Lover · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but even football/basketball stars don't constantly have a window at the bottom of their games wearing headphones and narrating the stupid shit you're watching.

    5. Re:Huh? by Powercntrl · · Score: 2

      Maybe not Michael Jackson famous but still pretty famous.

      He's famous for being famous. Michael Jackson was famous for his musical abilities, and later for his alleged inappropriate interests/conduct with children.

      If PewDiePie wants to keep his #1 spot, maybe he should consider fondling a few kids. Anything for the fans, right?

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    6. Re:Huh? by cashman73 · · Score: 1

      Football/basketball stars also have this thing called,. . . ahem,. . . talent.

    7. Re:Huh? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Originally he wasn't famous though. I assume he become famous for people enjoying watching he play games and possibly for thinking he was cute.

      I don't see how it matter why you are famous though. He definitely is famous.

    8. Re:Huh? by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Physical strength, dexterity beyond thumb-twitch skill. Balance, the ability to work in team strategy with other players on a real physical field.

      Real world stuff you probably wouldn't understand.

  9. T-series by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

    No one knows or cares who/what "T-series" is. Stop posting this crap.

    1. Re:T-series by PPH · · Score: 1

      Come on now Felix. Be a good sport.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  10. Mystified by Tau+Neutrino · · Score: 1

    How is the number of subscribers one has on YouTube even a thing that people care about? Isn't there something even slightly more important they could be pursuing?

    I'm baffled.

    --
    Lemmings are silly; dinosaurs are extinct.
    1. Re:Mystified by Powercntrl · · Score: 1

      How is the number of subscribers one has on YouTube even a thing that people care about?

      Everything that's popular/trending on YouTube is utter tripe. The only things worth watching on there are from the handful of content creators who don't give a shit about regularly spewing out clickbait garbage just to keep their rankings up.

      --

      ---
      DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    2. Re:Mystified by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      How is the number of subscribers one has on YouTube even a thing that people care about? Isn't there something even slightly more important they could be pursuing?

      Easy, more subscribers, more money. PewDiePie, former #1 on YouTube probably easily pulled in a few hundred thousand every month in YouTube money.

      If you've got a silver play button (100K subs) you generally can pull in a couple grand a month, not quite enough to live on, so you either have to supplement with a regular job or a Patreon account.

  11. It's about YouTube ad revenue by tepples · · Score: 1

    How is the number of subscribers one has on YouTube even a thing that people care about?

    You need at least a minimum number of subscribers to be eligible to put ads on your videos. The more subscribers, in theory, the more ad revenue you can earn.

  12. Re:How is Twitter relevant to this story? by tepples · · Score: 1

    One major difference is that Twitter can ban a user from its platform, but because email is a protocol as opposed to being a single point of failure, email can't ban a user.

  13. Been there, done that by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 4, Funny

    Some years ago I quietly programmed one of our office printers to display INSERT COIN when it was idle. This confused one of our summer students, but they all tended to be easily confused. It also caused some consternation when my former boss noticed and asked our sysadmin for an explanation.

    ...laura

  14. can PewDiePie handle prison / jail or will buy his by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    can PewDiePie handle prison / jail or will buy his way out? or the very least fight fight extradition??
    https://mic.com/articles/10913...

  15. Oh DEAR GAWD by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

    I... can’t... CARE!!!
    (Walks away whistling tunelessly, giving less than 10 raised to the negative 99th power fucks.)

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.