Your earliest memories of using a computer probably vary depending on your age. Some of you, I’m sure may recall Microsoft’s agents, or watching Flash animations. It was in 1999 when the internet became home to this new computer program BonziBuddy. Innocent-looking enough, however, this virtual assistant was responsible for over $1 billion in punitive damages.
“How So?”
Like most malware and internet spyware, the program was designed to attract many people with seemingly valuable features. With all its malevolent doings hidden within. It was a facade of user convenience, designed to help users during a time of mass use, and knowledge of the internet was quite new. But in reality, the program was collecting user data for advertising purposes, as well as contaminating Windows with irritating features and misleading system information.
The Legacy of BonziBuddy in the ’90s.
During the prominence of Windows 95, Microsoft gained tremendous popularity with this new operating system. Marketing the product in a way that could appeal to the masses. Computers were no longer part of an exclusive community, or only for businesses. Almost anyone could use a computer! Although Microsoft made the bold decision to appeal to everyone, it was now time to make computers easier to use. The answer was within their ambitious release of Office 97. Their approach to this program was strongly influenced by a research project from Stanford University, conducted by Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves, theorizing that people subconsciously treat computers like humans. Microsoft had to figure out a way to capitalize on this.
This was done by introducing Office Assistant, Clippy (or Clippit.) Whether you have heard about it in retrospect or experienced it yourself, this failed. It seems that Microsoft took this research publication too seriously. As you may already know, Clippy was universally hated and deemed distracting. Microsoft took quite some time to get the hint, and Clippy was ultimately removed from future office versions in 2003. Microsoft had worked on a technology assistant for quite some time before Office 97. With Microsoft Bob for Windows 3.1 and its agent characters. Such as Genie, which can be considered a prototype of Clippy. Although Microsoft may have failed with its Office Assistant, other companies believed that the concept still had potential and that they could do better.
BONZI Software.
Approximately two years prior to Windows 95, was the formation of BONZI Software, created by brothers Joe and Jay Bonzi. BONZI Software’s presence was the perfect preparation for timing and marketing. This was during the time when people didn’t understand the internet or the direction it would take. Because of this BONZI Software didn’t necessarily need the ingenuity to become successful. What helped BONZI Software gain traction was its voice e-mail application. Rather than sending text over e-mail, you could send a voice recording. Although this might not seem practical considering you could call somebody using the same phone you use to get online, it didn’t matter. It was something on the internet! This allowed BONZI Software to not only create programs for productivity but also some that would supposedly enhance your internet speed and protect your PC. Internet BOOST ’99 and InternetALERT’99 however do nothing other than create a firewall and alter basic system configurations. But this didn’t prevent BONZI Software from establishing a name for itself.
BonziBuddy.
By the time Clippy was casually sitting on most Windows desktops, BONZI Software had released their own assistant, BonziBuddy. BonziBuddy used technology similar to Microsoft Agent and even one of its characters was used. Peedy, the talking parrot. This version of BonziBuddy would not last very long, and a character change would quickly take place. It’s unsure of the reason, however. Whether it was due to copyright infringement, or a desire to be more original, a new character would introduce BONZI Software’s very own character, a talking purple gorilla. The majority of the program would remain unchanged, using Microsoft’s speech engine and a similar user interface.
As a virtual desktop assistant, its main features would be designed exclusively for the user’s convenience. Features would include but not be limited to:
- Keeping track of, and reminding you of events.
- Read e-mails out loud.
- Tell jokes or fun facts.
- Browse the web through a built-in search engine.
- Say anything you want with a text-to-speech tool.
Some features might’ve seemed rather pointless or complex, but the big selling point is that it was free. There were premium versions of the program users could purchase to get even more out of its features. BonziBuddy was getting numerous downloads from a range of demographics. A wide variety of people were using it, but over time it became more suspicious. Since BonziBuddy was going to be your virtual friend, it’s obvious that it would get to know you. This would create a warm introduction to the program for the user and allow it to optimize your PC. It would ask for your name, age, region, and even your address. Although it seems obvious now, it took most users at the time to realize that BonziBuddy was in essence just spyware. In reality, the program was using a backdoor Trojan horse that would upload this data to BONZI Software’s servers without the users’ approval. This would allow them to use this information to provide certain pop-up advertisements on your computer, without your permission. Not only were these annoying ads, but they were also misleading and quite unsettling at the time. These were advertisements that would appear as critical Windows errors, informing you that your computer was at risk unless you installed related BONZI Software programs. BonziBuddy would also repeatedly change your default search engine and homepage. Not only was BonziBuddy classified as Spyware, but it is also Adware and in some cases Malware.
The BonziBuddy Virus!
With this news, people were becoming more apprehensive about what they were downloading from the internet. However, classifying BonziBuddy as a virus is as misleading as the program itself. In order for a program to be classified as a virus, it has to have the capability of replicating itself in a harmful manner that can allow it to spread across multiple systems. Since BonziBuddy does not replicate itself, it does not fit this term. Although BonziBuddy may not be considered a virus, that isn’t necessarily true. BonziBuddy allows other programs, such as viruses to access your computer. Because it was equally destructive in the long term it might as well be considered a virus, as its behavior is indistinguishable to most end-users, who will think that any program that is bad is a virus. Ultimately, this is purely an argument of semantics and does not employ the damage that BonziBuddy provoked, which was a lot, to say the least.
Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against BONZI Software.
In 2002 BONZI Software faced a class action lawsuit for the misleading pop-up ads, where they were ordered to give $500 to each end-user that encountered one and another $5 for each ad impression. BONZI Software owed billions of dollars in reparations. Considering that was more money than the entire Microsoft anti-trust lawsuit, this amount didn’t seem very realistic for a third-party internet company. Consequently, BONZI Software settled for $175,000. As a result, BONZI Software’s revenue became limited. With watermarks on their misleading ads, as well as tight finances. However, the final nail in the coffin was in 2004. When the company faced another lawsuit. BonziBuddy’s spying tendencies didn’t stop and the once “cool” feature of collecting a user’s age would be the knockout for the company. Because many users were well under the age of 13, BonziBuddy’s practices violated COPPA. When BONZI Software was forced to pay $75,000 in damages, it was clear that this was the end. BONZI Software’s 11-year journey concluded that same year and the company had gone under. Joe and Jay Bonzi went off to go form other companies.
The Death of BONZI Software.
As you would expect, the death of BONZI Software led to the death of BonziBuddy. It would quickly lose full support for future Windows versions, and despite it being available for download for another four years after the company’s dissolution, would quickly be forgotten. Though as time progressed, so did nostalgia and inquiry. The program had somewhat of a resurrection in 2014 when it was repopularized by Joel, a member of the Vinesauce community who made a video that focused on destroying a Windows XP Virtual Machine. It didn’t take long for the program to become a phenomenon, along with Clippy, the butt of many online jokes. BonziBuddy seemed to serve as a testament to how quickly things age on the internet. One decade prior, people were unironically using this program, which now looks completely ridiculous and obviously suspicious.
The possible rise of Clippy.