back to article This one weird trick deletes any YouTube flick in just a few clicks

Security bod Kamil Hismatullin has disclosed a simple method to delete any video from YouTube. The Russian software developer and hacker found videos can be instantly nuked by sending the identity number of a video in a post request along with any token. Google paid the bug hunter US$5000 for the find along with $1337 under …

  1. Mark 85

    It's almost a pity that he didn't take up a collection to kill off the Bieber channel.... But then we'd have hordes of screaming teenie boppers and teenie bopper wannabees screaming for his head.

    Good catch on the vuln, though.

    1. tfewster
      Facepalm

      Irresponsible disclosure

      - telling Google before the forces for good had a chance to clean up the cesspool that is YouTube.

  2. John Tserkezis

    Might have been useful to finally get rid of all those f**king cat videos.

    Though, they'd probably be up again within the week. Seems to be no end to those.

    1. itzman

      the internet is full of...well...

      My first experience of 'bringing the internet to its knees' was way back when 64k lines were a luxury, and an irate customer wanted to know why no emails were getting into his company.

      A bit of poking around in the mail queues of the upstream server revealed a 50Mbyte email whose title was 'Video of My New Baby' ...which he requested be summarily deleted after learning whence it originated.

      Cats would have been a vast improvement.

    2. Nigel 11

      F*king cat videos

      But seriously, what else would a techie use to test that he's got the video and audio drivers right on a new install of someone else's device? AFAIK kittens are a safe choice.

      1. jai

        Re: F*king cat videos

        "what else would a techie use"

        This always goes down a treat:

        http://bit.ly/4kb77v

        1. asiaseen

          Re: F*king cat videos

          Was that a cameo appearance by Obama at 1:15?

  3. FozzyBear

    No bieber or minecraft video were harmed..

    Well I want to know why not

  4. Khaptain Silver badge

    What about the comments

    Since YouTube comments have now becoem the playgound for all form of insult, hatred and general unhappiness it would have been more interesting to delete the damned comments than the videos.

  5. Alister

    He says he spent seven hours finding the bugs and resisted the near overwhelming urge to "clean up Bieber's channel".

    He's got more restraint than I would have had...

    and bloody One Direction as well...

    and your little dawg...

  6. msknight

    Ahhh.....

    ...so that's completely different to when Google says that YouTube are nothing whatsoever to do with it, are a separate company, blah, blah, when I report abuse on the YouTube network, by letter, to them, then.

  7. Ash IT

    $1337? huh....strangely specific amount...

    1. Sandtitz Silver badge
      1. P. Lee

        Re: 1337

        >Here's the answer

        You are a sick, sick man.

        If it wasn't 1st April....

  8. Ash IT

    $1337 - strangely specific amount to pay out for this 'vulnerability'...

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Google are the company that bid Pi billion dollars for a bunch of patents a couple of years ago...

      1. Old Handle

        Did they include ALL the fractional cents? Or did they just round it up to 59?

    2. ContentsMayVary

      >$1337 - strangely specific amount to pay out for this 'vulnerability'...

      Clearly they think he has 1337 h4x0r skillz

  9. TeeCee Gold badge
    Meh

    "utter havoc"?

    Bit OTT with the hyperbole there methinks.

    "Withdrawal symptoms amongst ADD-afflicted YouBoob addicts" is probably closer to the truth.

  10. madmax4

    1337....leet

    further up in the article...31337.(eleet../ elite) ..also a port used by cDc Back Orifice...a *ahem* remote administration tool widely used by those in the know around 1998/1999 or so iirc....origin dates back to cDc using the term to get around text filters on bbs' when discussing those topics that interested them

    They're being cute about it.

  11. PassiveSmoking

    You can still delete any video you want

    Just make a DMCA claim against it.

    1. Simon Harris

      Re: You can still delete any video you want

      Does that stand for Delete Miley Cyrus AVIs?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: You can still delete any video you want

        Sob, sob, whine, Why are you hatin on Miley? Can't you just leave her alone?

  12. Mike Flugennock
    Childcatcher

    Y'mean, this guy found a way to delete every Justin Bieber video...

    ...and he didn't use it?

    Bah.

    But, yeah, as someone mentioned above... at least he could've shitcanned the comment sections.

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