Everyone likes a good joke, and with the development of technology, high-tech pranks are always ready to be pulled off. Now that you’re prepared to pull out all kinds of hijinks, curl up with a screen and enjoy the 25 most excellent technological practical jokes ever discovered. We appeal to your friends and coworkers ahead of time.
1. The Restart Remap
We begin with one that will confuse even the most experienced Windows user. Setting up on someone else’s computer takes a few seconds. When you can, slip over to Internet Explorer or another frequently used program, right-click your friend’s icon, and change the target to “% windir%system32shutdown.exe—r—t 00” by editing the properties. When your friend tries to use the web browser, his computer will mysteriously restart, immediately making you laugh.
2. Startup Folder Fun
While discussing system startup, check out the Windows Startup folder. To give a colleague daily appreciation, create a text file with something funny and place it there. In addition, if you genuinely wish to be evil, add the restart shortcut from above (not advised unless you want to have your ass kicked).
3. Disappearing Desktop
A dated computer joke is always in. Although the desktop image trick has been around for a while, don’t worry—many gullible people are still out there. just go to an unattended computer, reduce the size of every window, and press the Print Screen button. You can use Microsoft Paint or any other graphic editing program to paste the recorded image, save the file, and set it as your desktop in the background. All you need to do is hide the actual desktop icons by hiding them in a folder, and your victim will ceaselessly attempt to click on the fictitious icons, which are merely a portion of the backdrop picture. Another option is to open one program when you catch the Screen and watch the futile efforts made by the user to dismiss, click, and type in it.
4. Auto-Insult
Few things are funnier than making a friend disgraced, and Microsoft has made it simple. Spend a few minutes editing the Autocorrect option in your colleague’s Word or Outlook (both programs have a similar feature under the Tools menu). Create a new entry with the word “douche” in place of their name, and observe how all of their emails and documents suddenly become much more amazing. This one can go to many interesting and equally entertaining places with a little imagination.
5. Serius Business
The dictionary is another useful area to play with in Word or Outlook settings. For smiles, try substituting some common misspellings for a few right terms. Just ensure this is handled and tackled before your colleague notifies the entire company through formal memos.
6. Annoying Audio
A tiny investment will result in a significant return with the ThinkGeek Annoy-a-Tron. This simple $10 device may make even the darkest offices brighter. This device appears to be a computer part, but when you turn it on, it randomly emits loud beeps and buzzes. Additionally, you can switch between multiple grating sounds. Simply place the magnetic device on someone’s computer’s back and watch them try to find the source of the horrible noise—hint: they never will.
7. Phantom of the Office
The Phantom Keystroker, which ups the ante on Annoy-a-Tron, plugs into a USB port and then randomly hits keys or moves the mouse once every few minutes. Both the type and quantity of emissions are under your control. This would be well worth the $25, particularly if you can deduct it from your taxes as a company expense.
8. Manual Control
You may always attach a second mouse manually to a nearby tower via the USB port if your budget does not include a section for “pranking devices.” If you can reach the back of the person’s PC from under your desk, that person will get the most. Turn on, sway, and watch their writhing. Bonus points if your mouse is wireless.
9. The Speaker Swap
Try out another switcheroo while you’re already beneath the desk: switching out the speakers. Simply connect their speakers to your PC. Now, play a low-frequency heartbeat sound continuously and observe how long it takes them to shut down the bother on their computer. For a more potent version, replace one of your speakers with theirs (ideally the one without volume control) without changing the wires themselves. Not only will they be able to hear your rude antics at full volume, but they will also be able to hear the noises of their own system from the remaining speaker.
10. The Wrath of Rotation
A quick, easy, and always funny practical joke is to use the hotkeys for screen rotation in ways that Microsoft never intended. To rotate a coworker’s 21:9 and 16:9 display orientation, simply sprint by their desk, reach over and press Ctrl-Alt-up or down. If you have some alone time, you can outdo them by entering the Control Panel and switching the mouse to left-handed operation. They’ll stare at this with their heads cocked to the side for ten minutes, trying to make sense of it all.
11. Mousing Around
Although the days of taking mouse balls were over, thanks to the laser mouse, there was still a third option. To really meddle with the functionality of your friend’s mouse, place multiple layers of transparent tape on the underside of the device. In addition, to earn extra points, cover the laser with a little Post-It note that reads, “Why won’t my mouse work?”
12. A Pointer Pointer
In the Control Panel, you’ll find another fantastic mouse joke. Set the hourglass as the default mouse pointer under the “Pointer” tab of the “Mouse” settings. All of a sudden, the system is always in use! What is happening?
13. Mousing Around
You’ll have more enjoyment if you spend more time using the “Mouse” settings. To indeed confuse a friend, try switching their primary and secondary button functions. You may also cause them severe frustration by varying the pointer speed to either extremely fast or extremely slow.
14. Phone Fun
For some time, let’s switch to the phone. First, PrankDial.com is a service that is always current. Simply go there and input a friend’s phone number. After selecting from various voices and styles, you can type any message you choose, and it will call the recipient and read it out. You have no difficulty whipping off three of these practical jokes daily, so you should have no shortage of annoying possibilities.
15. Telephone Twist
Two more websites approach phone issues in a different way. You can use TeleSpoof.com and SpoofCard.com to call anyone and have CallerID display any number you choose. When you contact your girlfriend on her phone, watch the confused she becomes—from her phone. You can only make three calls per phone number before each service charges you, but even that amount will keep you busy for a long time. And it’s still legal, though that may change, so take advantage of this while it lasts.
16. Bluetooth Blues
Our next joke got popularity thanks to “The Office,” and wow, is it really a hit? When a coworker leaves their phone hanging around, take it and pair your Bluetooth headset with it. You can now answer and place all of their calls. You are indeed a wise man, Jim Halpert.
17. Customized Commotion
Do you know anyone who has a phone with an adjustable message displayed on the home screen? They get the next one. When you can, adjust the message to “NO SERVICE” by entering their phone’s settings. Reaction upon their return is likely.
18. Remote Control
Return to the computer for higher-level pranks. Since you’ll have to install something and could lose your job if you do it at work, this one might be better suited for a close friend or significant other. Set up a virtual network computing (VNC) server on their system. Some are available for free, such as OSXvnc for Macs and TightVNC for Windows. After completing the setup, you can use your own computer to click, type, and use their system. Try subtle things, like keys here and there or program launches, and observe how confused they get. We advise against leaving this up for too long, though, as you could face serious consequences from their anger and possibly see some shocking pornographic content.
19. The Modern-Day Poltergeist
A simple Firefox accessory called Office Poltergeist is currently available as a less annoying alternative to that idea. Installing this baby will allow you to send popup messages on other people’s computers, load new websites, move windows around, and play difficult sounds. It may even be used to change any word on a webpage to any other word you choose. We propose changing the term “internet” to “intercourse.”
20. Printing Power
Write down the next one if you are comfortable with networks. Find the location of the network printer folder in your office by doing a little digging. You’re set once you have that piece of knowledge. Go to that path, choose any printer, and then press the connect button. You can now print and send random paper messages to any part of your office without any kind of reason.
21. Screen Scream
It could surprise you that Microsoft is our next joke’s source. The programmers released a “Blue Screen of Death” simulator for offices there. After a few minutes of inactivity, install the screensaver on an unsuspecting IT guy’s PC to see a common sign of a system error appear.
22. Bad Vision
Speaking of displays, our next chance for ninja activity comes via the Windows Control Panel. If you really want to muck with a visionary’s vision, go into the advanced settings and try adjusting the brightness and contrast all the way down and up accordingly.
23. Crazy Keys
With his own keyboard, do you want to drive your friend crazy? For some entertainment, explore the Regional and Language Settings found in the Windows Control Panel. Naturally, August Dvorak, a man who may or may not be insane, created a different keyboard layout that was never popular. However, you can still access it without normal typing. You may remap the keyboard entirely by just selecting Details under the Languages tab, then Add.
24. Rules of Pranking
In general, outlook rules can be funnier. Try to configure one on your colleague’s PC so that when they receive an email from you, a joyful tune will play, a hard copy will print, and a copy will be immediately forwarded back to them for further impact. When that combination gets stale, you can test many other combinations.
25. Hotkey Hell
This last joke may be the cruellest of them all. With a small application called AutoHotKey, which is a very useful tool for legal purposes, you may assign different macros to key combinations of your choosing. Since you can write the scripts on your own computer and then convert them to executable files that you can just run on another computer, you don’t even need to install anything on other people’s computers. No matter the user’s software, you can instantly change any text string to something else with some basic scripting. Additionally, you may remap standard hotkeys like Ctrl-P to carry out any particular action, such as opening Outlook and sending you a message reminding you how great you are if you take your time with it, you’ll discover enough practical jokes to keep your level of fun high.
These are the top 25 high-tech practical jokes. Make good use of them and take care when using them; if someone hurts you in any way as a result, do not contact us.
