There are lots of ways to bring fun into your daily work routine, but nothing’s more inspiring than playing a good prank on unsuspecting colleagues. With Halloween coming our way, here’s a selection of the best tech tricks that can send shivers down your workmate’s spine. Beware, some folks with delicate psyche might never go to lunch with you again or hate you for this forever. So pick your victim wisely, don’t let them freak out too much and be a responsible prankster.
Blue screen of death
Okay, this might be an obvious one, so try to resist from playing this prank on tech-savvy coworkers. All you need to do is to find a “Blue screen of death” wallpaper or download the app and run it on your victim’s computer. As a result, it will show multiple error messages so that those unprepared people will most certainly think that their computer is as good as dead.
Scary noises
There are several smartphone apps that let you produce irritating or spooky noises. Set up the device in a hidden spot and play these sound effects remotely – guaranteed that it will drive your coworker crazy. You can either pretend you’re indifferent, while they looking for the source of the sound, or play along and help find it – the choice is yours. Or, to be even more creative, you can spend a night editing some creepy sounds and then replacing the standard Windows effects on your victim’s machine with these noises, screams or whatever you like the most.
Computer poltergeist
Of course, there are ways to literally mess with your workmates’ computers. Download an app that syncs with the victim’s computer and take their mouse in remote control. Also, look out for specific software like Office Poltergeist that gives access to a computer and lets you turning it into a “possessed” machine that opens and closes its CD drive all by itself and allows you doing other fun stuff.
Creepy emails
This never gets old and also can be a part of another prank from the list. You will need a fake email address to start sending out scary messages. You can make it look as if your coworker’s computer is alive and talking or steal something from their table and suggest trading it for their soul in an email. However, try to avoid direct threats – be creative and make it look hilarious in the end.
Haunted shortcuts
Changing the shortcuts on your victim’s desktop is another good old prank that most probably won’t scare anybody, but will certainly make them go crazy until you unveil the mystery. To change the shortcuts and let them open horrifying pictures or entirely different applications, go to the Properties menu and edit the Target field in the way that you like it open. There’s one more important thing to remember: the shortcut’s icon image will update automatically as soon as you change the target, so don’t forget to change it back to normal.
Do you have a favorite computer prank? Don’t hesitate to share with us in the comments section below!