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Basic Tech Pranks!

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Want to mess with a coworker or family member and pull a prank? We at Frankenstein Computers of course do not condone such actions, but do support your right to choose to be a pest AND if anything goes wrong, please know that we are always here to help and support you in a PC or Mac related crises of your own making.

Change the mouse pointer to look constantly busy – will make someone think their computer is hanging all the time when it’s not:

       For Windows: Go to the Control Panel > Mouse > Pointers and change the “Normal Select” pointer to the “Working in Background” pointer.

       For Mac: This option isn’t readily available but you can still mess with the cursor. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display and drag the cursor size all the way to the right to make the mouse pointer gigantic. While you’re at it, you might as well mess around with the other display settings like inverting colors and turning the contrast all the way up.

Move desktop icons, take a screenshot, and set as the desktop wallpaper:

Take a screenshot of the victim’s current desktop, set it as the desktop wallpaper, and then hide the icons and taskbar. At first everything will look normal, but nothing will respond to mouse clicks. I you want to commit to the bit, take a screenshot of their desktop, set it as their wallpaper, move some icons around, and take another screenshot. Repeat until you have a very cluttered desktop, with only a few icons that actually work and the victim is left to search to find what’s usable. For both Mac and Windows users.

Replace system sounds:

Download or record an assortment of ‘.wav’ files and replace the user’s common system sounds through the Control Panel. Terrifying screams, long periods of silence between the default sound and the ones you are using, a child’s whispering voice – all good.

Block their mouse sensor with a Post-it:

That’s it. Just block it.

Autocorrect additions:

Replace intentionally typed words with those of your choosing! Example: replace the word “awesome” with “Frankenstein Computers” every time it’s typed (do it)!

Microsoft Word: Choose File from the main menu (or the Office button in older versions of Word) > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options.

Word on Mac: Word > Preferences > Autocorrect.

For iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard (make sure autocorrect is on) > Text Replacement > tap the Plus sign at the top right and add your “corrections.”

For Android: Go to Settings > Language & Input > Google Keyboard (or other default keyboard) > Text Correction > Personal Dictionary.

Adapted from techspot.com

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