10 Office Pranks To Confuse Your Less Tech Savvy Co-Workers

By Adam Rogerson

1. Flip their computer screen - Wait until your victim leaves the room, and then press the keys "Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow". This will flip the screen upside down. Simply press "Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow" to flip it back when they go to find IT help.


2. Set High Contrast Mode - Nice and simple and similar to the one above. Press "Shift + Alt + PrintScreen" to activate high contrast. Could even be used in combination with a screen flip.


3. Mess with their mouse - You can pick up a cheap wireless mouse and receiver off eBay. Simply plug the receiver into their computer, and give their mouse a wiggle every now and again. This works especially well if they do delicate tasks such as graphic design.


4. Edit Their Wallpaper To Show Blank Icons - Take a screen-shot of their desktop with all the icons. Now set that screenshot as their new wallpaper. Hide their icons and watch them scratch their heads in amazement as their icons don't work anymore!


5. Change The Language - As long as the Administrator hasn't blocked access, go to Start > Control Panel > Clock, Language and Region and then click Regional and Language Options. Click the Keyboards and Languages tab and change their language.


6. Change Their E-Mail Signature - Somehow get into their e-mail software and change their signature. Something like "Please don't contact me again" or "Lots of love" should do the trick. Be creative!


7. Change The Keyboard To Dvorak - This is similar to changing the language, but changes they keyboard settings rather than display. Go to Start > Control Panel > Clock, Language and Region > Change Keyboards. Click the add button, and add Dvorak (or another random or obscure layout) and set it as default.


8. Add Random AutoCorrect To MS Word - Go to Options > Proofing > Autocorrect Options. In the replace text as you type area, get creative with some words. You can be subtle, and make a correct spelling change to a typo, or go all out and have it so their name changes to some complete random sentence!


9. Set Up An Annoying Task - In task scheduler, you can set up some obscure tasks for the victim. You can open up a browser to a wacky website or open some other random application, get it to display a message or even send an email if you have the settings right. If you would be the prime suspect for a prank like this, wait until you're taking a holiday day, and set it up the day before. You can schedule it to open a website every 10 minutes for the whole day while your away.


10. Set A Restart Shortcut - Select a frequently used app on the victim's computer. Internet Explorer is a good one. Find the shortcut they use to launch it and edit the properties. Change the target to "%windir%system32shutdown.exe -r -t 00". Every time they try to launch their browser, their computer will restart.

There you go! 10 pranks to liven up your day (or get you fired if you do it to the boss!). Feel free to get creative with these. If someone really deserves it, why not do all 10 when they are out on lunch!

This post was written by Adam over at http://thearduino.com/. After writing a guide on Arduino for Beginners, I though I'd cause some mischief!

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