Office High Jinx: Mac

There's no better way to welcome back your coworkers from the holidays, vacation, or that long sales trip than with an office prank. There is no need for pranks to be relegated to April Fool's Day; any day of the year is good for a small joke. A prescription for safe office pranks if often perfect for some fun lighthearted fun and/or well deserved payback.

In this day and age, Technology and the Internet rule, and most people spend their time online browsing, emailing or shopping. Why not try and play a joke on your friends where they spend most of their time…their computers and offices.

Remember, any prank you can easily play on someone could just as easily be used against you as well.

Showing posts with label Mac. Show all posts

Phantom Keystroker v2

The Phantom Keystroker may look like a harmless usb thumb drive, but it's actually a devious contraption of unlimited office-based torture. Simply discreetly attach the Phantom Keystroker to any extra USB port on your victim's computer, no drivers needed. The Keystroker emulates a keyboard and mouse and periodically makes random mouse movements, toggles caps-lock and types out odd garbage text and phrases.
Switches on the side allow you to choose between keyboard garbage typing, caps lock-toggle, annoying mouse movements or all three. An adjustment dial sets the duration between "events". We recommend you don't set it too frequently so as to extend the agony.

It Looks Like You've Shaken the Insides Loose

| In : computer , Mac , MacBook , Software

Named after the father of modern mechanics, the 'Newton Virus' introduces the concept of gravity causing your desktop to behave exactly as it would in the real physical environment. Desktop icons become susceptible to Newton’s invisible force and fall, roll and tumble in whatever direction gravity pulls them delivering a little bit of reality to your virtual environment. Perfect for spicing up your colleagues day or simply enjoying the marvels of Newtonian principles at work.

Who's Dvorak?

| In : computer , Harmless , Keyboard , Mac , Preferences , Windows

The Dvorak keyboard layout, is an alternate keyboard layout that was designed to attempt to increase peoples accuracy and typing speed. By telling the computer that you are using a Dvorak keyboard layout, it will replace the keystrokes with the Dvorak keyboard equivalent.

On a Windows Computer:

From the Start menu Select Control Panel > Regional and Language Options

That Cracked Me Up

| In : Mac , Preferences , Software , Wallpaper , Windows

Want to see your coworkers face drop? Next time they step away to review their TPS reports, set their wall paper to the cracked screen wallpaper, hide their desktop icons, and turn off the screen-saver. They will think something went drastically awry while they were away.

Download the cracked screen wallpaper to your victims computer.
On a Windows Computer:

Place the cursor anywhere in the Desktop area other than directly on an icon. Right-click the mouse and select "Properties" from the menu that appears
Select the "Desktop" tab, then press the "Browse" button on the right side of the window
Navigate to the wallpaper you downloaded and select "OK", to set it as the wallpaper.
From the "Position" drop-down, select "Stretch".
Press "OK"

Would You Like To Super-Size That?

| In : computer , Cursor , Harmless , Mac , Preferences , Software , Universal Access

Do you have a coworker who is always loosing things? Help them keep track of their mouse cursor by super-sizing it for them.

Go to System Preferences > Universal Access
Select the "Mouse and Trackpad" pane
At the bottom of the window, adjust the "Cursor Size" slider to the far right, "Large"

With a cursor this big, you can be sure they will always be able to find it on the screen.

Can You See My Point of View II?

| In : computer , Display , Harmless , Mac , Preferences , Software , Universal Access

In our earlier post we discussed how Apples "Universal Access" Preference Panel is designed to enhance the user experience for people with disabilities. When enabled, they can produce some pretty wild experiences for those who don't know what is going on. But what if you want only a subtle change? Something they notice but it will take them a second or two to figure out whats wrong? The answer is simple, just turn their display to Grey-Scale.

Go to System Preferences > Universal Access
In the "Display" section, check the "Use grayscale" checkbox.

The "Enhance Contrast" slider will determine how bright the colors are, but "Normal" is good for a subtle change. Depending on how bright your victim is, it may take them a few minutes to realize that they lost all of the color on their screen.

Can You See My Point of View?

| In : computer , Display , Harmless , Mac , Preferences , Software , Universal Access

Apples "Universal Access" Preference Panel is designed to enhance the user experience for people with disabilities. When enabled, they can produce some pretty wild experiences for those who don't know what is going on.

Go to System Preferences >Universal Access
In the "Display" section, set the radio button to "White on black"

This prank is completely harmless to the computer, an unsuspecting victim will likely be on the phone to tech support to get their displayed replaced in a matter of minutes.

Your Mouse Is Looking a Bit Sluggish

| In : computer , Harmless , Mac , mouse , Preferences , Software , Windows

Know whats more frustrating then trying to find a needle in a haystack? Moving your mouse cursor across the screen when the sensitivity has been turned all the way down. This is especially cruel when you put the mouse cursor in the farthest corner of the screen, ensuring they will have to travel the farthest to reset it.

For an Apple Desktop:

Open System Preferences and click "Keyboard & Mouse" to display these preferences.
Click the Mouse tab. These controls let you set the mouse sensitivity to control how fast the arrow flies across your screen when you move your mouse. Under "Tracking" set the slider to the far left, "Slow", and close the window to apply the settings.

For an Apple Laptop:

Open System Preferences and click Keyboard & Mouse to display its preferences.
Click the Trackpad tab. These controls let you set the trackpad sensitivity to control how fast the arrow moves across your screen when you move your finger across the trackpad, and also adjust for your double-click speed.

For a Windows Desktop:

Open Control Panel by clicking Start > Control Panel
Click the Mouse icon to open the Mouse Properties Control Panel.
In the Mouse Properties window that appears, click the "Pointer Options" tab and locate the Motion section at the top of the window. Adjust the slider to the far left, "Slow", and then press "OK" to apple the settings.