Office Pranks

Security Watch 101

Often my cubical buddy leaves her computer unattended when she goes to lunch, meetings, etc. Having a strong IT Security background, I would swing over from time to time and send a funny note to our group alias (all 45 of us) saying silly stuff like, I really want to thank my boss for all his help, he’s the best and often saves my butt each week…. Or something silly like that. Well, none of those harmlessly and embarrassing emails worked and she continued to leave it unattended. On April 1, she went to lunch and I decided that she needed a new background image. I went to work by taking a screen shot of her desktop (with several open programs up and running) and set the image as her desktop background image. Then I hid all the icons in a folder so that my screen shot would be more realistic. The real kicker was the final piece - I hid the task bar out of site AND changed the mouse settings to left handed. When she got back, boy she was perplexed… and went to her boss… asking for his help to save her butt, once again. She now logs off each and every time she steps away from her desk for extended periods of time.

Roberto,

Santa Clara, CA

the Ole' Just Needs Batteries Trick

Another harmless practical joke for the office

T'was the night before april fool’s day and all thru the office… a few of my buddies decided our boss needed a little challenge and we needed a good laugh in the morning. So we went to task on his computer and decided it needed a little mischievous overhaul. We went to task unplugging the mouse from the laptop docking station but cleverly made it appear still connected. Then put a small piece of tape over the laser light (if it’s old style, take the ball out). The keyboard was wireless so we flipped the batteries, rendering it useless. The next morning there he was, along with one of the guys from helpdesk, both scratching heads having tried all the obvious checks – they found the loose cable. We watched as they poked and prodded like monkeys until one of us couldn’t stand it anymore and came to the rescue… with a “fresh set of batteries” and a quick check of the laser light on the mouse.

Sue

Bellevue, WA

How to Put a Stapler in Jello Gelatin Trick

i will admit, this is straight from "The Office" a funny TV sitcom that made office pranks more famous than ever. It works best for those possessive of their desk items and if done correctly, will set firm and last for days:

1. After getting the stapler, mix the following ingredients:

a full box (32 packets) of Knox clear gelatin,

1/2 packet red (cherry, strawberry, etc) Jello gelatin,

boiling water

cool water

large rubber container big enough to cover the stapler

two rulers

dental floss or fishing line

scissors

2. Fill the container half-full of cool water. Sprinkle in all 32 packets of Knox gelatin and stir. Add equal amount of boiling water and continue stirring until gelatin dissolves. Add 1/2 packet of red Jello and stir. (Adding only enough to leave gelatin transparent enough to see the stapler.)

3. Use dental floss or fishing line tied around two rulers to suspend stapler in gelatin. Be sure to place the stapler upside-down so when you flip the container over it will be facing upright, which is how you will place the mold on your co-worker's desk.

4. Put the prize into the refrigerator overnight. Once set, place container in tray of very hot water to loosen it and then carefully flip upside down! Enjoy the look on your coworker’s face when they discover it.

Found this on YouTube posted by tiner3682, on September 22, 2008

I'm convinced this guy has too much time on his hands. He writes "With The Office set to begin it's 5th season in the US, I decided to pay tribute to it by acting out one of the first pranks ever used in The Office, British or American.

I placed a co-workers stapler in Lemon Jello then placed a hidden camera in his classroom to catch the response.

The music over the montage is made with Garage Band "

Flipped Monitor

This is a classic one that many of you have heard, but there is nothing better than a simple prank on the right person.

At my old job as an accounts receivable clerk for an auto group, we used to get quite few new recruits in the shop. Lucky for us, most of these new recruits were not very computer literate.

Camaraderie was very important to our group within the company and we all tended to be a bunch of jokers. Part of this camaraderie was what we called a “Politically Correct” hazing process each newbie or rookie went through. What we’d do is wait for them to leave there desk unattended and look to see if they had not locked their computer.

If they hadn’t, we’d flip their monitors (they had two) upside down within the display options and wait for them to get back. Since they were mostly rookies, this prank was especially fun to watch. They would look around for bit and then start trying to figure it out in a major stupor.

Rarely did they ever figure out what happened until we told them, but the crew got some major laughs while they tried.

Just another simple prank, that doesn’t get you fired – LOL!!

Bob,

Boise ID

Auto-Correct

We all use and love auto-correct when typing documents, school papers, emails and alike and know how it makes us look super smart and type really fast. Well, I played a good one one of my boss at work while, knowing she had a project to finish later that day... thank goodness we are friends.

In Word, go to "Tools" and then "Auto Correct." (office 08 - word options, proofing, auto correct options) and will see the entire list of commonly mistyped words next to the correct spelling. Here, you can edit to how you want it spelled. I changed the spelling of their name from "Roberta" to "Robert" and changed the company name to one of our competitors. Then i added extra letters or reverse the spelling on other common industry specific words.

But be methodical to note all of the ones that you changed so you can change it back later! I learned the hard way - it took several days to fix it. However, it is hilarious to watch them. They'll swear that something evil has corrupted their computer.

Sally

Dallas, TX

Blue Screen of Death

We all are so familiar with the Blue Screen of Death on our PC's and in one form or another, this is an indication that something has gone so terribly wrong. Enjoy the face of your co-workers when they see this on their computer!!! Microsoft has a great fun BlueScreen that you can download as a screen saver onto your victims computer. yes, that's right. Microsoft has a bit of humor, too