Fake OS update screens let procrastinators buy extra break time

[Shawn Knight]

IT Prank: Return-to-office mandates have rubbed some employees the wrong way, especially those that became accustomed to frequent breaks throughout the day. With peers and managers now back in the picture, it seems workers will have to reacclimate to the old way of doing things… that is, right after this Windows update wraps up.

X user Matty McTech recently shared a pro tool for procrastinators and pranksters alike. White Screen is a handy website that lets visitors go full screen with an array of static colors, which could be useful in a variety of scenarios. You even have the option to specify exact pixel resolution for a perfect fit. The real fun, however, resides in the prank and fake update screen categories.

Don't Tell My Boss I Found This 𤫠pic.twitter.com/usrFJ4b1dZ

– Matty McTech (@setupspawn) May 19, 2024

The bogus blue screen of death screen, which looks a lot (but not identical to) the real deal, and the white noise screen could cause lots of headaches for unsuspecting victims, especially among those that are not tech savvy. The phony OS update screens are even more deceptive, and could buy some free time for employees brave enough to try them.

The fake update screens allow you to specify a run time before launch, and you can even set a custom launch percentage to better the ruse. It s the sort of thing you wouldn't want to use on a regular basis, but for an occasional extra break, it would probably fool most non-techie co-workers and supervisors.

Related reading: Top 10 tech pranks: harmless and fun IT jokes

Of course, these gags can be used in other ways that are not as likely to get you fired. Screens could serve as the icing on the cake at a tech-themed party, or to add flair to a presentation. Filmmakers could even use them as the focal point of tech-related scenes, and they would make good background material for streamers.

Image credit: Clint Patterson

Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.

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Fake OS update screens let procrastinators buy extra break time

 

[Thrackerzod]

Seems to me doing actual work would be more entertaining than sitting there staring at a fake update screen.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Seems to me doing actual work would be more entertaining than sitting there staring at a fake update screen.

There are some stupid bosses and I've seen a few in my time. They hate see very good efficient workers doing nothing like reading a book, and rather see someone dragging the work slow as.
In London an Australian temp would did up reports for 2 bosses, got let go, while one boss was away on a business trip. The other one was pissed to see her reading a book. When the other boss came back he was even more pissed off, as her work was exemplary and very quick . She was not even front office, where some companies just want the presentation of professional look.
Because I saw the managers expense accounts , some ripped the corporation ( an oil company ) off for more than her income every month probably , much the same as politicians rip off the taxpayer ( eg rent their own apartment in the capital and claim a housing benefit at another property, moving fees etc )

 

[p51d007]

Back in the windows 3.1 days, when I was dispatching for the county sheriff, one of the dispatchers would always forget to lock the screen, which was policy due to criminal history checks we did and what not.
I would jump up, go into the mouse control panel where you could set the orientation. I'd turn the mouse 180 degrees, set all the orientation like you normally would, then turn the mouse back around. The look on the other dispatcher's face when they would move the mouse up, and it would go down, left it would go right...priceless!

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Back in the windows 3.1 days, when I was dispatching for the county sheriff, one of the dispatchers would always forget to lock the screen, which was policy due to criminal history checks we did and what not.
I would jump up, go into the mouse control panel where you could set the orientation. I'd turn the mouse 180 degrees, set all the orientation like you normally would, then turn the mouse back around. The look on the other dispatcher's face when they would move the mouse up, and it would go down, left it would go right...priceless!

MY favorite was to take a screenshot of the desktop, make it the background, then delete all shortcuts and hide the taskbar. That never got old.

 

[toooooot]

Bathroom breaks. Reliable method.
It I safer too because you will probably have to abuse it long enough for someone
to do something about it.

 

[gdavid65]

"That looks like the 5th system update you've had today!".. Fact or fiction? hmmm, could be either!

 

[RudyBob]

I like this one. Kudos