Computer prank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A computer prank is a prank related to either the software or the hardware of computers. Some are intended to humiliate, while others are comical, but not humiliating. Some pranks are "screamers," which are described by their name. Others involve loss of control of the computer software.
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[edit] Spam-signing
Spam-signing consists of e-mail bombing somebody by signing up for several ads on websites and instead of submitting their own address, the person commiting the prank submits the victim's e-mail address. Usually, the victim is signed up on a mail-list for adult content, which is even more embarrassing if the victim's family or workmates have regular access to their e-mails.
[edit] Screamers
Many online pranks take the form of Macromedia Flash movies in the spirit of a shock site, designed to startle the viewer; these are known as shock flashes, screamers (which vary in length of time and contain a scream within the movie near the end), or ambush flashes or sabotage flashes (flash movies that deceive the viewer into interacting or watching intently before scaring them). Although Flash is the most prevalent medium for shock animations, animated GIFs and videos are also used.
After grabbing the user's attention, the flash is abruptly interrupted by an unexpected image, usually accompanied by a burst of sound, such as a scream or roar. The picture can range from a crude cartoon to an explicitly gruesome image, in which case the shock comes partially from the content of the picture. In most cases, the picture itself, upon further viewing, is not in actuality very scary. Therefore, in almost all of these animations, the shock comes primarily from the startling, unsettling scream, which transmit and magnify the scariness of the image and the shock itself in whole.
Also, parodies of such movies exist. One such uses a perfectly innocent smiley face as the shock object, another involves an unmanipulated photograph of Michael Jackson, and another has a poorly drawn monster accompanied by an annoying and weak voiceover.
"Kikia" was the first prank flash to be widely spread and thus provide inspiration for other similar creations. It is an example of a flash prank which requires no input from the viewer, but instead depends on the viewer staying interested long enough for the screamer message to appear. It originated on Taiwan's Kimo webhosting service from a person with the online username "Netspooky." The flash begins with peaceful clips of a cartoon boy sitting on a lawn gazing at the sky, accompanied by Chinese text reading "Hasn't it been a long time... / Haven't looked at the sky closely..." The boy then begins walking down a city street lined with buildings, accompanied by more Chinese text reading "Walking on the street... / You see..." The first two scenes are accompanied by Utada Hikaru's pop ballad "First Love." Suddenly, the flash switches to a screenshot of the game Fatal Frame - a grayscale photograph of a ghost woman - and a piercing scream, ending with the single word "Kikia".
"Subliminal Messages," also known as "Subliminal Music and Images," is considered by many to be the scariest flash animation on the Internet (compare with Rubber Johnny). It has been distributed to many websites since 2002. It requires the reader to analyze pictures, looking for hidden messages in them. After providing two apparently real examples of hidden messages, the animation switches to the text of the Lord's Prayer, and starts playing Cradle of Filth's "Dinner at Deviant Palace" backward very quietly, along with faint noises. The low sound and the small text encourages the viewer to lean in and turn the sound up. In the middle of the song, a loud scream is heard, and five pictures are shown. The first is a picture of a bloody face from Rotten.com, this is followed by Satan's face from The Exorcist. The next image is another face from Rotten.com, followed by a picture of a harlequin baby. The last image is a grayscale image of a mummy without wrappings, which fades away, followed by a message, "Never trust flash animations talking about subliminal stuff!"
The "Urban Legends" flashes are a popular series distributed on the internet, which show mini documentaries providing evidence of the paranormal. They are another example of flashes that require the reader to concentrate on an analysis of the flash. Most, but not all, of the movies usually stop for 5 seconds, then an image of a ghost appears suddenly, accompanied by a very loud scream. "Urban Legends 3: Ghosts" is considered to be the scariest out of the series. It starts off normally, with a warning, and goes on to show ghost photography, ghost videos, and ITC. The first screamer hints to the viewer that ghosts may be haunting their computer monitor. 10 seconds later, a ghost girl pops up very briefly and is usually unseen. The movie continues with ghost EVP, then ends with a picture of an uncleaned room. The author tells the viewer to "LOOK CLOSER!!!!!" and then a loud scream and another ghost girl pops out from the door.
Adam Phillips, the creator of the Brackenwood series on Biteycastle.com and Newgrounds, recently created a short flash which is not a screamer, but indeed makes the audience jump. The flash, which is called "Taken" and can be found on his website, shows a man standing in his kitchen at night, watching the TV. The news report states that several terrifying creatures with the ability to teleport have wiped out an army single-handed. As the man begins to fear the worst, the TV flickers and then goes dead. The man stands there for another 10 or so seconds, terrified, wondering what to do, when suddenly the window smashes open and he is pulled out by a large creature, making the watcher jump. The entire grabbing moment last only five or six frames- it happens in the blink of an eye, yet is still a great shock. The flash finishes with the words "gotcha".
[edit] Loss of control
Some computer pranks function by removing the control of the computer from the user. For example, in the popular "You are an Idiot" prank, windows pop up flashing "you are an idiot," and bounce around the screen accompanied by a chorus singing the same words in a very annoying fashion; the windows continuously spawn and are impossible to close using the mouse. Such pranks are usually not functional in browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer and are impaired by the presence of a popup blocker or a virus scanner. A more severe version of this, which can circumvent most pop-up blockers and virus scanners and affects any major browser, is the shock site Last Measure.
The "Red Room" video is not a prank as such; it is simply a horror story, albeit one with an unexpected ending. It is a Flash video, entirely in Japanese, about an urban legend called "the Red Room," a popup window that allegedly will result in the death of the viewer if closed. The protagonist in the video searches on the internet for proof of its existence, only for the results to go horribly awry. The "shock" comes after the movie ends, when the Red Room popup appears on the user's desktop and begins acting as depicted in the video. This Flash is said to be the favorite of "Nevada-tan," the 11 year-old girl who slit her classmate's throat on 1 June 2004 in Sasebo, Japan.[1]
"Windows RG" is another prank that gives the victim a loss of control. It is a flash window that runs in full screen that simulates a Windows "really good" edition. This "really good" edition looks like windows drawn on paint and has many flaws built in. It can be closed with a simple alt+f4. Newer versions of internet browsers cause the progress and address bar to remain which causes it to not appear full-screen. Windows RG
[edit] Joke programs
Joke programs change the way a that computer normally operates, for humorous purposes. Most of the time, they are not harmful, and are easy to remove.
[edit] History
RJL Software was one of the first companies to make computer joke programs. They made such programs like "Fake Delete" and "Floppy Madness". Those classic pranks are still available today on their website. In the late 90's, computerpranks.com originated. This website features a database of computer pranks, prank stories, funny software, and a place where users can submit their own pranks.
[edit] Remote access pranks
In the past few years, people have made remote access pranks. These are not to be confused with RAT trojans such as SubSeven and ProRat. ErrMess and Office Poltergeist are some popular remote access pranks. These generally consist of a server, and a client. The server is opened on the victim's computer, and the client connects to the server. The prankster can then send commands to the victim's computer.
[edit] Antivirus software
Some antivirus and antispyware software detect joke programs. They are not detected as viruses, but as "PUPs" or "Joke Software". Some remote access pranks will be detected as a trojan horse, because of their behavior.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Prank Flash and Scary Flash collection of screamers and other flash pranks at Albino Blacksheep
