Lightkeepers: 4 Cool Fake Viruses to Make Your Friends Freak Out

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4 Cool Fake Viruses to Make Your Friends Freak Out

via MakeUseOf.com by Tim Watson on 7/5/09

There's nothing wrong with a harmless prank, especially when the victim is anyone but you. If you want to have some fun with your friends (or enemies for that matter), drop these cool fake viruses into the folder located at "C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuStartup", then watch 'em squirm.

Although the following fake viruses may seem malicious to the unsuspecting, they are non-destructive to your computer system. So you don't have to worry about anything else and just enjoy the fun of making someone else panic!

Mix it up a little, don't forget to check out other "prank" posts on MakeUseOf like 4 Really Popular Prank Call Websites & How They Work and Two Great 'n Simple Nerdy Office Pranks to Play On Friends!

Let's get pranking, shall we?

(1) Fake Virus Batch File

I got this prank from WikiHow. I love it because it looks the most like an actual attack. Copy and paste the following into an open Notepad window, then save the file with any name you choose and an extension of ".bat"

Here's the code:

cls
:A
color 0a
cls
@echo off
echo Wscript.Sleep
echo Wscript.Sleep 5000>C:sleep5000.vbs
echo Wscript.Sleep 3000>C:sleep3000.vbs
echo Wscript.Sleep 4000>C:sleep4000.vbs
echo Wscript.Sleep 2000>C:sleep2000.vbs
cd %systemroot%System32
dir
cls
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep3000.vbs
echo Deleting Critical System Files…
echo del *.*
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep3000.vbs
echo Deletion Successful!
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo:
echo:
echo:
echo Deleting Root Partition…
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo del %SYSTEMROOT%
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep4000.vbs
echo Deletion Successful!
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo:
echo:
echo:
echo Creating Directory h4x…
cd C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuPrograms
mkdir h4x
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep3000.vbs
echo Directory Creation Successful!
echo:
echo:
echo:
echo Execution Attempt 1…
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep3000.vbs
echo cd C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart MenuProgramsStartuph4x
echo start hax.exe
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep3000.vbs
echo Virus Executed!
echo:
echo:
echo:
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo Disabling Windows Firewall…
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo Killing all processes…
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo Allowing virus to boot from startup…
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo:
echo:
echo Virus has been executed successfully!
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
echo:
echo Have fun!
start /w wscript.exe C:sleep2000.vbs
pause
shutdown -s -t 10 -c "Your computer has committed suicide. Have a nice day."

Here's how it will look like once it is launched:

cool fake viruses

Your victim's PC will display messages as in the above image, and then initiate a shutdown sequence which can be stopped by entering "shutdown –a" in the Run command box. It looks bad, but is otherwise completely harmless.

(2) EICAR Test File

This test file, while harmless, will set off any good virus scanner. It's a test file to make sure that your anti-virus is vigilant, and is great for sending in an email.

fake virus programs

(3) Fake Format

I remember getting my brother once with a similar program. This cool fake virus perfectly simulates the Windows disk-format dialog, and cannot be closed or halted until it's ran its course. Once it's done, a message will be displayed informing the user that it was just a joke.

fake virus for windows

(4) Fake Delete

This is my favorite because, like its formatting counterpart, Fake Delete mimics the Windows file-delete dialogs. It even goes as far as using your actual file list instead of generic filenames! This also has the "it-was-all-a-joke" screen after it's done running.

When executing these pranks, please be considerate to whether your intended victim is mildly-panicky or really panicky, and whether your mark has some kind of panic disorder or heart problem. It's all fun and games until someone goes to the hospital. Otherwise, have fun!

Are you familiar with any cool fake viruses? What are your favorite computer pranks? Give us some of your most evil, yet good-natured, ideas in the comments.

Image credit: rmkoske

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