How to create a fake virus to prank your friends?

If your idea of a practical joke is watching your friends fret over a virus attack on their computer, we’ve got the perfect prank for you. All you need to do is write a line of code on Notepad, and you will be able to trick your friends into believing their PC has been corrupted by a malicious virus. It won’t take them long to realise it’s a fake virus, making it the perfect harmless prank to play on your friends.

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Here’s how you can create a prank virus

Step 1: Open Notepad or Notepad++ and type the following code

X=MsgBox(“Your Message Goes Here”,0+16,”Title”)

This code will generate a message box every time the fake virus file is clicked. You can customise the message, title and buttons in several creative ways. All you need to do is substitute the message and button options in the code. Instead of “Your Message Goes Here” put in something that will spook your friend and them believe their computer has been corrupted with a virus.

The ‘0’ in the code generates the ‘OK’ button in the message window. You can change this button to something else by substituting 0 for 1,2,3, 4, or 5. Here’s what they do.

1 = OK/Cancel

2 = Abort/Retry/Ignore

3 = Yes/No/Cancel

4 = Yes/No

5 = Retry/Cancel

The ‘16’ in the code generates a ‘critical’ icon in the message box. You can change this icon to something else by substitution 16 with 32, 48, or 64. Here’s what they do.

32 = Help Icon

48 = Warning Icon

64 = Information Icon

Step 2: Repeat the code in the next line if you want to generate multiple boxes.

Step 3: In order to make sure your friend clicks on the fake virus file, you need to give it a believable name. You can title it ‘Movies’ or ‘Games’ or ‘Wallpapers’, as someone would be more likely to click on those. 

Step 4: Once you’ve finalised the code and decided on a name, you need to save the file on the desktop. Save it as .vbs extension. Select ‘All files’ in ‘Save as type’.

Step 5: Change the icon of the file if you want to make the fake virus seem even more believable. Simply copy the file from the desktop to the C drive and create a shortcut on the desktop. Then right click on the shortcut and select an icon from Properties.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this virus harmful?

No, this virus isn’t harmful at all. It is just a message box made to look like a virus. It won’t harm your PC in any way. The message box will disappear as soon as the ‘OK’ button is pressed.

Will this virus run on Mac or Linux?

No, this message box can only be generated in Windows using that code.

How do I turn off the fake virus?

The message window will disappear as soon as the ‘Ok’ button is pressed. It may take some time but your friend will soon realise that they were pranked.