The Fake Virus is a theatrical encryption-alert lock screen: a countdown timer, scrambling filenames, a fictional "CRYPTOLOCK" header and a ransom note with an obviously fake address. It looks alarming for about three seconds — then the victim notices the exit button, the "FICTIONAL PRANK" label and the fact that nothing on their computer has changed. Pure theatre.
What makes Fake Virus different
The Fake Virus is a theatrical encryption-alert lock screen — a countdown, scrambling filenames, a “CRYPTOLOCK” header and a ransom note whose payment address is obviously fake. It looks alarming for a few seconds; then the exit button, the “FICTIONAL PRANK” label and the fact that nothing changed give it away. It is pure prank theatre — clearly harmless, and nothing on the device is touched.
What you can do with it
- A harmless office prank — leave it fullscreen before the victim returns
- A dramatic "ransomware" prop for videos, sketches and security-awareness demos
- A tense lock screen for streams and reaction clips
How to use Fake Virus
- Open it and it plays the “encryption” sequence — scrambling filenames, a locked screen, a countdown and a fake ransom note.
- Press the action keys — LOCK resets the lock screen, DECRYPT plays a pretend decrypt, GLITCH adds a short corruption burst.
- In Customize, set the title, hostname, ransom “amount” and the countdown length — all fictional.
- Go Fullscreen (or add ?present=1), then let the victim find the exit button and the FICTIONAL PRANK label. Escape leaves; nothing was ever encrypted.
Customize it
Set the on-screen title, hostname, fictional ransom amount and the countdown length. Nothing is encrypted, locked or changed — the payment address is an obviously fake string and the screen is labelled a prank.
Are my files actually encrypted?
No. Nothing is encrypted, locked, downloaded or changed. The filenames, percentages and addresses are all scripted fiction. Press Escape to leave.
Is the payment address real?
No. The address shown is "1FictionalPrankDoNotSend…" — an obviously fake string. No payment is possible and no money is requested.