{
  "id": 15567730,
  "title": "Engineer was so sick of office pranks, he 'wiped' his antagonist's disk",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/engineer-was-so-sick-of-office-pranks-he-wiped-his-antagonists-disk-15567730",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-19T05:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register",
    "slug": "the-register",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/10/19/engineer-was-so-sick-of-office-pranks-he-wiped-his-antagonists-disk/5302162"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the late 1990s, an electrical engineering student named \"Joe\" took up a position in the messaging lab of an Australian mobile carrier. This workplace was notorious for its practical jokes. According to Joe's account, one of the colleagues, referred to as \"TF,\" took these pranks to an extreme level.\n\n\"TF\" had a particular fondness for startling Joe by roaring in his ear. Frustrated by this tactic, Joe devised a plan for his revenge. He wrote a harmless program that simulated the formatting of a PC disk. This program was designed to flash the disk activity light, creating the illusion of an actual disk format. Joe ensured the program was inserted into the autoexec.bat file, so it would run every time the PC was booted. However, he programmed it to terminate after a month, ensuring it wouldn't cause any lasting damage.\n\nJoe concealed his plan until his final week at the job, which happened to align with \"TF\" attending a conference. This timing allowed Joe to execute the prank without \"TF\" realizing it. Upon his return, Joe shared his success with colleagues, revealing that \"TF\" had been genuinely frightened. The prank was a resounding success, and Joe could finally leave the job behind him.",
  "summary": "Revenge is a dish best served by autoexec.bat",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "Engineer was so sick of office pranks, he 'wiped' his antagonist's disk",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/engineer-was-so-sick-of-office-pranks-he-wiped-his-antagonists-disk",
        "published": "2026-10-19T05:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}