Keyboard pranks

Tech news this week is very slow because of the Thanksgiving holiday. No major data breaches or cyber criminal reports (let’s hope it stays that way). Keeping in mind that cyber threats and threat actors never take a holiday and try to take advantage of us when we are on holiday.

When I got home last night, I received an “emergency” text from a neighbor.

“Hi Dave, this is ***** next door. We have a situation with our laptop that we can’t seem to figure out or even how it even happened – but – all of a sudden, our cursor seems to be writing backwards when we type. It’s really nuts… HELP!!!!!! “

This isn’t something that normally happens to a home computer but it is something we get support calls every year around April Fools day. Keyboard shortcuts used to prank co-workers at the office can be fun to watch (just don’t get caught)

Let’s fix this challenge.
When typing on the keyboard the words on the screen are going backwards.
On most computers, you can swap between left-to-right typing and right-to-left typing. This can be done with the press of a few keys, so its possible you may have changed this setting by accident by simply resting your fingers on the 2 keys.

• To return to left-to-right typing, press CTRL + left Shift.
• If you want to use right-to-left typing, press CTRL + right Shift.
• If your keyboard is deleting text as you type, you’ll need to toggle off Overtype Mode by pressing Insert.

Here’s another popular prank that’s just as frustrating for the user:
Rotate the Display
Rotating someone’s display is quick and easy to execute (and just as easy to fix). This can be very frustrating for the user but the fix (when you know what to do) is pretty simple).

On Windows, pressing Alt + Ctrl and the arrow keys will flip the screen to any orientation you choose, such as turning the screen upside down.

1. Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow: Normal landscape mode.
2. Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow: Portrait mode.
3. Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow: Upside-down landscape mode.
4. Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow: Portrait mode (flipped)

The BEST protection to avoid getting pranked is to ALWAYS lock your computer if you leave your desk. Simply press the Windows and the L key simultaneously. Your computer will lock and be at the password screen. None of your work or open programs will be affected. I use this sequence all the time.

If you want to become a Windows keyboard shortcut wizard, here’s a list for you to review. Sometimes using a keyboard command is much faster and more efficient than moving our mouse.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!