PowerPoint punishment sent users into an infinite loop after lunch
There was only one ESC from sneaky screenshots and fake BSODs Who, Me? Welcome to another instalment of Who, Me? It's The Register 's Monday column that shares your stories of mistakes, occasional malice, and how you came out the other side.…
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Personal Tech 50 PowerPoint punishment sent users into an infinite loop after lunch 50 There was only one ESC from sneaky screenshots and fake BSODs Simon Sharwood Mon 27 Apr 2026 // 07:00 UTC Who, Me? Welcome to another instalment of Who, Me? It's The Register's Monday column that shares your stories of mistakes, occasional malice, and how you came out the other side. This week, meet a reader we'll Regomize as "Marcus," who told us that in the early 2000s he toiled in a workplace that required workers to lock their Windows NT and Windows 95 workstations before stepping away from their desks. "All sorts of shenanigans could ensue if you did not," he admitted. But after a while the thrill of sending fake ILOVEYOU virus emails ebbed. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> Marcus and some other colleagues eventually came up with the following prank: Snap a screenshot of whatever was on the screen Open PowerPoint and paste into a blank presentation. Set up the presentation so it would loop until the user pressed "ESC." Hit "Present." Marcus reminded us that when PowerPoint was in loop mode, Windows would not run a screensaver. The screenshot slideware was therefore hard to stop, because just one keypress could restore a victim's PC. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae-Di6oCp9uD55xkXRXyRAAAAwM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> "Our victims would pointlessly move the mouse and click on things," Marcus confessed. "If we were lucky, they'd hold a button down and draw a random stripe across the screen leading to utter confusion and panic." Marcus and his mates would take mercy on their colleagues if they saw them contemplating a hard reboot. <a…
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