Turn Simple Python Scripts into Prank Executables with PyInstaller

Python can be used for many amusing tricks; this article presents several "boring but interesting" prank programs and explains how to package them into a single executable for sharing with friends.

First, install PyInstaller with pip install pyinstaller and use the command pyinstaller -F filename.py to create an EXE. If encoding errors occur, modify the offending line from out = out.decode(encoding) to out = out and rebuild.

Prank Program #1

A loop that asks the user to guess what you are thinking and always replies "wrong".

while True:
  n = input("Guess what I'm thinking?")
  print("Wrong guess")

The victim never learns your thought.

Prank Program #2

A relentless error dialog that repeatedly shows a fake Windows error.

import tkinter.messagebox
while True:
    tkinter.messagebox.showerror('Windows Error','Your computer is under attack!')

It’s especially irritating if the target cannot terminate the process.

Prank Program #3

An infinite loop that opens the CSDN website in the default browser, quickly overwhelming the system.

import webbrowser
while True:
    webbrowser.open('www.csdn.net')

Running this may cause the computer to freeze.

Prank Program #4

A multithreaded GUI that randomly spawns pop‑up windows across the screen.

import tkinter as tk
import random, threading, time

def boom():
    window = tk.Tk()
    width = window.winfo_screenwidth()
    height = window.winfo_screenheight()
    a = random.randrange(0, width)
    b = random.randrange(0, height)
    window.title('You are a silly deer')
    window.geometry('200x50+'+str(a)+'+'+str(b))
    tk.Label(window, text='You are a silly deer', bg='green', font=('SimSun',17), width=20, height=4).pack()
    window.mainloop()

threads = []
for i in range(100):
    t = threading.Thread(target=boom)
    threads.append(t)
    time.sleep(0.1)
    threads[i].start()

The effect is shown in the accompanying GIF.

Prank Program #5

A script that pretends to offer product reservation and flash‑sale options, but ultimately shuts down the computer.

import os, time
a = """... (ASCII art omitted) ..."""
print(a)
key = input("Choose:")
if key == "1":
    time.sleep(1.5)
    print('No reservation')
    time.sleep(3)
    print('It’s okay, come hug')
else:
    print('Since you said so...')
    time.sleep(3)
    print('Dream on')
    os.system('shutdown -r -t 10')
time.sleep(10)

Do not run this unless you want to reboot the machine.

PyInstaller Encoding Bug Fix

When packaging with PyInstaller, an error may appear:

AttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute 'decode'

Fix it by changing the line out = out.decode(encoding) to out = out in the PyInstaller source, then rebuild; the EXE will be generated in the dist folder.