Chapter 7: Keyboard Swap Sabotage

Ah, the keyboard—our trusty companion, the interface between the mind and the machine. What if we twisted that relationship? Imagine your unsuspecting victim sitting down to type, only to find that every keystroke betrays them. Their carefully composed commands turn into gibberish, their typing skills suddenly crumble, and they begin to question if they've somehow forgotten how to use a keyboard. Welcome to Keyboard Swap Sabotage, where we will reassign and swap keys to make your target's typing experience a living nightmare.

Step 1: Using xmodmap to Reassign Keys

The key to this prank (pun intended) is xmodmap, a utility for modifying keymaps and pointer button mappings in X11 systems. By using xmodmap, we can change the behavior of specific keys—swapping them, disabling them, or reassigning them to something completely different.

First, let’s check if xmodmap is installed. Most systems will have it by default, but if not, install it using:

sudo apt install x11-xserver-utils

Now, let’s begin the sabotage.

Step 2: Swapping Common Keys

For the simplest prank, we’ll swap some of the most commonly used keys. Let's start with A and S, two keys that are close together and frequently used in commands and text. Swapping them will lead to a confusing mess of misspelled words and botched commands.

First, find the keycodes for these keys. You can do this by running:

xmodmap -pk | grep -i "a"

You’ll get something like this:

38  A (0x61)  S (0x73)

Take note of the keycodes (in this case, 38 for A and 39 for S).

Now, create a new xmodmap file to swap these keys. Open a file called swap_keys.map:

nano ~/swap_keys.map

Inside this file, add the following lines:

keycode 38 = S
keycode 39 = A

Save and exit the file. Now, apply the key swap:

xmodmap ~/swap_keys.map

Voilà! The A and S keys have been swapped. Your target will start typing, only to realize that every attempt to type an "A" results in an "S", and vice versa. The chaos begins.

Step 3: Making It Persistent with .bashrc

Of course, you’ll want this prank to persist beyond just one session. To ensure that the key swap is applied every time the user logs in, we’ll add the xmodmap command to their .bashrc file.

Open the .bashrc file:

nano ~/.bashrc

Add the following line at the end of the file:

xmodmap ~/swap_keys.map

Now, every time the user logs in, their keyboard will be sabotaged with the swapped keys. Perfect for prolonged confusion!

Step 4: Swapping More Keys for Maximum Confusion

Let’s not stop with just two keys—let’s swap a few more for extra chaos. Here are some fun combinations to mess with:

• Swap W and E for even more typing frustration.
• Swap the Enter key with the Backspace key, turning every attempt to submit a command into a deletion.
• Swap Left and Right arrow keys, causing endless navigation woes.

Here’s how to add these swaps to the xmodmap file:

keycode 38 = S  # A -> S
keycode 39 = A  # S -> A
keycode 25 = E  # W -> E
keycode 26 = W  # E -> W
keycode 36 = BackSpace  # Enter -> BackSpace
keycode 22 = Return  # BackSpace -> Enter
keycode 113 = Left  # Right arrow -> Left arrow
keycode 114 = Right  # Left arrow -> Right arrow

Once you’ve saved this modified swap_keys.map file, run the xmodmap command again:

xmodmap ~/swap_keys.map

Now, typing, navigating, and submitting commands will become a disorienting nightmare of mixed-up keys. Your victim will find themselves constantly correcting errors, moving in the wrong direction, and battling with their own keyboard.

Step 5: Disabling Keys Completely

If swapping keys isn’t enough, let’s go one step further—disabling a key entirely. Maybe the victim’s Ctrl key mysteriously stops working, or the Escape key refuses to do its job. This can be particularly frustrating when they try to use common keyboard shortcuts.

To disable a key, simply map it to NoSymbol in the xmodmap file. For example, to disable the Escape key (keycode 9), add this to your swap_keys.map file:

keycode 9 = NoSymbol

Now, apply the change:

xmodmap ~/swap_keys.map

The Escape key will now do nothing, leaving the victim trapped in whatever program or shell they’re trying to exit. This prank is subtle but incredibly effective, especially when paired with other key swaps.

Step 6: Making It Extra Annoying—Periodic Key Reversion

For an added layer of confusion, you can periodically revert the key changes and then reapply them, leaving the victim wondering if their keyboard is glitching out. We’ll set up a simple cron job to toggle between the normal and swapped key states every few minutes.

Create a script called toggle_keys.sh:

nano ~/toggle_keys.sh

Inside the script, add the following:

#!/bin/bash

# Check if keys are swapped
if xmodmap -pke | grep -q "keycode 38 = S"; then
    # Revert to normal
    xmodmap -e "keycode 38 = A"
    xmodmap -e "keycode 39 = S"
else
    # Swap keys
    xmodmap ~/swap_keys.map
fi

Make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/toggle_keys.sh

Now, set up a cron job to run this script every 5 minutes:

crontab -e

Add the following line to the cron file:

*/5 * * * * ~/toggle_keys.sh

This will toggle the key swap every 5 minutes, leaving your target completely disoriented. One moment the keyboard will behave normally, and the next it will be back to chaos. The victim won’t know if it’s a bug, a hardware issue, or pure madness.

Step 7: Restoring the Keyboard to Normal

As always, you need to be able to restore order once the prank has run its course. To revert the keyboard to normal, simply remove or comment out the key remapping lines from the xmodmap file:

nano ~/swap_keys.map
# Comment out or delete the key remapping lines

Then, run the following command to revert the changes:

xmodmap -e "keycode 38 = A"
xmodmap -e "keycode 39 = S"

Also, don’t forget to remove the cron job if you’ve set it up:

crontab -e
# Remove the toggle_keys.sh entry

After this, the keyboard will behave normally again, and your victim can breathe a sigh of relief—until your next prank, of course.

Pro Tips for Maximum Frustration

• Swap Modifier Keys: Swapping the Ctrl and Alt keys will create chaos in shortcuts, especially for users who rely heavily on Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and other combinations.

• Invisible Key Swaps: Swap less noticeable keys, like , and . or / and -. This will lead to subtle but constant mistakes in typing, driving the victim crazy as they repeatedly hit the wrong key.

• Random Key Behavior: Create a script that changes key mappings randomly every few seconds, turning typing into a completely unpredictable experience.

Why This Works

The beauty of the Keyboard Swap Sabotage prank is in its subtlety. The victim will first think they’re making innocent typing mistakes, only to slowly realize that their keyboard is no longer under their control. The confusion builds as they try to figure out why their muscle memory has betrayed them. It’s the perfect blend of technical trickery and psychological frustration.

In Conclusion

The Keyboard Swap Sabotage is a classic prank that delivers frustration in a wonderfully subtle way. By swapping or disabling keys, you turn the user’s most trusted tool into a source of confusion and chaos. And, of course, it’s easy to reverse, ensuring that the prank leaves no permanent damage—just a few shattered nerves.

Next up, we’ll take things to a whole new level of unpredictability with Chapter 8: Bash Roulette—where every command becomes a gamble.