Employees use ‘mouse mover’ trick to fool their bosses into thinking they’re online

EMPLOYEES who work-from-home have been tricking their bosses with a mouse device that keeps their computer awake.

The device, which is called a “mouse mover” or a “mouse jiggler,” is placed under your computer’s mouse and keeps the cursor active.

TikTok user shares hack to keep computer mouses active. Credit: TikTok

The handy hack went viral over the summer after a TikTok creator, who goes by the handle @Leahova, shared a post about it.

The 20-second footage began with Leah addressing an important issue that many of today’s remote employees face: Bossware, or the micromanagement of remote workers.

“If you work from home and you carry your laptop with you all over your house because you’re so paranoid that the 30 minutes you spend away from your desk during lunch your computer will go to ‘away,’ and then you will be fired because no one will think you’re doing any work, I have something to recommend,” she said.

Leah, who has been working as a remote advertising employee since the start of the pandemic, then mentioned the mouse mover and described its function.

“It’s called a mouse mover, it moves your mouse while you’re away, so you can go to the bathroom free from paranoia,” she said in the video.

Since going live, the video has racked up more than 3 million views, 265,800 likes, and nearly 2,000 comments.

One user in the comments section explained how their job records their computer screens all day long, further highlighting the concerns surrounding bossware.

“Working remotely, your colleagues can’t physically ‘see’ when you get up to go to the bathroom or grab lunch, or even take 30 minutes to reset on the couch,” Leah told Vice’s tech site, Motherboard.

“The last thing I wanted during those moments was to be paranoid that people thought I wasn’t working—especially since I felt like I was working more than ever,” she added.

Leah went on to tell Motherboard that the device was especially helpful when she needed a moment to take care of her three kids, who were all partaking in remote classes for school.

Mouse movers can be found on both Amazon and eBay and range from $12 to $30.

Getty – ContributorDevices called “mouse movers” can help keep your cursor active[/caption]

In other news, iPhone owners are being urged to change their settings in order to protect their texts from snoopers.

Google has officially released a new privacy feature that could erase important photos forever.

And, we rounded up 13 common toaster mistakes.