User Swore Hacker Called General Failure Had Invaded His PC
The Register, Friday, July 3rd, 2026
A VP mistook a disk error message for a hacker named General Failure infiltrating his computer.
Lee, a sysadmin at a retail company headquarters around 2000, received a distressing call from a vice president claiming a hacker using the alias General Failure had compromised his PC and locked him out of files.
The executive reported an error message reading General failure is reading Drive C, which he believed indicated unauthorized access. When Lee asked for the exact wording, the VP realized the message actually stated General failure reading Drive C: without the word is.
Lee delivered the good news that no hacker was involved; the error simply meant the hard disk had failed. The company proceeded with hardware replacement rather than a security investigation.