Epic Fail: The Top 10 Most Terrifying Technology Disasters

Get ready to scream as we count down the most horrifying technology nightmares ever.

Check out some of the worst tech nightmares from the Digital Trends staff.

What’s scarier than Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and that creepy girl from The Ring combined? The horror of technology when it bombs out on us at the worst possible time, as both everyday individuals and some the world’s most prestigious companies alike can attest.

We’ve all been there: After 13 hours straight cracking away on a term paper, or that long overdue PowerPoint presentation, your computer crashes and the saved copy is corrupted. Or the company you sent your resume to three weeks ago finally calls to arrange a job interview, and your phone battery dies right before you accept. Maybe you’ve even driven miles into the Cascade mountain range with good faith in your GPS system, only to realize the lodge it was taking you to doesn’t exist and the wedding you’re supposed to be at begins in 15 minutes.

The moral of the story: Sometimes even the most so-called “advanced” technology fails in painful ways, and when it does so at particularly inopportune times, it makes for some spectacular catastrophes. Thought accidentally torching those tax records or deleting your favorite World of Warcraft character was horrific, though? Please – you should be thankful. It’s nothing compared to the following all-time record high-tech disasters, a cornucopia of mesmerizing meltdowns and public laughingstocks which rank among the world’s most spine-tingling, cringe-worthy failures.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee Mod

Gamers find hidden surprises and Easter eggs (usually quirky in-jokes and references to past titles) in favorite video games all the time. But when clever hackers discovered a full-blown sex simulation known as “the hot coffee mod” built into Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, already-controversial publisher Rockstar Games suddenly found itself in really, really hot water. Boxes were pulled from shelves, industry ratings board the ESRB gave the game a sales kiss of death by stamping an Adults-Only rating on it, and parent company Take-Two Interactive ended up on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit alleging consumer fraud. Politicians like Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton even piled on, trying to introduce new video game legislation in the wake of the event to bolster their family-friendly images. Bottom line: Next time, it’s best to go with decaf.