While many practical jokes and pranks will surface tomorrow, best practices are required for safety

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=14668

QUOTE: April Fools’ Day is a time for practical jokes, hoaxes and laughs. However, it’s important to understand that April Fools’ Day is also an ample opportunity for cybercriminals to capitalize on the popular day and its events for their own nefarious purposes.  To help you make sure cybercriminals don’t get the last laugh this April Fools’ Day – and to give you a few laughs, too – Kaspersky Lab has compiled a few of the top April Fools’ Day hoaxes throughout history and tips on what to look out for to stay safe online.

Safety tips for April 1, 2013, with focus on ransomware:

* Watch out for ransomware: Like the example above, cybercriminals take over your computer, offering to “clean it up” for a fee. Sometimes this technique masquerades as fake anti-virus. Don’t trust messages warning that your Internet or computer is shut down or infected.

* Don’t click on pop-up windows even if they aren’t blocked by the browser security or other security solutions. You should only click on messages from a legitimate antivirus solution installed on the computer. Ignore any messages warning you of infection that appear randomly while you’re browsing the Internet

* Legitimate programs designed to combat malware will never first scan a computer and then demand money for activation. You should never pay for a product which does this: install a genuine antivirus solution developed by a well-known antivirus company and use this to scan and clean your computer.

* If you find an unknown antivirus program on your computer, check whether the vendor has an official site and technical support. If it doesn’t, it is definitely a rogue antivirus.