5 classic pranks that you can play on your mates on April Fools’ Day

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There is a science to a good April Fools' prank.

The best pranks are the ones that you can joke about afterwards, the ones that also amuse the victim once they get over their initial surprise. A sign of a good prank is when the pranked person immediately wonders how they can do it to someone else. It's not enough to just scare the bejaysus out of someone or to do something mean and unnecessary. So we decided to look at some of the best ways to prank your mates on April Fools' Day. Here are a few simple but effective examples to keep your mates on their toes. Happy hunting!

The restart prank

This is a great way to leave your housemate or workmate puzzled. Every time they try to click a chosen icon on their computer, it will actually shut it down. Simply go to the Goggle Chrome shortcut on their desktop or another commonly-used program, right-click on it and select "Edit Properties." Go to "Shortcut" and change the target to “%windir%system32shutdown.exe -r -t 00”. Then sit back and watch them try to work out what's happening.

Play around with their TV using a universal remote

Anyone who’s old enough to remember the remote control watches that were once cutting edge technology has probably seen this one being used in a pub or a house. All you need is a universal remote control and you’re off. It takes a bit of stealth but occasionally changing the channel or messing about with the volume will drive the poor victim to distraction. Far be it from us to suggest doing it during one of the Premier League games on 1 April as that might be too much for any dedicated fans trying to watch their favourite team!

The fake razor app

Anyone who used to watch Jackass will be familiar with their razor prank. It basically involved sneaking up on an unsuspecting member of the team with a portable razor and shaving a stripe into their hair. That's a pretty mean trick but wouldn't it be good if you could get the same response without the irreparable damage to their scalp? Well, there's an app for that. So you can give your mates a quick scare with no lasting damage. Although we obviously wouldn't recommend trying it on your poor mammy..!

Turn their computer upside down

This is a beautifully simple prank to play on a work colleague or a housemate whose laptop just happens to be unattended. It may not work on every computer but it’s definitely worth a go. Hold down [Ctrl] + [Alt] and hit one of the arrow keys. If it works, the [down] key will turn their screen upside down and the [right] or [left] key will turn the screen sideways. The beauty of this trick is that anyone who doesn’t know the shortcut will then have to try and fix the settings while reading a screen that is sideways or upside down. It’s particularly frustrating but it’s easily fixed once you stop laughing.

The computer desktop switcheroo

Another simple computer trick is to take a screenshot of your mate’s desktop and then remove their desktop icons. Then set the screenshot as the wallpaper and sit back and watch as they try to figure out why they can’t click into their desktop icons. If you want to really freak them out, create a desktop folder marked Virus Infection before you take the screenshot! McVities Jaffa Cakes are a fun treat for you and friends to enjoy together! For more information on the zesty mischief of McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, click here. Brought to you by McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes.