NEVER INSTALL THESE GET RID OF ALL

How to add a
VPN
WINDOWS 10 ‘UPDATES’ KASPERSKY FILES
And other old anti-virus junk
They’ll lock your PC and demand a ransom page 62
Stay safe – page 11
JUNE 2022
ISSUE 632 ❘ 25 MAY – 7

to your
TV STICK
1. Install ExpressVPN
2. Plug in your Fire Stick
every issue 3. Beat geo-restrictions
Learn something new in
y dive – p7
Broadband bills take a Sk page 20

STOP
USING

Search
Switch to a search engine that DOESN’T
track you and delivers BETTER results p50

PLUS CANCEL YOUR

CREATE UNHACKABLE PHONE CONTRACT
CT
USERNAMES (not just passwords!) p38 Switch to a virtual network & save money p60
WELCOME
EDITORIAL
Group Editor Daniel Booth
Deputy Editor Robert Irvine
From the Editor
Production Editor Graham Brown
Art Editor Katie Peat One advantage Google will always have We also explain what’s gone wrong
Contributors Dinah Greek, David Ludlow, Jonathan Parkyn,
Chris Paton, Nik Rawlinson, Andy Shaw
over DuckDuckGo is that it’s easier to use with Google Search. Most damning is that
as a verb. If millions of people start saying its results just aren’t as relevant as they
ADVERTISING
Advertising Manager Alexandra Thomas
“I’ll just DuckDuckGo it” when searching used to be. I now use DuckDuckGo and
Deputy Advertising Manager Rebecca New online, then cover me in white feathers, Brave Search not just for privacy reasons
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION
stick me in a sailor suit and call me Donald. (compelling though they are), but also
Subscriptions Juber Ahmed But that’s not going to dent the rise because they’re more likely to show me
For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493
of DuckDuckGo, nor other excellent what I want.
PRODUCTION Google alternatives like Brave Search and True, neither site will challenge Google’s
Head of Production
Stephen Catherall
Startpage. As Robert Irvine reveals in our dominance soon, but those in the know
Senior Production Manager Cover Feature, they offer accurate results (you, me and Robert) can feel happy we’re
Lawrence Brookes
without tracking what you search for, and giving smaller rivals a go.
INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION provide clever tools for improving the Daniel Booth
Computeractive is available for licensing and syndication.
browsing experience. [email protected]
To find out more contact us at [email protected] or
view our available content at www.futurecontenthub.com.
Head of Print Licensing
Rachel Shaw
p62
ONWARD RESALE
This publication may not be resold or otherwise
distributed, whether at, below or above face value. Nor
can this publication be advertised for sale, transfer or
p11
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Material may not be reproduced in any form without the
written consent of the publisher. Please address such
requests to [email protected].

LIABILITY
While every care was taken preparing this magazine, the
publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy
of the information or any consequence arising from
it. All judgments are based on equipment available to
Computeractive at the time of review. Computeractive p50
takes no responsibility for the content of external websites
whose addresses are published in the magazine.

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copies per issue. THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS HOW TO USE
Computeractive
Printed in the UK 140,160 hours SNIPCA URLs
Recording length We use snipcas to turn long URLs
of Samsung’s new that are hard to type into ones that
microSD card - p9 are short and simple. They aren’t
websites themselves, which means
6.6GB £9.26 they won’t be recognised if you type
How much junk What Sky Broadband them into Google. Instead, you need to
Privacy Eraser customers saved type them into your browser address
removed from our on average after bar, then press Enter. Doing this will
PC - p18 switching - p7 take you to the correct website.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 3

 Contents
25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

6 News Broadband firms face huge fines for Entry phone

leaving potholes
p10
10 Question of the Fortnight Is your phone
about to become your new password?

11 Protect Your Tech

Fake Windows 10 updates

12 Letters Google ‘tricks you’ into thinking it

cares about privacy

14 Consumeractive Can Dell cancel my

order after email confirmation?

16 Grow Your Family Tree

Find your ancestors in old newspapers

18 Best Free Software

Privacy Eraser Cyberpower Infinity
X123 RTX
21 Named & Shamed
Driver Reviver’s PUP-like tickboxes p23

Reviews
22 Acer Aspire XC-1660g
Good PC comes in a small package

23 Cyberpower Infinity X123 RTX

Powerful PC makes a game of it

24 Dynabook Tecra A40-J-101

Robust laptop makes a strong case

25 Huawei MateBook E
Huawei’s hybrid dives below the Surface Dynabook Tecra
A40-J-101
26 Samsung T7 Shield 1TB pxx
Is rugged SSD a hard bargain? p24

28 Garmin Vivosmart 5
Fitness watch gets the pulse racing
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW
Earbuds make all the right noises

29 Linksys Atlas Pro 6

Mesh Wi-Fi router knows no bounds

30 Buy It/Competition
Win a TerraMaster D4-300 DAS enclosure

4 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Subscribe now!
See page 58 for our special subs offer

Workshops & Tips Drop the chargers

p35
35 
How to… Add wireless charging to
your phone

38 
Randomise your username to
make online accounts more secure

40 R
 eaders’ Tips
Analyse your text for common words

42 Browser Tips
View search results in a side panel

44 Phone and Tablet Tips Translate

languages instantly using widgets

46 Make Windows Better

STOP
Add borders to screenshots CO
FEATVER
47 Make Office Better UR
P50 E

USING
Make animations apply across all items

48 In the Club
Pass on members’ contact details

49 What’s All the Fuss About?

Search
EPUB

50 COVER FEATURE
Stop using Google Search
To Google or not to Google? We explain why
it’s time to use other search options Switch to a search engine that DOESN’T
track you and delivers BETTER results
60 Switch to a virtual phone network
Save money by switching your mobile-
phone contract to a virtual alternative

62 Remove all antivirus files when you Switch to a

switch
Eliminate traces of your previous AV
software to avoid problematic conflicts
virtual phone
64 Problems Solved
Will Sandbox keep Windows 10 safe? network
(and save money!)
71 Reader Support
Does Avira need to unblock Windscribe VPN? p60

72 Jargon Buster

74 Easy When You Know How

Robert Irvine tries to install Microsoft
Defender Preview

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 5

 News The top stories in the world of technology

Broadband firms face huge

fines for leaving potholes
B
roadband providers and inspection unit to tackle
other utility firms will what he calls the “the plague
be fined hundreds of of potholes” on the country’s
thousands of pounds for roads.
leaving potholes or poor He said: “I’m ensuring
quality roads after carrying companies who create them
out work such as laying fibre and leave roads in a poor
cables. state can be held to account
Transport Secretary Grant more easily – protecting
Shapps is setting up an drivers from unfair repair
costs” (www.snipca.
WHAT WE THINK com/41978).
The Department of
Damaged suspension and Transport said that engineers
buckled wheels shouldn’t be fail to return roads to a
the price we pay for gigabit minimum standard on nearly
broadband, so we’re pleased one in 10 occasions. It didn’t up broadband rollout by Government hit its revised
the Government is taking on name the worst companies, exempting firms from target of providing gigabit
companies that leave roads and doesn’t plan to in future, restrictions when laying (1Gbps) broadband to at least
pockmarked with potholes. claiming it’s “commercially connections for new 85 per cent of UK premises
But we still fear that the rush sensitive information”. customers. by the end of 2025.
to roll out gigabit speeds by In addition, companies and One third of all road works BT recently announced that
2025 will force some firms local authorities will have to are carried out by telecoms its Fibre-to-the-Premises
to cut corners. They may state when work starts and companies, the Government (FTTP) network grew by a
calculate that the cost of a stops at weekends. This said. The number of works record 752,000 premises in
fine is outweighed by the information will update needed to increase the rollout the first three months of 2022
extra revenue brought in by sat-navs and other traffic apps of full-fibre broadband is to 7.2 million.
thousands of new customers so motorists know where estimated to triple over the
Have broadband firms left
paying £50 a month for roadworks are happening and next few years. potholes near you after finishing
lightning-fast speeds. can avoid those areas. Ministers hope the work? Let us know: letters@
The plans also aim to speed measures will help the computeractive.co.uk

Microsoft: don’t use leaked One Outlook app

M icrosoft has advised people not
to use a leaked edition of its One
Outlook email client, which will
for IT admins, and subsequently posted
on Twitter by Finnish tech expert Tero
Alhonen (www.snipca.com/41979).
eventually replace all existing versions Microsoft says One Outlook will merge
across both Windows 10 and 11 and online. Outlook, Calendar and your contacts
It said this early release is into a single app. Preview versions
“unsupported” and is missing “some of (www.snipca.com/41980) show it
the features and enhancements that will looking far simpler than the current
be available later for our customers in Outlook for Windows (see screenshot).
the Beta Channel”. It said it expects to “provide more
The warning was published on its site news in the coming weeks”.

You’ll like this… but not this…

Cambridge scientists are using algae to A new Windows 11 update is causing
power a computer (www.snipca.com/41981) programs to crash (www.snipca.com/41982)

6 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

BT loses ‘opt in’ appeal in IN BRIEF

mass compensation claim GET £250 FOR

SWITCHING TO THREE
Phone network Three will

T he Court of Appeal has

dismissed BT’s call for
customers to ‘opt in’ to be
give you up to £250 on a
prepaid Mastercard if you
join from another network
part of a mass compensation by 7 July. The amount you
claim, which could see the get depends on the plan
company pay affected you sign up to, with the
individuals £500 each. biggest cashback coming
BT was appealing against for packages with Apple,
the decision in September Samsung, Honor and Xiaomi
by the Competition Appeal phones. The offer is also
Tribunal (CAT) that gave the available for its 24-month
green light for a legal bid to compensation for many of It covers ‘voice-only’ unlimited SIM-only deal,
seek compensation for those affected. customers, who had a BT which gives you £100. For
2.3 million customers who He said: “Asking people to landline between October details visit www.snipca.
have been “overcharged” for sign up to legal process which 2015 and April 2018, but not com/41938.
their landline between 2015 they don’t understand, and a broadband service from BT
and 2018. which has an uncertain or any other provider; and NEW SITE SHOWS QUEEN’S
The company argued that outcome, would almost ‘split-purchase’ customers, HISTORICAL VISITS
customers must be contacted certainly have led to low levels who had a BT landline You can see
and then sign up to the legal of engagement”. He’s now alongside broadband from any historical
action in order to be eligible planning to “proceed to a provider between October photos of the
for a payout. full trial”. 2015 and now, but didn’t Queen’s visits
But Justin Le Patourel, The case was prompted by ‘bundle’ those services into a across England
who’s leading the case against an Ofcom investigation in single, discounted package. on a map
BT as the head of Collective 2016 which found that, BT said it “strongly disagrees (www.snipca.
Action on Land Lines (CALL, although the wholesale costs with the speculative claim com/41940)
www.callclaim.co.uk), of providing landlines to being brought against us”, launched to
claimed that this would customers had fallen by at and that it will defend itself celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.
greatly reduce the number of least 25 per cent, BT had against any allegation that it Made by Historic England,
people who would sign up, actually increased its fees doesn’t take seriously its the ‘Story Map’ shows the
making it “impossible” to get by 28 to 41 per cent. responsibilities to customers. Queen visiting 220 sites
(including unveiling the statue
of Eric Morecambe, pictured),
Ex-Sky customers make biggest saving stretching back to 1932 when
she was just six years old.

C ustomers leaving Sky

Broadband for a new
cent) in customers leaving
after being notified, followed TOMORROW’S
provider save the biggest by BT, EE and Virgin Media WORLD
amount in internet bills, (all 10 per cent).
paying on average £9.26 a Sky saw an increase of eight If butter
month less. per cent, while TalkTalk’s was fingers drop
The figure comes from Ofcom’s research (www. the smallest at three per cent. everything
Ofcom, which calculated the snipca.com/41934) aims The research follows a they try to
price difference in contracts to highlight the benefit of report from Ofcom last hold, banana
for customers who switched providers contacting November which found that fingers
as a result of receiving a customers several weeks 1.3 million customers had grip them
notification that their existing before their contract is due secured better deals as a with authority and control.
contract would soon end. to expire. The regulator result of being notified about It’s the name given to this
Virgin Media customers introduced this measure in their expiring contract. knitted pneumatic glove
also ended up paying less February 2020 in an attempt It said that two-thirds of by researchers at the
(£7.74 a month on average), to tackle the so-called ‘loyalty customers sent a notification Massachusetts Institute of
while both TalkTalk and penalty’ that sees long-term recalled receiving one. Of Technology (MIT), who say
BT customers paid more customers get moved on to those, 90 per cent found it it can be used by people
(£7.81 and £2.45 respectively). worse deals than new customers. helpful, while one fifth said it with injured hands or limited
The effect on customers The study also showed that prompted them into action mobility. Watch at www.
leaving EE and Plusnet was Plusnet saw the biggest they wouldn’t have taken snipca.com/41933.
“statistically insignificant”. percentage-point rise (13 per otherwise.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 7

 News
IN BRIEF US steps up investigation into
MICROSOFT SHOWS OFF
MOUSE FOR DISABLED
risk of Kaspersky antivirus
Microsoft has unveiled a new
range of ‘adaptive’ devices
for people with disabilities to
T he US has
intensified its
investigations into
infrastructure.
US regulators
could force
replace conventional Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky to
mice and Kaspersky following modify its software
keyboards. Russia’s invasion of to reduce any risk,
The mouse Ukraine. but their powers
core (pictured) White House stop short of
can be combined officials had asked the preventing retailers
with programmable Commerce Department selling Kaspersky
buttons to perform actions last year to investigate software, or
on a PC, such as send emails the risk, but reports say banning individuals
and open browser tabs. Read that little progress had from using it.
more on Microsoft’s blog: been made by March. In March, the
www.snipca.com/41965. They then urged UK’s National Cyber
investigators to speed Security Centre
MORE CHANNEL 4 SHOWS up their work amid using Kaspersky products, after warned that some British
COMING TO YOUTUBE heightened concern that the the Department for Homeland businesses and organisations
Channel 4 is making over Kremlin might be able to use Security expressed concerns should boost their defences,
1,000 hours of shows Kaspersky to spy on the US that the company was but added that it “almost
available on YouTube and other Western nations. vulnerable to being influenced certainly remains the case that
to watch on demand, in Sources close to the by Moscow. nearly all individuals in the
the biggest deal so far investigation told news agency It cited a Russian law that UK” won’t be attacked.
between the site and any UK Reuters that officials are allows its spy agencies to force Kaspersky declined to
broadcaster. Programmes particularly worried about Kaspersky to help it intercept comment on the latest reports.
will include 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Russian hackers gaining communications. It has always denied any secret
SAS: Who Dares Wins and access to critical infrastructure But this ban didn’t extend involvement with Russian
Location, Location, Location. such as power grids. to organisations outside of intelligence.
All the shows are free, and
you don’t need a TV licence
In 2017, the Trump
administration banned
government, leading to fears
that Kaspersky might one day
• Remove every trace of
Kaspersky from your PC –
to watch them. government departments from be used to launch attacks on page 62

THE WORLD’S
GONE MAD! Trustpilot removes
2.7 million fake reviews
C onsumer review site
Trustpilot removed 2.7
million fake reviews in 2021
It claims that of the 2.7
million reviews taken down,
around 1.8 million were
Trustpilot’s tougher
measures are a sign of how
seriously sites are taking the
– nearly six per cent of the caught by the software – a rise problem of fake reviews. In
total submitted by the public. of 19 per cent from 2020. early May, Amazon said it was
This is 38-year-old Akihiko In total, 46.7 million reviews It also said that the software launching legal action against
Kondo with a lifesize doll were submitted to the site last boosted its attempts to take four companies it accused of
version of his ‘wife’ Hatsune year, representing a quarter action against businesses acting as unofficial brokers
Miku, a virtual pop singer of all reviews since it launched attempting to manipulate between sellers on the site and
big in Japan. He ‘married’ in 2007. reviews, such as by individuals who write reviews.
her hologram in 2018, but Trustpilot revealed the incentivising customers to The reviewers get paid for
the software that allowed figures in its annual leave positive feedback. each review and receive free
him to talk to her no longer Transparency Report (www. The company sent 1,425 products, while the firms
works. He’s one of a growing snipca.com/41962), saying formal ‘cease and desist’ charge the sellers for boosting
number of ‘fictosexuals’ - it has invested heavily in letters to firms, as well its ratings on Amazon.
people attracted to fictional automated software that as 121,048 warnings to Amazon said the sellers
characters. speeds up the detection and businesses breaching its aren’t necessarily aware that
removal of fake reviews. guidelines. the reviews are false.

8 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

Stream audio from Amazon Fire IN BRIEF
TV Cube to your hearing aid THUNDERBIRD PHONE
APP ‘COMING SOON’

A mazon’s Fire TV Cube

(pictured) has become the
first streaming device capable
A version of Thunderbird for
phones is “coming soon”,
according to its product
of sending audio directly to a and business development
hearing aid, letting wearers manager Ryan Lee Sipes. He
listen privately without tweeted the news on 2 May
disturbing others. (www.snipca.com/41857),
It works with all content adding that it was his second
available on the Cube, priority after fixing the
including streaming services, email client’s user interface.
apps, games and Amazon’s Currently, Thunderbird works
Alexa voice assistant. on computers only.
It uses a system called Audio
Streaming for Hearing Aids APPLE MAKING OLD
(ASHA), and works only with Bluetooth, just as you would holding down the Home iPADS OBSOLETE
compatible hearing aids made when pairing headphones: button and selecting Apple has added the iPad Air
by UK firm Starkey (www. open Fire TV Settings, then ‘Disconnect Hearing Aids’. 2 and iPad Mini 2 (pictured) to
starkey.co.uk), including the select Accessibility followed Amazon recommends its list of ‘vintage’ products,
brand Audibel which it owns by Hearing Aids. connecting over a 5GHz which means it may be hard
(see box below). You control volume using Wi-Fi network, within 10 to find spare
To use it, you have to pair the Fire TV remote control, feet of the Cube, and with a parts for
your hearing aid through and disconnect them by direct line of sight. It does them. It labels
work over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, but products
COMPATIBLE the range might be reduced as vintage
HEARING AIDS if many other devices are between five
connected. and seven
Starkey For now it works only on years after
Evolv AI (pictured), Livio, the 2nd generation of the it stopped
Livio AI, Livio Edge AI Cube (£110 from www.snipca. selling them.
Audibel com/41872), but Amazon said After seven years, products
Arc AI, Via, Via AI, Vie Edge AI it will bring ASHA to more become ‘obsolete’ and Apple
Fire TV devices over time. ends all support. The ‌iPad
Mini 2 launched in November
2013, with the Air 2 following
Samsung’s microSD cards a year later. Visit Apple’s
site for details: www.snipca.
record 16 years of footage com/41873.

S amsung has released a

new range of PRO
Endurance microSD cards that
£12.90 and £21.45 on CCL’s
site respectively.
Samsung says that the
ZEN INTERNET SCRAPS
FIXED-PRICE DEALS
Zen Internet is scrapping its
can record up to 16 years longevity is made possible promise to fix prices for as
(140,160 hours) of continuous by the cards’ NAND memory, previous cards. long as you stay on the same
footage, making it suitable for and is 33 times longer than its Each card offers read speeds package. It will end the ‘Price
many different types of camera EVO Plus range of cards. of up to 100MB/s. The 128GB for Life’ guarantee for new
devices, including surveillance It added the cards are and 256GB cards have write customers on 1 June, saying
cameras, dashboard cameras “uniquely designed to meet speeds up to 100MB/s, while it’s necessary to “deliver a
and doorbell cameras. the rigorous demands” of the smaller cards write up to consistently high level of
This length of footage is cameras that continuously 30MB/s. They all measure service to our customers”.
available on the 256GB edition record, claiming they’re 1x11x15mm (height x width x The move doesn’t affect
of the card, which CCL is both ‘wearout-proof’ and depth). Videos can be played existing customers. Read
selling for £46.56 (www. ‘drop-proof’, as well as back in Full HD and 4K. Zen’s updated terms and
snipca.com/41866). It also being resistant to water, Visit Samsung’s site for conditions at www.snipca.
comes in 32GB, 64GB and magnets, X-rays and more specifications: www. com/41856.
128GB versions, priced £8.94, extreme temperatures like snipca.com/41865.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 9

 Questionof
Question ofthe
theFortnight
Fortnight
Is your phone about to
become your new password?
Soon you won’t have to remember your login or type two-factor codes

Y
our phone can already
replace your address
book, your debit card,
your camera and your watch.
Soon it will also be able to
replace all your passwords.
To sign into websites and
accounts you’ll just need
to unlock your phone,
whether by typing a PIN or
using a biometric method
such as facial recognition or
your fingerprint.
This is the ‘passwordless’ work with passwordless Srinivas calls this an
future promoted by Apple, logins. A single action for “end-to-end passwordless THE FACTS
Google and Microsoft, and signing into systems as diverse experience with phishing-
supported by technology as iOS, Chrome and Windows resistant security”. • Apple, Google and
groups FIDO (Fast Identity is welcome. And by signing Which brings us to ease of Microsoft have jointly
Online) Alliance and the into different systems you’re use. In FIDO’s world, announced plans to
World Wide Web Consortium also signing into different everyone has a smartphone introduce passwordless
(W3C) who for years have devices – your Android phone and treats it as an essential systems for signing into
been calling for firms to adopt and Windows laptop, for part of everyday life. If that accounts
a universal login standard. example. applies to you, then using • It means you’ll be able to
Getting these three tech giants FIDO makes it look easy in your phone as a gateway for log into any platform run
all your accounts makes sense. by the firms simply by
Apple, Google and Microsoft unlocking your phone
As no-one is sending you a code already run passwordless • If you lose your phone,
systems, but they work you’ll be able to recover
to type, there’s no information that a independently of each other. your method of signing in
scammer could steal from you Using a master system that
comprises all three companies
from another device

has clear benefits.

on board was vital because the illustration above: use But not everybody lives in code, particularly if they’re
they own the world’s biggest your fingerprint to sign into FIDO’s world. Many people plagued by poor connections
operating systems (iOS, Android, your phone, and the action is use basic (or ‘dumb’) phones and often don’t receive their
macOS, Windows) and browsers replicated on your laptop. If that won’t work with codes in time to sign in.
(Safari, Chrome, Edge). you lose your phone, just use passwordless systems. They Passwordless systems might
FIDO acknowledges that the another device to reactivate already feel alienated by give people a good reason
rise of password managers and your method of logging in. organisations such as banks swap their dumb phone for a
two-factor authentication As for security, it’s as strong and the NHS demanding a smarter model.
(2FA) has made “incremental as you could hope for. When smartphone to perform vital The first passwordless logins
improvements” to our safety you sign into your phone it tasks. Also, will there be a are expected to appear by the
when signing in, but says the shares a unique cryptographic psychological barrier to end of the year, but only when
new measures provide a more token called a passkey with passwordless logins? Typing a all three companies have
“consistent, secure and easy” your online accounts. Also, as password can feel reassuring launched their systems will
way to access your accounts. no-one is sending you a code and some may baulk at handing we know whether they deliver
Let’s examine each aspect of to type, there’s no information this responsibility to their phone. on their ambitious promise.
that claim. The consistency that a scammer could steal That said, others will be Plenty of problems could still
argument is supported by the from you in a phishing attack. attracted to the idea of never arise, so don’t ditch your
range of platforms that will FIDO president Sampath again having to type a 2FA passwords just yet.

10 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

Protect your tech
Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR...

Fake Windows 10 updates

What’s the threat?
Hackers are infecting computers with
ransomware hidden inside fake updates
for Windows 10. Once installed, the
malware encrypts files on the victim’s
computer, and wipes any backups. It
also creates ransom notes titled
‘README.html’ that give instructions on
opening the Tor browser in order to pay
the ransom, which tends to be around
0.068 bitcoins (roughly £2,000). The
ransom apparently doubles every five April, and that the updates are being Also click the link to ‘View optional
days if not paid. spread through so-called ‘warez’ sites, updates’ to see updates that Microsoft
The ransomware, called Magniber, where hackers offer pirated versions of isn’t forcing on you. These are typically
spreads through fake updates with software. fixes for problems with the operating
names that sound genuine, including system, though never security updates
Win10.0_System_Upgrade_Software. How can you stay safe? which are installed automatically.
msi and Security_Upgrade_Software_ These attacks rely on people searching If you know the KB name of an update,
Win10.0.msi. Some of the updates online for Windows updates, so make you can search for it in Microsoft’s
even have fake KB (Knowledge Base) sure you never do that. Instead, open Update Catalog. Visit www.snipca.
numbers that Microsoft uses to identify Windows Settings (press Windows com/41843 then type the KB number in
updates – for example, System.Upgrade. key+I), click ‘Update & Security’, select the top-right box (see screenshot) and
Win10.0-KB47287134.msi. Windows Update on the left, then click click Search. Now simply click Download
It’s thought the attack started on 8 ‘Check for updates’ in the middle. on the next page.

New tools Firefox for Android’s

HTTPS-only mode
ScamWatch
Readers warn readers

Knowing that you’re always Another fake McAfee offer

visiting the HTTPS version of a In Issue 625 Ian Tilling warned about
website brings great peace of a scam targeting McAfee customers
mind, so we’re pleased that many 1 with a ‘Protect Now!’ button. I got a
browsers now offer this as an different McAfee scam recently, which
option. The latest to do so is said “we have noticed a suspicious
Firefox for Android (install it activity detected on your device”. It
from www.snipca.com/41848), follows the usual script of claiming that
which Mozilla has added to the 2 your computer will no longer receive
100th release of the browser. security updates unless you buy Total
To turn it on, tap the menu Protection, which it generously offers
button (three vertical dots, top at a 60 per cent discount. I knew it
right) in the address bar, then tap was a scam because I no longer use
Settings and scroll down to the ‘Privacy to open HTTPS pages, even if you click McAfee, having switched to Kaspersky
and Security’ section. Now tap ‘HTTPS- a link to the HTTP version. If a site (and now Norton) about four years
Only Mode’ so the slider moves to the only has an HTTP version, you’ll see a ago. The email I received looked
right ( 1 in our screenshot). Finally, warning and be offered the options to similar to the one reported by Action
select whether you want it to work in continue or go back. Fraud at www.snipca.com/41841.
every tab you open 2 , or only tabs where To see what else is new in Firefox Michael Goodman
you have Private Browsing activated. 100, turn to page 43, and read Mozilla’s Warn your fellow readers about scams
Once enabled, Firefox will force a site blog: www.snipca.com/41845. at [email protected]

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 11

 Letters
Tell us what’s on your mind

Service in shops has improved EBay wanted a mobile number. To be departments of major companies are in
post-lockdown fair, they did try to offer an effect paying for their viewing pleasure.
Perhaps one of the alternative, but it failed in the Loads of other streaming services
reasons why people end. So our days with eBay are have hit upon the successful business
are buying fewer things at an end. The last time I used equation, which can be summarised like
online is because high-street Amazon they did send a code this: the more annoying the adverts, the
shops are fighting harder for via email, but when I had a more people will pay to avoid them. I
their custom (‘Question of query I was asked for a can’t believe it has taken Netflix so long
the Fortnight’, Issue 631, password. My wife has an to follow suit.
pictured). I was a heavy Alcatel 2051 mobile phone for Steve Franklin
online shopper even before emergencies when we’re out in
the lockdowns were the car, but this doesn’t meet I’m one of the millions who
imposed. Online discounts the criteria that companies subscribed to Netflix in the
appealed to me, but I was demand. first week of the first lockdown, and
also put off by what I saw as a decline in Edmund Hobby cancelled it within weeks of the final
customer service in shops. You don’t have lockdown lifting. For me, it was a
to put up with surly assistants online. Netflix is right to charge for temporary experiment in TV streaming
But I’ve noticed a change in mood since sharing passwords that was entirely driven by not being able
the lockdowns lifted. Shops seem to be Netflix might lose some customers to go to the pub or my Royal British
offering more inventive deals, and have if they start charging people for Legion branch. There wasn’t much for
improved how they treat customers. sharing passwords, but in the long run me to watch on it. There was a heavy
Lockdown was obviously tough on them, it’s definitely going to pay off for them bias towards US drama, and tacky
but has it forced them to change their (‘What’s all the Fuss About?’, Issue 631, documentaries.
old ways and become more appealing to page 49). By not charging so far, they I understand the appeal of Netflix and
the public? The other theory is that made the mistake of devaluing their other streaming services, but they don’t
customers missed the high street so service and people took it for granted. feel like proper TV channels to me. I’m in
much that they’re now overcompensating Introducing a free service with adverts my 70s, so I grew up watching just three
by spending more. is also a good idea. Adverts are a great (then four) channels that had a daily
Leslie Bonham way of determining what consumers are schedule you felt comfortable with. You
prepared to pay for. Many people loathe knew roughly when there would be quiz
Without doubt the economic them, and will be happy to pay to skip shows, chat shows, sport, news and so
downturn has an influence on them. Others don’t mind them, and will on. They felt like companions to your life,
the fall in online shopping, but might I be delighted that the marketing always on in the background. But you
suggest a less obvious reason. Recently, can’t leave Netflix on in the background
companies have increasingly been like that. That doesn’t suit my style of
insisting on a mobile-phone number to viewing, and it looks like many others
verify an account. It seems it cannot be are now switching off too.
just any mobile phone, but a smartphone, Nigel Kirby
which neither I nor my wife have.
As a couple of 81 and 77 with health
What’s the Issue…?
?
difficulties, personal shopping is not
really an option as we live in the
country and our nearest shopping centre When did you explain how to CA SAYS That’s
is 30 miles away. While I drive a use AllDup (www.snipca. right - it’s NewPipe
Motability car, parking is very difficult com/39806) to remove duplicate (https://newpipe.net).
in such places. Public transport is photos on your PC? See Issue 627, page 57.
non-existent. All this means that online Judith Palmer
shopping is necessary. I actually know the issue I need
We insured our bungalow with CA SAYS That was in our ‘What – 626. You recommended a 17in
Sainsbury’s, and suddenly they Should I Download?’ section in Issue laptop, but I’ve lost the issue. Can you
demanded a mobile-phone number for 619, page 19. remind me what it was please?
secondary verification. Despite me trying David Jones
to explain we didn’t have one, they just What was the name of that app
dug their heels in. I owed them around that lets you watch YouTube CA SAYS You probably mean the LG
£20 and when I suggested sending a without adverts? Think it was ‘New’ Gram 17Z90P, which has a 19-hour
cheque, they said they don’t accept something? battery life. Buy it for £1,200 from
them. And, remarkably, they confirmed Martin Brooks www.snipca.com/41892.
all this by email.

12 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive
Twitter: @ComputerActive
www.twitter.com/computeractive

Would be ‘bizarre’ if you didn’t STAR LETTER

cover Windows 11
Google ‘tricks you’ into thinking it
I was surprised by Chris
Venables’ claim in Issue 631 that
Computeractive is obsessed with
Windows 11. What does he expect from cares about privacy
a fortnightly computer magazine? It
seems obvious to me that there’s now I share your line the internet eroded
going to be a lot more news on Windows exasperation that that.
11 than 10, and it would be bizarre if it has taken Google so My theory is that
you ignored that. long to offer you ways about 25 years ago we
In any case, I wouldn’t say your coverage to request the removal all got so excited about
of Windows 11 has been obsessive. Clearly, of your home address the potential of the
the launch of a new operating system is and telephone number internet that we forgot
big news, particularly because Microsoft (Issue 631, page 6). In to apply the old rules
said there never would be one. You’ve part, this has been a about privacy. Dazzled
reviewed it, told us what the new tools fault of the authorities. by this technology,
are and explained how to upgrade – and Lawmakers should’ve forced Google we were blinded to the risks. It has
even given us workarounds if our and other search engines to introduce taken us this long to shake off our
computers don’t come up to Microsoft’s these measures years ago, though the complacency. The same principle also
strict standards. If you hadn’t done any of international nature of the internet apples to online porn. Authorities are
that, it would’ve been highly remiss of you. makes such rules hard to implement. introducing mandatory age checks
I’m still on Windows 10, and at no It makes me think of something that far too late.
point in the past year have I thought rarely gets talked about or used these The lesson we must learn is that
you’re leaving the likes of me behind. I days: the BT phone book. It used to deep down Google and other big-tech
want to read about Windows 11 so I can be a permanent fixture on the hallway sites don’t care about your privacy.
make an informed decision on upgrading, desks of every home. If you didn’t They’re not charities but money-
but I’m glad that most of your tips and want your number to appear in it, making industries that rely on adverts,
advice still apply to 10. Mr Venables may you could simply ask to be ex-directory. which in turn rely on analysing what
think otherwise, but I’d say you’ve got I always did that, year after year. When you do online. Everything else they
the balance about right. information was collated on paper say and do is designed to trick
Charles Judge there seemed to be a greater emphasis you into thinking otherwise.
on privacy. But somewhere along the Phil Hardman
Uninterruptible power supplies
more trouble than they’re worth The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
Your feature on uninterruptible
power supplies (UPS) in Issue 630
(page 60) mentioned the benefits of these there would be no chance of getting the
devices, but not their failings. They are payment back, but phoned Bank of
generally heavy and cumbersome. Lead Scotland immediately. They cancelled the
acid batteries can swell in size and be card and issued a new one. Several weeks
difficult to remove in some designs. later, the scammers took a payment of
Ageing batteries can mean that when the £9.95 using the new card details! The
mains goes off, the UPS does too. With bank is unapologetic, saying that they
many models, the UPS stays off even after new TV 360 box, and a Mini 360 box for a will “try” to recover the payment, but
the mains comes back on, turning a short second room. For all this they’re charging that the continuous payment may be
outage into a much longer one! In my me £21 less a month, and an engineer is impossible to stop.
experience they are more trouble than coming to install it all – and I didn’t even I had to jump through several hoops in
they’re worth. ask for anything. I’m sticking with Virgin order to speak to anyone at the bank,
Tim Howlett Media. including setting up voice recognition,
Terry Sutton which I had already done. I find it very
Why I’m sticking with worrying that a major bank is unable,
Virgin Media Bank allowed scammers to or unwilling, to protect customers’
Regarding switching broadband take my money accounts, especially when only a few
providers, I contacted Virgin Recently, I downloaded an weeks had passed since my card had
Media to report a faulty TV V6 box. After antivirus app from Google Play been replaced. How can a continuous
checking my account details they told me Store, paid £2.99 by debit card, then payment be set up without any input
that I was paying too much for the bundle realised it was a scam. I tried to cancel, from the bank customer, or any concern
and would give me a better deal. They without success, and didn’t set up any raised?
provided me with a brand new router, a form of continuous payment. I knew that Alan O’Connor

Views expressed don’t necessarily reflect those of Computeractive Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 13
 Consumeractive
We stand up for your legal rights

Can Dell cancel my LEAD Should I get

order after email CASE refund if a device’s
app doesn’t work?
confirmation? Last December I bought

On 10 April I spent published the wrong

Q ThePhotoStick Omni (https://
getthephotostickomni.io),
Q £14.53 on a Dell 3D
mouse that normally
price for the mouse, and
cancelled his order when
paying by PayPal. The device offers 128GB
of storage on a USB stick, but the required
costs around £34.99. I received it realised its mistake. app doesn’t work. Omni has ignored all
three emails confirming my There’s no hard and fast my emails and I’m £200 out of pocket.
order, and then one cancelling rule in these situations. It’s What can I do?
it three days later with no commonly thought that a Garry Alligan
explanation. Perhaps the retailer must sell an item
mouse was mispriced, but if at the advertised price, but Garry has now got a refund from
so why did it take Dell so long
to cancel the order? What are
that’s not the case.
Generally, the bigger the
A PayPal, having made a claim that
the stick was “significantly not
my rights? price disparity, the less likely a retailer as described” (see PayPal’s definition of
Tony Gurney will be to honour the purchase – or be this at www.snipca.com/41861). If a device
forced to by courts. For example, in 1999 needs an app to work, and the app is faulty,
Tony probably doesn’t have any Argos refused to deliver Sony Nicam TVs then the device is also considered faulty.
A rights, but we understand why
he might think otherwise. We
that had been mistakenly advertised for
£2.99 instead of £299 (as the BBC reported
We had tried to contact the company
that makes ThePhotoStick. This isn’t
suspect that by ‘3D mouse’ Tony means a at the time: www.snipca.com/41855). Omni, which is part of the product’s
mouse that works with 3D-imaging Another grey area is the specific point name, but a Colorado-based firm called
software. Dell sells several such items at which a contract has been made Prairie IT (www.prairieit.com). We didn’t
made by German company 3Dconnexion between customer and retailer. Sending a hear anything back, so PayPal was
(see www.snipca.com/41853, pictured), confirmation email doesn’t necessarily Garry’s only route to a refund.
but the cheapest is £102, nearly three mean the retailer has agreed under law to Garry was within the 180-day limit to
times the price Tony said the mouse sell at that price. Instead, ‘consideration’ make a claim with PayPal. If it finds in
normally costs, and over seven times the must have taken place, which is usually your favour, you’re entitled to a full refund
price he actually paid. the seller taking your money for the goods. including postage. If you have to return
These price differences make us With so much unknown, we’ve asked items, PayPal will cover costs up to £15
wonder whether, as Tony suggests, Dell Dell for clarification. (www.snipca.com/41862).
CASE ONGOING CASE CLOSED

CASE UPDATE

AVG refunds reader for reactivating 6-year-old subscription

AVG says it will refund reader This prompted Colin to ask whether the In such circumstances, neither PayPal nor
Colin Moore once he contacts latter was responsible for providing a refund. Digital River can or are obliged to refund you.
the company with his new The card that Colin linked to his PayPal Instead it has to come from the retailer. The
email address, which currently account for that original subscription had inclusion of Digital River on bank statements
isn’t on its system. As we reported in Issue expired, but the payment still went through and invoices often confuses people, but it’s
628, Colin was annoyed that AVG had because he had added a new card. merely a platform for processing payments,
charged him £74.99 for an automatically However, the fault lies with AVG, not and doesn’t sell you anything.
renewed subscription despite not having PayPal. For some reason, AVG’s systems By refunding Colin, AVG is admitting its
used the antivirus software since 2016. triggered an automatic renewal, and PayPal mistake in taking money from him. It’s
The payment was processed by Digital had no reason to reject it as unauthorised different to Paul Archer’s case (above right),
River on behalf of of AVG, and the money because the new card he had linked to his in which he was entitled to a refund because
was taken through Colin’s PayPal account. account was still valid. he hadn’t used (ie, downloaded) the software.

14 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Contact us so we can investigate your case
Email: [email protected]
Please include your name, phone number and address.

Am I due compensation for missing parcels?

I live in Jersey, and in March this claim for uninsured non-tracked
Q year I used Jersey Post to send
two parcels of chocolate to two
parcels is £15 plus postage if you’ve only
proof of postage; and £30 if you can also
different addresses in India. One parcel prove the value of the contents. With no
hasn’t arrived, and the cost of postage proof of postage or cost of content the
was £32.98, although the contents were reimbursement is in local stamps.
only worth £15.27. I didn’t pay for this By comparison, Royal Mail’s
parcel to be tracked and Jersey Post won’t sold online, and will be keen to know compensation starts at six first-class
offer me a refund. Can you advise me? whether they can get a refund even if stamps for lost items deemed to have no
Stalin Kumar they didn’t pay for tracking. intrinsic value. Its maximum is the
Jersey Post says that compensation “lower of the market value” of the lost
Chocolate obviously falls outside is available for lost parcels (www.snipca. item plus £20 – or £50 for Royal Mail
A our technology remit, but we’ve
included this case because we
com/41859), though claims must be
made within 80 days of the item
Signed For.
Visit www.snipca.com/41871 for details,
know many readers regularly post items being sent. The maximum you can and to make a claim.
CASE CLOSED

Can I challenge A
After first
emailing us
platform that uses
PayPal to collect money
unauthorised Paul got back
in touch to say that AVG
for its customers, one of
which is clearly AVG.
PayPal payment? had given him a full What it doesn’t do is
refund. Under the Consumer Contract handle refunds or disputes, which is a
On 6 April, a payment of Regulations, customers are entitled to huge problem for consumers.
Q £74.99 was taken via PayPal by
Digital River, Ireland, for a year’s
refunds for digital purchases as long as
they don’t ‘use’ (ie, download or activate)
Hopefully, there will be fewer cases
like this in future, thanks to a new law
subscription to AVG antivirus. This the software. It seems as though his AVG being proposed by the Government to
payment was taken early because my subscription was set to be automatically force companies to remind customers
existing antivirus wasn’t due to expire renewed, either through PayPal or AVG’s that a free trial or cheap introductory
until 21 April. PayPal rejected my site – or probably both. We’ve advised offer is coming to an end, and before an
argument that this payment was Paul to cancel any recurring payments existing contract automatically renews
unauthorised. Can I get my money back? on the sites. (see Issue 631, page 9, and www.snipca.
Paul Archer Digital River is a global payments com/41701).
CASE CLOSED

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

Punch told me how to upgrade to Windows 11

As a subscriber to a detailed reply. Basically, I update to Windows 11. That will be the
Computeractive, had to perform a BIOS update next step, and one I’ll perform with fingers
I’ve been following before installing TPM 2.0. I crossed.
the arguments contacted a local computer Barry Pugh
for and against Windows 11. store, who estimated a cost of
Your recent articles provided between £120 and £150. Contact
me with the impetus to So, I went back to Punch
see whether my desktop PC – bought support, who patiently guided me through
Punch Technology
for £700 from Punch Technology (www. all the stages getting the PC ready for an • Email
punchtechnology.co.uk) two years ago – Has a company impressed you with its [email protected]
would be compatible. customer service? Please let us know: • Phone 0330 0583037
I contacted Punch support, and they sent [email protected]

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 15

 Grow Your
Family Tree
When it comes to births, marriages and deaths, searching
two sites is better than one. Chris Paton explains how to…
Find your ancestors in old newspapers
N
ewspapers are useful for Findmypast
researching family history because offers several
ways to narrow
they provide an alternative to 3 your search
official sources for information on
births, marriages and deaths. The best
place to look through them is in the 2
British Newspaper Archive (www.
britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, BNA),
which is a partnership project between
Findmypast (www.findmypast.co.uk) and
1
the British Library (www.bl.uk).
It has now digitised over 50 million
pages from newspapers, 10 million more
than its original aim when it launched You can narrow the search by date, place, from 1800-1999. Using the filters on
in 2011. The site requires a subscription county, newspaper and article type 3 . the left, I narrowed the search to 1943,
to access most of its content, but as a bringing me two obituaries: one from the
project partner, Findmypast provides Find OCR text in the BNA Belfast News-Letter 2 , the other from the
access to the same material through a Pro Despite these filtering options, Birmingham Daily Post 3 .
subscription (£14.99 a month), saving Findmypast can return more results than Below each result is a small amount of
members the need for two subscriptions. you bargained for. The BNA’s search tools preview text 4 generated by Optical
are far superior, letting you target specific Character Recognition (OCR). Some of
Use Findmypast’s years, months, countries and titles. Basic this text may be gibberish, depending on
search filters searches on the BNA are free, so we the quality of the image. As both sites
Click ‘Search’ on Findmypast’s top menu, advise starting your search there, then have the same images, and the same
then select ‘Newspapers and Periodicals’. viewing final pages on Findmypast. OCR text, I can use this preview text
On the next screen, search by first and In this example, I will look for an in a search to locate the exact same
last name at the top left, adding further obituary for my grandfather’s missionary image on Findmypast.
terms in the ‘What Else?’ box ( 1 in our cousin, the Reverend William Paton, who To do so, I simply copy the text found
screenshot above right). Unlike on the died in August 1943. I searched for below the entry I need, then paste this
BNA site, British and Irish newspapers “william paton” +missionary +obituary into the ‘What Else?’ search box at
cannot be searched together, so you need ( 1 in our screenshot below right) on the Findmypast. The desired page will appear
to select one or the other on the left 2 . BNA site, returning hundreds of articles in the preview screen below. Click it to
view it, and save it to your computer if

Your Genealogy Problems Solved

necessary.

1
I researched my family 11 years ago using company Software MacKiev (see www.
Family Tree Maker 11 (FTM) and Ancestry. snipca.com/41826). The current version,
I’ve learned that Ancestry isn’t going to FTM 2019, still lets you synchronise your 2
upgrade FTM anymore. I’ve now exported tree on your computer with the one
my tree as a GEDCOM file. Which service hosted on Ancestry. Another program that
3
should I use now? syncs with Ancestry is RootsMagic 8
Tom Orchard (www.rootsmagic.com).
4
Have a genealogy question for Chris?
Ancestry hasn’t actually run FTM since Email [email protected] with
2016, when it sold the program to US ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line. Copy the OCR preview text on the BNA site,
then paste it as a search on Findmypast

16 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632 Next issue: Search the 1950 US Census
 Best Free Software
Robert Irvine recommends new programs that won’t cost you a thing
PC CLEANER

Privacy Eraser Free 5.23

www.snipca.com/41952
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11

Like CCleaner, but without that program’s oft-reported on the left. Untick options such as Start
problems, Privacy Eraser frees up space on your hard drive Menu Recent Items and Typed URLs to
and protects your privacy by deleting details of your Windows exclude them. There’s also an Applications tab,
and web activities. At first, we were slightly sceptical of its which identifies software installed on your PC and lets
generic name and its interface’s similarity to dubious IObit you decide which tools to clean. Once the scan is complete,
products. We also assumed that many features would be click Quick Clean to delete the detected junk, ‘Clean &
restricted to the Pro version, which costs $19.95 (£16.20) a Restart’ to purge all leftover traces or ‘Clean & Shut down’.
year. Happily, our fears were unfounded and Privacy Eraser New features in version 5.23 include improved scanning
Free lacks only three options from the paid-for version: of cookies you want to keep, so you’re not logged out of
automatic updates, technical support and secure overwriting websites, and cleaning of Windows Event logs (which store
of deleted data. details of system operations) and network-usage data.
The program is very easy to use: simply click the big Scan Additionally, the program’s uninstaller, which you’ll find
button on the home screen to detect junk files on your PC on the Tools tab, has been improved to make it faster at
and discover how much space you can recover by removing removing unwanted software. Other useful tools include
them. This takes a while the first time you do it, but you can a File Shredder and a Drive Wiper, though – as mentioned
speed up future scans and tell Privacy Eraser to ignore data – the free version only overwrites data once, and further
you want to keep by clicking the Windows and Browsers tabs ‘passes’ require you to upgrade.
4

1 Once Privacy Eraser has 2 On the Windows tab, you 3 Click the Tools tab to access 4 C
 lick Settings to tweak
scanned your PC for junk, it can specify which elements some useful extra features, how Privacy Eraser works
tells you how many files it’s of your operating system including a startup manager and looks. Options include
found and how much space to clean, including File that lets you stop software preventing it from running
you’ll save by deleting them Explorer data, event logs running automatically and on start-up, excluding
– 6.6GB in our case. You and the registry. Similarly, an uninstaller for removing certain folders from its
can then choose a clean-up the Browsers tab lets you unwanted programs. You scans, scheduling regular
option from the menu in the decide which junk to delete can also delete system clean-ups and customising
top-right corner. from all your web browsers. restore points. its appearance with different
themes.

18 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

FILE MANAGER
WHAT SHOULD
Q-Dir 10.73 I DOWNLOAD?
www.snipca.com/41937
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11
We tell you what software & apps to use

In our Workshop in
Issue 631 (page 38), we How can I view all my
explained how to add
tabs to File Explorer
browser extensions?
by switching to an I use several web browsers, including Chrome,
alternative tool called
Files App (www.snipca.
Q Edge and Firefox, and have extensions installed
in all of them. I often read about interesting
com/41679). Q-Dir extensions in Computeractive, only to find I’ve previously
(short for Quad- installed, disabled and forgotten about them. Is there any
Directory-Explorer) also offers this feature but goes even program that can tell me all the extensions currently
further by letting you view four File Explorer-style windows installed across all my browsers?
at once. You can set each one to show a different folder to Peter Hill
easily drag and drop files between them, and open subfolders
in tabs by right-clicking them and choosing ‘Open in new Your browsers will each have an Extensions or
tab’ (see screenshot). The packed interface looks confusing at
first, but you can customise the view by clicking the layout
A Add-ons Manager that lists all your installed
extensions – in Chrome, for example, click the
buttons on the toolbar. Q-Dir’s latest update adds support for three-dot menu button and choose Extensions from the
dark mode in Windows 10 and 11, to protect your eyes when ‘More tools’ sub-menu. However, if you frequently switch
browsing files and folders at night. This complements the between different
existing option to apply colourful themes to the program, by browsers, it’s much
clicking the Extras menu and selecting one in the ‘Colors & more useful to have a
Design’ sub-menu. single overview of
all your add-ons.
OPERATING SYSTEM That’s the idea behind
BrowserAddonsView, a
Tails 5.0 simple free tool from
https://tails.boum.org the prolific software
What you need: developer NirSoft.
Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or Download the program
11, macOS or Linux from www.snipca.com/41939 – the download link is
about two-thirds of the way down the page, below the
Tails – which stands Feedback section – and extract it from the ZIP file. Double-
for The Amnesiac click the BrowserAddonsView EXE file (it doesn’t require
Incognito Live System installation) and a window will open listing all your
– is a privacy-focused installed extensions.
operating system that The details include the name of each add-on, the browser
you boot from a USB stick. It lets you use your computer it’s installed in, whether it’s Enabled or Disabled, a
without leaving any trace of your activities, including the description of what it does (where available), the date it
files you open, the websites you visit and the networks you was installed and much more. You can make this
connect to. It also protects you from malware, because no information clearer by hiding columns or moving them to
data is written to your hard drive. Tails 5.0 is based on a new less prominent positions. Click the View menu, select
distribution of Linux called Debian 11 (Bullseye) and includes Choose Columns and untick less important options, or use
updated versions of its bundled software, including Tor the Move Up and Move Down buttons (see screenshot) to
Browser, Audacity and LibreOffice. It also adds Kleopatra reorder the columns.
for encrypting files using PGP. A new Activities view (see You can’t uninstall extensions through BrowserAddonsView,
screenshot) makes it easier to access your windows and but you can at least see which ones you’ve installed and
programs by pressing the Windows key, and you can quickly where and when – we’ve got almost 500 of them!
find files and folders by typing into the search box. Note that
Do you need our advice on what software to use? Just email us at
Tails is a large (1.2GB) download and requires a USB stick of [email protected]
at least 8GB.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 19

 Best Free Software
HOW I USE...

ExpressVPN
Keen to watch what he wants where he wants, David Ludlow installed his
favourite VPN on a Fire TV Stick
As we explored in Issue 631’s Cover
Feature, VPNs are a great way to watch
what you want wherever you are in
the world, beating international
restrictions. I don’t usually bother
accessing content from the US, but
when I’m on holiday or on a work trip,
I do sometimes catch up on UK TV
using a VPN.
I was pleased to see ExpressVPN win
Computeractive’s Gold Award. I love
not only its speed and ease of use, but
also because it’s available for all Fire
TV Stick devices from the 2nd genera-
tion onwards, including my Fire TV
Stick 4K Max (£55 from www.snipca.
com/41839). I can plug it into any
TV, hook it up to the local Wi-Fi, and
watch content that would otherwise
be blocked, such as BBC iPlayer. It also David selects ‘East London’ on ExpressVPN to access UK TV when abroad
bypasses any services that a hotel has
restricted. I want to connect to. For watching UK country I want to connect to. There
To install ExpressVPN on my Fire TV TV, this needs to be a UK location (East are three options for the UK at the
Stick, I had to click the top-right icon London normally works for me – as pic- time of writing (Docklands, London,
on the home screen (three squares and tured); for US TV, you’ll need a US server. and East London), plus many more in
a ‘+’ sign), then select Appstore. I then Click the power button icon to connect, other countries. ExpressVPN regularly
searched for ExpressVPN, selected it and the screen will go green. changes the servers it uses to avoid
and chose the install option. Next, I click Home to return to my detection by streaming services.
Once installed, select Open to home screen, and launch any other app Once connected to a different
launch it. At this point, it’s worth that I want. When I start playing content, server, I can try my app again.
finding out where the app lives on it’s streamed from the UK automatically Sometimes, apps are cached and
the Stick so that you can find it again. via the VPN without restrictions. remember the original location.
Select the same icon as before (three That’s the theory at least. Some streaming When this happens, I clear the cache
squares) then choose My Apps – you’ll services try to detect and block VPNs, by restarting the Fire TV Stick (press
see ExpressVPN there. so ExpressVPN doesn’t work all of the and hold the Home button, then select
After signing in and confirming that time. When I get any error messages, I go Settings, followed by My Fire TV, and
it’s allowed to monitor my network back to the ExpressVPN app and change then click Restart).
traffic, I selected where in the world the server for an alternative one in the Because ExpressVPN starts
automatically and remembers its
WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE IN EXPRESSVPN connection state, I have to remember
to turn it off when I return home.
ExpressVPN sends a notification to the connection status shown on the main Open the app and click the power
say it’s connected, but this is buried screen at the top, and have an option to button to disconnect. Again, some
inside several menus. I’d like to see more quickly turn the VPN on and off. apps may not work and the Fire TV
Stick may require another reboot.

20 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632 Next issue: How I use... Google Drive
Named & Shamed
Barry Collins puts the boot into tech villains, jargon-
spouting companies and software trying to trick you

SOFTWARE WARNING!
Driver Reviver’s PUP-like tickboxes

R
eader Virginia
McGovern got a bit of
a shock when she
downloaded Driver Reviver
– from respectable software outfit Corel,
no less – and was warned by Windows
that it contained malware.
Virginia told us that she downloaded
the program from the company’s official
website (www.reviversoft.com) and both 1
Windows and Malwarebytes flagged it as
containing the Win32/Caypnamer.A!ml 2
Trojan – a piece of malware that can be
very tricky to remove. And she’s not the
only one. A Google search revealed others 3
had found the same file lurking in the
software. Ticked off: the three pre-selected options in Driver Reviver that annoyed Barry
A spokesperson for Corel told me that
the reported malware was a false positive, Unwanted Program), and it’s not hard to reasons why they mark it as PUP.
which can “sometimes happen if the see why. “These so-called ‘system optimisers’ use
specific antivirus software being used A quick look in the software’s settings intentional false positives to convince
takes a hard stance on system utilities apps”. reveals three of my pet hates are users that their systems have problems,”
In the name of science, I donned a pair automatically ticked: run on start-up ( 1 it claims. “Then they try to sell you their
of rubber gloves and downloaded Driver in our screenshot), annoying splash software, claiming it will remove these
Reviver on to a test PC myself. I didn’t get screens 2 , and the option to “show other problems.”
the Trojan and Windows was quite happy product recommendations for my PC” 3 . Is Driver Reviver spreading malware?
to let it pass. However, Malwarebytes did A long post on the Malwarebytes forum Probably not. But I wouldn’t install it on
flag the entire tool as a PUP (Potentially (www.snipca.com/41824) gives other my PC, either.

WHAT ARE THEY BARRY’S VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT

TALKING ABOUT?

WHAT THEY SAY

Trevor Jacob
Microsoft www.snipca.com/41825
“Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Fraud The closest most YouTube in California
Protection’s proprietary risk assessment, ‘celebrities’ come to serious (pictured). Jacob claimed the
which leverages adaptive AI to assist in harm is when they shove a engine had cut out and that
real-time fraud detection by identifying pack of Mentos chewing he was “lucky to be alive”.
risky behaviours across purchase, gum into a Coke bottle and But US air regulators
account and in-store activities, has been don’t stand back quickly found that he’d opened the
integrated with Mastercard’s Digital enough. Trevor Jacob raised plane door before the engine
Transaction Insights to better enable real- the bar by deliberately crashing his ‘failure’, and made no attempt to
time intelligence sharing.” light aircraft to seek fame. contact air traffic control or find a
The former Olympic snowboarder safe place to land. In other words, he
WHAT THEY MEAN posted the video last year, seemingly faked it, “endangering life and
We fight fraud in ways you could never bailing out of the plane in a parachute property”. He’s now been banned
understand (and we can’t describe). above the Los Padres National Forest from the skies, if not from YouTube.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 21

 Reviews
New products tested by our experts New products tested by our experts

PC ❘ £529 from Acer www.snipca.com/41827

Acer Aspire XC-1660g

No power player

Hefty PC towers can eat into your and is designed for Windows work,
home-office space, but not everyone has but it costs around £150 more. This
that much available room on or around extra amount has been spent on a
their desk. This Acer model is more faster processor and more memory,
compact than most, measuring just and seems well worth it, when you
295x100x330mm (HxWxD). Compare consider it scored 9,545 in the same
that with the Cyberpower Infinity multi-core tests. It’s not quite twice
opposite (460x210x428mm) and you’ll as fast as the Aspire XC-1660g, but
wonder how Acer has managed to it’s not far off.
squeeze everything in. As an aside, neither PC is great
dealing with the graphics needed for
gaming, but the Wired2Fire achieved
A solid Windows PC an almost acceptable average frame rate
of 29fps in our 1080p-resolution tests.
for those struggling for The Aspire XC-1660g only averaged 8fps
space, but it won’t win in the same tests, which isn’t worth
bothering with. The problem lies with
prizes for its graphics the PC’s Intel UHD Graphics 730
hardware that’s integrated into the
Core i5-11400 processor, which is no
The truth is Acer hasn’t bothered to fit match for the AMD RX Vega 8 graphics
everything in. There’s no graphics card, built into the Wired2Fire’s Ryzen 7 5700G
for example, though there is enough processor.
room for a slimline model should you The one area where the Aspire excels
decide to add one in future. We wouldn’t over the Wired2Fire is in its power
bother, though, because this PC isn’t consumption. When idling, with nothing SPECIFICATIONS
aimed at gamers, but instead at those running, it consumes around 0.008kWh. Six-core Intel Core i5-11400 processor • 8GB
wanting an affordable The Wired2Fire, with its more memory • Intel UHD Graphics 730 • 1TB SSD • Wi-Fi
5 • Bluetooth 5 • 1x Gigabit Ethernet port • 2x HDMI
desktop PC that’s good powerful components, consumes
ports • 1x USB-C port • 3x USB 3.0 ports • 4x USB
enough to run office 22W of power, even when it’s not 2.0 ports • Windows 11 Home • 295x100x330mm
tools and get online. doing any work. If you’re more (HxWxD) • One-year warranty
To this end, the 11th- concerned about keeping your www.snipca.com/41818
generation Intel Core fuel bills down than the speed of
i5-11400 processor and your Windows performance, this
8GB RAM are sufficient. could still be an attractive option. VERDICT A compact desktop PC
In our benchmark A side benefit of this is that the that runs Windows reasonably well
multi-core tests the PC is virtually silent, with only for those on a tighter budget – but it’s
Aspire XC-1660g scored one fan whispering in the worth spending more if you can
4,971, which isn’t a background – so quiet we could
stellar result but is more barely hear it.
★★★★★
than enough for everyday The case is well stocked with ALTERNATIVE
Windows tasks. handy ports. On the front there’s Wired2Fire Ultima
At this point, however, a USB-C and USB 3.0 port, along WS Home Office
it’s worth comparing its with 3.5mm jacks for connecting Workstation £750
performance with our headphones and a mic. Around Pay another £150
current Buy It award- the back (pictured left) there are for performance
winner, the Wired2Fire two more USB 3.0 ports and four levels that are
Ultima WS Home Office USB 2.0 ports, along with a almost twice as
Workstation. This also Gigabit Ethernet port and two good
lacks a graphics card, HDMI ports.

22 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 HOW WE TEST
Computeractive is owned by Future PLC,
PC ❘ £1,000 from Cyberpower www.snipca.com/41829 which employs a team of specialist
technical reviewers. You’ll often read

Cyberpower Infinity X123 RTX references to our benchmark testing,

which is a method of assessing products
using the same criteria. For example, we
Graphics for a grand test the speed of every PC and the battery
life of every phone and tablet in exactly
the same way. This makes our reviews
authoritative, rigorous and accurate.
In contrast to the Acer Aspire XC-1660 Future PLC also owns the magazines
opposite, the Cyberpower Infinity X123 Maximum PC, PC Pro and T3, and the
RTX is an exercise in seeing how much websites Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.
you can stuff into a PC case and still keep com), TechRadar (www.techradar.com)
it to a reasonable price of £1,000. The and Windows Central (www.windows
headline inclusion is an Nvidia GeForce central.com). This means we can test
RTX 3050 graphics card, which at the thousands of products before choosing
time of writing would cost around £350 the most relevant for Computeractive.
to buy on its own.
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
Our writers follow strict guidelines to
For those who ensure the reviews are fair and impartial.
The manufacturer has no involvement in
want high-quality our tests.
visuals, this is great However, it lags behind our current OUR AWARDS
value for money favourite Windows PC, the Wired2Fire
Ultima WS Home Office Workstation,
We award every product
that gets five stars our
which is around 70 per cent faster Buy It! stamp of approval.
That equates to over one third of the again in Windows tests. Note that the It means we were
overall price, so if you like to crank up the Wired2Fire PC lacks a graphics card, extremely impressed by the product, and
visual settings when you next load up though, so isn’t nearly as adept for we think you will be too.
Microsoft Flight Simulator, for example, gaming.
Every product that gets a
it will be a godsend. In our tests, it ran There are a few other compromises.
four-star review is given the
games at an average frame rate of more The motherboard is a basic MSI Pro
Recommended award. We
than 60fps at 1080p resolution, with B660M-E microATX model, which
highly recommend these
the graphical settings turned up high. If lacks many of the features found in
products, although they just fail to meet the
you have a monitor that supports it, it most of the motherboards in PCs
high standard of our Buy It! winners.
even does well at 1440p, though it’s we’ve reviewed recently. For example,
probably asking a little much of it to it only has two slots for memory, so PRICES
go up to 4K resolution. upgrading RAM would probably require Our reviews contain a link to the best price
To budget for this powerful graphics you to remove what’s already there. we found online at the time of press.
card, Cyberpower has opted for an Intel Similarly, there’s also only a single
Core i3-12100F M.2 slot for the SSD storage. It doesn’t
processor, which is have Wi-Fi networking built in, so
a 12th-generation Cyberpower has added Wi-Fi 5, which VERDICT Powerful graphics for
model with only takes up more space than it ought to, gamers, but it comes at the expense
four cores – though eating into the potential for upgrading of Windows performance and upgrade
these will be fine further in the future. potential
for everyday This is a decent PC, then, if you’re
Windows tasks. looking for graphics power, but you’d
★★★★★
The processor is need to spend a bit more money to get ALTERNATIVE PCSpecialist
helped along by a better all-rounder. Fusion Elite £1,399 More expensive,
16GB of RAM and a but worth it if
1TB SSD. In our SPECIFICATIONS you want decent
general Windows Four-core Intel Core i3-12100F processor • 16GB graphics for
tests, this proved memory • Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card • gaming and
1TB M.2 SSD • Wi-Fi 5 • Ethernet port • HDMI port • 4x
30 per cent faster USB 3.0 ports • 4x USB 2.0 ports • Windows 11 Home
superior Windows
than than the • 460x210x428mm (HxWxD) • Five-year warranty performance
Aspire XC-1660. www.snipca.com/41829

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 23

 Reviews
LAPTOP | £872 from Misco www.snipca.com/41844

Dynabook Tecra A40-J-101

Solid choice

This laptop won’t turn any heads when

you take it out of your bag, but it’s solidly
built and has a practical design. It’s made
from tough plastic that should guarantee
durability. It’s also extremely portable. It
may not be the lightest model we’ve ever
seen at 1.45kg, but its modest dimensions,
particularly its 18.9mm thickness, ensure
it will slip easily into rucksacks and
briefcases alike.
Battery life is respectable, powering
through almost 10 hours in a test
that’s designed to mimic modern office
work, and almost 14 hours on idle,
dropping to eight hours when playing
back video constantly. The supplied £850 Honor MagicBook 16 (reviewed The keyboard also has backlighting.
charger takes you from zero to 40 per Issue 628) scored 6,085 in this There are no frills in the compact
cent in half an hour, though it can also be performance test. touchpad, but it’s effective and includes a
charged from any compatible USB-C The Tecra A40-J-10 comes with 8GB of fingerprint reader. Alternatively, you can
charging device. RAM, but it’s easy to increase this yourself use the 720p webcam to log into Windows.
at a later date should you want to speed It’s a reasonable camera for a built-in
up everyday Windows use. There’s a option, capturing decent levels of detail
A portable machine spare slot for memory, which is accessible (albeit, lacking in richness of colour). It
via the underside of the case by removing also has a handy privacy shutter.
that’s solidly built and nine standard crosshead screws. The dual microphones subdue some
It’s also straightforward to replace background noise, but temper your
easy to upgrade, but the 256GB SSD, should you need more expectations when it comes to audio
storage in future, though the supplied output: the built-in speakers are fine for
there are trade-offs drive proved nippy enough in our tests, speech, but they lack subtlety and bass.
with read speeds of 2,101MB/s and write It may lack such fineries as serious
Two USB-C ports sit on the left edge speeds of 1,564MB/s. speakers and a vibrant screen, but
along with HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, and The screen won’t win any prizes for this is a reasonable laptop for general
a 3.5mm jack, while on the right there’s a brightness levels or colour range, with Windows use. It has a solid build and is
a second USB 3.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet a peak of 232cd/m2 and 61 per cent compact enough to carry around. There
socket, a microSD card slot and, in our coverage of the sRGB colour standard. are faster laptops around for a similar
test model, a smart-card slot (though Still, we found it was perfectly fine price, though.
these are generally only used by businesses indoors when at maximum brightness,
as an alternative way of logging into while the matt finish means reflections
Windows). Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are kept to a minimum. VERDICT Well built, has a great
round everything off nicely. The keyboard is far better than you’d keyboard, and is easy to upgrade, but
What you don’t get is a 12th-generation expect in a laptop at this price, with some rivals are faster
Intel processor – it has a mid-range good-sized keys. The Enter and Backspace
11th-generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 keys are particularly generous; the cursor
★★★★★
instead. In our benchmark tests, which keys are well spaced out; and there are ALTERNATIVE Honor MagicBook 16
measure Windows performance, it scored even dedicated keys for PgUp and PgDn. £850 Honor’s similarly priced laptop
a modest 4,469. offers better
For comparison, the £1,000 Huawei SPECIFICATIONS Windows
MateBook 16 (see our review, Issue 631) Four-core Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor • 8GB RAM performance
scored 6,341, with its faster AMD Ryzen 7 • 14in IPS 1920x1080-pixel resolution screen • 256GB thanks to its
M.2 SSD • 720p webcam • Wi-Fi 6 • Bluetooth 5.2 •
5800H processor doing most of the heavy 1x HDMI port • 2x USB-C ports • 2x USB 3.0 ports •
newer AMD
lifting. If you’re looking for something Windows 11 Pro • 18.9x324x221mm (HxWxD) • 1.45kg processor
closer in price to the Tecra A40-J-101, the • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/41844

24 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

LAPTOP-TABLET ❘ £1,000 from Huawei www.snipca.com/41941
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SPECS
Huawei MateBook E Ink-tank
Beyond the Surface
printers
What are they?
All inkjet printer ink used to be supplied
Microsoft’s Surface tablet – the first in cartridges. They were small,
device to combine a tablet and laptop – expensive and didn’t hold much. In the
has spawned many copycat rivals. The last few years, some manufacturers,
latest is the Huawei MateBook E, including Epson and Canon, have
and we were keen to see what the replaced cartridges with ink tanks on
Chinese laptop manufacturer has done many of their recent models. These
with the format. make running costs much cheaper,
The big difference with other models working out at around 0.2p per mono
is the relatively low price. While the page, or 0.4p for colour. Standard inkjet
Surface Pro 8 (reviewed in Issue 618) printers will typically cost at least 2p per
costs £1,299 for a similar specification, screenshot, but that’s about it. mono page and 5p for colour.
the MateBook E is available for £300 less. One area where the MateBook E leaves
It also comes with a keyboard cover, for the Surface behind is the quality of its How do they work?
which Microsoft charges an extra £130. 12.6in AMOLED screen. It’s crisp, with a Ink tanks hold significantly more ink
resolution of 2560x1600 pixels. In our than cartridges. The ink is supplied in
tests it reproduced 100 per cent of the large plastic bottles, which are cheap
Great price for sRGB colour standard. It’s also one of the and easily recycled. Ink-tank printers
better screens for using outside in bright typically use four colours (black, cyan,
the specifications, sunshine – with good contrast levels magenta and yellow) and come with
more than making up for the glossy sufficient ink to print thousands of
but its battery life is screen’s reflectivity. pages. To fill the tanks you simply open
The tablet is a strong performer, with the lid of the printer, attach the ink
disappointing Intel’s Core i5-1130G7 processor working bottle to the nozzle on the tank, and
well with the 16GB RAM and nippy allow the ink to empty into it. We’ve had
We were really impressed with the 512GB SSD. In short bursts, it’s extremely ink-tank printers that went for years
MateBook E’s keyboard. It attaches quick, though it struggles somewhat if without needing a refill.
magnetically to the back of the tablet, it’s pushed for longer periods, with the
with a fold-down section to hold the 8mm-thick body not designed to stay What are the specs?
screen upright. It isn’t as elegant as cool under prolonged pressure. Printers in Canon’s ink-tank series
Microsoft’s kickstand, but you can set Realistically, it’s better for web browsing have ‘G’ in their name, such as the
it to almost any angle you please. The and office work than more demanding Canon Pixma G5050 (£170 from Argos,
keys have a comfortable feel and are tasks, such as video editing and gaming. www.snipca.com/41944, pictured).
generously spaced. The trackpad is Battery life is a letdown. You can Epson’s range is called EcoTank and
shallow and takes some time to get used squeeze six hours of use with light work, contains the code ‘ET’ in its name, such
to, but its ample width provides enough but in video-playback tests it lasted only as the Epson EcoTank
space for all gestures. five hours 15 minutes. ET-1810 (£170 from
Officially the £100 M-Pencil stylus isn’t Amazon, www.snipca.
included in the price, but there’s a good com/41945).
chance you’ll find it bundled if you buy VERDICT This impressive rival to Check the
directly from Huawei. The M-Pencil Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 is significantly number of inks
attaches to the top of the chassis via a cheaper, but its battery life is disappointing used by any
strong magnet. It draws well with decent model you’re
pressure sensitivity, but it lacks buttons.
★★★★★ planning to buy, because both
You can double-tap the side to take a ALTERNATIVE Microsoft Surface manufacturers have mono models
Pro 8 £1,299 Microsoft’s model has a that only use black ink, and six-colour
SPECIFICATIONS slightly larger, printers that are ideal for printing
Four-core Intel Core i5-1130G7 processor • 16GB sharper photos.
RAM • Intel Iris Xe graphics • 512GB SSD • 12.6in screen, but
2560x1600-pixel AMOLED screen • 13-megapixel is more Can I change it later?
rear camera • 8-megapixel front-facing camera •
USB-C port • Wi-Fi 6 • Bluetooth 5.1 • Windows 11
expensive for No, once you’ve bought a printer you
Home • 8x183x285mm (HxWxD) • 719g • One-year a similar spec can’t change the way it takes ink.
warranty www.snipca.com/41941

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 25

 Reviews
SOLID-STATE DRIVE | £135 from Amazon www.snipca.com/41907

Samsung T7 Shield 1TB

Protection at a price

The latest in Samsung’s external SSD our benchmark tests, reading

range is designed to survive a few ranged from 827 to 970MB/s,
knocks, with its aluminium case while writing ranged from 812
wrapped in a layer of rubber. This gives to 944MB/s. In our 10GB
it a protection rating of IP65, which file-transfer test, it averaged
means it’s resistant to dust and water 477.3MB/s which is about 20
jets, but can’t be submerged in water, per cent slower than the
and will survive falls of up to three Kingston XS2000 (see
metres. Weighing just 98g and measuring Alternative below).
88x59x13mm, it’s also very portable. Inside its rugged shell it
uses most of the same core
components as Samsung’s
External SSD can older, less robust models, the
T7 and the T7 Touch. These
survive a life of hard were launched around 18
months ago, so have been coming models are available in blue, black and
knocks, but there are down in price recently. At the time of beige.
better-value options writing, the standard 1TB T7 model
cost £103 (www.snipca.com/41928).
These standard portable SSDs are VERDICT A sturdy external SSD that
The drive comes with two cables, reasonably sturdy anyway, as they have can survive knocks and the odd splash
one USB-C, the other the older USB 3.0 few moving parts that can be damaged, of water, but its protective layer adds to
type. The USB-C cable means you can so it’s only really worth buying the T7 the price
connect it to a tablet or smartphone. It Shield if you think you’re likely to put it
also comes with two software tools – one through the mill.
★★★★★
which helps to maintain the drive and If 1TB isn’t enough, there’s also a 2TB ALTERNATIVE Kingston XS2000
another that can be used to protect it model, which is slightly better value in 1TB £135 For the same price,
with a password. terms of price per TB, costing £250. Both this Kingston IP55-rated
Samsung claims that the T7 Shield can drive performed
SPECIFICATIONS
reach read and write speeds of up to 1TB or 2TB capacity • USB-C port • Up to 1,050MB/s
significantly faster
1.05GB/s and 1GB/s respectively, which is read speed • Up to 1,000MB/s write speed • in our tests
in line with the older T7 Touch model. In 88x59x13mm (HxWxD) • 98g • Three-year warranty

WHAT SHOULD I BUY? We solve your buying dilemmas

What’s the best MFP for printing in bulk?

I’m looking for a multifunction intended more for home-office use than bit more up front, and are prepared
Q printer for home use that has
an automatic document
for creative projects and photos. We
reviewed the HP OfficeJet 8012e (£143
to compromise slightly on the capacity
of the ADF, the Epson EcoTank ET-3850
feeder (ADF) that can scan 35 pages at from www.snipca.com/41912, pictured) (£335 from www.snipca.com/41913,
a time. Please can you let me know in Issue 617, which can scan 35 pages reviewed in Issue 626) is a good
what the best option is? from its ADF. It comes with a free six- option and can accommodate 30 sheets
Kevin McAndie month trial for HP’s Instant in its ADF. If that isn’t a deal-breaker,
Ink subscription the ET-3850 produces better quality
Most home printers service. photo prints and has miniscule
A with ADFs don’t
support that many
If you need a
printer with
running costs thanks to its generous
ink tanks.
pages. The exceptions are cheaper running Do you need advice on what you should buy?
HP’s models, which are costs, can spend a Email us at [email protected]

26 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Reviews
FITNESS WATCH ❘ £129 from Amazon www.snipca.com/41864

Garmin Vivosmart 5
Healthy choice

This is a lightweight watch with smart fitness trackers of this size. Despite a lack service. It isn’t quite as user-friendly
tools and a focus on fitness, which has of colour to help differentiate data, it’s as a basic Fitbit, putting its statistics front
been designed to take on rival Fitbit. It’s very clear and easy to interpret at a glance. and centre, but if you like to know how
not as attractive as the Fitbit Charge 5 or Unlike the Fitbit Charge 5, this lacks your fitness regime is progressing, it
Fitbit Luxe, due to its rather pragmatic on-board GPS, leaving it dependent on a will appeal.
design and monochrome screen, but it’s Bluetooth connection to your phone for
fairly comprehensive and puts a huge monitoring your route and speed during
amount of health data at your fingertips. outdoor activities. It can use its built-in VERDICT A rival watch that beats
It has a 0.84in OLED screen with a accelerometer to estimate these, but it’s Fitbit at its own game, particularly if you
resolution of 88x154 pixels. This provides only a rough guide. want access to all your data without a
enough room for graphs and charts that While some of Fitbit’s best features subscription
display your health trends, rather than (including advanced sleep and stress
just your current statistics, which is insights) are only available if you have a
★★★★★
something you don’t get with many Fitbit Premium subscription (£7.99 a ALTERNATIVE Fitbit Charge 5 £114
month or £79.99 a year), all of Garmin’s The latest version of the
SPECIFICATIONS data and stats are free in the excellent classic Fitbit has built-in
0.84in 88x154-pixel resolution greyscale OLED Garmin Connect app. GPS for tracking exercise
screen • 7-day battery life • Waterproof for swimming You’ll also find a selection of workouts, more accurately, but
• Small: 217x20x11mm; large: 255x20x11mm
(HxDxW) • Small wrist size 122-188mm; large wrist
along with training plans for cycling and is best paired with an
size 148-228mm • Small: 24.5g; large: 26.5 • running, though it lacks the large library additional
Two-year warranty www.snipca.com/41864 of videos you get with Fitbit’s premium

EARBUDS ❘ £150 from Amazon www.snipca.com/41870

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW
Listen for longer

Buying a new pair of earbuds that playback available from a 10-minute

connect wirelessly to your smartphone is charge.
a tricky business, because there’s a huge Sound quality is wonderful across
choice. Look beyond the ultra-cheap all types of music. Where they don’t
options and – for a reasonable price – quite make the grade is in noise
there are plenty of good-quality options. cancelling, with some background
The headline benefit of Japanese sounds leaking through in noisy VERDICT These sound great and have
company Audio-Technica’s ATH-CKS50TW situations, such as travelling on public a battery life you can rely on, even if
earbuds is their battery life. The buds transport. They’re fine for the price in you’re spending long periods away
themselves can play for 20 hours between this respect, but you could do better by from a charger
charges. You charge them within the spending more.
case, which itself holds enough power for You control the devices either with
★★★★★
another 30 hours of playback. Once both physical buttons on the earbuds, or ALTERNATIVE Bose QuietComfort
are drained, the case and buds can be through Audio-Technica’s comprehensive Earbuds £199 Spend a little more on
recharged quickly, with 90 minutes of Connect app, which has four EQ presets, these excellent
along with the ability to define your own earbuds if
SPECIFICATIONS using the five-band adjuster. It also lets you’re looking
9mm dynamic drivers • IPX4 waterproof (earbuds
only) • Bluetooth 5.2 • Three-hour charge time (case
you switch noise cancelling on, which for better noise
and earbuds) • 8g per earbud • Two-year warranty reduces the battery life of the buds to cancellation
www.snipca.com/41686 about 15 hours from a full charge.

28 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

MESH ROUTER ❘ £300 for three from Box www.snipca.com/41950
DO I REALLY NEED...
Linksys Atlas Pro 6 240W USB-C
Goes the distance cables?
What are they?
This Linksys Wi-Fi 6 mesh router Cable manufacturer Club 3D (www.
looks a lot like the company’s previous club-3d.com) has announced a new
mesh products, which went under range of USB-C cables, capable
the Velop brand. However, this more of delivering 240 watts
affordable new range only uses dual-band of charging power to
Wi-Fi – one basic 2.4GHz network and a devices. They’re faster,
second faster 5GHz network. too, offering transfer
As there’s no third band, the speeds up to 40Gbps.
5GHz channel ferries both the
communication between the mesh What do they do?
devices and the data sent and received They let you charge even the most
by your Wi-Fi-connected devices. This is power-hungry laptop from a
a compromise, but keeps prices at a more compatible USB-C port, so they don’t
affordable level. need separate power sockets and
Linksys claims the three-unit set can chunky power adapters.
cover an area of up to 750m2, which is far
larger than the average UK home. For What’s the catch?
three bedrooms or fewer you can make Currently, there are no 240-watt
do with a twin-pack (£200 from Box at charging blocks to plug these cables
www.snipca.com/41951). The set also into. However, we expect this will be
lets you connect multiple wired devices, adjoining bedroom and the downstairs resolved soon. Also, at the time of
with four Gigabit Ethernet ports on the living room. We connected a NAS to the writing there’s been no confirmation of
back of each unit. main station via Gigabit Ethernet, and price or launch date.
used a laptop to copy a set of files to and
from the NAS from various locations So can I do without them?
Even in our hard-to- around the house. If your laptop can’t be charged with a
reach bathroom, The 5GHz network provided a strong
download speed of 60.2MB/s (480Mbps)
USB-C cable, you’ll already have an
alternative. It might leave you carrying
it maintained a rock- in the same room. With older mesh
devices we’ve seen a big drop-off in speed
more than one charger when you travel,
but that’s not the end of the world.
solid speed further away from the primary unit, but
even in the hard-to-reach bathroom at
Setup is handled by the Linksys mobile the back of the house, the Atlas Pro 6 NEXT ISSUE
app, which detected our first node maintained a solid speed of 44MB/s
almost instantly and guided us through (352Mbps) – enough for a rock-solid On Sale Weds 8 June
choosing our network name and security connection. For most households there’s
settings. Once your Atlas system is little sense in spending more.
running, you can use the app to check on Beelink SER 4 4800U
connected devices and carry out basic A surprisingly
powerful
management tasks. If you prefer, you VERDICT An affordable Wi-Fi 6 mesh
Windows 11 PC
can manage it from a PC browser, though system that compromises on raw in a tiny case
we found the ageing user interface to be speed, but provides excellent reach
slow and fiddly. around your home Acer TravelMate
In our tests, Wi-Fi speeds were Spin P4
excellent. We set up the three stations in
★★★★★
Flip this laptop’s
our test house, situating the primary one ALTERNATIVE BT Whole Home screen right over to
in our home office, with extenders in the Wi-Fi £170 If you don’t need Wi-Fi 6, use it like a tablet
this impressive
SPECIFICATIONS Wi-Fi 5 These and much more...
Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 • AX4500 speed rating • 4x
Gigabit Ethernet ports per unit • 185x86x86mm
alternative is Subscribe to Computeractive at
(HxDxW) • 454g per unit • Three-year warranty much cheaper www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
www.snipca.com/41950

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 29

 Buy It
202 1 C
COMINGD
SO O N
Find out what other products we liked.
Buy our new 2020 Back Issue CD:
£15 from www.snipca.com/38164

Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award

LAPTOP DESKTOP PC APPLE iPAD

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (256GB) Wired2Fire Apple iPad 10.2in

£692 from www.snipca.com/41099 Ultima WS Home Office £319 from www.snipca.com/36178
Tested Issue 601 Workstation Tested Issue 566
£750 from www.snipca.com/41500
Tested Issue 630

Weighing just 1.16kg, this is an

excellent lightweight laptop with a With an overclocked eight-core chip The basic iPad is great value, especially
great screen and an AMD processor and a 1TB SSD, this PC performs Windows now it’s been updated with a powerful
faster than many Intel rivals. It has two tasks at a blistering speed. It comes A13 processor and iPadOS 15. It includes
USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports and with Wi-Fi 5, and has plenty of ports, Scribble handwriting recognition with
a microSD card reader. Battery lasts including five USB 3.0 and three for the £89 Apple Pencil. Storage isn’t
nearly 16 hours. monitors (DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA). expandable; consider 256GB at £459.

ALTERNATIVE Dell XPS 13 New Intel ALTERNATIVE Palicomp Intel Mercury ALTERNATIVE iPad Mini With an even
CPUs and a taller screen make this Over two years old and with a slower better, but smaller, screen than the
a more powerful, all-round slim processor, but still a mighty PC with a 10.2in iPad, the Mini also supports
laptop. Prices start at £799 from speedy SSD. £600 from www.snipca. the Pencil and has 64GB of storage.
www.snipca.com/40042 com/34223 £479 from www.snipca.com/33050

ANDROID TABLET P APPLE iPHONE ANDROID PHONE

DRRIC
OP E
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Apple iPhone 12 Realme GT 2
£564 (256GB) www.snipca.com/41608 £679 from www.snipca.com/36582 £549 from www.snipca.com/41667
Tested Issue 623 Tested Issue 595 Tested Issue 631

This performed so well in our most Released in 2020, this model has a modest China’s Realme has made a phone with
recent tests that it has ousted the increase in already exceptional processing a powerful processor, excellent battery
Lenovo Tab P11 Pro as our favourite. power plus even better photos and videos life, bright screen and a 50-megapixel
It has a stunning OLED screen, with from the front and twin rear cameras. It camera that takes great photos. It’s
perfect contrast and superb colour comes in a redesigned case with aluminium more expensive than our former
reproduction, and comes with Samsung’s frame and even tougher glass. Consider favourite (below), but its superior
S Pen stylus for making notes. paying the £50 extra for 128GB of storage. performance justifies this extra cost.

ALTERNATIVE Lenovo Tab P11 Pro It’s ALTERNATIVE iPhone SE With a single ALTERNATIVE Xiaomi Poco F3 This
slower than the Tab S7 and the screen is camera and smaller screen but the remains an excellent phone, with 6GB
duller, but has a detachable keyboard so same powerful A13 processor and 64GB RAM and 128GB storage. The only phone
you can use it as a laptop. £482 from storage as the iPhone 11, it’s great value. under £450 that’s faster is the iPhone
www.snipca.com/41101 £419 from www.snipca.com/34773 SE. £309 from www.snipca.com/41102

30 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Buy It
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
EBOOK READER SECURITY SOFTWARE WEBCAM

Kobo Libra 2 Norton 360 Premium Logitech C925e Business

£160 from www.snipca.com/40645 £24.99 from www.snipca.com/33247 Webcam
Tested Issue 624 Tested Issue 629 £70 from www.snipca.com/41104
Tested Issue 608

Norton has always performed strongly

in our antivirus tests, regularly
A fantastic 7in screen, 32GB of storage making the top three. Owned by US Despite the name, this webcam is also
and Bluetooth connectivity make this a firm NortonLifeLock, it’s available great for home users. Its standout
rival to Amazon’s Oasis ebook reader, at a discount on our Software Store. feature is automatically adjusting itself
yet it’s £70 cheaper. Battery life is Click the link above for a 10-device, to keep your picture looking sharp. It
superb – we managed 54 hours of use two-year licence. Other versions are offers a 78-degree field of view, which
per charge. It supports OverDrive, so available, including Norton 360 for is fine for everyday video chats with one
you can borrow ebooks from libraries. Gamers. person in front of the camera.

ALTERNATIVE Amazon Kindle This ALTERNATIVE Bitdefender Total ALTERNATIVE Anker PowerConf C300
low-cost option remains a good choice, Security Another top performer that Good image quality, crisp audio and lots
especially now it has 8GB of storage. we’re offering at a discount. £19.99 of features. £100 from www.snipca.
£50 from www.snipca.com/41103 from www.snipca.com/41141 com/41105

PC MONITOR ROUTER PRINTER

Iiyama ProLite Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 Epson EcoTank ET-1810

XU2492HSU-B1 £300 from www.snipca.com/39013 £160 from www.snipca.com/41232
£165 from www.snipca.com/39701 Tested Issue 603 Tested Issue 627
Tested Issue 618

This 23.8in screen is superb value, This is the fastest Wi-Fi 6 router we’ve An inkjet printer that comes with
with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. ever tested, transferring data at speeds enough ink to print 4,500 mono
Colour is good, covering 88 per cent of of 520Mbps in the same and adjacent and 7,500 colour pages, making it
the sRGB colour range. Connect your rooms of our test house. Also works exceptionally cheap to run. It’s not
computer via HDMI, DisplayPort or with Wi-Fi 5, and comes with four spare the fastest printer, but quality is good,
VGA, and there’s a USB hub to connect Ethernet ports and two USB ports. especially on photo paper – we’ve
your mouse and keyboard. never seen better on an inkjet.
ALTERNATIVE Asus RT-AX82U
ALTERNATIVE AOC 27P2C Slower than the Nighthawk on Wi-Fi 6, ALTERNATIVE Brother DCP-J1140DW
This also has a 1920x1080 resolution but but faster on Wi-Fi 5, so a better Compact multifunction model with rare
it’s 27 inches, so pixel density is lower. But choice for older devices. Has four features at this price, including
you’ll only notice if you look really closely. Gigabit Ethernet ports. £235 from double-sided printing. £145 from
£292 from www.snipca.com/41609 www.snipca.com/41106 www.snipca.com/41480

32 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Buy It

COMPETITION

Win 1 of 2
TerraMaster D4-300
DAS enclosures
Winner of a ‘Recommended’ award in creating a music library, and archiving answer the question at www.snipca.
Issue 631, TerraMaster’s D4-300 is a your financial records. It has the com/41908 and submit your details.
DAS enclosure with four drive bays USB-C 3.1 (Gen1, 5Gbps) interface. It runs until midnight Tuesday 7 June.
that accept both 2.5in and 3.5in drives. It supports Windows, Mac and Linux, Good luck!
This means you can install either and can be used with any computer,
mechanical drives or SSDs. TV set, server, and set-top TV box, as You can buy the TerraMaster D4-
It can take drives up to 18TB each, well as other devices. The fan speed 300 DAS enclosure for £149.99
giving it a total capacity changes according to the from Amazon (www.snipca.
of 72TB. This makes it temperature of the hard com/41909). For more information
ideal for tasks such as drive, preventing the on TerraMaster’s range of DAS
editing videos, backing enclosure from and NAS enclosures visit www.
up photos, preserving overheating. terra-master.com and follow
technical documents, To enter this competition, @terramasters on Twitter.

MESH ROUTER SOLID-STATE DRIVE SMART SPEAKER

BT Whole Home Wi-Fi Corsair MP600 Pro LPX Google Nest Audio
£170 from www.snipca.com/26990 500GB £90 from www.snipca.com/36475
Tested Issue 496 £85 from www.snipca.com/41547 Tested Issue 593
Tested Issue 630

Produces a rich, clear sound, and better

understands your questions than
BT’s set of three discs, managed In our tests, this M.2 SSD hit speeds of Amazon’s Echo devices. You can use
from an Apple or Android app, 7,364MB/s and 6,870MB/s when Google’s app to control audio from
connects to your broadband and reading and writing data – astonishingly other units around your home (pair two
spreads high-speed Wi-Fi all around fast scores. It’s compatible with the of them for £160). The clever Ambient
the house. Reception is far better new PCIe 4.0 standard, which is twice IQ tool increases the volume if it detects
than a single router, and the price is as fast as PCIe 3.0. The 1TB model external noise, such as a hairdryer.
lower than any rival. costs £140; 2TB costs £280.
ALTERNATIVE Amazon Echo (4th
ALTERNATIVE Zyxel Multy X ALTERNATIVE Crucial MX500 500GB generation) The latest version of the
These two pillow-shaped boxes are As fast as an SSD can get in the Echo changes the shape from a cylinder
powerful enough for most homes and traditional 2.5in SATA format, this to a ball, which improves sound quality
provide four Ethernet ports apiece. is a great-value upgrade. £55 from – though the Nest’s is still superior.
£265 from www.snipca.com/41109 www.snipca.com/37304 £70 from www.snipca.com/41111

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 33

Computeractive 2020
Back Issue CD

LE NOW!
ON SA
CON
T
AL AINS
L
ISSU26
FROM ES
2
020

Buy it now from Amazon at

www.snipca.com/38164
or search for ‘computeractive cd’ on Amazon
 Pull Out
& Keep

Workshops & Tips Issue 632

14 pages of easy-to-follow workshops and expert tips

35 Add wireless charging 40 Readers’ Tips PLUS
to your phone 44 Phone & Tablet Tips 47 Make Office Better
42 Browser Tips:
38 Randomise your online View search results 46 Make Windows 48 In the Club: Pass on
username in a side panel Better members’ details

HOW TO...
Add wireless charging to
your phone by Nik Rawlinson

What you need: Qi receiver Time required: 30 minutes, plus charging time

O
ne of the most useful upgrades quicker) to drop your device on a charger
you can make to an old phone is when you head to bed. It also causes less
to add wireless charging. More wear and tear to the device itself, because
and more devices, from Bluetooth you’ll no longer be putting stress on the wireless charging for less than £12 using
earbuds to the latest smartwatches, connector or lead as you plug in and a Qi receiver, as we’ll show you here.
support wireless charging and, while unplug every day. And, once you’ve As for the base station, IKEA sells its
there were once several competing bought a charger or two, you can use Qi-compatible Livboj charger (which
standards, the industry has settled on Qi. them with all of your devices, and use a we’ve not tested) for £5 (www.snipca.
Pronounced Chee, it’s supported by more friend’s charger when you’re visiting, com/41798, pictured above). The Livboj
than 340 members of the Wireless Power even if your phone and theirs use doesn’t come with a cable but has a
Consortium (www.snipca.com/41797), incompatible plugs and connectors. USB-C socket on the back so, if you
including Apple, HP, Samsung, Google To get set up, you’ll need a Qi-compatible already have a USB-C cable and adapter,
and Bose. phone and a base station – but, if you’re you should be able to reuse them. This is
Once you go wireless, you won’t want not ready to spend several hundred just one option, though: there are dozens
to go back. It’s not only simpler (and pounds on a new phone, you can add of Qi chargers on the market.

Choose a compatible one with a microUSB connection, you

1 wireless receiver
There are many Qi receivers
also need to keep an eye out for ‘narrow
side up’ and ‘narrow side down’ in any
for sale online, although negative user description. The reason this is important
reviews suggest there are plenty of quickly becomes obvious: the receiver is
dodgy models to avoid. One of the best designed to sit behind the phone, with
brands is Chinese firm Nillkin, so we its cable curled around the bottom of
bought two chargers to test. One had a the device to reach the socket. Doing so
Lightning connector for use with iPhone changes the orientation of the plug so,
(www.snipca.com/41782, pictured if you’ve bought a ‘narrow side down’
The Qi receivers connect to our phones’ regular
right), and a second with a microUSB charging ports, and can be stuck to the back of device, but the plug is now narrow side
connector for use with an Android device the phone up, it won’t fit.
(www.snipca.com/41783). They cost us You can easily work out which one you
£11.99 each. a compatible plug for your device, as they need by placing your phone on a desk,
It’s important to choose a receiver with aren’t interchangeable. If you’re buying so the screen is facing up, and examining

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 35

 How I use wireless chargers
I have two wireless chargers: one beside the bed, and one on
my desk. I use them to charge a Google Pixel 5 phone, and also
a pair of Google Pixel Buds that need turning upside down on the
bedside stand to align the case’s internal coil with the charging
coil in the stand. Sadly, my car is 2010 vintage, which not only
lacks a sunroof, aircon or Bluetooth, but also has no Qi-compatible
This Motorola phone has a narrow side up charging mat, forcing me to fall back on a USB adapter plugged
microUSB socket into the cigarette lighter.
Nik Rawlinson
the socket. The Motorola phone pictured
How do you use wireless charging?
above is a ‘narrow side up’ device: the Please let us know: [email protected]
upper edge of the socket is pinched in at
either side, and thus narrower than the
lower edge. flow of electricity through a circuit to for example, steps down to 12W when
that of water through plumbing. Amps is charging the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone
Work out the the speed of the water current, and volts 13 mini.
2 charging speed
When choosing a receiver,
is a measure of the system’s capacity to
move water from one place to another.
We conducted our tests using the 5W
pad of an Anker PowerWave dual base
comparing their stated output can help Swap centimetres for volts, for example, station kit as our charger (£29.99 from
you work out how quickly they’ll charge and you might describe a pipe with a www.snipca.com/41795, pictured left),
your device. This won’t be an issue if 1cm diameter as being a 1-volt pipe, the other half of which supports 10W
you’re going to dock your phone on a and an equivalent pipe with a 2cm charging. We charged both an iPhone
bedside charger every night and give diameter as being a 2-volt pipe, and so 6 and a Motorola Moto G7 (running
it a solid eight hours, but if you’ll be on. Multiplying amps by volts gives you Android), each of which was flat and
dropping it on to a charging pad in your a figure for watts. So, increasing the unable to turn on at the start of our tests.
car (a growing number of new cars now figure for either (or both) will increase Both phones came to life within 10
come with integrated Qi-charging mats) the number of watts (or power) running minutes of first being placed on the
it could affect how much you can top up through the overall system. charging pad, allowing us to switch them
on short journeys. If we continue with our plumbing on so they could receive messages. The
The two receivers we bought each analogy, increasing the water pressure iPhone’s 1810 mAh battery reached a
send five watts of energy to the phone at (amps) but maintaining the size of
one amp. Amps measure the flow rate the pipe (volts) would increase the
– effectively the speed – of the energy watts. So would enlarging the pipe but
leaving the receiver. The higher this maintaining pressure – or increasing
number, the faster the energy is flowing. both simultaneously. The result would be
Multiplying the amp measurement by the the same: the water would move from the
number of volts gives the figure for watts tank to where it is needed more quickly
(five, in this instance). (the figure for watts would be higher).
If you’re confused, you’re not alone, Likewise, a higher watt rating (wattage)
which is why it’s common to liken the indicates a receiver that can deliver more
power from the Qi base station to your
phone in a given time frame.
Your charging speed will also be
affected by the charger itself (the base
station on which you rest the receiver
connected to your phone), and the rate
at which your phone will accept an
incoming charge. Receivers, after all,
aren’t batteries in their own right, and
can’t power your phone.
Base stations also have a watt rating,
which may exceed the capacity at which
your chosen receiver can pass energy
to your phone. This isn’t necessarily a
problem, though, as it gives you capacity
As shown by the green bars, our iPhone went
We ran our tests using Anker's £29.99 that might be useful in the future. from empty to a full charge in a little over an
PowerWave Dual Base charger Apple’s 15W MagSafe wireless charger, hour

36 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Add wireless charging to your phone

HOW QI CHARGING WORKS

The Qi standard was established in 2008, in effect, generating its own a large one, and the coil
and has been revised several times power. in the charger is larger
since, most recently in January 2021. Faraday’s discovery because it gives you an
However, the underlying technology – has many applications easier target to hit when
electromagnetic induction – is older than around the home. It’s most lining them up. If both coils
you might imagine. Indeed, the principles commonly found in electric were as small as the one
were first described by Michael Faraday toothbrushes that charge on in your phone, you’d need
(pictured) in 1831. a stand rather than needing to be quite precise when
Faraday created two metal coils, one of to be directly plugged in – dropping your phone on to
which he connected to a meter that would and, of course, in wireless the charger.
show the level of energy passing through phone chargers. When you place your
it. He then connected the second coil to a A Qi charger base station phone on a Qi charger, the
battery. Even though there was no direct contains a large copper coil two coils register each
connection between the two coils, the that remains on standby other, and a current, drawn
meter plugged into the first coil twitched most of the time. Inside your phone, or a Qi from the connected lead and adapter
at the moment the battery was connected charging receiver like the ones we’re testing plugged into the base station, is applied
to its neighbour, and did it again when the here, you’ll find a similar though usually to the base station’s coil. This is registered
battery was disconnected. Clearly, the smaller coil. There’s no technical reason for by the coil in the receiver, and used to
energy flowing through the second coil the different sizes. Rather, the coil in your generate electricity, which is fed as a direct
was interacting with the first, which was, phone is small because there’s no room for current (DC) to the internal battery.

full charge in one hour, seven minutes ultra thin, and please don’t use a metal
(see screenshot below left). The Motorola case, cards and other objects that may
Moto G7’s larger 3000 mAh battery was block the signal”. This advice is sound,
fully charged in four hours, 52 minutes. with any case having the potential to
In each test, we charged without a case reduce the effectiveness of any wireless
on the phone for optimum results. The charging connection – even if using a
product listings are slightly contradictory phone’s built-in receiver.
on this point, both warning against In practice, however, the Qi standard
using a case at all and, elsewhere, allows for distances of up to 4cm (1.6in)
recommending “if you use this item with between the charging pad and receiver
a phone case, please confirm your case is although, at those distances, we would
expect performance to be less than
optimal. In our house with four Qi
charging pads and stands of different
brands, we’ve yet to encounter one
that works over such distances. We do,
however, routinely charge our phone
wirelessly without first removing its
rugged case.

Charge iPads and

3 other devices
Adding wireless charging using
a Qi receiver is a quick and easy upgrade, We were even able to power a BBC micro:bit
largely because the receiver itself works wirelessly using our microUSB Qi receiver
much like a regular cable. In theory, you
could attach it to any device that draws charge. Apple itself has yet to produce an
less power than its rated output, and iPad with wireless charging.
use it to charge it – or even power it – On a geekier level, we plugged the Qi
wirelessly. receiver with microUSB connection into
To test this theory, we connected a Qi a BBC micro:bit (www.microbit.org) and
receiver with Lightning connector to a repeated the experiment (as pictured
10.5in iPad Pro and placed it on a Yootech above). In this case, the micro:bit, which
Wireless Charger (£17 from www.snipca. has no internal battery, booted up, and
We managed to charge an iPad Pro using the com/41799, pictured left). It recognised was ready to use within a couple of
Yootech Wireless charger the connection, and the iPad started to seconds.

Next issue: Convert your handwriting to digital text Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 37
 Workshop
Randomise your username to make
online accounts more secure
What you need: Bitwarden software and browser plug-in
Time required: 30 minutes

P assword manager Bitwarden has

added a handy new feature that
lets you create random usernames to
criminals to hack your account as
they’ll have to get lucky twice.
Although you can’t generate
go with your random passwords. This usernames using Bitwarden’s browser
makes a lot of sense – randomising the plug-in at the time of writing, you can
account name you use to log into sites do it through its desktop program, as
makes it even more difficult for we’ll show you here.

STEP Go to www.snipca.

1 com/41821 and download

Bitwarden for Windows, and
install the Bitwarden extension for
your browser. Now click ‘Create a
Free Account’ 1 , and fill in the form
to set it up. The master password you
enter during this process is the one
you’ll use to unlock all your other
passwords, so don’t re-use a
password from elsewhere. Make it
unguessable and ensure you
remember it.
1

1
1
2

STEP From now on, when Bitwarden detects you setting up STEP Click the circular arrows to the right of Username 1 ,

2 new logins via a web page, it will offer to save the

username and password you’ve just created. If you
3 and Bitwarden will generate a random username. If the
account you’re setting up requires an email address
want to generate a random username, however, you’ll have to do instead, click Options 2 and choose Plus Addressed Email 3 ,
it through the Bitwarden program. Launch it, log in using the then type your email address at the bottom of the form 4 .
password you created in Step 1, and click the ‘+’ 1 at the bottom Bitwarden adds a random collection of letters and numbers
of the second column to create a new entry. Give the entry a between your name and the @ in your address 5 . Not all email
name 2 that will help you identify it in future. services support this, but Gmail and Outlook do, for example.

38 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 1
2

1
3 4

STEP Alternatively, if you host your email on your own STEP Click the tick at the bottom of the form to save your

4 domain, choose ‘Catch-all Email’ and again enter your

email address at the bottom. Bitwarden will now replace
5 new username, then click the circular arrow 1 beside
Password to generate a random password to go with it.
the section before the @ with a random sequence. Many ISPs let If the password it generates doesn’t satisfy the requirements of
you set up an inbox to receive emails sent to non-existent users, the site, click Options 2 and specify its length 3 , whether it
including your randomised email address. Others let you should include upper- and lower-case letters 4 , special
forward email for unrecognised addresses to another inbox, as characters 5 , and so on. Click the tick to save it.
we’re doing here with our Gmail account 1 .

STEP Finally, associate the username and

6 password with a website by typing the

site’s address in the URI 1 box 1 . This 1
helps Bitwarden suggest the correct login details
when you need to sign in. You shouldn’t need to 2
change the way it recognises the domain but, if
you have any problems when trying to input
your saved credentials, click the cog 2 and
select an option on the ‘Default match
detection’ menu 3 . These options are explained
in more detail on Bitwarden’s site: www.snipca.
com/41823. Click the disk icon to save your 3
settings.

STEP Use the random username and password

7 you’ve just generated to set up an account on

the site you need to access. Then, next time
you need to log in, return to the site and right-click
one of the fields in the login form 1 . Hover over
Bitwarden 2 and click ‘Log in to your vault’ 3 in the
Auto-fill menu. Enter the Bitwarden username and
master password you set up in Step 1, and it will
1 auto-fill your random username and password
2 without you having to remember them.

Next issue: Send phone messages through your Windows desktop Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 39
 Readers’ Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT

Analyse your text for common words

I write several newsletters for various common words (‘and’, ‘the’ etc)
clubs and like to make sure they’re and top non-common words are. 2
written in good English. I perform the I dislike long sentences, so I
usual grammar checks in Word, but I always look at the ‘longest
also paste the text into the Computer sentence’ number, and the average
Hope site because it provides a more sentence length. It even tells you
comprehensive analysis. how many vowels and consonants
To see what I mean, visit www. you’ve used, though I’ve yet to find 1
snipca.com/41837 then paste your a specific purpose for this.
words into the box. Now click Submit If you want to make some quick
at the bottom and you’ll see a list of ‘find and replace’ changes, you simply into Word, I simply click the
statistics. As well as details you’d need to return to the top of the page and ‘Copy above text to the
expect (number of words and enter the words in question ( 1 in our clipboard’ button 2 .
characters), it tells you what the top screenshot). If I then need to paste it back Derek Burton

Derek wins a copy of our 2020 Back Issue CD Buy it on Amazon www.snipca.com/38164

WEBSITE mapping tool (Issue 630, page 49), I

Book GP appointments and noticed you mentioned that it lets you
order prescriptions blur the image of your house. It reminded
Regarding Tony Brown’s problems me that I’d been meaning to do that in 1
signing into the NHS website (Issue Google Street View, so I finally got round
630, page 65), there is an alternative for to it.
ordering prescriptions and booking GP If you want to do likewise, visit www.
appointments which doesn’t require use google.co.uk/maps then search for your 2
of a mobile number. address at the top left. Now drag the
He should try the SystmOnline service yellow person icon from the bottom right
(www.snipca.com/41835), run by TPP. He on to the pin icon on the map, and rotate
will have to register with his GP, who’ll the view so it’s looking at your home. about a week for the blurring to be
provide a username and password. I’ve Now click the small ‘Report a problem’ applied.
been using this system for several years link at the bottom right, and move the Ted Stapleton
without any problems. red square over the property you want to
Richard Guthrie blur ( 1 in our screenshot above right). HARDWARE
Next, select ‘My home’ 2 under ‘What Sell old cables and leads on eBay
MAPS would you like us to blur?’, and add some Before ditching your old cables (see
Blur your home in Street View text explaining it’s for privacy reasons. Issue 629, page 60), try selling
Reading the ‘What’s All the Fuss Adding your email address and typing them on eBay. I recently sold some cables,
About?’ on Apple’s Look Around the CAPTCHA finishes the job. It took adapters and extension leads for old

Why I stopped using…

Apple iCloud and saving a file gives you 7GB (already
When Apple launched iCloud in beating iCloud). On top of that you get
2011 it offered 5GB storage for 1GB for every person who signs up after
free. That seemed generous at the time, you recommend it to them. Within three
but it hasn’t increased one bit since. It weeks I had reached the maximum 10GB
now feels far too low for modern usage. for free.
It took me a while to get to grips with it
And what I use instead... after using iCloud for so long, but things
I read that pCloud (www.pcloud.com) improved last year when it added right-
offered only 2GB for free, but that you click options to the online interface (see
could increase this by performing www.snipca.com/41838, and screenshot). Tell us why you stopped using a website, app
various ‘tasks’. Downloading the app Keith Taylor or program: [email protected]

40 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers
Email us your tips: [email protected]

versions of the Xbox and Sony PlayStation,

as well as the Sega Mega Drive. Some Reader recommends…
bundles sold for £10. The DIN and PS/2
cables, which you advise to ditch, sold for Lenovo ThinkVision M14
£2.50 each, as did old phone chargers. I £230 from Amazon www.snipca.com/41833
gather that TV or phono/RCA leads are
also sought after. It’s worth searching Anyone in the market for a light – you really do not notice it
eBay to see what price you might get. For secondary mobile screen should alongside a laptop.
example, here’s what a search for DIN consider the Lenovo ThinkVision M14 It can draw power from the laptop
and PS/2 cables throws up: www.snipca. (pictured here in my home office). At 14 (beware – it munches through battery
com/41831. inches, with a resolution of 1920x1080, power), or ‘daisy chain’ power into
Alan Trueman everything looks clear and crisp, and the laptop from a plug or power bank
the matt screen makes it a dream for as it has two USB-C ports, and needs
HARDWARE working with text. It’s also impossibly only one cable to work (so is properly
Turn off smart plugs via Alexa portable).
Your article on saving power As a lawyer, I like to work on
around the home (Issue 631, page documents side by side, and this makes
60) was very timely, with bills getting the job easy. I can’t recommend it
more expensive. Like the writer Nik highly enough – it even comes with a
Rawlinson, I use smart plugs to control neat little carry case and a built-in
my devices. I combine them with my stand!
Amazon Echo smart speaker to set up a Simon Grimshaw
bedtime routine that shuts them all down
Want to recommend hardware or software
at once. to fellow readers?
It’s much easier to carry out than it Email [email protected]
sounds. You have to log into the Alexa
app on your phone or tablet, then tap
More, followed by Routines. Then you bed to turn off every plug on my network. me that this German firm makes hardly
have to tap the ‘+’ at the top of the screen, Ian Rickman any effort to market itself in the UK.
followed by Name, and type goodnight. It has a basic plan for £9.95 a month
Next, tap ‘When’ and type goodnight, The one device you overlooked in (see screenshot below), but because
then tap the ‘+’ to the right of ‘Add action’ your otherwise excellent feature we use the service sparingly, relying
( 1 in our screenshot below). on saving power was Tado’s Smart mostly on our mobile phones, we just pay
Next, tap Smart Home followed by Thermostat (pictured below). Using the as we go. I put £20 in last October and
All Devices, then tap each of your smart app I can control the heating in all my there’s still £8 left in the kitty. That’s
plugs in turn and set their status to off. rooms. The cleverest thing it does is to less than £3 a month! Calls are 1.18p a
When you’ve finished, tap the left- take weather forecasts into account, minute (9.9p to mobiles). It’s very
pointing arrow to return to the Routines automatically turning down the heating reliable and has a handy service that
home screen. Finally, tap Save. This on warm days. I see now that it costs emails you any voicemails. What with
arrangement means that I only need to £139.99 on Amazon (www.snipca. that and my 1p Mobile (www.1pmobile.
say ‘Alexa, goodnight’ 2 when going to com/41832), though I’m sure I paid a lot com), which is also amazingly cheap, I’m
less than that. paying less than £10 a month for my
Pat Murray comms. If only I could get my broadband
down to those levels!
Tony Allaway

VOIP
1 Use Sipgate for your phone calls
Following your How To on switching
to VoIP (Issue 628, page 35), I
wanted to put in a very good word for
Sipgate (www.sipgate.co.uk). It surprises

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 41

 Browser Tips
CHROME click a result to open it.
1
View search results An option will now
in a side panel appear in the address bar
Exploring search results until you that lets you ‘Open
find the page you’re looking for can search in side panel’ (this
involve a lot of clicking back and forth, has a ‘G’ icon like the
unless you right-click links to open them first letter of the Google
in new tabs. Chrome version 102, released logo). Click it and a side 2
24 May, solves this problem by displaying panel showing your
your search results in a side panel that search results will open 3
you can view alongside the pages they on the right-hand side
open. This lets you navigate results of the browser (see
without clicking back and forth and screenshot below left).
find relevant content more quickly. Select a result to display
The new feature is currently a hidden the page in Chrome’s main window. Version 101 of the browser, released in
‘flag’ that you need to activate manually. You can close the side panel by clicking April, adds yet more features to make it
Type chrome://flags into the address the ‘X’ in its top-right corner. It’s also easier to view and navigate PDF files.
bar and press Enter to load Chrome’s worth enabling the Side search clear These new options include a full-screen
Experiments page. Search for the entries cache when closed flag to stop Chrome or presentation mode, which removes all
Side search and Side search DSE support, storing your results. Note that the side menus, toolbars and navigation elements
select Enabled in their dropdown menus panel currently only works with Google from the PDF viewer, to show only the
and relaunch Chrome. and not other default search engines. See document in full-screen view. To activate
Type a search query into the browser’s our Cover Feature on page 50 for our pick this, click the ‘Enter PDF full screen’
address bar, as you would normally, and of the best Google alternatives. double-arrow icon on the right-hand side
of the top toolbar ( 1 in our screenshot
EDGE above). Press the Esc key on your
Browse PDFs in full-screen keyboard to switch back to standard view.
and thumbnail view Equally useful is the new ‘Thumbnail
Edge’s built-in PDF viewer is view’, which you can access by clicking
superior to similar tools in the Contents icon in the top-left corner
other browsers, and even some of the viewer 2 . This lets you jump to
standalone PDF readers, offering specific pages in long PDFs by clicking
options for highlighting and their thumbnail images, rather than
annotating content, hearing PDFs scrolling up and down.
read aloud, viewing two pages Finally, if you’ve added annotations to a
simultaneously, and much more. PDF but want a clear view of the content,

WORKSHOP Activate Chrome’s Picture-in-picture mode

Chrome’s Picture-in-picture mode (PiP) lets you watch YouTube videos in a floating player window while you get on with other tasks.
Here’s an easy new way to use the feature

1
2
1
2
1

1 Chrome’s built-in method for

activating Picture-in-picture mode is to
right-click a video on a compatible site
2 To make things easier, install the new
extension Picture-in-Picture Shortcut
(www.snipca.com/41822). This lets you
3 Copy the text provided by the
extension 1 into Chrome’s address
bar and press Enter. Click the Edit icon
such as YouTube and choose ‘Picture-in- press Ctrl+. (full stop) to switch the current next to Picture-in-Picture Shortcut and
picture’ 1 . However, you often need to video to PiP 1 . To change the shortcut, press the keys you want to use to activate
right-click several times in different spots right-click the add-on’s toolbar button and PiP mode 2 . The add-on works on sites
for the menu option to appear. choose Options 2 includingYouTube, Vimeo and Twitter.

42 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Secret settings and the best extensions

BEST ADD-ON FOR… Customising Wikipedia

Wikiwand options, such as changing the text size

Chromium & Firefox and layout, and switching between light
www.snipca.com/41819 and dark mode. To disable Wikiwand and
Wikipedia is a brilliant free resource, but switch back to standard Wikipedia, click the
while its articles are interesting to read, W icon and choose ‘Read on Wikipedia’.
the site’s text-heavy layout can feel dull
to browse. To make the encyclopedia If you don’t like that, try…
more engaging, install the magical add-on Modern for Wikipedia
Wikiwand, which transforms Wikipedia’s Chromium & Firefox
appearance with an attractive, modern www.snipca.com/41820
look and fonts. This includes expanding you hover your cursor over links, download This extension applies a fresh look to
images to create large cover photos and articles as PDFs and view pop-up definitions Wikipedia and makes the content easier
converting each article’s Contents list when you press Ctrl and click words. Click to read. It also lets you jump back to pages
into a convenient side menu. You can the Personalize cog on the toolbar (see you’ve previously viewed and find articles
see thumbnail previews of pages when screenshot) for further customisation faster using an enhanced search box.

you can now click the settings cog in the you across the web”,
top-right corner and choose ‘Hide all including ads, scripts,
annotations’ 3 . fingerprinting and
cross-site cookies.
OPERA Version 1.38 of the
Capture and crop screenshots browser, which was
more easily released in April,
Opera was the first browser to simplifies Shields so you
introduce a screenshot feature, can turn its protection
way back in 2017, and version 86 on or off (if you’re
(released in April) makes this built-in tool FIREFOX having trouble loading a site) without
even more useful. As well as capturing Restore the classic scrollbar needing to configure individual settings.
screenshots by clicking the Snapshot in Windows 11 Simply click the Brave lion icon to the
button in the address bar, you can now One small but significant change in right of the address bar then click the
simply highlight three or more words on Firefox 100, released in early May, switch to disable or enable Shields.
a web page. This will display a pop-up narrows the scrollbar in Windows 11 until If you want to block some elements
containing three options: Search, Copy you move your cursor over it, reducing it but not others, click ‘Advanced controls’
and Snapshot. Clicking the latter (see to a thin line and hiding it altogether (see screenshot below) to display the full
screenshot below) will open the selected when a page is static. This is intended to set of options. You can also click ‘Filter
text in Opera’s Snapshot editor, where give you more space, but if you prefer lists’ to choose which filters Brave uses
you can modify and apply effects to it, the scrollbar’s traditional, thicker to block ads, trackers and online
before copying the text to your clipboard, appearance, you can restore it. Type annoyances.
saving it as a PNG image or sharing it about:config into the address bar, press Brave 1.38 also introduces the browser’s
via email. Enter and click ‘Accept the Risk and new protection against Google’s
Opera has also added a Crop option to Continue’. Search for the preference accelerated mobile pages (AMP).
the Snapshot editor, so you can remove widget.windows.overlay-scrollbars. See our Cover Feature on page 50 for
unwanted elements from the screenshots enabled and double-click it to change the more about AMP.
you capture. You’ll find this on the editor’s value to ‘false’ (see screenshot
toolbar to the right of the Text tool. above). Restart Firefox and the
classic, chunky scrollbar will
be restored.

BRAVE
Block web trackers
using Brave’s Shields
The best thing about Brave
(https://brave.com) is
undoubtedly its Shields feature,
which lets you block “all the
creepy stuff that tries to track

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 43

 Phone and Tablet Tips
ANDROID details and tell you which The ‘Translate Quick
Change unsafe passwords passwords have been exposed 1 Actions’ widget ( 1 in
using Google Assistant in a data breach or “entered our screenshot left)
Google has added a useful security on a deceptive site”. If it finds features a shortcut for
feature to the Chrome app for any, look for a message quickly translating
Android that lets you use Google below the ‘Change password’ words and phrases to
Assistant to change passwords that have button that says ‘Let Google and from foreign
been exposed in data breaches. This saves Assistant help you change languages, a microphone
you needing to reset logins manually – your password’ (see our 2 button for spoken
though you can still do so – and makes it screenshot below left). translations and a
easier to secure unsafe accounts. Some sites aren’t yet shortcut to Conversation
To use the new option, tap the three- compatible with the feature, mode, which lets you
dot menu icon in the top-right corner of so won’t show this message. translate both sides of a
the mobile browser and choose Settings, Tap the button, select ‘I agree’ bilingual chat. It also
then Passwords. Tap ‘Check passwords’ and Google Assistant will log includes the option to
and Chrome will scan your saved login you into the affected website, translate text you scan
reset your current password with your phone’s
and suggest a strong new one camera, such as street
– or you can choose your own. Tap ‘Use signs, menus and documents.
password’ to confirm and Google The other widget, Saved Translations 2 ,
Assistant will save the new login to lets you instantly access useful phrases
Chrome’s password manager, overwriting that you’ve translated from English to
the old one. another language, and browse your
It’s a brilliant idea and means you history of recent translations.
won’t delay changing leaked passwords To use the new widgets, long-press
until it’s too late. an empty area of your home screen,
select Widgets and scroll down to
ANDROID Translate. Press a widget and drag it to
Translate languages instantly the desired position on your screen,
using widgets where you can resize it to fit. Both
With the holiday season upon us, widgets use Google’s Material You design
Google has picked the perfect time to match the colour scheme of your
to introduce two new widgets for its phone’s wallpaper.
Translate app for Android. These make it Google Translate also now lets you back
easier to understand and converse in the up your translations to your Google
local language when you’re abroad, account, so you can access them from any
without needing to open Translate first. device on which you’re signed in.

BEST NEW APPS What you should install this fortnight

Compass Orientation GPS Map Knotwords Samsung Internet Browser

Free* Free* Free
iOS www.snipca.com/41894 Android www.snipca.com/41905 Android www.snipca.com/41893
Compass apps can be fiddly to use, but iOS www.snipca.com/41906 Samsung has added new security features
this one makes it easy to see where This addictive new game is a cross between to its browser that automatically block
you’re going. Hold your iPhone up and Wordle and a crossword. Instead of working web trackers and always connect you to
it switches to a out which words to encrypted HTTPS
mode that overlays fill in by solving clues, versions of sites.
a compass on the you have to guess The updated app,
view in front of you. them using the set of which is available
Lower your device letters provided, and for all Android
and it shows a GPS make them interlock phones, also offers
map to give you with other words instant access
a broader view of in the grid. You can to the privacy
the area, and the play one Knotwords dashboard, so
direction you’re game free every you can see how
travelling. The full day or pay £4.59 for many trackers it’s
version costs £9.99. unlimited play. blocked.

*Contains in-app purchases

44 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Brilliant things to do on your device

Editor, which underlines words you

misspell in red and grammatical errors
(including poor punctuation) in blue, and
suggests corrections when you tap them
(see screenshot right) that you can tap to
apply. Microsoft says the feature will help
prevent “those pesky little typos that your
thumbs sneak in sometimes” and help
improve your writing style so you can send off if you find it annoying or you prefer to
emails from your phone with confidence. use a different spelling and grammar
Microsoft Editor is already available checker. Press the three-line menu
in the online versions of Outlook and button in the top-left corner of your
iOS Word, and as an extension for Edge and Outlook inbox, and tap the Settings cog
Eject water from an iPhone Chrome, but hasn’t yet been added to the in the bottom left. Select your email
using a shortcut Outlook app for Android. It’s activated by account and switch off Microsoft Editor
All iPhones are water-resistant to a default in the iOS app, but is easy to turn under Account Settings.
certain degree, which means that
dropping them in the sink, bath or toilet
won’t instantly break them. But moisture
BEST APPS FOR... Reading ebooks
can linger in places such as the device’s
speakers, which can eventually cause Libby by Overdrive
damage, so it’s best to get rid of it as Free
quickly as possible. Help is at hand from Android www.snipca.com/41925
a third-party shortcut called Water Eject, iOS www.snipca.com/41926
which produces sound at a frequency Why pay for ebooks when you can borrow
that vibrates your iPhone’s speakers to them for free from your local library using
expel any lingering liquid. Libby? Simply sign in with your library card
To use Water Eject, all you need is the – or request one – to browse available titles,
Shortcuts app on your iPhone – this is then download them to your phone or tablet
preinstalled, but you can also download it to read in the app. Libby alerts you when
from the Apple Apps Store at www. your loan period is about to expire so you can
snipca.com/41890. return ebooks and borrow more.
Open your iPhone’s browser, go to Best For Borrowing ebooks to read for free
Water Eject’s page in the Shortcuts
Gallery (www.snipca.com/41889) and get FBReader
the shortcut by tapping Get Shortcut, Free*
then Add Shortcut. Open the Shortcuts Android www.snipca.com/41923
app, if it doesn’t launch automatically, iOS www.snipca.com/41924
and tap Water Eject. In the menu that Although FBReader doesn’t have its own
opens, select Begin Water Ejection (see ebook store, it lets you download and read
screenshot above). A tone will play for free stories in formats including EPUB, RTF,
roughly 15 seconds. Once finished, a HTML, MOBI and (via a plug-in) PDF. You can
pop-up message will appear to inform tweak text fonts, size and colour, use custom
you that the liquid has been successfully backgrounds and day/night colour schemes,
ejected from your speaker. and look up words in external dictionaries.
You can also add the Water Eject Best For Customising your reading experience
shortcut to your home screen for easy
access, which is handy if you often Kindle
submerge your iPhone in water. Tap the Free
three-dot button in the top-right corner Android www.snipca.com/41917
of the shortcut, then the icon with three iOS www.snipca.com/41918
horizontal bars. On the Details tab, select Amazon’s excellent Kindle app lets you
‘Add to Home Screen’, then tap Add. browse and buy ebooks from its store (an
option now dropped from its Shopping app –
iOS see page 49) and read them on your phone
Check your spelling and and tablet in high contrast. You can sync your
grammar in Outlook furthest page read across devices, easily
The Outlook app for iPhone and iPad manage your ebook library and get insights
has been updated to help you avoid about your reading habits.
making spelling and grammar mistakes Best For Reading ebooks from Amazon
in emails. The app now includes Microsoft
*Contains in-app purchases

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 45

 Make Windows Better Expert tips for every version

WINDOWS 10 & 11
WINDOWS 10
Convert HEIC image files
In 2017 Apple adopted
HEIF (High Efficiency Add borders to your screenshots
Image File Format) as its
default image format, calling it HEIC One of the best hidden options Sketch’. Press Windows key+Shift+S to
when introduced in iOS 11. It uses a more in the screenshot tool ‘Snip & take the shot (or the PrtScr button if
advanced method for compressing files Sketch’ is adding coloured you have that option turned on the
that takes up less storage space. borders to make your grabs stand out. ‘Ease of Access’ settings). When you
Windows doesn’t support HEIC files, This can be useful if you want to give save and open the screenshot you’ll see
but you can install apps from the them more prominence in a document that the border has been applied.
Microsoft Store to convert them into or presentation. Search for and open
JPEGs and other formats. ‘Snip & Sketch’ in Windows, click the
‘See more’ button at the top right (three
horizontal dots), then click Settings.
At the bottom of the next page, click
the ‘Snip outline’ slider to turn it on
( 1 in our screenshot). This will reveal 1 4
below a colour square 2 and a 2
1 2 thickness slider 3 . Choose your colour
and thickness and you’ll see what it
looks like in the preview box 4 . 3
3 Now take a screenshot in ‘Snip &

WINDOWS 11 the course of a day, but clicking it does

See your battery levels reveal the screen on, off and sleep times.
Windows 11 shows you what
your laptop’s battery levels have WINDOWS 10 & 11
been over the past 24 hours or Remove the audio
seven days. Press Windows key+I to open from videos in Clipchamp
Settings, then click System on the left Microsoft’s new video
One of the best is ‘iMazing HEIC followed by ‘Power & battery’ in the editor Clipchamp (search
Converter’, which is ideal when you have middle. Now click ‘Battery usage’ and for it in the Microsoft
many photos to convert. Search for it on choose your time period from the menu: Store or visit www.snipca.com/41964)
the Microsoft Store (or visit www.snipca. last 24 hours or seven days. makes it easy to remove the audio from
com/41954), then click the blue Get Choose the former and you’ll see clips. When you drag a video on to the
button. Once you’ve opened it, just drag battery levels represented as 24 vertical timeline, you’ll see the audio (speaker)
and drop into it the files you want to bars – hover over one to see the level for icon appear ( 1 in our screenshot below).
convert. You can choose between that hour (38 per cent at 9am in our Click this, then the Separate Audio button
JPEG ( 1 in our screenshot above) and screenshot below 1 ). You’ll also see how 2 . When the process ends you’ll see your
PNG formats, whether you want to long the screen has been on, off and in audio file below the video on the timeline
preserve the EXIF data 2 , and how high Sleep mode 2 . These figures will be for 3 . You can place multiple versions of the
you want the quality to be 3 . the hour you have selected, or for the past audio into the timeline by dragging it
To finish, click Convert, choose the 24 if you’ve haven’t clicked a bar. from the Your Media section 4 .
folder you want to save to, then click OK. Select seven days and you’ll see a You can now move this audio clip
You’ll now have copies with the same file continuous chart from the past week. elsewhere in the timeline, or remove it by
names but saved as JPEGs instead of Hovering over a date doesn’t show a clicking it and selecting it, then clicking
HEIC files. percentage because this can change over the Delete (bin) icon above the timeline.

1 1
2

2 3

46 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

Make Office Better Top tips for MS Office & LibreOffice

LIBREOFFICE IMPRESS & MICROSOFT POWERPOINT

Make animations apply across all items

You can group objects screenshot). You’ll now see the
in a presentation so the lines around the objects combine
same animation can be into one. It’s a similar process in
applied to them all, saving you the LibreOffice Impress, though you
hassle of adding them one at a time. have to press Shift when selecting
To do this in PowerPoint, click all the the objects. Alternatively, you can
objects while pressing down the Ctrl group objects by pressing the
key. Once they’re selected, right-click shortcut Ctrl+Shift+G. Visit www.
them and hover over Group in the snipca.com/41878 for more
menu, then click Group again (see Impress shortcuts.

LIBREOFFICE WRITER &

MICROSOFT WORD
Tweak your highlighted
words and characters 3
It’s quite easy to 1
accidentally fall a few
characters short when
you try to select specific words in a
2
document (as we have with the word
‘shortcut’ in our screenshot below). Moving
the mouse over the unselected characters 4
can be fiddly, so instead memorise the
Shift+Left arrow/Right arrow keyboard
shortcut. This moves the selected bar one and unticking ‘Internet and network as the first day of the week, but you can
character at a time in the direction you paths with hyperlinks’ 4 . Click ‘Close’, change this to start from a different day of
choose. There are several variations of then Apply at the bottom. From now on, the week – which can alter the result.
this, including Ctrl+Shift+Left arrow/ when you type a URL, it will stay as plain To do this, click the cell where you
Right arrow, which moves the bar one text, without being clickable. want the number to be shown, then type
word in either direction. Also useful is Incidentally, if you keep the setting =WEEKNUM(A1, (where A1 is the cell
Shift+Home/End, which moves the bar to enabled, you’ll need to type part of the containing the date – as it is in our
the beginning/end of the line. URL’s prefix to make it work, eg www or screenshot below 1 ). As soon as you
https. Simply typing microsoft.com won’t type the comma, you’ll see options to
be recognised as a hyperlink. change the day from Sunday 2 . Either
click one to enter the day you want, or
MICROSOFT EXCEL type the number associated with it. For
Pick a day to start counting weeks example, to count weeks starting with
By default, Excel’s WEEKNUM Mondays, type =WEEKNUM(A1,2).
function counts the number of You’ll see the result appear in the cell
weeks in a year and treats Sunday you’ve got selected.

ONLYOFFICE
Stop converting URLs
to hyperlinks 2
Version 7.0 of OnlyOffice
(released in January) converts
URLs and file paths into
clickable hyperlinks when you type
them in the document editor. If you
1
don’t want this to happen, you’ll have to
turn it off by clicking File at the top left
( 1 in our screenshot above right), then
Advanced Settings on the left 2 , followed
by ‘AutoCorrect options’ in the middle 3

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 47

 In The Club
Run a club or society? Here's how your tech can make it easier

Pass on members’ contact details

M embers’ contact details are vital for Make sure your
the efficient running of any club, label is selected,
then leave
but what happens when one secretary Google CSV
leaves and another starts? That was the selected and
question posed by reader Henry Smith, click Export
who asked us how he could transfer his
1
list of email addresses to the incoming
club secretary.
Transferring contacts is fairly
straightforward, and all email services 3
let you export and import contacts
between different services. Henry uses
Gmail, so we’ll explain how to do it using
that service, though there are similar 2
options in Outlook.

Add labels to your contacts

First, you need to go to your Google
contacts by typing https://contacts. opted for Club. Click ‘Save’ when you’ve Google can also output Outlook CSV for
google.com into a browser. If your finished. Microsoft accounts or vCard for iOS.
contacts contain both personal and club Labels appear on the left, under the Click ‘Export’ when you’ve finished.
entries, you should add a label to the Labels heading. Click the label that you’ve
latter, so you can filter and view just created and you’ll see just the smaller Import the contacts file
the contacts that you want to export. selection of Contacts. Now it’s time to This will download a CSV (Comma
Contacts can be added to multiple labels export them. To do this, click the Export Separated Value) file to your computer,
if needed. link on the left, then make sure your which you can send on to the next
You add contacts to a label by clicking label (Club in our case) is selected ( 1 in secretary. This file can be imported into a
the circular icon next to them. Once our screenshot above). If you want to variety of email systems, but we’ll show
you’ve added all your contacts, click the export all contacts, then select the main you how to do it in Google.
label button at the top of the screen (it Contacts header in Google Contacts and The new secretary needs to go to
looks like a gift tag) and then select an then click Export 2 . their Google Contacts and click Import
existing label or click ‘Create label’ and You can leave the default Google CSV on the left. Next, they need to select a
enter the name of your new label – we’ve option selected 3 , though as you can see label at the top of the box, creating a new
one if necessary (we’ve stuck with ‘Club’
– 1 in our screenshot left). Now click
1 ‘Select file’ 2 , choose the CSV file 3 , then
click Import 4 .
Google also creates labels based on
when the contacts were originally created
or updated – for example, ‘Imported
11/6/21’. To remove these labels, hover
2 3
over one and click the Bin icon. Choose
‘Keep all contacts and delete this label’
then click Delete. Repeat to remove all
labels that you don’t need.
You can repeat this process as many
4 times as you like, which is handy in case
you missed a couple of contacts the first
time around. It’s probably worth the
original secretary holding on to the contacts
for a short period of time to make sure
Select your CSV contacts file, then click Import everything transferred as it should.

48 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632 Next issue: Update weekly scores in Google Slides
What’s All the
Fuss About...
EPUB Amazon is lifting one of tech’s most infuriating
restrictions – sort of

What is it?
Short for electronic publication, it’s the
format ebooks come in for phones, tablets
and computers. It’s also used by ebook
readers. Well, all except one. You’ve Amazon is telling
probably heard of it.
those with another
Amazon’s Kindle, by any
chance? device that they
Yes, by far the world’s best-selling ebook
reader. Since launching in 2007 it has won’t lose their
used its own version of the MOBI format,
beginning with AZW, which later evolved
ebooks if the next
into KF8/AZW3 before becoming KFX. e-reader they buy is a
So Amazon has never Kindle
supported EPUB?
Correct. It favours a ‘locked’ system
where Kindle readers have no choice but
to buy ebooks only from Amazon. The
main workaround until now has been to
use Calibre (https://calibre-ebook.com) to address into your email, then attach the can download this to your computer
convert EPUB ebooks to MOBI, letting document you want to read on your (www.snipca.com/41929, pictured below
you read titles bought for other devices Kindle. Amazon will send an email left), phone or tablet (www.snipca.
– such as Kobos – on Kindles. However, asking you to verify the document – you com/41931) and also as a browser
surprisingly, Amazon now offers its own have 48 hours to do so. extension (www.snipca.com/41930).
way to beat this restriction.
Isn’t that still a real hassle? Why is Amazon doing this?
How does that work? Yes, it’s rather clunky, but it means you Good question. Some analysts have
By using the Kindle Personal Documents can avoid using Calibre’s poorly designed suggested that Amazon is worried by
Service, which has always allowed you to interface. Amazon has actually promised the rising popularity of its rivals, such
send images, PDFs, Word documents and another (and smoother) workaround for as the Kobo Libra 2 (our current
other files to your Kindle. Visit the Kindle “late 2022”: transferring EPUB files favourite ebook reader – see page 32).
Content Help page (www.snipca. directly via the ‘Send to Kindle’ app. You By accepting EPUB, Amazon is telling
com/41910) and under the Kindle those with a Kobo or Sony device – or
Personal Documents Service heading who read ebooks on their tablet – that
you’ll see such supported formats as they won’t lose their books if the next
JPEG, PDF and .DOC. Look at the device they buy is a Kindle. But what
bottom of the list and you’ll notice Amazon gives with one hand, it takes
EPUB has been added. with the other.

How do I use this service? What do you mean?

You’ll first need to find the email Amazon has also announced that it won’t
address associated with your Kindle. let customers buy ebooks through its
To do this, sign into Amazon, then Shopping app on Android (www.snipca.
click ‘Accounts & Lists’ at the top com/41932). It blamed Google’s new
right, followed by ‘Your devices and policy that all in-app payments must go
content’. Next, select ‘Manage through the Google Play Store, giving the
devices’, and under ‘Amazon devices’ search giant a cut of the money. But,
click the Kindle model you have. confusingly, you can still buy books
You should now see your Kindle through the Kindle app for Android (see
email address in the Device Download ‘Send to Kindle’ to your PC and you’ll be page 45). Perhaps it’s best just to stick
Summary that appears. Type that able to drag and drop files to your Kindle with dusty paperbacks.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 49

 COVER FEATURE

STOP
USING

Search
Google may be the most popular search engine, but
that doesn’t mean it’s the best – at least not any more.
Robert Irvine explains why it’s time to ditch Google
and what you should use instead

G
oogle Search is such an integral as it used to be, partly – as we explain –
WHAT YOU CAN DO part of many of our lives that due to problems of its own making.
ditching it for another search The good news is that there are
• Stop Google controlling how you view engine might sound like a now more excellent alternative search
online content crazy idea. It’s the preferred search engines than ever that are focused
•A  void seeing personalised ads based provider for nearly 93 per cent of UK web on privacy rather than profit. We’ve
on your searches users (see www.snipca.com/41887), three tested the six strongest contenders to
•P  revent your search data from being quarters of whom check it at least three Google Search’s throne, to discover
stored and shared times a day (www.snipca.com/41888), which offers the most relevant,
•B  urst the ‘filter bubble’ that always and the verb ‘to google’ is even in the unbiased and untracked results.
shows you the same sites Oxford English Dictionary. And no, we haven’t included Bing,
•H  ide your identity and location from So why would you want to use anything because Microsoft is also notorious
pages you visit in search results else to search the web? Well, as we reveal for collecting your data, though some
• I mprove your searches using in this feature, there’s a growing number websites we’ve reviewed use
independent indexes of reasons – and not just the usual complaint Bing-powered results.
•S  earch specific websites using simple that Google tracks your data (though we And finally we also reveal some of the
shortcuts cover that, too). It’s a sad fact that Google best tricks for getting the most out of
Search is no longer as reliable and accurate Google’s rivals.

50 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 STOP
USING

Search
WHY YOU SHOULD STOP USING GOOGLE SEARCH
Google manipulates your web
experience
The reason Google became the most
popular search engine, while the likes
of AltaVista, Excite and Lycos fell by
the wayside, was its ability to quickly
deliver accurate results. It sourced these
from a huge index of pages that it
compiled by constantly ‘crawling’ the
web. Over the years, however, Google’s
focus has shifted from prioritising sites
based on the relevance of their content
to those that most closely adhere to
Google’s own standards.
One example of Google attempting to
manipulate the web is its use of accelerated
mobile pages (AMP). Introduced in 2015,
AMP is a system whereby streamlined
versions of web pages are preloaded and
delivered to your browser via Google’s Brave’s new De-AMP feature will bypass Google’s modified versions of web pages
servers.
When AMP was first announced, actually result in pages loading more relevant adverts from its commercial
Google said it would help ensure that slowly than other speed-optimisation partners.
multimedia content such as videos and techniques, so its benefits for web users You can view your advertising profile
animations would load rapidly and are negligible. by going to https://myaccount.google.com
behave consistently across desktop and and clicking ‘Data and privacy’ in the
mobile devices. But the system has been Google collects your data to left-hand menu. Scroll down to the
criticised for allowing Google to favour target you with ads ‘Things that you’ve done and places
AMP links in its search results and use It’s hardly breaking news that Google where you’ve been’ section and select
them to show its own ads, as well as collects your data – as we’re all too ‘Ad personalisation’. Here you’ll see
forcing web designers to create their sites well aware, it stores details of everything information about your location,
to Google’s desired specifications or else you search for. However, this is still one of gender, parental status and age, and what
slip down the search rankings. the strongest arguments for switching to Google deduces to be your hobbies and
Recently, there’s been a backlash an alternative search provider. personal and professional interests (see
against Google’s increasing control over Officially, Google’s data collection is to screenshot below left). Some of its
how the web works, and concerns that “make services more useful for you”, but assumptions are likely to be incorrect,
AMP allows it to track the content we unofficially it’s so that data can be used to but it’s still creepy to discover how much
view online. Browser developer Brave build a profile of you and your interests. Google knows about you.
(www.brave.com) and privacy-focused This is then used to target you with more Ads based on this data don’t only
search engine DuckDuckGo (https:// appear in your search results, but also
duckduckgo.com) have both started track you around the web to the millions
‘de-AMPing’ search results to let users of other sites and apps in the Google
bypass the system and access websites Display Network (www.snipca.com/41834).
directly rather than viewing their AMP Using an ad blocker such as uBlock
versions. Origin (www.snipca.com/41842) will
“AMP encourages more of the web to be hide most of these adverts in your
served from Google’s servers, under Google’s desktop browser, but it’s much harder to
control and arbitrary non-standards,” avoid them on your mobile device.
said Brave in a blog post (www.snipca. In fairness to Google, the company has
com/41830, see screenshot above right). responded to privacy concerns by making
“AMP is one of many Google strategies to it easier to review and delete details of
further monopolise the web, and build a your stored searches, and to turn off ad
web where users serve Google, instead of personalisation (see screenshot left),
websites serving users.’’ which means you’ll still see adverts, but
Google gives no indication that you’re not targeted ones. But when other search
visiting an AMP site rather than the engines are able to work perfectly well
original source, which makes its without gathering and ‘monetising’ your
enforcement of the technology not only personal data, you don’t need to keep
self-serving but somewhat sinister, too. Google gathers your search data to build a compromising your privacy every time
Also, as Brave points out, AMP can personalised advertising profile of you you search for something online.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 51

 Google’s search results have
deteriorated
It used to be the case that, even if you had
reservations about Google’s business
practices, the high quality of its search
results was beyond question. It was free,
fast and accurate, and far superior to rival
search engines, so why would you want
to use anything else? But we’re sure we’re
not the only web users to notice that
Google results aren’t as reliable as they
used to be, and its complex algorithms no
longer guarantee that the page you’re
looking for will be near the top of the list.
Partly this is because Google now
prioritises new and ‘trending’ content
over older articles from less popular sites
that may nevertheless be more relevant to Google’s SEO Starter Guide explains how to get a site indexed by its search engine
your query. Aside from the inevitable ads
and ‘sponsored’ links at the top of search you, and your results will differ from – Google limits your number
results, you also need to wade through and potentially be less useful than – those of search results
low-quality pages that only rank highly of other people who are searching for the Ever notice that when you search for
because their creators have mastered the same thing. something on Google, the number of
art of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). There are ways to break out of your results it claims to have found bears little
Anyone who runs or works for a filter bubble, such as regularly deleting resemblance to how many you actually
website will tell you the importance of data from your Google account, clearing get? For example, when we searched for
SEO in driving web traffic to their pages cookies stored in your browser (especially “Windows 11”, Google retrieved more
through Google, and sites that don’t if you use Chrome and Sync is enabled) than 500 million matches, but told us
follow SEO rules are penalised in its and switching to private (incognito) there were only nine pages of results to
results. Many of these rules are sensible mode to search the web. But even these explore (see screenshots below). On
and beneficial to internet users, such as actions won’t completely de-personalise clicking to the last page of these, the
keeping articles focused and easy to read, your search results, and Google will number of matches was significantly
using strong keywords to identify the continue to suggest “relevant results and reduced to 81. We tried again with a more
topics covered and linking to relevant recommendations” based on your past specific query – Windows 11 system
internal and external pages – see Google’s searches and the sites you visit. requirements – which initially found
SEO Starter Guide at www.snipca. To stop this happening in your 43,500 matches, before slashing the
com/41840 (pictured above right) browser’s private mode, click the number to 149 across 15 pages of results.
But now these techniques are well Customise button that appears in the The explanations for this discrepancy
established, some websites use SEO ‘Before you continue to Google Search’ include that people rarely click past the
tactics to cheat the system, solely to make overlay, switch off ‘Search customization’ first few pages of results, that the initial
money through affiliate links and (see screenshot below), ‘YouTube history’ number is merely an estimate and that it
advertising. Provided a site ticks all the and ‘Ad personalization’, and click would take a massive amount of power to
SEO boxes, its pages will be added to Confirm. Try performing a search in both display all matching web pages to every
Google’s index and search results, private and standard mode, and compare Google user. But it’s still frustrating for
regardless of the quality of its content. how your search results differ. those of us who want to dive deeper into
Devious spammers even copy text search results, especially because – for
directly from other sites just to rise up the the reasons we’ve mentioned – many
rankings. By stressing the value of SEO useful pages are now displaced by ads,
over everything else, Google has allowed spam sites, AMP links and filtered content.
lots of useless clickbait and copycat
content to infiltrate its results.

Google traps you in a search

‘filter bubble’
The information Google collects about
you isn’t only intended to target you with
adverts, but also to make your search
results more relevant. However, by
shaping the content you see to match
your perceived interests and preferred
sources, Google also places you in a ‘filter
bubble’. This means you miss out on sites Turn off ‘Search customization’ to stop Google Google found half a billion matches for Windows
that its algorithms deem less suitable for personalising your results in private mode 11, but only offered nine pages of results

52 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 STOP
USING

Search
WHICH SEARCH ENGINE SHOULD YOU USE INSTEAD?
GOLD AWARD
DuckDuckGo How we tested the search engines
https://duckduckgo.com
With only a 0.85 per cent We searched for the same five queries such as suggesting ticket-booking sites.
share of the UK search-engine using each search engine to discover the
market, DuckDuckGo lags way relevance and variety of the top results, Cottage pie recipe
behind Google and Bing in popularity, the speed they were returned, the clarity Recipe sites are often accused of using
but it’s the best way to search the web of presentation and if they provided any SEO tricks to boost their rankings, but
anonymously. It doesn’t share details of useful additional content. Here are the would these search engines fall for them?
your searches, collect personal data search terms we used and why…
that can be used to identify you or World Cup 2022 start date
tailor your search results to favour Windows 11 system requirements Google provides the kick-off date above
pages it thinks you want to see – the To find the latest information about the its search results, so we wanted to see if
so-called ‘filter bubble’ we mentioned operating system from reliable tech other search engines were as helpful.
on page 52. sources, preferably Microsoft itself.
When you click a search result, 81 kg in stone
DuckDuckGo takes you directly to the Train from London to St Ives Google instantly converts measurements,
relevant website, but doesn’t reveal To see how the search engines handled but we’d prefer to use a private search
what you searched for to get there, and a travel query involving UK destinations, engine that didn’t log our weight.
will send you to the secure HTTPS
version whenever possible. Unlike
Google, DuckDuckGo doesn’t store (www.snipca.com/41847). You can also set SILVER AWARD
cookies in your browser, which means it as the default search engine in your Brave Search
your searches can’t be tied to you, browser. DuckDuckGo has just released a https://search.brave.com
and you always start searching from a beta version of its first desktop browser, Although it only launched last
blank slate. The search data it does but currently only for macOS (www. year, Brave Search has already
save is merely used to improve its snipca.com/41879). impressed us with how seriously
performance, such as by recognising DuckDuckGo compiles its search it takes its users’ privacy as well as its
misspellings. results using its own web crawler and near-total rejection of Google’s methods,
Rather than use your searches to build more than 400 other sources, though earning it second place in our ranking of
a profile of you that can be sold to primarily Bing. It swiftly returned the best alternatives.
advertisers, DuckDuckGo takes a simpler, accurate results for all our test searches Instead of relying on search results
less intrusive approach. It’s still funded (see box above), with Microsoft’s own from Google, Bing or another ‘big tech’
by advertising, but uses keywords to specifications page top of the list for company, Brave Search uses its own
decide the type of adverts you see. For Windows 11 system requirements, and independent index, which it has built
example, if you search for ‘HP laptop’, ticket-booking site Trainline ranked first from scratch. However, it may include
DuckDuckGo will show ads for that for our travel search. The ever-reliable results from other search engines if its
model of computer, but fewer than on BBC Food site was top when we searched own data is insufficient – you can check
Google. If you’d prefer not to see any ads, for a recipe for cottage pie. by clicking the Info link at the top of
click the menu button in the top-right Particularly impressive was the the page.
corner, choose All Settings and switch measurement conversion, telling us Regardless of where your results
off the Advertisements option (see that 81kg equals 12.75532 stone in a box originate, Brave Search won’t collect
screenshot below right). at the top of the page (see screenshot information about you, your search
As well as using the DuckDuckGo below left). The World Cup start date queries or the links you click; and it
website, you can install its extension for was less clear, but was mentioned in a won’t share any data with advertisers. It
Chromium-based browsers and Firefox summary of the first link (to a Sky Sports will show adverts once it’s out of beta,
as well as its free app for Android and iOS News story). but these won’t be based on a personal
DuckDuckGo displays
ads, but these aren’t
personalised and
you can easily switch
them off

DuckDuckGo provided an instant answer to our

measurement-conversion query

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 53

 profile and you’ll be able to pay to turn links, as well as essential train-booking
them off. Brave also says it doesn’t censor sites; while our recipe search similarly
or bias results using “secret algorithms”. combined the usual big-name sources
Brave Search is now the default search with informative but lesser-known blogs.
engine in the Brave browser for desktop Unlike DuckDuckGo and Startpage, Brave
and mobile devices, and can be manually told us the World Cup start date at the top
added to other browsers (see Issue 625, of the page, and did likewise for our
page 55). In April, it introduced a useful weight conversion.
feature called Discussions, which
includes relevant content from Reddit BRONZE AWARD Startpage’s Anonymous View masks your
forums in its results. We saw Discussions Startpage location from search results you click
in action when our Windows 11 search www.startpage.com
showed helpful answers from Reddit Startpage describes itself as “the Anonymous View – which you access by
below the top two results from Microsoft world’s most private search clicking the mask icon next to search
(see screenshot below). Our travel search engine” and, though it’s not as results (see screenshot above) – further
suggested interesting, non-commercial versatile as DuckDuckGo, it’s a great boosts your privacy by letting you open
choice if you like the speed and quality of pages via a proxy server.
Google search, but don’t like being spied Additionally, because Startpage doesn’t
on. It uses search results from Google, but save your search data, it frees you from
with none of the intrusive data logging Google’s filter bubble and delivers a wider
and tracking, so you can quickly find choice of results that doesn’t prioritise
things online without things finding you. certain sites over others. This was
Unlike Google, Startpage doesn’t store demonstrated when our Windows
your searches, record your IP address, 11-related search listed pages in a
plant tracking cookies in your browser or different order to Google (which favoured
share your personal information with tech-news sites we frequently visit).
third parties. Your queries are submitted Startpage placed news stories first for
Brave Search’s Discussions feature proved to Google anonymously, so it never our World Cup search and didn’t offer
helpful with our Windows 11 query knows who you are, while a dedicated an instant conversion for our weight

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To buy Windows 11 Pro, visit

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JUST SO YOU KNOW…
This offer can be used by one person only, and expires at midnight
on 7 June, 2022. It’s a lifetime licence for one computer.

54 00
13 ––26
00April
Month 2022
2022 • Issue
• Issue 629xxx
 STOP
USING

Search

Qwant placed videos at the top of our search results for a cottage-pie Ecosia’s search results include ads but at least they’re in a good, green
recipe cause

query, but its results were otherwise the Ecosia search engine to implement a no-tracking
same as Google’s www.ecosia.org policy. It bases your search results
Startpage’s Privacy Protection extension Ecosia describes itself as “the entirely on the keywords you enter,
for Chromium browsers (www.snipca. search engine that plants tree”. doesn’t store any identifying information
com/41850) and Firefox (www.snipca. Rather than profit from your about you and ranks pages according to
com/41851) lets you search privately searches, it donates all the money it their quality and relevance, using its own
from anywhere on the web, and block makes from advertising – which is algorithm rather than Google or
third-party trackers and cookies. However, provided by Bing, as are Ecosia’s results Microsoft’s.
it has removed its mobile app from the – to climate action, with at least 80 per Mojeek’s independent index means it
Google Play and Apple App stores, cent financing tree-planting projects. finds content on sites that other search
recommending that Android and iOS Ecosia says it takes approximately 45 engines ignore, while popular sources
users add Startpage to their home screens searches to generate enough ad clicks to often appear further down the list. It’s
instead (see www.snipca.com/41852 fund one tree, and at the time of writing also extremely fast – returning results
for details). almost 150 million had been planted. This in 0.19 seconds that it took Google 0.54
focus on the environment doesn’t come seconds to generate.
BEST OF THE REST at the expense of privacy, because Ecosia Mojeek was the only search engine we
Qwant anonymises your searches and doesn’t tested that didn’t auto-complete our
www.qwant.com collect your data to create an advertising queries, and though its results were
Based in France, Qwant prides profile. If only greedy Google would take indeed different, it still provided the info
itself on online privacy and a leaf out of its book. we sought. You need to spell words
neutrality. It doesn’t track your Ecosia produced much the same results correctly or results will only contain
searches, collect your data or target you as other Bing-powered search engines pages with those misspellings, rather
with ads, though it does detect your (bookended by its tree-funding ads, see than recognising your intended search
location to display relevant content for screenshot above). As with Qwant, US term, though Mojeek does suggest a
‘Great Britain’. sites were given curious prominence for ‘Did you mean?’ alternative (see
Qwant’s search index combines pages the World Cup search, but Ecosia at least screenshot below left).
found by its own web crawlers with provided a conversion for our kilos-to-
results from third-party search engines stone query.
(mainly Bing) and rather than encouraging
SEO tricks of the trade, it tells site owners Mojeek
Our Verdict
they can ask for their sites to be added www.mojeek.com DuckDuckGo’s accurate, tracker-free and
(though this isn’t guaranteed). As well as “No tracking, Just search” says wide-ranging results, excellent extensions
finding articles and news stories, you can the search box for Mojeek, which and handy extras (see page 56) make it
search for images, videos, music, maps is based in Brighton and was the first our favourite private search engine, and
and products, and install the Qwant app it’s the only site we tested that lets you
on your phone or tablet. There’s also a switch off ads. Brave Search comes a
version of the site for kids aged 6 to 13, close second, and has the advantage of
called Qwant Junior. using an independent search index to
Qwant’s results for our test searches produce more varied results, but we do
were similar to DuckDuckGo’s, though have some concerns about the ads it
we had to scroll past four adverts to plans to introduce once it exits beta.
get to train-related links. Our cottage Startpage’s Anonymous View is a great
pie search was topped with recipe feature, but it relies on Google and we
videos (see screenshot above) and an didn’t find its search results as clearly
inordinate number of US sites were Mojeek’s results are varied and useful, presented as DuckDuckGo and Brave’s.
ranked highly in our World Cup search. provided you spell search terms correctly

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 55

 SECRET TIPS FOR PRIVATE SEARCH ENGINES
Search specific sites using Use
DuckDuckGo’s ‘bangs’ DuckDuckGo’s
secret password
One of DuckDuckGo’s best features is manager to
called Bangs, which lets you search create secure
specific sites without using its own logins
search engine. Bangs are essentially
shortcuts that you type before your
search queries, which consist of an
exclamation mark followed by a site’s
first letter or a keyword, for example
!auk to search Amazon.co.uk; !w for passwords for your online accounts. DuckDuckGo won’t make it any more
Wikipedia (see screenshot below); !r for Simply type password 8 into the search private, it can make the site easier on
Reddit, !iplayer for BBC iPlayer; and !yt box, press Enter and the search engine your eyes and more suited to your taste.
for YouTube. Note that the results open in will create a password consisting of eight Click the menu button in the top-right
the corresponding website rather than characters and display it below the search corner ( 1 in our screenshot below left),
DuckDuckGo, which means they aren’t box (see screenshot above). Similarly, select Themes and choose between
anonymous and your data may be tracked typing password 16 will produce a Default, Basic, Contrast, Dark, Grey and
by third parties. 16-character option. To generate a Terminal (it’s a more colourful dark
There are now more than 13,500 stronger password that includes special mode, as the screenshot shows).
DuckDuckGo bangs – visit www.snipca. characters, enter password 8 strong. Click the Appearance tab 2 to alter the
com/41849 to browse the full selection. DuckDuckGo can also create passphrases font used by the search engine, as well
Most of these bangs also work in Brave - just type random passphrase for a as the text size, the page width, centre
Search: www.snipca.com/41886. four-word example, such as ‘unloaded alignment and background colour. You
buffer next greedy’. can also customise the header to hide the
Generate strong passwords duck logo as you scroll search results, and
using DuckDuckGo Change DuckDuckGo’s theme remove the favicons next to each one.
DuckDuckGo can keep you secure as to make it easier to read Click ‘Save and Exit’ to confirm your
well as private by generating strong Although applying a different theme for design choices.

2 Switch to the ‘onion’ version

of DuckDuckGo
Unsurprisingly, DuckDuckGo is the
default search engine in the privacy-
focused Tor Browser (www.snipca.
1 com/41876), but if you want to guarantee
that nobody can see what you’re
searching for, you should use its special
‘onion’ version. This applies end-to-end
encryption to your search queries in Tor,
so that nobody will even know that
DuckDuckGo’s Bangs feature lets you use Customise DuckDuckGo’s theme to make it you’re using a search engine. You can
shortcuts to search other sites easier on your eyes either access this via its 23-character

Should you search with You.com?

You.com (https://you.com) is another new Twitter, Tripadvisor, Wikipedia, CNN
search engine that’s hoping to lure web and BBC News, and lets you add your
users away from Google. It’s still in beta own favourite sources by clicking the
and its results aren’t yet good enough to ‘Add apps’ button.
rival the six sites we’ve reviewed, but it’s You.com claims to be “free of
notable for the interesting way it works. tracking and invasive ads’’, but
Rather than simply provide a list of web its privacy policy (www.snipca.
pages that match your query, You.com com/41949) states that it collects
presents you with a colourful grid of some information about you, including
results from relevant sources. These let your IP address and usage data. This is Private mode, by clicking the menu button
you scroll horizontally as well as vertically to help “improve and enhance our services” in the top-right corner and choosing
to explore your results. It currently uses and, more worryingly, for marketing ‘Switch to Private’ (see screenshot), “limits
150 sites including YouTube, Reddit, purposes. However, switching to You.com’s the data we store and share”.

56 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 STOP
USING

Search
Is DuckDuckGo censoring search results?
Back in March, DuckDuckGo was criticised more spammy relative to independent
by some users for ‘down-ranking’ websites media outlets”, which is why DuckDuckGo
that published disinformation about down-ranked – but didn’t remove – them.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The search It’s possible that the decision to down-
engine was accused of straying from its rank these sites was actually made by
promise to provide only “unbiased results”. Microsoft, which announced in February
DuckDuckGo’s CEO and founder, Gabriel (www.snipca.com/41869) that Bing
Weinberg, responded to the backlash by (which DuckDuckGo uses for results)
stating that: “We are not ‘purging’ any would only return links from Kremlin-
media outlets from results. Anyone can backed news sources RT and Sputnik
verify this by searching for an outlet and “when a user clearly intends to navigate to
DuckDuckGo has an extra-private ‘onion’ see it come up in results” (www.snipca. those pages”.
version you can only use in Tor Browser com/41867). He also said that the nature So, no, DuckDuckGo isn’t censoring
of sites disseminating state-sponsored search results, but is classifying sites that
onion address (www.snipca.com/41877) Russian content made them “inherently spread disinformation as ‘low quality’.
or select the DuckDuckGoOnion option
below the address bar when you type a
search query. To always use the onion that it uses your IP address to provide this
version, go to Settings, then Search and information, but “without sharing that IP
select DuckDuckGoOnion as your address and without storing it”. If that
Default Search Engine (see screenshot doesn’t reassure you, and you’d rather be
above). Be aware that, because of the completely anonymous than reveal your
roundabout way Tor works, DuckDuckGo’s (approximate) location, you can disable
onion site is slower than its standard one. the feature. To do so, click the
map-marker icon that appears in the
Switch off Brave Search’s top-right corner of your search results
local results then switch off ‘Anonymous local results’
By default, Brave Search displays (see screenshot below left). Alternatively,
‘anonymous’ local results for your click the Settings cog, select ‘Show more’
searches so that if, for example, you and disable it there. You can turn the
search for Covid testing near me, it will option back on when you need to find Clean up Startpage by disabling promotional
show a map of nearby test centres, above something in your area. Another option messages and Instant Answers
a list of relevant web pages. Brave says is to simply click ‘Revert to global’ above
to hide localised results. time you visit.
To permanently banish promotional
Remove clutter from messages from Startpage, click the menu
Startpage button in the top-right corner and choose
Although Startpage doesn’t Settings, then Appearance. Switch off the
target you with ads, it shows ‘Promotional messaging’ option (see
promotional messages on its screenshot above) to give Startpage a
homepage and next to search much cleaner look.
results (currently pushing its The Appearance options also let you
Privacy Protection extension). disable Instant Answers to stop Startpage
You can remove these showing widgets next to search results.
annoyances by clicking the These display Wikipedia summaries,
‘Hide promotional messaging’ news, weather, maps and other content
link in the bottom-right relevant to your search, but are a Google-
You can easily switch Brave Search’s anonymous local search corner of the homepage, but style feature we can personally do
results off or on they’ll appear again next without.

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Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 57

 Switch to a
virtual phone
network
(and save money!)
You don’t have to stick with one of the big four
(expensive) phone networks. Nik Rawlinson
explains how moving to an MVNO will save you money

T
he UK has four mobile-phone month or two left, you may find it’s requirements within a few seconds of you
networks: EE, O2, Three and cheaper to leave it running until it sending the first text). Note that any PAC
Vodafone. All the other expires, even if you’ve removed your SIM you request using your new SIM will only
networks – such as Giffgaff, card and are already using an MVNO. apply to the line supplied by the MVNO,
Tesco Mobile and BT Mobile – are Mobile When your existing contract expires, call not your old provider’s line, so can’t be
Virtual Network Operators, or MVNOs. the provider and tell them you don’t want used to switch. When we texted PAC ( 1 in
They buy data, texts and calls from the to renew, or text STAC to 75075 for a screenshot below left) we received our
big four networks at a discount, and pass Service Termination Authorisation Code code (TLP357 2 ) instantly.
on this saving to their customers. Switch that you can give to the MVNO. They will Once issued, your PAC will be valid for
to an MVNO from one of the big four and use this to close down your old account. 30 days, after which you can request
you’ll start paying less from day one. If you want to keep your existing another one. Your existing provider won’t
MVNOs are like utility companies. number to use with the MVNO, you’ll automatically close your account unless
When you switch to a new energy need a PAC, or Porting Authorisation you use the PAC, so requesting one, then
provider, not much happens in the Code. Your current provider must give changing your mind, shouldn’t see you
background. Electricity continues flowing you this code – or a valid reason for lose either your number, or any existing
from the same grid, but someone else refusing to do so – within two hours of balance on your account.
will be responsible for sending you bills you making a request. The simplest way
and providing customer service. It’s the to request it is to text PAC to 65075 while Pick your MVNO
same with an MVNO. Unless your phone the old SIM is still in your phone (you If any of the big four networks have
is locked to a specific network, you can may also need to provide the account coverage problems where you live, any
carry on using it as before – and, if you holder’s date of birth, but your provider MVNO that resells its service will suffer
switch between MVNOs on the same should reply with any additional the same problems. So, it pays to know
network, or from one of the big four which MVNO uses which network, and
networks to an MVNO that uses its how each network performs in your area.
services, you shouldn’t notice any
1 Start with Ofcom’s mobile coverage
difference in coverage or call quality. checker at www.snipca.com/41874. Enter
your postcode and select your address
Request your STAC and PAC 2 from the dropdown menu to see a table
Before signing up with an MVNO, check showing which services have the best
your existing contract. If it was subject to coverage where you live. For a wider view
a minimum term that hasn’t yet expired, of your area, click ‘View map of available
your current provider may refuse to services’, then zoom out, and use the
terminate the agreement – or may charge dropdown menu above the map to switch
you to do so. You can find out more about between networks. Our screenshot above
your current connection by texting INFO right shows Three’s coverage around
to 85075. Chelmsford in Essex, with dark green
If you don’t want to keep your existing If you want to keep your number with the new indicating good coverage and yellow
number, and your contract only has a MVNO, you’ll need to request a PAC ‘some problems’.

60 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Green areas are
Which networks do good and yellow
bad in Ofcom’s
MVNOs use? mobile coverage
checker
EE: 1p Mobile, BT Mobile, Ecotalk,
Plusnet Mobile, Utility Warehouse
O2: Giffgaff, Lycamobile, Sky Mobile,
Tesco Mobile
Three: iD Mobile, Smarty, Superdrug
Mobile
Vodafone: Asda Mobile, Lebara Mobile,
Virgin Mobile, VOXI

When you’ve identified the network

with the best coverage, look in the box Deals start at £6 for 4GB of data, texts and minutes. Virgin Mobile has a
above to see which MVNOs use it. Note significantly undercutting many rivals, 3GB data deal for £9 a month over 12
that Virgin Mobile is expected to move rising to just £12 for 100GB, and £20 months, but this isn’t nearly as tempting
customers from Vodafone to O2, which it for unlimited data, with no restrictions as its 10GB deal for just £7 a month over
merged with last year (see www.snipca. or speed caps. Smarty has some of the the same term. Pay-monthly plans
com/41875). best data deals going, so if you primarily include free messaging on WhatsApp,
Now check prices and offerings. There use your phone for browsing – and Twitter and Facebook so they don’t eat
are too many networks to cover in full particularly for tethering within the UK into your data allowance.
here, but we’ve uncovered a range of – it’s worth considering.
deals from six of the best-known MVNOs, Get your new SIM
showing in brackets the network they use. If you sign up online you’ll receive a
new SIM through the post (such as the
BT Mobile (EE) Sky Mobile (O2) Smarty card pictured below), but you can
www.snipca.com/41880 www.snipca.com/41883 also pick up an MVNO SIM at many
4GB for £13 a month, on a 12-month Plans stretch from 2GB (£6 a month) to supermarkets. Look for racks near the
contract, is BT mobile’s most popular 50GB (£25 a month), and you’re free to till. If you aren’t keeping your old
option. However, for just £2 a month switch between them every month. All number, follow any instructions for
more, you get twice the data. Sign up to a plans include unlimited calls and texts. topping up the account, then put the new
24-month/40GB plan at £20 a month, Any data you don’t use one month rolls SIM in your phone. As long as your
and the BT Sport app (worth £10 a over for up to three years. If you’re a Sky phone isn’t locked to your old network, it
month) is included. Unlimited minutes subscriber, you can stream Sky apps, should connect to the MVNO right away.
and texts across the board. BT also offers including Sky Sports and Sky News If you are keeping your number, don’t
a 10-per-cent discount on some EE without eating into your data allowance. use the new SIM immediately. Instead,
contracts for BT broadband customers. send the PAC to your chosen MVNO.
For example, the 10GB 5G Essential plan Tesco Mobile (O2) Many allow you to do this online, or by
(24-month contract) costs £9 a month, www.snipca.com/41884 calling customer services – this triggers
down from £10. PAYG starts at 2GB of data, with 500 the cancellation process with your old
minutes and 5,000 texts, for £7.50. £10 provider, and a date for moving your
Giffgaff (O2) buys you 10GB, plus 5,000 minutes and number to the MVNO will be agreed.
www.snipca.com/41881 5,000 texts, while Clubcard members can This could be the next working day, but
All plans include unlimited calls and increase the data allowance to 25GB for may be longer – particularly if there’s a
texts to standard UK numbers. Pay As You £12.50 (for non-Clubcard members, the weekend coming up. You can carry on
Go (PAYG) plans start with 3GB of data for price for 25GB is £15). If using your old network in the
£8 a month, but if you can afford £2 more, you’re happy to sign a interim, as long as you keep the old
this increases to 10GB. You’ll get a better 24-month contract, you SIM in your phone.
deal if you save a credit or debit card to can have 30GB of data, On the day your switch is due
your account for automatic billing, in plus unlimited minutes to complete, replace the old
which case you qualify for ‘golden and texts for either £11 network’s SIM with the
goodybags’. For example: 15GB of data for with a Clubcard, or MVNO SIM, then place a test
£10 (which would only buy you 12GB £12.50 without, and call to your old number (using
normally), and 30GB for £15 (25GB normally). unlimited data, texts and a different phone, of course).
SIMs are free, but you’ll need to buy minutes, for £17.50 with It should be routed through
‘goodybags’ that include unlimited calls Clubcard, or £25 without. the MVNO to your phone. If
and texts, and a specified amount of data. it isn’t, wait a few hours
Virgin Mobile and try again.
Smarty (Three) (Vodafone)
Sign up online and your
www.snipca.com/41882 www.snipca.com/41885 MVNO will send you a
Unlimited texts and calls on all plans. All plans include unlimited SIM card through the post

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 61

 Remove ALL
antivirus files
when you
switch
Before you use new security software, it’s
vital you uninstall every last remnant of your
old tool. Nik Rawlinson explains the most
effective ways of doing so

W
e know from your emails impossible back in 2013 when Microsoft
that many of you have admitted its antivirus provided only
switched to new security “basic” protection.
software in the past few Whatever your reason for switching,
months. Some have uninstalled Russian it’s vital that you fully uninstall your
antivirus Kaspersky as a moral response existing antivirus because otherwise it
to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It remains would clash with your new protection.
safe for individuals to use, according to This includes wiping files your former
Ian Levy, technical director of the UK’s antivirus may have buried deep on
National Cyber Security Centre – though your system. Type this CAPTCHA then click Next to fully
he said that people may need to switch if uninstall McAfee
Kaspersky “becomes subject to sanctions, How to uninstall your
since the AV product would likely stop antivirus software AVG Antivirus
getting updates” (see www.snipca. Start by disconnecting from the internet. Download AVG Clear from www.snipca.
com/41927). Although you would be very unlucky to com/41919, then right-click the
Other readers have moved simply to pick up any malware from the web in the downloaded file, and click ‘Run as
save money, prompted by the improved few minutes you’re not running any administrator’. Click ‘No’ when prompted
performance of the free Microsoft security software, it doesn’t hurt to be on to restart in Safe Mode. Select ‘AVG AntiVirus
Defender. It came second in Issue 629’s the safe side. Click the Wi-Fi logo on the Free’ on the menu, then click Uninstall.
antivirus group test (behind Norton 360), taskbar and, in Windows 10, click the
a result that we’d have thought name of your active connection, followed Bitdefender
by Disconnect. In Windows 11, click the In Windows 10, open the Bitdefender
Wi-Fi symbol above the name of your Security folder in the Start menu and
Get NORTON 360 current connection. If you’re using a right-click Bitdefender. Select ‘Uninstall’
for just £24.99 wired connection, remove the network
cable from your PC.
in the context menu, then click Remove.
In Windows 11, open the Control Panel,
We’re selling the Gold award-winning Most of the following steps can be click ‘Uninstall a program’ and select
Norton 360 for just £24.99 on our completed offline in Windows, but Bitdefender in your list of installed
Software Store antivirus programs are so complex that programs. Click Uninstall/Change.
(normal price you may need to use the developer’s own
£179.99). Visit tool for uninstalling them fully. You should F-Secure
www.snipca. download these before disconnecting, Open Control Panel, click ‘Uninstall a
com/33247 and just in case you need them. In all cases program’, then click ‘F-Secure SAFE’ in
click the red BUY click ‘Yes’ if Windows’ User Account the list of programs. With SAFE selected,
NOW button on Control asks permission to continue. And click Remove. If this fails to remove it,
the right. if you want to remove Kaspersky, skip to you can try the F-Secure Uninstallation
the box opposite. tool (www.snipca.com/41911). Once it

62 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

has downloaded, right-click the
‘FsUninstallationTool.exe’ file and select
‘Run as administrator’. Select the software
you want to remove, then click Next.
1
McAfee Antivirus
Open Control Panel, click ‘Uninstall a
program’, then select McAfee AntiVirus
Plus, and click Uninstall/Change. Tick the 2
box beside McAfee AntiVirus, then click
Remove. If you run into problems, use the Check the registry for leftover files after
McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool uninstalling antivirus - click Delete if you find any
(www.snipca.com/41971 - click ‘Method Enable all of Windows Security’s virus and
2’ heading). Launch it, then type the double-click C: in the main pane. Now threat-protection features
CAPTCHA shown on screen (it’s case look in both the Program Files and
sensitive, see screenshot below left). Click ‘Program Files (x86)’ folders for any HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE.
‘Next’ to complete the process. directories bearing the name of the
software you’ve just removed. If you find Enable Windows Security
Norton Antivirus Plus any, drag them to the recycle bin. If you’ve switched to Microsoft Defender,
Open Control Panel, click ‘Uninstall a Next, check that no entries have been you need to make sure that Windows
program’, select Norton Security, then left behind in the registry. First, create a Security is turned on. Press the Windows
click Uninstall/Change. Follow the system restore point by pressing the key, type security, then click Windows
instructions, rebooting your PC at the Windows key, typing create restore point, Security. Click the ‘Turn on’ button below
end of the process. If this doesn’t work, and clicking the top result. Click ‘Threat & virus protection’ and, when
try Norton’s ‘Remove and Reinstall Tool’ ‘Create…’, then follow the steps to save a Windows asks if you want to make
(www.snipca.com/41960). Launch it, point that you can roll back to if required. changes to your device, click Yes.
then click Advanced Options and click Now press Windows key+R, type Now click the ‘Threat & virus
Remove Only, followed by Remove. regedit and press Enter to launch the protection’ heading, followed by the
Finally, click Restart Now. This will delete Registry Editor. Click HKEY_CURRENT_ ‘Manage settings’ link below the ‘Virus &
all Norton software from your computer. MACHINE in the sidebar, then click the threat protection settings’ header on the
Software folder inside it. Check for any following page. Make sure each of the
Sophos Home sub-folders that match the name of your sliders on the subsequent page have been
Open Control Panel, click ‘Uninstall a old antivirus software (‘KasperskyLab’ 1 switched on, so they’re blue – as in our
program’, select Sophos Home, then click in our screenshot above). If you find screenshot above. Note that some may be
Uninstall/Change. You may be asked to one, right-click it and select Delete 2 . below the bottom of the window, so be
reboot immediately, in which case click Also check for matching folders within sure to scroll down to find them all.
Close, reboot, and repeat the previous
instruction. The second time around,
click Uninstall and, when the software Remove Kaspersky Anti-Virus completely
has been removed, reboot again.
Kaspersky also has a tool for removing
Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security programs and settings should Windows’
Press Windows key+R, type supporttool. built-in installer not get rid of everything.
exe then click OK. Click ‘1. Uninstall Kaspersky advises against using it
Software’, followed by Yes. Make a note of unless recommended to do so by its
your serial number, which you’ll need if technical support engineers. However,
2
you ever want to reinstall. Now tick the we tested it on our own system by
1
box beside ‘I copied my serial number’, performing the following steps, and it 3
then click Uninstall. Run the Remnant worked fine.
File Remover Tool (www.snipca. First, download the free kavremover your computer. Repeat this process
com/41914). Right-click the ‘Ti_1770_ software (www.snipca.com/41956), for any other Kaspersky programs you
win_en_Tool_UninstallTool_hfb0001.exe’ then launch ‘kavremvr.exe’. Accept the want to remove. If you know you have a
file and select ‘Run as administrator’. licence agreement. Kavremover will particular tool installed and the remover
Once you’ve agreed to the licence then detect which Kaspersky software is unable to detect it, the dropdown menu
agreement, click Install, followed by OK, you have installed on your computer will instead display a full list of programs.
then restart your computer. and display what it finds in a dropdown Click it and manually select the one you
menu ( 1 in our screenshot). Use the need to remove.
Clean up any remnants menu to select the program you want Once we had run through this process,
You may have uninstalled your antivirus, to remove, then type the CAPTCHA into we checked both our Program Files and
but it has probably left files on your the confirmation box 2 before clicking ‘Program Files (x86)’ folders, as well as
computer that also need removing. To Remove 3 . the registry, and found no reference to the
check, reboot your computer, open File When the process is complete, reboot removed Kaspersky software.
Explorer, click This PC on the left, then

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 63

 Problems Solved
Our experts solve all your tech problems

PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT

Will Sandbox keep Windows 10 safe?

When Windows 10 support Microsoft's
Q stops, would it be safe to
browse in Windows Sandbox?
stated
‘Retirement
Date’ for
My current PC has been excellent for Windows 10 is
browsing the web and email use. I October 2025
know that any software I install in – but limited
support is likely
Sandbox is deleted on shutdown, but to continue
the only software that I would have to beyond that
reload immediately after each reboot is date
Bitwarden password manager. My PC
works so well that I do not wish to give
it up, but am slightly against using the
methods to bypass the Windows 11
minimum specs – as I suspect that
ongoing upgrades will stop soon and
that might just be the thin end of the
wedge. Or would that be safer than
Windows 10 Sandbox?
David Roy whether or not Microsoft likes it – it only, not Home) is currently considered
would be terrible publicity for the firm to an incredibly safe way of trying stuff
Let’s start with Windows 10 expose all those users to risks it was able you don’t want to risk in the ‘real’
A support, which is scheduled to
end in October 2025 (pictured
to fix. This has always been the way, for as
long as Windows has existed. So, for the
operating system, in a theoretical
future where you’re using it as part of
above right). 2025 end of Windows 10 support, read an unsupported version of Windows,
Based on past behaviour, we would 2027 at least. then it simply can’t be considered
be astounded if Microsoft actually So, your question will really become completely safe. That’s because, as
wrote off the operating system relevant only if you’re still using your unlikely as it is, if hackers discover a
completely come that date. In fact, 2015-era PC in 2027. You might be, of previously undetected flaw that allows
we’d expect a couple of years of course, and so we’re happy to answer. them to compromise the Windows 10
security updates beyond that supposed And the answer in principle is no, it version of Windows Sandbox – and
cut-off point. This is because millions won’t be safe. that exploit doesn’t get fixed because
of people will continue using Windows Why? Because, while Windows Microsoft has legitimately, permanently
10 for many years beyond 2025, Sandbox (pictured below, available in Pro ended support for Windows 10 – then
clearly that hole will never be filled.
Windows
Sandbox is a Are these circumstances likely? No.
safe area in Are they possible? Yes. But with so
which to try out many compounded ifs and buts, we
software and can’t say we’d worry about too much of
apps without
installing this now, or all that much later.
them on your We’re probably five or six years away
operating from the ‘real’ end of Windows 10
system
support, and we’re talking about
theoretical flaws that could lead to
theoretical hacks of a particular feature
in which everything is anyway erased
on closure of said feature. Moreover, all
you want to do is browse the web,
which in itself isn’t all that hazardous.
So, the risk here isn’t zero – but it’s
close to it.

64 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 Email us your problem and we’ll try to help:
[email protected]

Why won’t my Bluetooth speaker connect?

I have a Bose SoundLink Mini Downloading the
Q Bluetooth Speaker II (pictured),
that used to connect to my Dell
Bluetooth driver
update from Dell's
website (below)
Inspiron 3470 PC and play music without should restore a
a problem. Now, it no longer works. connection
to the Bose
When I look in the Bluetooth section of
speaker (right)
Windows 10’s Settings, the Bose
Soundlink is shown – and shows as
paired. I have tried everything I
know without success. The speaker
connects to my smartphone and
iPad perfectly. The annoying thing is
the speaker worked fine before and I www.snipca.com/41751 (see
can only think that some or other screenshot left).
Windows update has caused this. If that doesn’t help then we’d
William Lynn suggest performing a ‘factory reset’
on your Bose SoundLink. This will
Dell has issued a Bluetooth wipe all settings, as though it was
A driver update for your
model, so we wouldn’t be
fresh from the factory. You’ll need to
pair it once more with your
remotely surprised your problem was in have been downloaded and applied smartphone and iPad, but that process is
some way related to a Windows update automatically by Windows, so the easy – as you know. To perform the reset,
having broken something with the problem might have fixed itself. If not, first power on the device in the usual way.
original driver. By the time you read this you can install it manually by Then, press and hold down the Power
it’s possible that the driver update will downloading it directly from Dell, at button for 10 seconds.

Why isn’t my Num Lock key working?

I have a new LG Gram 16Z90P 1 Switch on Toggle
Q laptop, running Windows 11. I
can’t get Toggle Keys to work.
keys in the
Keyboard area of
the Accessibility
On my old PC, pressing the Number Settings (1). The
Lock (Num Lock) key played a tone TrayStatus app
offers a visual
and an alert flashed, bottom right, alert for Toggle
telling me that NumLk was either on keys (2)
or off. Neither was working on my new
laptop, so I went into Settings to enable
the option – but this had no effect.
I pressed the NumLk key for five
seconds, which again had no effect. I
then applied a registry hack, but still
no joy. Am I missing something? Before screenshot 1 ), but you’ve already done 2
I get the flashing message, I think I that. You absolutely do not need to edit
have to get the Toggle Key beep the registry to get this feature working.
working, don’t I? Please, can you tell So, we think your Num Lock key is faulty.
me how I do that on my new laptop? We’d contact the vendor to arrange a
Surely, it can’t be that difficult, can it? replacement or repair.
Brian Rogers As for the visual alert, Windows itself
doesn’t do this – so you must have had a
No, it’s not that difficult. All third-party tool installed. We’ve
A that’s needed is to enable
Toggle Keys in the Accessibility
recommended TrayStatus numerous
times over the years, as it’s small, simple
completely free, and has the basic
indicator functions you describe. Get it
area of Windows 11’s Settings (see and effective. The trial version is from www.traystatus.com 2 .

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 65

 Problems Solved
How do I cut my electricity bills?
Should I upgrade
to Windows 10?
I’ve taken your mag since the about it and, at the moment, you’re
Q days when you once told a
reader that you didn’t cover
running one computer and one monitor.
If you add a second display, you’ll be
I’m thinking of upgrading Apple devices because these products running one computer and two monitors
Q my Windows 8.1 laptop to
Windows 10. I don’t think
had their own mag. That’s not a dig but a
timestamp – I’ve been with you a long
– so that’s three things using electricity.
However, if you were to keep your
it can go to Windows 11. It’s an HP time! I can’t recall you ever advising current setup but add a laptop then,
Pavilion 17 with an Intel Core i5- whether it would takes less electricity to conceptually, you’ll have four things
4210U and 8GB of memory. Based use a laptop and a PC at the same time or using power: the desktop and its monitor
on that information, do you think two monitors. My memory is now poor, and the laptop and its screen.
upgrading would be feasible and a so switching virtual desktops doesn’t Okay, so the laptop is technically just
wise thing to do? Also, did you ever work for me, as I’ve forgotten the one device, but, practically speaking, it’s
publish any guidance on upgrading information from the first before I’ve a computer and a screen – just like your
to Windows 10, preferably a step-by copied it to the second. I often need three current desktop PC and screen.
step guide that an an oldie like me documents open at the same time. Please All of this is complicated by how much
could follow? Your help and advice help as my green electricity is turning my power each device uses, which can vary
would be greatly appreciated. bank account red. considerably depending on any number
Bill Farquhar Pete Daniels of variables. However, typically, screens
draw less power than the PC driving
Your PC can’t run Windows We're not sure of the precise them (be it a desktop or laptop), so one
A 11, as the processor is not
supported, but it should be
A nature of your current setup, but
we’ll attempt to offer some help.
computer and two monitors is likely to
consume less power than two computers
fine for Windows 10. So, yes, it’s We think that you’re running one each with its own screen.
feasible. It’s also wise, as Windows desktop computer and one monitor, and Moreover, laptops generally use less
8.1 officially reaches the end of are making use of the multiple-desktops power overall than a PC – so a single
support in January 2023. feature in Windows as an approximation laptop connected to an external monitor
We imagine Microsoft will of having two computers. We also think is likely to use less power than a PC
actually patch it up for months or you’re wondering whether it’d be connected to two monitors.
years beyond that supposed cut-off cheaper to add either a second monitor or Finally, for more advice on reducing
point (see our reply to David Roy, a laptop. your power usage (and therefore your
on page 64), but better to be safe If we’re right then the answer is fairly electricity bills), see pages 60-61 in
than sorry. straightforward. Step back and think Issue 631.
And yes, we’ve published many
For those
Windows 10-related articles over concerned
the years. Issue 456, for example, about electricity
included a step-by-step guide to usage, laptops
installation – so check whether will generally
use less power
you’ve still got it in your archive. than a desktop Photo by Mateusz Dach from Pexels
Windows 10 (pictured onscreen PC
below) itself is a free download,
from www.snipca.com/41752.

Q: Can I make my old laptop work

with Windows 10??
A: Issue 590, page 66 – find it on
our 2020 Back Issue CD
Windows 10 is a free download from Buy it from
Microsoft www.snipca.com/38164

66 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 How do I replace Flash on my old scanner?
I have an old HP Photosmart 1
Q all-in-one printer and scanner
that still works well. However,
the software that came with it won’t
work without Adobe's Flash plug-in
installed. I tried HP for an update, but
the company seems uninterested. So,
to use the scanner now I have to use
the buttons on the device itself. I
remember very many issues ago you
warned against using Flash, saying it
should be uninstalled. This I duly did.
Is Flash still unsafe to use? If so, is
there something else I can use with my
HP printer to get the same results? I
would hate to have to scrap my beloved 2 Windows Scan
(1) and HP Scan
Photosmart! I do hope you can help. and Capture (2)
Kay Wilson are both free
scanning apps
Flash is dead and will never be
A resurrected. There’s no
legitimate download source
for it and installing it now would
anyway be monumentally unwise. So,
any Flash-based software is effectively
as finished as Flash itself.
However, your scanner should work
with any scanning apps made for
Windows – it doesn’t need software
specifically written by HP. Microsoft
offers Windows Scan. Its features are buttons on the physical device. It’s a free Alternatively, HP has its own free tool
basic, but it’ll allow you to operate your download from the Microsoft Store, at – HP Scan and Capture. Get it from
scanner without having to press www.snipca.com/41753 (see screenshot 1 ). www.snipca.com/41754 2 .

How do I count number unread. I thought if I used Shift

to select the relevant batch of emails, the
that it really should: there are any
number of reasons one might want to
Outlook emails? number of selected messages would know how many messages have been
appear in this same area – but no dice, it selected.
This isn’t really a problem, but I seems. I’m sure there must be a way to However, there is a workaround that
Q wonder if you might be able to
help? Recently, I was curious
find this information, but I’ll be darned if
I can find it. Do you know if it’s possible?
will give you the tally you want, though
you do need to be just a tiny bit cautious.
about how many emails I was receiving Josh Cohen That trick is simply to press Enter after
and sending in a month. It was only then selecting the messages. This tells Outlook
that I realised I had no idea how to get It both is and is not possible! To to open all the selected messages, but, if
this information. Outlook does show
how many emails are in my inbox in
A explain, we mean that Outlook
doesn’t have a specific feature to
that number is more than a handful, the
program will check your intention –
total, at the bottom left, along with the do what you want, even though we agree displaying a warning that opening so
many messages could take some time. It
therefore asks you if you really want to
open X number of messages, where X is
the quantity selected.
So, as long as you don’t make the
mistake of clicking Yes (or hitting Enter
again), the result you want is revealed.
Just click No or press Escape (Esc) to clear
Select the messages, hit Enter and the total is shown – just click ‘No’ to avoid opening them the question box, and that’s that.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 67

 Problems Solved
What causes random hyphens in LibreOffice Writer?
, I have a weird problem. I don’t
Q know why but LibreOffice
Writer now cuts off some words
at the end of the line and adds a hyphen,
so these words are split over two lines. I
feel sure this didn’t used to be the case,
but I only noticed this phenomenon
recently. Perhaps it’s always been this
way and I’m kidding myself? It looks
really stupid and ugly to me. I’ve tried the
alignment buttons on the toolbar but
they don’t help. Am I imagining that this
is new? Could it have happened because
of an update? I do update LibreOffice
reasonably regularly.
James Skidmore

It’s not new, but nor are you

A imagining it. In fact, this is a
feature of Writer that evidently
Click the Hyphenation box to clear the tick – this will stop lines being hyphenated in LibreOffice

has become enabled on your setup, Flow tab. There, under the Hyphenation it’s a new document). But it’s also
perhaps by accident or just as likely a heading, click to remove the tick from the possible your preferred style sheet has
minor glitch during an update. box labelled Automatically (see been modified in an unwanted way. To fix
Either way, it’s easy to fix. The solution screenshot above), and then click OK. this, open the View menu and choose
is to first open the Format menu and then That will fix the problem for the Styles. Now right-click the relevant style
choose the Paragraph option. Next, in the selected paragraph (or the whole and choose Modify, and then just proceed
Paragraph window, click to select the Text document, if everything is selected – or as above.

Why can’t my computer run Windows 11?

I’m attempting to get my convert an existing MBR drive to GPT.
Q PC to update to Windows 11,
but when I try I get a
The bad news is that doing so carries
some risk, because if you make a
message that my computer must mistake or something goes wrong,
support Secure Boot. However, I’ve you can kiss goodbye to any data
looked in the BIOS and, as far as I can on the drive. If you’re okay with that
see, it does – it says enabled! I’ve then it’s straightforward, though do
tried disabling it then enabling it, back up!
and I’ve reset numerous other settings First click Start followed by Settings,
to default. then ‘Update & Security’, and then
However, Microsoft’s PC Health Recovery followed by Restart. Next,
Check app (www.snipca.com/41756) click Troubleshoot followed by
still says it isn’t supported. I’ve seen ‘Advanced options’, and then click
plenty of advice on TPM but very little Command Prompt. Note that you
on Secure Boot. I don’t know where to might at this point need to log into
turn to next. Windows 10.
Ian Trotter The required command is mbr2gpt
You can convert an existing MBR drive to GPT, /convert /allowFullOS, which you’ll
This is probably because but there are risks so make sure to back up also find on our Pastebin page at
A your computer’s boot drive
was set up using the partition table (GPT).
www.snipca.com/41757.
So, type that into the Command
traditional master-boot record (MBR) For reasons we’re about to explain, this Prompt window, or copy and paste
system (see screenshot above right), ideally should be done before installing it from Pastebin, and then press
but starting up with Secure Boot needs any operating system. Enter. Now just wait while the task
a drive prepared with a globally unique The good news is that you can completes.

68 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

 ?? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN...
Public Wi-Fi hotspots?
In this box in Issue 630 you Public Wi-Fi
Q explained to Nick Duffy why
public Wi-Fi hotspots are less
hotspots
offered by big
names such
safe than home Wi-Fi. I wonder if any as BT are
public Wi-Fi hotspots can be trusted? trustworthy –
but beware of
I’m a BT customer and I sometimes hotspots faked
connect to one of the company’s Wi-Fi by scammers
hotspots in the city centre where I live. to look like they
I do this to check email and read news are provided
by legitimate
online, while I have a coffee. Is there a companies
difference between a public Wi-Fi
hotspot from a big company like BT
and the others you talked about, such
as one provided by a café? I have to log
in with my BT account details. Only I
know these, so is this kind of hotspot
safer? perspective. Connect to a big-name hotspot. Suddenly, your phone is the
George Mann public hotspot and you can have some ‘BT’ public hotspot. It’s not a whole lot
confidence that your personal data is more difficult to create a fake login
There isn’t really any handled responsibly. In other words, you website that looks just like one from BT,
A difference: a public hotspot
from BT, or any other big-
can trust BT hotspots to be well-
managed, just as you trust the company
or any other company.
We’re not suggesting that every
name provider, is still a public hotspot. with your home internet connection. location is awash with scammers
However, in some respects, connecting But the trouble is this: can you be sure broadcasting spoofed networks and
to the Wi-Fi hotspot of a ‘trusted’ brand that a public hotspot purporting to be fake login pages, but the possibility is
could actually present more risk, not from ‘BT’ is actually controlled by BT? It’s there – so it’s just another reason to be
less. We know that’s unexpected, so easy to set up a network with a name wary of public Wi-Fi hotspots.
we’d better explain. that’s the same as a real BT public
Want to know the difference between
Again, it boils down to trust and hotspot. You could do it yourself in technical terms? Email noproblem@
control – but from a slightly different seconds with a smartphone’s personal computeractive.co.uk

Where’s my 21H2? them at the same time. It also applies

‘compatibility holds’ to some machines
using Microsoft’s free Update Assistant
tool. Visit the Microsoft page at www.
I’ve tried many times to update that it knows or suspects will have snipca.com/41755 and click the ‘Update
Q my HP Intel Core i5 Windows 10
computer from 21H1 to 21H2,
problems running a particular update.
However, 21H2 – also known as the
now’ button to download it (see
screenshot 1 ).
but it has never offered to do so. How do I November 2021 Update – is now Now just run the tool by double-
compel it to update, or have I missed the designated by Microsoft as ready for clicking the downloaded file and then
boat? Thanks for any advice you can give. ‘broad deployment’, meaning the follow Update Assistant’s prompts 2 .
Andrew West company isn’t now actively preventing
any machines from receiving it. ON SALE

A
Microsoft tightly manages the
rollout of major Windows
So, we can’t say why it’s not arrived
automatically. Fortunately, it’s easy Next Issue Weds
8 June
updates, so not everyone gets enough to apply the update manually
• How do I stop double-
1 2 spacing in WordPad?
•S
 hould I click the
Unsubscribe button?
•W
 hat’s causing my black
screen? ...And many more

Subscribe to Computeractive at
www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
Click 'Update now' to download 21H1, then follow the instructions to install

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 69

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Email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help

Does Avira need to unblock You need to turn on

this option so Edge
Windscribe VPN? can install browser
Thanks for answering my extensions from
Q question in Issue 630 (page 71) –
I can now get 10GB a month
other stores

using Windscribe (www.snipca.

com/41004). But now my anti-virus, 1
Avira Antivirus Pro, shows the warning
message ‘hosts file blocked’. Do I need to 2
change something in Avira?
Trevor Bunce

Avira is showing this warning this clear. When you visit the Chrome try, as you recommended in Issue 627
A because Windscribe is
attempting to modify something
Web Store via our Snipca URL, you
should see a blue banner below the top
(page 51). But each time I use it, the
screen is completely black, with white
called the hosts file, which manages IP toolbar in Edge. Clicking ‘Allow writing. Is something wrong?
addresses. By default, Avira blocks extensions from other stores’ here, then Peter Alexander Carr
anything from changing this file, as it the Allow button in the pop-up that
perceives this as untrusted behaviour. appears, will fix the problem. As Peter says, BleachBit seems to
One solution would be to disable
Avira’s hosts file protection (under
If you don’t see this blue banner, click
the top-right menu (three horizontal
A default to a ‘dark mode’-type
interface, making some of the
General, then Security in the main dots) in Edge, then select Extensions, and options hard to see. There’s an easy way
‘Real-time protection’ options), but we click ‘Manage extensions’. The ‘Allow to remedy this, though. Click the
wouldn’t recommend this, as it would extensions from other stores’ option will BleachBit icon in the top left-hand
mean other (potentially unauthorised) be on the left here – click the slider to corner, then select Preferences. In the
programs gaining access to the hosts file. turn it on ( 1 in our screenshot above), window that opens, select the General
Instead, try changing Windscribe’s then click Allow 2 . tab, then untick the box next to ‘Dark
default connection settings, as it seems mode’ (see screenshot below left).
Windscribe only needs to modify the Is BleachBit meant to have white
hosts file when attempting to connect text on black? Why can’t I run Snappy Driver
using the IKEv2 security protocol. Click I used CCleaner for years until Installer Origin?
the three-line menu button in Q Avast bought it and the PUPs I’ve just tried to run Snappy
Windscribe, then click the Connection
(plug icon) tab on the left. Under
arrived. I thought BleachBit
(www.bleachbit.org) might be worth a
Q Driver Installer Origin
(www.snipca.com/41568 – see
Connection Mode, select Manual and Workshop, Issue 630, page 38), and
from the Protocol menu, select UDP. Microsoft Defender has shown a pop-up
message to warn me about it (as you said
How can I add VT4Browsers it might). But the ‘Run anyway’ prompt
extension to Edge? doesn’t appear, only ‘Don’t run’. What
I visited www.snipca.com/41356 should I do?
Q to download the VT4Browsers
extension (see Workshop Issue
Bob Hornby

629, page 38). I’m using Edge, but can’t In the Windows Defender
see the button to add the extension. Any
advice?
A SmartScreen pop-up you
mention, you should see a small
Alan Bailey ‘More info’ option just under the main
text on the left – clicking this will reveal
Yes, Alan first needs to allow the ‘Run anyway’ option. We did mention
A extensions from other stores in
Edge – apologies for not making
Make BleachBit easier to see by disabling
‘Dark mode’ under General Preferences
this step in our Workshop, but it’s very
easy to miss.

Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022 71

 Jargon Buster
4K Video with a resolution of at DIN Circular electrical connector Gesture Finger movements on MBR Master Boot Record. The
least 3840x2160 pixels. created by Germany’s Deutsches a screen that perform an action, area on a hard drive that is checked
Institut für Normung in the 1970s. such as pinching to zoom. by a computer when it first starts.
5G The latest generation of mobile
networks. DOC The file extension of a GHz Gigahertz. A measure of MicroSD card A small type of
document created in Microsoft how many instructions a chip can memory card. Can be converted to
720p/1080p/1440p Common Word 2003 or earlier. process per second. SD size using an adapter.
types of high-definition video
of 1280x720, 1920x1080 and Domain These are used to Gigabit Ethernet A very fast MicroUSB A miniature version of
2560x1440 pixels respectively. identify one or more IP addresses. networking standard that can USB, found on phones and tablets.
transfer data at up to 1,000Mbps.
Accelerometer A sensor that Driver A file that tells Windows how MOBI Old ebook format that lets
detects movement. to work with an external device. GPS Global positioning system. readers add their own content.
Satellite-based navigational system.
Affiliate link A link on a website Dual-band router A Wi-Fi NAND Memory that doesn’t need
to a retailer that gives the site a cut router that operates on two GPT GUID Partition Table. A way a power source to retain data.
of the money if a product is sold. bands: 2.4 and 5GHz. of partitioning data that allows for
bigger drives than the older MBR. NAS Network-attached storage. A
Beta A version of software that’s End-to-end encryption A way of hard drive attached to a network
being tested. encrypting messages so that the Graphics card A component in a that can be shared with other PCs.
only people who can read them computer that produces the image
Biometric Using measurable are the sender and recipient. shown on the monitor. OCR Optical character recognition.
personal characteristics, such as The process by which printed text
fingerprints, for identification. EPUB A file format used by many HDMI High-definition media is scanned and converted into
popular ebook readers. interface. A type of connection that documents that can be edited.
Benchmarking Comparing transmits high-definition video and
software and products with an EQ (Equaliser) Like the tone controls audio signals. OLED Organic light-emitting diode.
accepted standard. on a hi-fi, an equaliser changes A thin-film organic light-emitting
the tone of music produced by a HTML Hypertext Markup diode used in PC and TV screens.
BIOS Basic Input-Output System. computer or portable player. Language. The language used to
Software built into every PC that write most web pages. Onion address URLs for websites
connects the vital components. EXE A program file designed on the dark web, accessible only
to run in Windows. Has the file HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. through the Tor Browser.
Cache A temporary space for extension .exe. The technology that sends data
storing information. between your browser and the web. PAC Porting Authorisation Code. A
EXIF Exchangable Image File unique code that lets users retain
CAPTCHA Distorted text you have Format. A method for storing extra HTTPS Hyper Text Transfer Protocol their mobile number when switching.
to type to prove you’re a human. information, such as the date, time Secure. Secure version of HTTP.
and camera model, inside digital Passphrase A selection of
Clickbait Online articles that use photo files. Hyperlink A clickable link that (usually) random words to use
deliberately sensationalised or takes you to a document or website. instead of a password.
misleading headlines to tempt False positive When an antivirus
people to click through to them. program wrongly detects a IKE v2 A VPN protocol that PGP Pretty Good Privacy. Created
malware infection. ensures online traffic is encrypted. in 1991, it’s a method for encrypting
Client A program that acts as an files and emails. It lets people who
interface between PC and server. Favicon A small icon for a website, IP65 Dust-proof, and protected have never met send encrypted
usually appearing in the address from water jets at any angle. messages to each other without
cd/m2 Candela per square metre. and bookmark bars of a browser. exchanging keys to decrypt them.
Standard unit of brightness. JPEG Joint Photograph Experts
File path Shows the location of a Group. A common type of image Phishing A form of internet
Cookie A small text file stored on file within Windows. file created by most digital cameras. fraud that tries to trick you into
your computer by a website. revealing personal details.
Fingerprinting A tracking method IP address Internet Protocol
Core Units on a processor that used by websites to identify you from address. A unique set of numbers Plain text Text in a document that
carry out program instructions. the device and software you’re using. used to identify computers and doesn’t contain any formatting.
websites on the internet.
CSV Comma Separated Value. Fps Frames per second. Used to Plug-in A small program that
A standard file format, used for indicate gaming performance. M.2 A standard specification for PC adds extra features to software.
storing information in tables. expansion cards and connectors.
Frame rate The number of still PNG Portable Network Graphics. A
Daisy-chained A wiring system images, or frames, shown per mAh Milliamp hours. A unit that format for images that shrinks file
in which multiple devices are second to create a moving image. measures (electric) power over time. sizes using compression.
connected together in sequence.
GEDCOM Short for Genealogical Malware Malicious software Proxy server A computer that sits
Dark mode Showing white text Data Communication. A file format that tries to disrupt the normal between your computer and the
on a black background. used by genealogy programs. operation of your computer. internet and filters the connection.

72 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632

PS/2 Personal System 2. A set Safe Mode A way of starting Windows System restore point System files Vega 8 Radeon’s built-in graphics
of standards for such things as so that programs and peripherals are stored at a given time to which card for laptops.
mouse and keyboard interfaces. prevented from working. Windows can revert if necessary.
Virtual desktop System of multiple
PUP Potentially unwanted Script A program that’s stored on a Tethering Turning a phone into a desktops you can switch between
program. A program that may server to control part of a website. modem to give internet access to from your main desktop.
not be desired, despite the user a computer.
consenting to it being downloaded. Search engine optimisation VPN Virtual private network.
(SEO) Improving where your site Tor Browser A web browser Keeps all internet communication
QR code Quick Response code. appears in search results. designed for anonymous surfing. safe and private.
A barcode that can be read using
smartphones. Secure Boot A security standard TPM Trusted Platform Module. A Web crawler A tool used by
designed to make sure your PC chip that allows your hardware to search engines to index the
RAM Random-access memory. avoids malware when booting. perform security-related tasks. content of websites across the
The computer’s working area. internet so they can appear in
SIM Subscriber Identity Module. The Trojan A malicious program that’s search results.
Ransomware Malware run by smart card used by smartphones. disguised as a harmless one.
hackers who lock files on your PC and Widget A small program such as a
demand a payment to release them. SIM-only A phone package in Two-factor authentication calendar that runs on the Windows
which you pay only for the data, A system that uses two different desktop.
RCA plug Part of an RCA connector calls and texts. means to identify the user.
used to carry audio and video signals. Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi standard with
Splash screen A program’s opening USB 2.0/3.0/3.1 Faster successors speeds up to 10 times faster than
Read speed How long it takes screen, shown before the home page. to USB. 802.11ac. Also called 802.11ax.
a hard drive to ‘read’ data, and
respond to it. sRGB A standard RGB colour USB-C A connector that’s reversible. Write speed How long it takes a
space for use on monitors. hard drive to save data.
RTF Rich Text Format. A format used User Account Control Windows
to transfer files between different SSD Solid-state drive. Storage that tool that attempts to protect your ZIP file A file that contains
word-processing programs. uses no moving parts. PC by verifying major decisions. compressed documents or files.
 Easy when you
Know How
Impatiently waiting for Microsoft Defender Preview
to reach the UK, Robert Irvine tries to…

Protect multiple devices in one place

A
fter a two-year delay caused by Add devices
the Covid pandemic, I’m to Microsoft
Defender
delighted to announce that I’m off Preview to
to America next month. Not permanently monitor the
– I couldn’t live in a country where you protection of
can’t easily buy Scotch eggs, Marmite and your PC, phone
and tablet in
pickled onion Monster Munch – but for a one place
10-day sojourn of eating huge portions,
pointing at landmarks and being
encouraged to have a nice day. Plus, I’ll be
able to stay safe using Microsoft Defender
Preview, which is currently only available
in the US. In theory, at least – I won’t be
taking my laptop, as it’s not a busman’s
holiday. Besides, I found a workaround
that let me try this new security tool in
the UK.
subterfuge might not be enough, I also Defender isn’t available in your region’.
used ProtonVPN (https://protonvpn.com) In my reckless haste, I’d forgotten that
to connect to a free US server. I then my phone was still located in the UK. I
searched for Defender Preview in the quickly installed the ProtonVPN app for
Microsoft Store and was able to install Android (www.snipca.com/41804), chose
Using ProtonVPN, and launch the app from dear old Blighty. a US server and tried again. This time it
I was able to install I signed into my Microsoft account,
accepted the licence terms and was
worked and directed me to the Microsoft
Defender page in the American branch of
Defender Preview immediately told that my laptop was the Google Play Store, where I tapped
protected. Conversely, when I clicked ‘Go Install to download the app to my phone.
from dear old Blighty to dashboard’, I was told that my device I opened it, signed into my Microsoft
was “not fully protected”, because I account and followed the instructions to
hadn’t run a malware scan for a while activate Defender’s protection on my
using my antivirus program – which is mobile device. I then ran a quick scan to
Windows Security. confirm that my phone was clean of
To remedy this, I clicked the ‘Manage in malware.
As you may be aware, Microsoft Windows Security’ button on the ‘Device Back in Defender Preview on my
Defender Preview (www.snipca. details’ page, and chose the option to laptop, my Android phone was now listed
com/41702) lets you protect all your perform a quick scan. Twenty-five under ‘Other devices’. I added my iPad,
desktop and mobile devices via a single minutes and one ‘quick’ scan later, with too, remembering to use a VPN this time
‘dashboard’, similar to paid-for security no threats detected, Defender Preview when installing the Defender app, and all
suites from Norton and McAfee. concluded that my computer was now three devices were then shown as
In the US, it’s been available to try for protected, freeing me to spread that protected. This means I can monitor
free since February, but may require a protection to other devices. them all in one place, and instantly see if
Microsoft 365 subscription by the time it On the home screen, I clicked ‘Add any threats are afoot.
reaches “additional markets”, which is devices’ in the ‘Protect all your devices’ Currently, there isn’t much else you can
why I – a penny-pinching Brit – wanted section (see screenshot above) and was do with Microsoft Defender Preview – the
to try it now. given three options: to copy a link to option to scan devices remotely isn’t yet
First, I needed to fool Microsoft that I download Defender, to share that link by available – but at least I didn’t have to fly
was on the other side of the Atlantic, so I email or to scan a QR code. To save time, I to America to try it. I’m still going
opened the Settings app in Windows 10, chose the latter and scanned the QR code though, obviously!
clicked ‘Time & Language’, then Region with my Android phone’s camera. This Need help with security across
and chose United States in the ‘Country opened my mobile browser but displayed your devices? Let us know: noproblem@
or region’ menu. Suspecting that this an error message that ‘Microsoft computeractive.co.uk

74 25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632 Next issue: Robert tries to turn off his PC from his phone
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