RENAME YOUR BLOCK MICROSOFT’S

FILES FASTER CRAZY POP-UPS p21 STOP !

SENDING
They’ll take over your whole screen!
Master this clever GPS trick
Page 38 page xx

TEXT
OCT 2023
ISSUE 667 ❘ 27 SEPT – 10

MESSAGES
Use apps that are
SAFER & FREE! p60
every issue
Learn something new in
ge 8
YouTube’s big break – pa

WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
Cancel your subscriptions – and watch
superb online channels that cost NOTHING!
 Watch sport without paying
 Ditch Netflix for Freevee
 Sync across all devices
 Stream live TV online
 Unblock US TV with VPNs
How to skip adverts! p50

PLUS
BUILD SHORTCUTS TO DO BT, AMAZON AND
HIDDEN FOLDERS p35 APPLE OWE YOU MONEY?
Use ‘symlinks’ in Windows Find out if you’re eligible for payouts p62
WELCOME
EDITORIAL
Group Editor in Chief Graham Barlow
Group Editor Daniel Booth
From the Editor
Deputy Editor Robert Irvine
Production Editor Graham Brown I never thought Computeractive would be this is mostly down to the rise of FAST TV.
Art Editor Katie Peat
Contributors Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Judith Batchelor, Dinah
home to a feature that namechecked I’ll leave Robert to explain this acronym,
Greek, Jonathan Parkyn, Nik Rawlinson, Andy Shaw Kenny Everett, Muhammad Ali, Lieutenant but suffice to say it doesn’t mean non-stop
ADVERTISING
Columbo and JFK, but it’s a sign of how footage of Usain Bolt winning the 100
Advertising Manager Alexandra Thomas varied online TV has become. metres Olympic gold.
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION
Not too long ago you’d struggle to find My favourite channels in the feature are
Subscriptions Juber Ahmed anything decent beyond traditional Freevee (for films), Pluto TV (for US drama
For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493
broadcasters like BBC and ITV or streaming and comedy), TDF (for documentaries)
PRODUCTION giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime and UKTV Play (for repeats of ’Allo ’Allo).
Head of Production
Stephen Catherall
Video. Yet now there are dozens of web Please let me know what other gems you
Senior Production Manager channels packed with quality series and found to watch.
Lawrence Brookes
classic films, as well as news and sport. Daniel Booth
INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION As Robert Irvine says in his Cover Feature, [email protected]
Computeractive is available for licensing and syndication.
To find out more contact us at [email protected] or
view our available content at www.futurecontenthub.com. p21
Head of Print Licensing
Rachel Shaw

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This publication may not be resold or otherwise
p38
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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 16 inches SNIPCA URLs
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favourite laptop - p23 that are hard to type into ones that
are short and simple. They aren’t
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52% 0.73 they won’t be recognised if you type
Proportion of UK Latest version of them into Google. Instead, you need to
homes that can PowerToys with type them into your browser address
Future plc is a public company
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www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 3

 Contents
27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

6 News Update your browser now to fix Wipe the flaws

severe security flaw
in your browser
10 Question of the Fortnight
p6
Is WhatsApp about to be ruined by adverts?

11 Protect Your Tech

Fake YouPorn ‘sextortion’ emails

12 Letters Postponing the copper switch-off

would be ‘terrible mistake’

14 Consumeractive Is Vodafone’s new

lifetime warranty any good?

16 Grow Your Family Tree

Search Genuki’s parish-level records

18 Best Free Software

System Ninja 4 Acer Swift Edge 16
21 Named & Shamed p23
Microsoft’s full-screen Bing pop-ups

Reviews
22 Minisforum UM790 Pro
Mini PC powers on through

23 Acer Swift Edge 16

Big-screen laptop pushes boundaries

24 Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

A tablet with no headaches

25 Asus ZenWifi XD5

Mesh router spreads the node Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

26 MSI Pro MP161 p24

pxx
Portable monitor for moving pictures

28 JLab Epic Wireless Keyboard

Quality keyboard could be your type
Logitech Zone Vibe Wireless
Wireless headset is a good call

29 Samsung Galaxy Watch6

Fitness watch gets clean bill of health

30 Buy It/Competition
Win a Kingston XS1000 External SSD

4 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Subscribe now!
See page 58 for our special subs offer

Workshops & Tips Nail your files

p35
35 
How to… Find files quickly using
symlinks in Windows

38 
Use GPS data to rename your files

40 R
 eaders’ Tips
Encrypt your USB stick with VeraCrypt

42 Browser Tips
Attach the Edge sidebar to your desktop
1
44 Phone and Tablet Tips
Hide and back up private images in 2
Google Photos

46 Make Windows Better Crop websites

WATCH TV
and software into smaller windows

47 Make Office Better

FOR FREE!
Create a search box in your spreadsheet

48 In the Club
Use AI to create a presentation

Cancel your subscriptions – and watch

49 What’s All the Fuss About? superb online channels that cost NOTHING!
WordPad CO
 Watch sport without paying FEATVER
UR
50 COVER FEATURE  Ditch Netflix for Freevee P50 E
Watch TV for free  Sync across all devices
Save on TV-streaming subscriptions with  Stream live TV online
our guide to watching quality films, dramas,  Unblock US TV with VPNs
documentaries, sport and more for free How to skip adverts!

60 Stop sending text messages

Using SMS is risky and can be expensive –

Stop sending
we reveal how to stay in touch safely for less

62 Tech giants sued:

text messages
do they owe you money?
How legal challenges to Amazon, Apple, BT
and Google could earn you a payout

64 Problems Solved
Can I remove phone number from Google?

71 Reader Support How can you

permanently disable BT’s hotspot Wi-Fi?

72 Jargon Buster
p60
74 Easy When You Know How
Robert Irvine combines his messaging apps

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 5

 News The top stories in the world of technology

Update your browser now

to fix severe security flaw
G
oogle and Microsoft remotely.
have released Apple and Mozilla have
emergency updates updated Safari and Firefox too,
for a severe security flaw in while fixes for Brave and
Chrome and Edge that lets Opera have also been released.
hackers access computers Google said the flaw,
discovered by researchers at
WHAT WE THINK the University of Toronto, has
already been exploited by
We commend the browsers hackers to launch attacks.
for responding so swiftly The vulnerability, named
to this flaw being revealed. CVE-2023-4863 by security the browsers. If so, your work in Firefox however, so
While hackers have already experts, exists in libwebp, browser will now have the you’ll need to click the three
used it to launch attacks, which is an image format built version number shown in the lines top right, then Help
there’s no evidence that by Google. It was designed to box below right. followed by About Firefox. For
it has caused widespread be more efficient than JPEG To check your version of Thunderbird follow Mozilla’s
damage. What’s still worrying and PNG at compressing Chrome click the three instructions at www.snipca.
though is how major online images without losing vertical dots top-right, then com/47623.
browsers persistently track picture quality. Help, followed by About
your activity online to make Any type of program that Google Chrome. You’ll see the
UPDATED BROWSER
money through adverts. We uses libwebp, such as browsers, version number at the top, as VERSIONS
know this concerns you too, is at risk of attack. Mozilla said shown in our screenshot above.
so in our next issue – out that Thunderbird is also You can also see this • Brave 1.57.64
Wednesday 11 October – we’ll vulnerable, and has updated information by typing • Chrome 116.0.5845.187
recommend which browsers the email client to fix it. chrome://settings/help into or .188
actually respect your privacy Many image-editing Chrome’s address bar. Follow • Edge 116.0.1938.81
when you go online. It programs also use libwebp, similar instructions for Brave, • Firefox 117.0.1
probably won’t shock you to and they’re expected to Edge and Opera, or type the • Opera 102.0.4880.51
learn that Chrome and Edge release updates soon too. browser’s name followed by • Thunderbird 102.15.1 or
don’t score well. The updates should have //settings/help. 115.2.2
been automatically applied to Typing this address doesn’t

BBC, ITV and Channels 4 and 5 to launch TV app

T he BBC, ITV, Channel 4
and Channel 5 are
launching a free streaming
Everyone TV, previously
named Digital UK, which
also manages Freeview and
switched to streaming services
such as Netflix and Amazon
Prime Video.
app to let you watch their Freesat. Research from telecoms
programmes in one place. You’ll be able to browse regulator Ofcom shows that Tim Davie has previously
The service, called Freely, channels using a programme watching programmes suggested the BBC could
will be built into smart TVs guide and find shows while broadcast at a scheduled time switch off terrestrial
from next year. It will contain you’re watching live TV. is down more than 25 per cent broadcasts by the end of the
live broadcasts as well as The launch is an attempt by since 2011, and 68 per cent decade.
on-demand shows.
Freely will be run by
traditional broadcasters to win
back viewers who have
among 16 to 24-year-olds.
The BBC’s director-general
• Watch TV for free – the best
online channels: pages 50-57

You’ll like this… but not this…

Microsoft has added a background-removal Ransomware attacks in UK reached record
tool to Paint (www.snipca.com/47621) levels in 2022 (www.snipca.com/47622)

6 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

Apple ditches Lightning for IN BRIEF

USB-C in new iPhone CHROMEBOOKS GET

10-YEAR UPDATES
From 2024, Google will

A pple has replaced the

Lightning charging port
with USB-C in its new iPhone
chargers being thrown away.
Apple had argued against
the law, saying it would deter
release security updates for
Chromebooks for 10 years –
up from eight years currently.
to comply with EU rules. companies from developing However, it will apply only
The company confirmed better charging technology. to Chromebooks released in
months of rumours by But the company was 2021 or later, such as Acer’s
announcing the iPhone 15 never likely to make one Chromebook CX1 (pictured
(pictured far right) will iPhone for the EU with below). Google is also adding
have a USB-C cable as the USB-C and another with an ‘Energy saver’ mode to
“universally accepted Lightning for countries ChromeOS – the operating
standard”. outside. system for Chromebooks.
It added that the USB-C Apple has also released a Read more on Google’s blog:
cable – already compatible USB-C to Lightning Adapter www.snipca.com/47614.
with many Apple MacBooks (pictured left) for older devices.
and iPads – will also work As well as charging, it can be
on new versions of its used to transfer data and play
AirPods Pro earphones and audio. It costs £29.99 from
wired EarPods headphones. www.snipca.com/47618.
The move comes after The new iPhone 15 has
the EU ordered gadget a 6.1in screen and starts the iPhone 14’s main lens.
manufacturers to use at £799 for 128GB, rising Apple announced three OPENREACH STOPS
only USB-C for chargers to £899 (256GB) and other new iPhones: 15 Pro, 15 SELLING COPPER LINES
in order to make life £1,099 (512GB). It has a Plus and 15 Pro Max. To buy BT Openreach has stopped
easier for consumers and 48-megapixel camera, and see more details visit selling copper phone lines
reduce the amount of four times more than in www.apple.com/uk/iphone. to customers ahead of the
network being switched off
in December 2025. It means
Paste text from screenshots you can no longer sign up to a

in Snipping Tool 4 copper landline, and will have

to choose a digital phone
1 service instead. Customers

Y ou’ll soon be able to

extract text from
screenshots captured with the
on an existing landline can
continue to use it until the
switch-off.
Snipping Tool in Windows 11.
The option is a new TOMORROW’S
feature called Text Actions WORLD
that Microsoft has added to
2
Snipping Tool in a Preview Like fingerprints, the creases
version of the operating in your bottom are unique
system, available to to you. This allows smart
Windows Insiders. toilets to make ‘analprints’
It uses OCR to let you copy of people using it, and give
text and paste it wherever you health updates by analysing
want. To use it, first click the 3 faeces and urine. The idea
Text Actions button ( 1 in our won Dr Seung-min Park
screenshot) to see what text from Stanford
you can select. University an
Once you’ve selected some to “automatically hide emails Until they arrive you can award at the
text 2 , you’ll see the option and phone numbers”, as use the Text Extractor 2023 Ig Nobel
to copy or redact it, as well Microsoft illustrates on its tool in PowerToys (www. ceremony
as to select all text in the blog: www.snipca.com/47619. snipca.com/47620) to copy celebrating
screenshot 3 . These can also Snipping Tool is built into text from screenshots. unusual science.
be performed using keyboard Windows, so the new features You’ll find this option in Watch it at
shortcuts. should be added as part of a PowerToys’ left-hand menu, www.snipca.
Additionally, you can click forthcoming update without or by pressing the Windows com/47617.
Quick Redact 4 on the toolbar you needing to do anything. key+Shift+T shortcut.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 7

 News
IN BRIEF YouTube to show fewer but
UPDATE ASUS ROUTERS
TO FIX SECURITY FLAW
longer ad breaks on smart TVs
Asus has released security
updates for three routers
to fix flaws that could allow
Y ouTube is to show fewer
but longer advert breaks
on its smart-TV app in order
hackers to access them to create a “seamless viewing
remotely. Affected models experience on the big screen”.
are RT-AX55, RT-AX56U_V2 Google, which owns
and RT-AC86U, and you can YouTube, said this will lead to
download the updates from fewer interruptions when
www.snipca.com/47506, viewers watch videos. It
www.snipca.com/47507 and means adverts will be
www.snipca.com/47508 “grouped together instead
respectively. For advice on of distributed throughout a
protecting your Wi-Fi, read video”, which Google claims
Issue 666’s Cover Feature is preferred by 79 per cent
– buy it from www.snipca. of viewers when watching know the length of an advert pause a video.
com/47526. long videos. break than how many adverts These changes have led to
The change should mean it contains. more people seeking ways to
O2 TO START 3G that adverts are shown in The move is the latest in a block adverts on YouTube,
SWITCH-OFF FROM 2025 commercial breaks similar to series of changes Google has using browser extensions
Virgin Media O2 confirmed those on channels such as made to YouTube, as it tries such as uBlock Origin
it will start switching off 3G ITV and Channel 4. to increase revenue from (https://ublockorigin.com).
services in 2025. It said this Google is also “exploring adverts and encourage users Also popular is
will let it focus on “upgrading ways” to show viewers how to upgrade to the advert-free SmartTubeNext (www.snipca.
faster, more reliable and long an advert will last. On its YouTube Premium for £12.99 com/46308), which blocks
energy-efficient” 4G and 5G blog (www.snipca.com/47520) a month. YouTube adverts on Android/
networks. Customers who it showed an advert with a Earlier this year it said it Google TVs and Amazon Fire
use 3G-only phones will be ‘Skip’ countdown timer at the would start showing one TV sticks. We explained how
offered support, the company bottom right (see screenshot). 30-second advert instead of to use it in Issue 660 (page 74)
said. All of the UK’s 2G and It said research shows that two lasting 15 seconds, and – buy it from www.snipca.
3G networks will be switched most people would rather also show an advert when you com/47524.
off by 2033. Read more at
www.snipca.com/47513.
Facebook axes News tab in UK
THE WORLD’S
GONE MAD!
We’ve heard of people being
F acebook will close its News
tab in the UK, France and
Germany in December
hungry for new gadgets, but because people aren’t using it.
this is ridiculous. A woman Meta, Facebook’s parent platform, including
was filmed (www.snipca. company, launched the tab in short form video”
com/47509) biting through 2019 in its mobile app as a (see www.snipca.
the security cable of an place to show news stories com/47525).
iPhone 14 Plus in an Apple from different sources. This suggests the site
store in Fujian, China. She At the time it said that by will encourage people
left the shop with the phone, personalising what kind of and news companies to
but was later detained. Her news they saw, users would upload short video clips,
excuse? She had lost her see “new interests and topics” making it similar to the
iPhone and couldn’t afford that would feel “fresh and Facebook for news and video-sharing site TikTok.
a new one. It reminds us of interesting”. political content – they come Facebook users will still see
this classic But Meta now says that to connect with people and links to news articles from
moment in news makes up less than three discover new opportunities, outlets if they ‘follow’ their
film history: per cent of what people see in passions and interests.” page.
www.snipca. their Facebook feed. Meta plans to focus more on
Do you use Facebook for news?
com/47510. It added: “We know that “things people tell us they Let us know: letters@
people don’t come to want to see more of on the computeractive.co.uk

8 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

Shoppers could get £100 each IN BRIEF
in lawsuit against Google VODAFONE MOVES
SUPPORT JOBS OVERSEAS

G oogle faces a £7bn lawsuit

for allegedly blocking
rival search engines on
services at reasonable prices.
Unfortunately, Google’s
dominance of the search
Vodafone is planning to
outsource some of its
Customer Care team to
phones, which campaigners market has actually raised Egypt and South Africa,
say has led to UK shoppers those prices for consumers.” according to an internal
paying higher prices for It doesn’t cost anything to statement leaked to
goods and services. be part of the case, and all ISPreview.co.uk. The move,
If successful, the claim UK citizens are potentially expected to be announced
could see compensation of included unless they choose in November, could put
around £100 paid to anyone to opt out. that is set by a real-time hundreds of UK jobs at risk.
who bought a product or Consumer Voice says that auction,” it said. “Advertising Vodafone said the roles
used a service that was you’ll be eligible even if plays a crucial role in affected “equate to three
advertised on Google. This you’ve never seen an item helping people discover per cent of our UK-based
would mean “effectively advertised on Google. It claims new businesses, new causes Consumer Frontline teams”.
everyone in the UK” could get this is because the “inflated and new products.”
a payout, according to the prices” were paid by all For updates, sign up to UPDATE YOUR
team behind the claim. shoppers if the business used www.searchclaim.co.uk. FREECYCLE PASSWORD
The case is being led by Google to advertise. The case is the latest in a Freecycle have urged users
Nikki Stopford, co-founder of Google responded by saying series of huge class-action to change their passwords
the Consumer Voice website. the case is “speculative and lawsuits against tech giants, after admitting that details
She said: “Almost everybody opportunistic” and vowed to including Amazon, Apple, of seven million members
uses Google as their go-to argue against it “vigorously”. BT, Sony and Facebook’s were leaked online. The site,
search engine, often trusting “We only make money if ads owners Meta. See if you’re where people can pick up
the company to help them are useful and relevant, as eligible for compensation and give away local items for
find the best products and indicated by clicks – at a price on page 62. free, said the data included
usernames, user IDs, email
addresses and passwords.
52% of homes can now get full-fibre Visit www.snipca.com/47579
for information on changing

M ore than half of all UK

homes can now get
full-fibre broadband,
your password.

ADOBE FIREFLY COMES

Ofcom says. OUT OF BETA
The regulator’s ‘Connected Adobe has moved its Firefly
Nations Summer 2023’ report AI tool out of beta, meaning
(www.snipca.com/47596) it should be easier and
found that in May 52 per cent smoother to use. Firefly
of households – 15.4 million creates images based on
– were able to access full-fibre, the description you give it
up from 48 per cent in (such as ‘sad penguin on
January. sofa’ – pictured below), as we
Full-fibre broadband is also Media’s Hybrid Fibre Coax 10Mbps fell from 68,000 to explained in Issue 663’s ‘In
called fibre-to-the-premises (HFC) network, which 62,000. the Club’ (page 48). To use
(FTTP) because it’s delivered combines optical fibre with The report comes as it, create a free account at
over fibre cables from the coaxial cables, and so isn’t Openreach announced 19 new https://firefly.adobe.com.
exchange all the way to the considered to be full-fibre. locations that will be upgraded
home, rather than stopping at This explains why the to full-fibre, covering 200,000
a street cabinet. proportion of gigabit homes homes and businesses. These
The number of homes able is higher than full-fibre. include Bilston, Chichester,
to get gigabit (1Gbps) speeds Only three per cent of Leamington Spa and Perth.
has increased by a smaller homes don’t have access to See the full list at www.
proportion, from 73 to 75 per ‘superfast’ broadband of at snipca.com/47581.
cent (22.4 million homes). least 30Mbps, while the Have you been upgraded to
Much of the gigabit number of households unable full-fibre recently? Let us
availability comes from Virgin to get ‘decent’ broadband of know: [email protected]

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 9

 Questionof
Question ofthe
theFortnight
Fortnight
Is WhatsApp about to be
ruined by adverts?
Reports claim the idea has been
discussed among Meta’s bosses

M
eta made a staggering your contacts on the main
$31.5bn from adverts WhatsApp chat screen (as
in the second quarter pictured), similar to how they
of 2023, but not a penny of appear among chats in
this came from WhatsApp. Facebook Messenger and
Most of it was generated by emails in Outlook and Gmail.
ads on Facebook and Ed East, head of ad agency
Instagram. So far, Meta has Billion Dollar Boy, told the FT
resisted the temptation to there is “certainly plenty of
shove ads into WhatsApp. opportunity when it comes to
But a report in the Financial advertising on WhatsApp”,
Times recently claimed that and that marketing firms
Meta managers have been found it an “appealing prospect”.
discussing it. However, he also said that
It’s easy to see why. More many users would find adverts
than two billion people use “intrusive”. This fear has
WhatsApp every month “triggered debates at a high
– making it the world’s most level” within Meta, the FT
popular messaging service – claimed. Managers are money to send messages that
but most of its money comes worried that annoyed users it would never need to THE FACTS
from the 200 million would stop using WhatsApp. introduce adverts.
businesses that pay to send The FT said another idea Meta was quick to rebut the • The Financial Times claims
messages to customers. Netflix, being examined is charging FT’s claims. Within hours of that WhatsApp’s owners
for example, sends subscribers users a subscription fee to use the story being published, Meta are considering
personalised updates and WhatsApp without adverts. WhatsApp head Will Cathcart allowing adverts in the
recommendations. Such ‘advert-free’ services are wrote on X (formerly Twitter): messaging service
Meta doesn’t reveal becoming increasingly common “This @FT story is false. We • More than two billion
WhatsApp’s revenue, but online, with Amazon, ITVX, aren’t doing this” (www. people use WhatsApp
analysts estimate that it made Netflix and YouTube all snipca.com/47626). every month, though most
$1.06 billion in the second removing them if you pay for But he didn’t deny that of its revenue comes from
quarter. This is a mere three a more expensive package bosses had explored the the businesses that use it
per cent of Meta’s total than the standard one. option. The FT said that • Will Cathcart, head of
revenue. Despite its popularity, Talks of subscriptions hark “ahead of this story’s original WhatsApp, said the story
WhatsApp punches severely back to how WhatsApp used publication a WhatsApp was “false”
below its weight when it to make money, which was by spokesperson did not dispute
comes to making money. charging $1 to download the that the idea had been
discussed”. board meetings. It would be
One option is show ads in the So where did this story come
from? It was probably leaked
easy to do and would make a
fortune. And perhaps it was
lists of conversations with your to the FT by a Meta employee
who thinks adverts are a terrible
recently considered more
strongly than ever before,
contacts on the main chat screen idea, in the hope of sparking a prompting the leaker to act.
backlash from users to force For now, the anti-advert
Meta to reject the plan. As it lobby has won. But it won’t be
Would adverts change this? app, then $1 every year going happened, Cathcart’s response long until the debate begins
Some Meta bosses think so, forward. Meta scrapped that came before any backlash had again. Meta is packed with
the FT said. One option that’s fee in 2016, two years after time to gather pace. people who know how to
reportedly been looked at buying WhatsApp for $19bn. Our guess is that the idea of make money through adverts.
would be to show ads in the Its aim back then was to adverts in WhatsApp pops up They’ll want to get their hands
lists of conversations with charge businesses enough from time to time in Meta on WhatsApp eventually.

10 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

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

Fake YouPorn ‘sextortion’ emails

What’s the threat? merely opens your browser’s
A new email scam says you’ve uploaded home page. Below this link
1
a sexually explicit video to the porn- are options to pay for a
sharing site YouPorn, and that it will be “quick automated removal
published online within seven days process”, with three tiers
unless you pay to remove it.
3 priced at $199, $699 and
What makes the email different to past $1,399. It asks for payment
‘sextortion’ scams is that it claims to in the cryptocurrency
come from YouPorn itself ( 1 in our 2 Bitcoin.
screenshot). Previously, such scams have
tended to come directly from a criminal How can you
gang, with no attempt to impersonate stay safe?
the porn site involved. They often tried Spotting sextortion scams
to blackmail you after claiming to have from hackers is fairly easy.
recorded you performing sexual acts. They’re written in terrible
This new email doesn’t contain the English, have subject lines
threatening language found in previous technology to help detect and prevent the like ‘I Will Be Direct You Watch Adult

CREDIT @BleepingComputer
scams. It uses YouPorn’s logo 2 , has distribution of non-consensual intimate Content’, and claim you might be in
the seemingly legitimate subject line images and videos.” trouble with the police. But now you
‘Urgent: uploaded content notification’ It says that if you didn’t approve the need to be on your guard for emails
3 , and begins in a way that sounds video, “we kindly ask that you follow the impersonating porn sites that use more
credible: “At our company, we take the instructions below to take immediate convincing language and designs. Your
security and privacy of our users very action”. It gives you the option to remove response to both types should be the
seriously, and we use advanced the video “for free”, but clicking the link same: delete them and don’t worry.

New tools Monzo’s app

exposes scam calls
ScamWatch
Readers warn readers

Scammers mimic
One of the reasons your phone, tap your
1 Booking.com
scams are on the rise is top-left profile icon, then
An email supposedly from Booking.
that it’s so difficult to select ‘Privacy & security’
com said my credit card was invalid,
tell whether the person in Settings. If you see
and that I’d need to update it to keep
phoning you is genuine. ‘We’re not talking to you’
my reservation for a trip to Porto. But
Over 45,000 victims (see screenshot 1 ), hang
the site I visited from the link didn’t
lost a total of £177.6m up and report the call to
know my surname or phone number.
last year in so-called Monzo (see www.snipca.
It asked me to consider four other
impersonation scams. com/47502). If however
payment methods, including Monzo
This growing threat has you see ‘Talking to you
and Worldpay – neither of which I
prompted digital bank 2 now’ 2 , then you’ll know use. When I visited Booking.com’s
Monzo to update its the call is genuine.
genuine site, I saw a message
app with a ‘call status’ It’s a clever solution
confirming there had been a cyber
feature that tells you that will help to keep
attack and that my booking was safe.
whether the person Monzo’s 7.5 million UK
How did the scammers get my
you’re talking to is from customers safe. Read
booking details? It was a clever scam
the company. the bank’s blog for
that tested even my skills.
Monzo advises that more info (www.snipca.
John Moon
when someone calls com/47500), and
you claiming to be from download its app from Warn your fellow readers about scams
the company, open the bank’s app on https://monzo.com/download. at [email protected]

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 11

 Letters
Tell us what’s on your mind

Why YouTube is right to transmission for two-way communication:

clamp down on ad-blockers most traffic was still in Morse code. The
I’d like to stand up for what I sequence for Enigma coding involved two
expect is a minority of readers signallers and an officer to ‘supervise’.
who are in favour of YouTube forcing Signaller Adolf would read the message to
viewers to disable advert blockers. be sent, and press the keys on the Enigma
I can’t see anything wrong with machine. Signaller Bruno would watch
YouTube’s countdown device that the Enigma machine and note down the
you write about in Issue 666 (page 7, code to send, as each letter lit up.
pictured above right). If anything, I think Don’t pre-judge ‘pre-loved’ The officer would pack up the Enigma
YouTube is being too lenient. At least it I don’t think Margaret Lawson machine and destroy the originals, while
gives you a warning that you’re about to should be so dismissive about Signaller Bruno would then turn to his
be shown an advert. online sellers using the term ‘pre-loved’ Morse key, add prefixes and suffixes,
I admit that I’m not a neutral observer (Letters, Issue 666). I accept that it including Adolf’s ‘random’ key setting,
in this debate. I have a YouTube channel sounds a bit fluffy, but it indicates and would beep merrily away.
on birdwatching that I make a little something important – which is that Experienced signallers in Britain’s Y
money from. But I’ve noticed that this an item being sold has been well Service might identify Bruno by his
revenue has fallen over the past year, looked after. Morse ‘fist’, but how would they get an
presumably because so many people The problem is sellers over-use the audio recording of Adolf’s original key
are blocking adverts. It’s only a hobby, term. It should be applied only to items presses? I know this because my
so it won’t bankrupt me, but I do that might have sentimental value, such grandfather was a signaller in Britain’s
sympathise with those for whom as wedding dresses, jewellery or art. But Y Service.
YouTube is a livelihood. I’m sure they’ve ultimately, I see the term as a harmless Adrian Kirkup
lost a lot more revenue than I have. marketing tool and it’s fine for buyers to
Joe Coxhill use it and shoppers to ignore it if they Banks should give us
think it’s meaningless. passwords when calling
Scammed by wheelchair Hugh Gavin As we get more conscious about
advert on Facebook security, why can’t credit-card
After reading your news story on How could you crack companies and banks give us a password
Barclays bank calling for tech Enigma with AI audio? to confirm they are genuine callers? I
companies to reimburse scam victims I’d be interested to know what recently received a call from a withheld
(Issue 666, page 8), I wanted to tell you research Dr Ehsan Toreini carried number. The caller was from a company
about my experience. I thought I was out when he decided that, if Bletchley I didn’t recognise, and he insisted on a
pretty savvy online and that if something Park had had AI, they could have decoded security check before telling me why he
looked too good to be true, then it was. the Enigma cypher “with 70 per cent was calling.
Turned out I was wrong to be so accuracy” (Issue 665, page 8). I wasn’t sure about this and thought
confident in my own judgement. Bear in mind that in those days we it might be a scam. But eventually he
As a disabled person, I know how were only just breaking into audio mentioned the name of the high-street
expensive it can be to buy mobility aids,
so I was shocked when an advert on
What’s the Issue…?
?
Facebook suggested that I could pick up a
lightweight folding electric wheelchair
for just £31. I did have some doubts, but I I remember you recommending CA SAYS Look in
still clicked the link and paid my money. that it was worth paying to Issue 660, page 60
A few days later I realised I had made a subscribe to Google One (www.snipca. – buy it from our Back
mistake. I chased the seller for delivery com/45680). Can you tell me when Issues site: www.snipca.com/47504
and received an email with a link for that was?
parcel tracking that didn’t work. They Alan Mercer Can you remind me when you
ignored any further enquiries about my gave advice on finding and
item. I’ve raised a claim with my bank CA SAYS Yes, that was in Issue 656, closing old online accounts?
(Monzo) and it seems that I’ll get a page 19. Linda Butters
refund within five days.
Hopefully I’ll get a positive outcome, When did you explain how CA SAYS That was in Issue 638’s
but this does show how easy it is to get to share passwords for TV- Cover Feature ‘Wipe Your Digital
caught out by scams, especially when streaming services without having Footprint’. Read it on our 2022
they appear on a legitimate web platform to pay? Back Issue CD: www.snipca.
such as Facebook. Charles Black com/44660.
Paul Wardle

12 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

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

store that issued my credit card, and said

there was some suspicious activity on it. STAR LETTER
So it was, after all, a legitimate call. I
suggested that some sort of password
would have shortened the call by about Postponing the copper switch-off
10 minutes, but apparently they didn’t
have this ability.
would be ‘terrible mistake’
Ian Walt
I don’t understand You could
CA SAYS We can understand the the accusation that reasonably argue that
security risks in bank staff confirming BT has “lied” about the companies haven’t
their identity by using a password. Digital Voice rollout done enough yet to
There’s simply too much danger of the (‘Question of the publicise the switch.
password falling into the wrong hands. Fortnight’, Issue 666, But people tend to
However, some banks are finding other pictured). I was a push issues to the
ways of proving that callers are genuine participant in the recent back of their mind if
– see Monzo’s new ‘call status’ tool on trial in the East Midlands and at no there’s no imminent deadline. If BT
page 11. point did BT claim that I had to switch. had launched a huge advertising push
I even phoned BT to check this on in 2017, most people would have
Getting a second opinion behalf of an elderly neighbour who dismissed the change as being eight
Issue 664’s Workshop (page 38) didn’t want to change, and was told years away and not yet worth
explained how to use Google’s that upgrading wasn’t compulsory yet. bothering with.
Nearby Share (www.snipca.com/46969) I appreciate that campaign group I’m more concerned that Silver
to share files between your phone/tablet Silver Voices (www.silvervoices.co.uk) Voices will exaggerate the risks of
and your PC. Two pages later, in Readers’ wants to protect the needs of the upgrading to digital and therefore
Tips, Peter Hutton described how he elderly, but postponing the copper put thousands of vulnerable people off.
stopped using Nearby Share because he switch-off would be a terrible mistake. Ironically, this will leave them even
found the “whole process too fiddly”. The telecoms industry has known more vulnerable than ever.
Well, you certainly can’t be accused of about the 2025 deadline since 2017, Instead, they should reassure people
imbalance! giving it enough time to prepare. that the switchover is inevitable and
Will Gortoa These copper cables are simply not fit that there’s plenty of time to make
for purpose, and it’s wrong for the leap – the sooner the
CA SAYS Well spotted Will. We’re campaigners to downplay the dangers better, in fact.
happy to give different opinions, though of keeping them in use. Neil Sheriff
admittedly they’re normally spread more
than two pages apart! Nearby Share is an The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
excellent service, and hopefully our
Workshop will make using it feel less
fiddly. However, we agree with Peter that Every time I phoned I was cut off as they I’m reluctantly sticking with Virgin, and
Snapdrop (https://snapdrop.net), which tried to transfer me to the correct will try to cancel again in a few months
he now uses instead of Nearby Share, is a department. Eventually, I spoke to when I’ve regained the will to live.
worthwhile alternative if you don’t have a someone who worked for Cancellations, Vince Higham
Google account and want to transfer files although at that point I still hoped to fix
between Windows and iOS as well as the problem rather than leave Virgin. But Disused phone box decorated
Android. I struggled to make that clear to the woman to celebrate Jubilee
I spoke to. She kept trying to switch me As someone not living far from the
Leaving Virgin was a ‘catch-22 to a different Virgin package, when all I Surrey village of Compton, it was
vision of bureaucratic hell’ wanted was my existing account to work lovely to see our famous phone box (Issue
It doesn’t surprise me that Ofcom properly. 666, page 8) decorated to resemble King
is investigating whether Virgin On another occasion I ended up in the Charles III. It reminded me of when the
Media makes it too hard for customers to Moving department, box was adorned with Union Jacks to
cancel (Issue 663, page 9). I’ve had a though the only thing it celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
nightmare with the company after moving moved was myself to in 2022 (pictured left).
house. I wanted to transfer my service tears. I couldn’t cancel Several Compton residents I know love
because previously I’d had no complaints. my account because I the effort that goes into decorating the
But they gave me a new contract number, had to sign into it with box to mark special occasions. They
which meant I couldn’t access my the very security questions say it brings the community together
existing account. This also meant I couldn’t that were no longer being more than anything else, so thank you
log in when phoning Virgin because it accepted. It was a catch-22 for highlighting BT’s campaign to sell
wouldn’t recognise my old details. vision of bureaucratic hell. more of these icons of Britishness.
Customer service wasn’t much help. I admitted defeat then. Frank Merson

Views expressed don’t necessarily reflect those of Computeractive Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 13
 Consumeractive
We stand up for your legal rights

Is Vodafone’s new LEAD Can I use

lifetime warranty CASE Samsung’s
trade-in discount?
any good? I ordered a new Samsung S23

I’m curious about At face value, they sound

Q phone in June, getting a £100
discount because I traded in my
Q Vodafone’s new
‘Battery Refresh and
attractive. Battery Refresh lets
you check the My Vodafone app
old phone. When the phone arrived the
package was badly damaged, so I rejected
Lifetime Warranty’ (www. to see whether you need a new it. I then ordered another S23, but was
snipca.com/47380) with its battery. If so, Vodafone will unable to use the phone I’d traded in as a
EVO plans. Is this worth having replace it for free for up to three discount. Am I unreasonable to expect
and will it restrict my consumer years. Batteries aren’t usually Samsung to honour this?
rights? covered by free warranties, so we Chris Roberts
Mark Boyer can see why this would appeal to people.
With Lifetime Warranty, Vodafone No, we don’t think Chris is being
We’ll answer the most important pledges to “cover device repairs against A unreasonable, but he doesn’t
A question first: nothing in
Vodafone’s offers or warranties
manufacturer faults for as long as
customers have a Pay Monthly Airtime
have a case against Samsung
because it hasn’t breached its contract. It
can override your statutory rights. All the Plan”. But legally, the term ‘lifetime’ did deliver the original phone and, while
protection you get under consumer laws has little meaning. Does it refer to the the package was damaged, the phone
will still apply. customer? The battery? The device? inside may have worked fine.
As for whether they are worth signing It’s little more than an eye-catching Samsung said the reason he couldn’t
up for, it’s important to note that you marketing term, but at least puts some use his old phone as a discount against
don’t have to pay anything extra to get onus on Vodafone to offer more than just, another purchase is because its IMEI
these benefits. Vodafone isn’t selling say, a two-year warranty. number was still tied to the original
them as a separate service, but as a ‘free’ We’d like to know how it compares order. It claimed it wasn’t able to override
incentive to sign up to an EVO plan (read with the six years (five in Scotland) this in time to apply it to the new order.
more about these flexible packages at that you can seek redress for if goods The company has now returned
www.snipca.com/47381). So the real are inherently faulty. Not all products Chris’s old phone, so presumably it
decision is whether you want an EVO are expected to last six years, so considers the case closed. But we’re not
deal, not necessarily whether Battery Vodafone’s lifetime might offer better convinced by its explanation, so we’ll
Refresh or Lifetime Warranty are worth protection. We’ve asked the company ask whether there really is nothing it
having. for more details. can do.
CASE ONGOING CASE ONGOING

CASE UPDATE

MyHeritage refunds for every year reader was a member

Genealogy website It admitted this mistake and refunded
MyHeritage has demonstrated the £200 – as it had to. But it didn’t need to
exceptional customer service refund the 2023 subscription because Ken
by refunding reader Ken Dunn hadn’t cancelled it within the 14 days allowed
for every year he was a member, even he noticed when his subscription was by Consumer Contract Regulations.
though we were hoping only for one year’s automatically renewed in 2023 because the Similarly, the deadlines to cancel the
refund as a goodwill gesture. price had increased to £200 a year. 2021 and 2022 subscriptions had long
As we explained in Issue 663, Ken MyHeritage had done nothing wrong with since passed.
signed up for MyHeritage in 2021, but then these payments because the onus was on We can’t praise MyHeritage highly enough
became ill with Covid and used it only four Ken to cancel. However, it did do wrong by for this response. Ken got a better outcome
times. He then forgot about it in 2022, when taking another £200 payment soon after his than he could possibly have hoped for when
the payment was around £30. However, subscription was renewed for the third year. he first emailed us.

14 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

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

Can Dell refuse help now support has ended?

When I bought my Dell laptop Since Bernard first carried out by the Dell technician
Q from eComputers (https://
ecomputers.uk.com), I paid for
A emailed us, Dell has
agreed to send him
failed to meet these criteria.
However, because he had
Dell’s Premium Support (www.snipca. a refurbished replacement evidence that the keyboard
com/47385). This expired in May 2022. keyboard, although he’ll was faulty, he could also
When the keyboard became faulty in have to pay someone to fit have made a claim against
2021, all the Dell engineer did was it to his laptop. eComputers.
press a few keys, said it was a software Dell must have realised Bernard is happy with
fault, then left. Three weeks ago a that Bernard had a strong his new keyboard, but
computer engineer opened the laptop case against it. The extended we’ll still tell eComputers
and confirmed the keyboard was faulty. support package that Bernard paid about the problems he had
Dell says it won’t help because my for is governed by the Computer Rights because it remains unaware of the case.
support contract has ended. Act. This means services rendered must We’ll also ask Dell for a statement about
What are my rights? be fit for purpose and carried out with the engineer’s examination of the
Bernard Warner reasonable care. We believe that the work keyboard in 2021.
CASE ONGOING

Is Alltainment A
We can’t say, but we do have
some serious concerns about the
www.snipca.com/47383). However,
there’s no name or phone number.
a scam? company. By law a website must
give a physical address (though not a
More worrying are the highly negative
reviews Alltainment has received on
I tried to sign up for five phone number) where it can be Trustpilot – an average of just 1.1 out of
Q months free Apple TV+, but was
hijacked by a company called
contacted, but we can’t find one at
https://alltainment.com. It did answer
five from 190 reviews (www.snipca.
com/47382). There are numerous
Alltainment (https://alltainment.com), our email, but only to tell us to phone the complaints about Alltainment asking
which said I’d get five days’ company. When we did, for bank details, when people are trying
free trial of its service, then we asked for a call-back to buy or pay for something else,
pay £24.99 per month. I after being left on hold. including Apple TV and parking fees.
cancelled payments via my Searching for the Apple isn’t responsible for Alltainment,
bank, but Apple isn’t domain name at Who.is so it can’t be held responsible. We have
acknowledging there’s a showed that the site is reported our concerns to the company,
problem. Is this a scam? registered to a PO Box in as well as to Action Fraud (www.
David Jones Hayes, Middlesex (see actionfraud.police.uk).
CASE ONGOING

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

Eufy matched Amazon’s cheaper price

I feel I need to highlight the was on sale at approximately £35 cheaper
good service I received recently per unit than what I paid.
from Eufy customer services. I I contacted customer services at Eufy to
bought three Floodlight Cam 2 see what they could do, and they promptly
Pro units directly from Eufy (£279 each from matched Amazon’s price, saving me a
www.snipca.com/47321, pictured). I took considerable £105. This was impressive.
advantage of a voucher code that knocked Actions like this build brand loyalty, so well Contact:
25 per cent off the price. done, Eufy.
However, to my annoyance, the following Mahomed Moosa
Eufy
day was 11 July, which was when Amazon Has a company impressed you with its • Email: [email protected]
launched its Prime Day sales. I looked on the customer service? Please let us know: • Phone: 01604 936 200
site and saw that the Floodlight Cam 2 Pro [email protected]

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 15

 Grow Your
Family Tree
To uncover information on specific areas of the UK and
Ireland, follow Judith Batchelor’s advice to…
Search Genuki’s parish-level records
O
ne of the hidden gems of genealogy – see screenshot below left), where
is the website Genuki (www. most of my ancestors are from. 1
genuki.org.uk) – a virtual reference This brought up sections on every 2
library that contains information online, type of record a genealogist could
as well as details of where it’s all stored in want, including censuses, church
physical libraries around the UK and histories, emigration/immigration
Ireland. Run by volunteers, it’s an excellent details and voting registers. Topics
free resource for unearthing records with a triangle alongside them,
covering specific areas, as we’ll explain. such as Heraldry and Nobility,
contain links to records that
List county parishes by A-Z aren’t based on specific areas.
Genuki categorises its records based Clicking a link takes you to Genuki shows locations on OpenStreetMap, but you
on the historic counties of England, sites that have records specific to can change to Ordnance Survey or satellite view
Scotland, Wales and Ireland – which the county you’ve selected. For
will please fans of Cumberland, example, clicking ‘Law & Legislation’ links to more records for the area.
Montgomeryshire and Nairnshire. To start takes me to the website of the Kent In the church documents I found a
searching down to the parish level, click Police Museum. potential baptism for William Batchelor
a nation under Regional Page Links on Each county page contains a green in Boxley in 1744. Clicking the link
the left, then one of the counties on the map of the nation, with the relevant under the Gazetteers heading brought
coloured map that appears. county highlighted in red. Below that is a up a tool to calculate the distance
I clicked ‘England’ then Kent (in blue link to an A-Z list of the parishes in that between West Farleigh and Boxley –
county. I clicked this link to explore West just six miles.
Farleigh in Kent to search for my earliest
known ancestor, William Batchelor, who Find locations using start
was married there in 1777. and end place names
Clicking a parish shows its location on Another way to search Genuki is to click
OpenStreetMap ( 1 in our screenshot ‘Gazetteer’ on the top toolbar and type a
above right), though you can change this place name. You can choose to search
to Ordnance Survey or a satellite view by by an exact name, or pick the start or end
Click a coloured county to see a list of its records clicking the top-right menu 2 . Below are of a location – such as ‘north’, ‘south’,
‘bridge’ or ‘ford’. Also decide whether

Your Genealogy Problems Solved

to see your results shown as pins on a
map, or listed alphabetically.
The ‘Churches’ link at the top has
My first cousin twice-removed, George com/47479) shows that George was the same search options, as well as a
Millard (born 11 August 1868), married living with his parents in Bedminster, distance filter to find churches within a
Bedelia Spellman on 26 February 1887 near Bristol. It shows him being married, certain number of miles.
at Bristol Register Office. I’ve been but he may have split up with Bedelia, To perform a more general search,
unable to find them after that date. as she is missing from the census. To simply type in the box on the homepage
Can you do better? trace George at a later date, look for the then press the blue Search button. This
Allen Millard death certificates of his parents. Since he will produce results for locations and
was an only child, he may well have been surnames, so you may need to click
Ancestors often seem to disappear in a the informant. through several pages before you find
puff of smoke, usually because they died, Have a genealogy question for Judith?
what you’re looking for.
emigrated or changed their name. A Email [email protected] with Further information on how to search
search of the 1891 census (www.snipca. ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line. Genuki can be found in the Quick Links
section: www.snipca.com/47481.

16 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667 Next issue: Find where your ancestors used to live
 Best Free Software
Robert Irvine recommends new programs that won’t cost you a thing
SYSTEM CLEANER

System Ninja 4
www.snipca.com/47597
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11

We’ve previously recommended System Ninja as an alternative Another welcome improvement is to

to CCleaner, but haven’t heard much about it for a while (or the Startup Manager. This now lets you
perhaps the ninja was just being particularly stealthy). Now highlight unnecessary items and confirms that
this excellent free clean-up tool has returned with a brand they’re safe to remove, so you don’t disable anything
new version, which has a smarter interface, several new important. Strangely, we found that it didn’t recognise many
features and full support for Windows 11. of our startup programs – you may have more luck.
Happily, System Ninja’s developer has resisted the urge System Ninja’s PC Analysis feature will now detect the
to reinvent the program and has retained its simple design correct version number of Windows 10 and 11 that you’re
and powerful cleaning options. The Junk Scanner, which using. It also lists all the user accounts on your computer,
finds and deletes temporary files, cached data and other your Windows serial key – which is handy if you plan to
unnecessary clutter, now includes the option to empty your reinstall or upgrade your operating system – and lots of other
recycle bin, increasing the amount of drive space you can useful information.
free up in one go. We reclaimed more than 3.5GB. There’s a Pro version of System Ninja, which offers a
System Ninja’s Duplicate Finder, which detects and deletes one-click system optimiser, automatic updates and a
copies of files on your hard drive (you can restrict this to just portable edition. This costs $14.95 (£12) a year, as part of the
image or music files), has been updated to “warn against developer’s Pro Club (www.snipca.com/47598), but – aside
certain dangerous or silly actions” – namely removing from an Upgrade button on its toolbar – the free program
essential system files. doesn’t nag you to move to the paid-for version.
1

1 Click the Junk Scanner tab 2 System Ninja’s System 3 To add more options 4 To speed up System Ninja’s
to delete unnecessary Tools tab includes a Startup to System Ninja, select scans, click the Options tab.
files, including your internet Manager, Process Manager, Additional Tools on the Use the Scan Exclusions and
history, memory dumps Duplicate Finder and App System Tools tab and click Scan Inclusions options to
and Windows logs. Tick the Uninstaller, which lets you ‘Download plugins’. This exclude or include specific
boxes on the right-hand side remove unwanted programs opens the Plugins page, folders and drives when
to specify what you want to with a single click. You can where you can download searching for junk files. You
remove – we recommend sort the software list by plug-ins including a registry can also choose to ignore
unticking Internet Cookies so name or size. cleaner, file renamer and particular programs.
sites don’t log you out.. file analyser.

18 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

SYSTEM TOOL
SHOULD I PAY FOR…?
Auto Dark Mode 10.4 Choose the right version of software
www.snipca.com/47583
What you need: Windows 10 or 11
O&O Defrag 27
To switch between www.snipca.com/47585
light and dark mode in Price: £19.99 Free trial period: 30 days
Windows 10 and 11, you What you need: Windows 10 or 11
need to go to Settings,
then Personalisation O&O creates lots of easy-to-use software, including
and choose Computeractive favourites AppBuster and ShutUp10++.
Colours. This tool Disk-defragmentation tool O&O Defrag is one of its
makes things paid-for programs (the free version was discontinued
much easier by several years ago), so we decided to find out if it’s worth
changing your theme automatically, either at the hours you the money.
specify, or from sunset to sunrise based on your location. You You may wonder why you need a defragging tool at
can choose whether to apply dark mode to apps, your system all, given that
or both, and change your desktop wallpaper in line with the Windows can
current theme. The latest version of Auto Dark Mode adds now perform this
options to adjust the accent colour of the taskbar and window task automatically
title bars while in dark mode so they look blue – select Apps through its
in the program’s settings to apply these. ‘Defragment and
It also lets you customise the appearance of your cursor in Optimise Drives’
each mode – click Personalization, then ‘Pick mouse cursors’, option. But O&O
switch on ‘Enable mouse cursor switch’ (see screenshot) and Defrag puts a
choose your preferences in the dropdown menus. friendlier face on
defragmenting,
SYSTEM INFORMATION TOOL and version 27’s
streamlined, modern interface makes its information
Glow 18.3 and features simpler to understand – including a
www.snipca.com/47584 redesigned ‘ClusterView’ showing the extent of data
What you need: Windows or 11 fragmentation.
We particularly like the new ‘Check & Repair’ button,
Last time we which tests your system for ‘inconsistencies’ such as
recommended Glow, missing file information and structural errors, and lets
in Issue 660 (page 18), you fix them with a single click. Defrag 27 also integrates
it disappeared from SMART data to indicate the health status of your hard
GitHub shortly drive and SSD, and highlight problems caused by disk
afterwards, then errors and high temperature.
reappeared at a The big new feature is called O&O IntensiveOptimize
different URL. (see screenshot), which launches a separate instance of
Thankfully, the Windows in which only O&O Defrag runs. This grants
developer now has a permanent web page, so the program maximum resources to the program so it can optimise your
shouldn’t vanish again. The new version adds a useful feature PC without interference from background processes. It
called Hiding Mode, which lets you conceal private information sounds useful but also implies that the default settings
from Glow’s analysis of your system. This includes your email don’t do a thorough enough job on their own. We certainly
address, device ID and the serial numbers of hardware found the defragmenting process very slow.
components. Click Settings in the top-right corner to enable
Hiding Mode (see screenshot), then restart the program – the OUR VERDICT: Don’t pay for it
redacted data will be replaced with asterisks. With its powerful features and slick new interface, O&O
Glow has also improved its algorithms for calculating the Defrag 27 is undeniably impressive. However, we question
amount of free space on your hard drive and available virtual why you should pay to regularly analyse and optimise your
memory. It may trigger security warnings from your browser PC in such depth, when the built-in Windows defragmenter
and Microsoft Defender, but it’s safe to use, so just click Keep works unobtrusively for free.
then ‘More info’ followed by ‘Run anyway’.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 19

 Best Free Software

What should I download?

We advise you which software and apps to use
How can I encrypt my notes?
What’s a simple I often use
alternative to Q ColorNote
(www.
File Explorer? colornote.com) to jot
down reminders and
financial information,
Is there an alternative to File Explorer that lets you but I’m worried it’s
Q create your own simple list of folders without
OneDrive, Music, Pictures and so on? I’m dyslexic
unsafe. Is there a note-
taking alternative that
and a complex structure is very difficult to cope with. uses encryption?
Colin Gray Tony Flintoff

Files App, which you can download for free ColorNote says notes are encrypted when they’re
A from the Microsoft Store (www.snipca.com/47540),
is an attractive alternative to File Explorer. It does
A uploaded online (see www.snipca.com/47541), but for
an alternative try Standard Notes (www.standardnotes.
have the items you want to be rid of – like ‘Quick access’ com, pictured), which encrypts notes by default. If you don’t
locations, libraries for your Documents, Photos and Music, need to use rich text, create tasks and to-do lists, attach files
and direct links to drives – but you can turn off some of or organise your tags into folders, choose the free Standard
these. plan. You’ll need to create an account, and your notes will be
Click the cog beside the search box, then expand the encrypted using the password you specify at the time. It’s vital
Widgets section on the General tab (see screenshot). Here, you remember what this is as there’s no password-reset option.
you can turn off Quick access, drives, tags and recent files.
You can also hide those sections by clicking the arrows
beside Cloud Drives, Favourites and so on. Usefully, Files What’s the best option if
App includes several themes with colour combinations
that may be of help to dyslexic users. Audacity doesn’t record?
If you want to set Files to be your default file manager,
open settings and click Advanced, then turn on the slider Audacity plays fine on my Palicomp Cobra PC (running
next to ‘Set Files as the default file manager’. Files warns
that making this change will edit your registry “and can
Q Windows 10), but it refuses to record. Instead, I just get
the message ‘error 0’. Can you suggest an alternative
have unexpected side effects on your device”, so you free audio recorder?
should create a backup. To do this, open the Registry Terry Steels
Editor, then right-click Computer at the top left, followed
by Export. That error
A message may
be caused by
problems opening
your audio device,
rather than Audacity
itself. Several
contributors to the
Audacity forums have
suggested that changing your recording device to Windows
WASAPI can fix the problem (see www.snipca.com/47544). If
that doesn’t work, try Ashampoo Audio Recorder Free
(automatic download from www.snipca.com/47545, pictured),
which can save your recordings in a wide variety of formats,
including MP3, WAV and WMA. Your recordings are organised in
the sidebar, making them easy to find.

20 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667 Email us your questions at [email protected]

Named & Shamed
Keumars Afifi-Sabet puts the boot into tech villains,
jargon-spouting companies and misbehaving software

SOFTWARE WARNING!
Microsoft’s full-screen centre, where you’d expect to see vital
Bing pop-ups alerts about security or system updates,
not intrusive adverts for Microsoft

W
hich search engine do products.
you use? If the answer Microsoft eventually ditched the
isn’t Bing, you might pop-up following numerous complaints
be as worn out as I am batting from users, promising it will investigate
away Microsoft’s desperate attempts to this “unintended behaviour”. By
get me to use it. “unintended”, we think it means the
The last thing I expected to encounter pop-up was never meant to appear while
while watching a full-screen YouTube you were watching videos in full screen.
video was a pop-up in Windows asking But this type of pop-up would be
me to switch my default search engine to intrusive no matter what you were doing
Bing in exchange for some “Microsoft on your PC. The advert was appearing
Rewards points” (see screenshot right). even if users had turned on Focus
My first thought was that it’s a scam sessions in Windows, which are meant
and my PC had been infected, but an to help you concentrate by blocking
antivirus scan found nothing amiss. notifications and system messages for set
I then searched for clues online, and periods of time (up to four hours).
found out that Microsoft was to blame. If Microsoft brings the pop-up back, Not the done Bing: this pop-up appeared while
Turns out it had been testing this pop-up try activating the more powerful ‘Do not Keumars was watching YouTube in full screen
all summer. It appears in the notification disturb’ setting instead. This blocks
pop-ups for good. ( 1 in our screenshot left) and the ‘Do not
In Windows 11, press disturb’ slider to On 2 .
Windows key+I to open Windows 10 users should click ‘Focus
Settings, then click assist’ in Settings and change the ‘Focus
1 ‘Notifications & actions’ assist’ mode to ‘Alarms only’ – then, in
and open the settings ‘Notifications & actions’, change the
2
page. Next, change the Notifications slider to Off. Here’s hoping
Turn on ‘Do not disturb’ and hope Microsoft takes the hint Notifications slider to Off Microsoft takes the hint.

WHAT ARE THEY KEUMARS’ VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT

TALKING ABOUT?

WHAT THEY SAY

Faruk Fatih Ozer
Chanwoo Park, Samsung
www.snipca.com/47490 Turkish fraudster Faruk Fatih for protection against
“By connecting digital appliances and Ozer (pictured) will have a long the plunging value of the
mobile devices across the Samsung time to reflect on his crimes – Turkish lira.
ecosystem and assisting users from 11,196 years, to be precise. He Astonishingly, it could have
shopping list to dinner plate, Samsung was found guilty in Istanbul of been worse for Ozer –
Food is using advanced AI capabilities to money-laundering, fraud and prosecutors wanted him jailed
deliver a highly personalised, all-in-one organised crime, following the collapse for 40,562 years. Such extraordinary
food experience that users can control of his cryptocurrency exchange Thodex. sentences have become common in
straight from their palms.” Ozer wasn’t humble in his defence, Turkey since the death penalty was
boasting he was “smart enough to lead abolished in 2004. He’s due for release
WHAT THEY MEAN any institution on Earth”. That’ll be no in the year 13,219. Whatever payment
Our jargon is as much of a mouthful as consolation to his 2,027 victims, many methods we use then, you can bet
the food we’ll help you “experience”. of whom turned to cryptocurrencies there’ll be scammers eager to exploit it.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 21

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

MINI PC | £829 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47474

Minisforum UM790 Pro

Power worker

The processor at the heart of this model

from Minisforum is the AMD Ryzen 9
7940HS. Most of the mini PCs we’ve
reviewed have more affordable Ryzen 5
or 7 chips, so we were intrigued to see
how much power could be packed into
such a small case. The price – while at
the top end of the mini PC range – is
reasonable given its components. So how
does this miniature powerhouse fare in
our tests?

When it comes to
raw processing power,
the extra money, and you spend a lot of ports and a 2.5GB Ethernet port on the
the UM790 Pro has it time doing jobs that push the processor back (pictured left). The UM790 also
in spades hard, the UM790 is worth considering.
What it lacks, which you’d expect to
supports Wi-Fi 6E.
In the grand scheme of things, it may
find in a desktop PC at this price, is a outperform the SER6 Pro in many of the
When it comes to raw processing graphics card. Although the built-in most intensive tests, but you need to be
power, the UM790 Pro has it in spades. graphics of the Ryzen 9 processor pushing the processor hard to see the
In our processor benchmark tests it ran performed reasonably well in our most benefit. We were also a little
73 per cent faster than our current gaming tests, it’s only a tad better than disappointed (though not particularly
favourite mini PC, the Beelink SER6 Pro the SER6 Pro in this area. When surprised) that it didn’t do significantly
7753HS (reviewed in Issue 661, £699 from compared with a desktop PC with its better in gaming tests than the SER6 Pro,
www.snipca.com/46416), when testing own graphics hardware, it falls behind – probably due to the fact that it uses
on a single core. making it less of an all-rounder. similar graphics hardware built into
In multi-core tests, it slowed to 30 per As you’d hope for the price, the RAM the processor.
cent faster, though that’s still a reasonable and storage are impressive, with 32GB of For general Windows use we think the
leap for a machine that’s just under 20 memory and a fast 1TB SSD. There isn’t a Beelink model is more than sufficient and
per cent more expensive. It was around great deal of room inside to upgrade, but remains reasonably priced, so we’d still
40 per cent quicker at encoding video, you could increase the memory up to recommend it for most users.
and 30 per cent up when running general 64GB if you ever needed to. There’s also a
Windows tasks. If you can afford to spend second SSD slot, so you could easily
double the storage. VERDICT The most powerful mini PC
The case is a relatively subdued black we’ve reviewed to date, albeit with a
box and measures 52x126x130mm price to match
(HxWxD). It offers a generous range of
connections, including two USB-C ports
★★★★★
on the front panel (pictured above). ALTERNATIVE Beelink SER6 Pro
There are four USB 3.0 ports, two HDMI 7753HS £699 Not as powerful, but it
holds its own in Windows and is a more
SPECIFICATIONS affordable all-rounder
Eight-core Ryzen 9 7940HS processor • 32GB RAM
• AMD Radeon 780M graphics • 1TB SSD • Wi-Fi
6E • 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port • 2x HDMI ports • 2x
USB-C ports • 4x USB 3.0 ports • Windows 11 Pro •
52x130x126mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty
www.snipca.com/47474

22 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 HOW WE TEST
Computeractive is owned by Future PLC,
LAPTOP | £1,300 from Acer www.snipca.com/47480 which employs a team of specialist
technical reviewers. You’ll often read

Acer Swift Edge 16 references to our benchmark testing,

which is a method of assessing products
using the same criteria. For example, we
Top gear 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.
We last reviewed a version of Future PLC also owns the magazines
the Acer Swift Edge 16 back in Maximum PC, PC Pro and T3, and the
Issue 651 (page 24). That model websites Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.
is still available from Currys, com), TechRadar (www.techradar.com)
with a £200 price reduction, and Windows Central (www.windows
taking it to £1,099. The model we’re central.com). This means we can test
reviewing here, however, is the very thousands of products before choosing
latest edition and comes with a the most relevant for Computeractive.
faster processor – the AMD Ryzen 7
6800U of the previous model has been our top-rated laptop (see page 30). FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
updated to the newer 7840U, so double- Other plus points include the screen Our writers follow strict guidelines to
check the specifications before you buy. and the overall design. It has a gorgeous ensure the reviews are fair and impartial.
16in OLED panel, with a 120Hz refresh The manufacturer has no involvement in
rate, a sharp resolution of 3840x2000 our tests.
Our new favourite pixels and a 16:10 aspect ratio that
OUR AWARDS
makes it great for browsing the web
laptop has a gorgeous and working in documents. Its colour We award every product
reproduction is excellent and its contrast that gets five stars our
screen and high is pretty much perfect. It’s also very Buy It! stamp of approval.
bright, meaning you can use it outside in It means we were
performance levels sunlight. The screen on the Acer Swift 3 extremely impressed by the product, and
is decent, but it’s not an OLED. we think you will be too.
This upgrade is a good move, because In its design, the unit manages to be
Every product that gets a
performance level was one of the few sleek and attractive, despite its 16in
four-star review is given the
gripes we had about the previous model. screen and sprawling surface area. It’s
Recommended award. We
Our benchmark tests revealed the only 13mm thick when closed and it
highly recommend these
processor runs around 60 per cent faster weighs just 1.25kg, which is incredibly
products, although they just fail to meet the
when pushing a single core to its limits, light for a 16in laptop.
high standard of our Buy It! winners.
and around 30 per cent faster in This size allows it to accommodate a
multi-core tests. full-sized keyboard complete with a PRICES
These results were similar to those we number pad, which is useful for anyone Our reviews contain a link to the best price
saw in our previous favourite laptop – the who regularly works with stats and we found online at the time of press.
Acer Swift 3 – but the results in graphics figures. The trackpad, meanwhile, is
tests are superior here, running around smooth and responsive.
50 per cent quicker. That makes it a We were also impressed with the
better all-rounder, and is one of the generous selection of ports, which VERDICT A large, high-quality screen
reasons why it has replaced the Swift 3 as includes two USB-C ports – both of and decent performance make this our
which are capable of delivering 65W new favourite laptop
of charge and driving a DisplayPort
monitor. There’s also two USB 3.0 ports,
★★★★★
an HDMI socket, a microSD card reader ALTERNATIVE
and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Honor MagicBook X 16
£555 Less than half the price for a
SPECIFICATIONS similar-sized
Eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor • screen, though
16GB RAM • AMD Radeon shared graphics • 16in it lacks the
3840x2000-pixel OLED screen • 1TB SSD • 2x OLED quality
USB-C ports • 2x USB 3.0 ports • 1x HDMI port • 1x
MicroSD slot • Windows 11 Home • 13x358x246mm
and the punchy
(HxWxD) • 1.25kg • One-year warranty performance
www.snipca.com/47480

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 23

 Reviews
TABLET | £690 from Laptops Direct www.snipca.com/47493

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9

Out of this world

This is the smallest and most

affordable of the three tablets in
the new S9 series. The S9 Ultra has
a 14.6in screen and costs £1,199,
the S9+ has a 12.4in screen and
costs £999, while the standard S9 we’re
reviewing here has an 11in screen for
£799 – though it was already discounted
to £690 by Laptops Direct at the time of
writing. That’s even less than the last
generation Tab S8 is still selling for, and
even at its regular price, we have no
reservations in calling it our new
favourite Android tablet (see page 30).
As you’d expect from a device at
this price, the S9 is a premium
product both inside and out.
Without a case, the S9 is a slip of a compared with its more expensive
thing at 498g and measuring a The best Android stablemates is the camera. Unsurprisingly,
compact 254x166x5.9mm. That you’ll probably find the camera on your
means you can easily hold it with tablet we’ve ever current phone is a better option than
one hand while scrawling notes or
doodling using the supplied S Pen
seen offers very few the S9’s, which is limited to a single
13-megapixel sensor. Still, it does capture
stylus. Handwriting recognition compromises at a attractive snaps and can shoot 4K video
is by no means perfect, but it’s a at 30fps.
handy way to scribble down ideas reasonable price If you want the very best 11in Android
when you’re on the move. tablet, there’s no question that the S9 is
The OLED screen has a peak even with multiple windows open. it. If you’d prefer a larger screen, the S9+
brightness level of 582cd/m2, This didn’t reduce the battery life or the S9 Ultra are there for you, but
which isn’t dazzlingly bright but either, lasting over nine hours in our prices start to get a little steep.
enough to make it readable in any continuous-browsing test, and just over If you don’t want to spend that much
situation. That’s well over 100cd/m2 13 hours when playing back video. and can live with slightly inferior
brighter than the Tab S8 and The S9 doesn’t come with a charger, performance levels, the OnePlus Pad is
makes it great for watching TV just a USB-C cable, so you’ll need to probably your best bet – it’s currently
and movies on – an experience provide your own. If you use a 45W fast available for £449 (www.snipca.
made all the more enjoyable by a charger, which costs around £20 on com/46075).
superb quartet of speakers that Amazon (www.snipca.com/47496), the
produce surprisingly well-rounded battery will go from zero to 24 per cent
bass tones. in 15 minutes. By 30 minutes it will VERDICT Undoubtedly the best
The S9 uses the same reach 49 per cent, and will be fully Android tablet you can buy at the
components as the S9 Ultra and charged within 90 minutes. moment, replacing its predecessor as
S9+ – all built around an eight-core The tablet has IP68 protection rating our favourite
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 against dust and water, but one sacrifice
chip. In our processor benchmark
★★★★★
tests the S9 ran around 56 per cent ALTERNATIVE OnePlus Tab
SPECIFICATIONS
faster than the Gen 1 processor Eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor £449 A lower-
found in the S8. Our test unit had • 8GB or 12GB RAM • 11in 2560x1600-pixel resolution quality screen
8GB of RAM (a 12GB model is also OLED touchscreen • 128GB or 256GB storage • IP68 and weaker
available), but this didn’t hold it protection • 13-megapixel rear camera • 12-megapixel performance,
front camera • Wi-Fi 6E • Bluetooth 5.3 • USB-C
back when we connected it to a port • Android 13 with One UI 5.1 • 254x166x5.9mm
but significantly
4K screen over USB-C – the tablet (HxWxD) • 498g • Two-year warranty cheaper
continued to perform smoothly, www.snipca.com/47493

24 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

MESH Wi-Fi | From £168 for two nodes from Amazon www.snipca.com/47552
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SPECS
Asus ZenWifi XD5 Corning
Nice cube Gorilla Glass
What does it do?
Standard glass isn’t well suited to the
The Asus ZenWiFi XD5 offers a screens on
decent Wi-Fi 6 mesh network at mobile devices,
an attractive price, via two or as it’s prone
three boxy little units (or nodes) to scratches,
that are small enough to hide cracking and
away around your home. Their shattering. If
rounded cuboid design is clean and the screens of
modern, with a subtle spiral pattern on phones and
top. Internally, the XD5 is a simple tablets were
dual-band mesh, with one 5GHz radio made from
connection for both client and backhaul On the software side there’s no standard glass, they simply wouldn’t
communications, rated at a reasonable compromise at all: the XD5 uses the same survive the rigour of everyday life.
speed of 2.4Gbps. The 2.4GHz radio is tools found on Asus’s most expensive Gorilla Glass (pictured) – manufactured
rated at 574Mbps, which should be fine routers, through both a mobile app by US company Corning – is a
for those types of device that still use it. and a traditional web portal. It includes chemically toughened glass that’s
comprehensive control over the basic many times stronger and specifically
configuration and advanced features, developed for screens. Corning also
A strong and such as traffic-management tools and invented the kitchen glassware
a built-in firewall. product Pyrex, and provided the glass
consistent Wi-Fi 6 mesh The XD5 also offers parental controls casements for Thomas Edison’s light
system that comes with on a device-by-device basis, including
customisable web filtering to protect kids
bulbs, so it’s been at the forefront of
glass technology for more than 140
sophisticated tools in the household, along with network-
security scanning from Trend Micro.
years.

These tools are free to use forever – a How does it work?

We set up one node in the study of our great bonus, as many mesh systems During the manufacture of Gorilla Glass,
test home and the other in the adjoining demand an annual fee to fully unlock the silicon ions that create the surface
bedroom. Asus suggests that two XD5 such capabilities. It also has a VPN. of standard glass are replaced by
units will cover an area up to 325 square While the ZenWiFi XD5 is reasonably potassium ions, using a process called
metres, while adding a third extends this priced, there are cheaper mesh options ion exchange. Potassium ions are larger
to 465m2. However, performance levels available. The Mercusys Halo H80X and significantly tougher than silicon,
will always depend on the layout and (www.snipca.com/47556, reviewed in which makes the glass panel more
construction of your home. Issue 652) only costs £135 for three nodes. resistant to scratches and less prone to
With our nodes in place, we took a That’s an excellent deal, because it shattering if dropped.
laptop to various locations around our provides similar performance to the XD5,
house, copied a selection of files to and though lacks the XD5’s sophisticated What are the specs?
from a NAS device connected to the software tools. There have been 10 versions of Gorilla
primary node via Ethernet, and Glass since it was launched in 2008.
measured the speeds. These were originally numbered,
Despite its small size and modest VERDICT More expensive than with the last being Gorilla Glass 6.
hardware, two nodes was ample to many of its rivals, but it comes with These were followed by Gorilla Glass
provide strong, consistent performance exceptional software tools and requires Victus and Victus 2. Each new version
all around our house, with download no further subscriptions of Gorilla Glass has been stronger
rates between 34 and 40MB/s. That’s and more scratch resistant than its
some way off the speeds you’ll see from
★★★★★ predecessor.
the most expensive mesh systems, but it’s ALTERNATIVE Mercusys Halo H80X
more than enough to handle Zoom calls, £135 This more affordable Wi-Fi 6 mesh Can I change it later?
TV streaming and web browsing. system comes with three nodes If your screen breaks, it is possible to
replace it. However, you need to make
SPECIFICATIONS
Dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 6 • 2x Ethernet ports
sure that it isn’t a cheaper, more fragile
• 85x91x91mm (HxWxD) per unit • 307g per unit • replacement.
One-year warranty www.snipca.com/47552

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 25

 Reviews
PORTABLE MONITOR | £119 from Iiyama www.snipca.com/47543

MSI Pro MP161

Double vision

Connecting a second screen to your PC at 296cd/m2 in our tests. However,

so you can see more things at once can at this level the contrast suffers,
make you more productive, but to have a with lighter shades of grey appearing
permanent setup of multiple monitors so blown out that they largely look
you need a lot of space. If you have a white.
small desk or normally use the screen MSI makes no such sacrifices with
on your laptop as your main screen, you the menu that helps you set up the
may not have the room for a second screen. There are settings to control
standard monitor. The answer is a sharpness, low blue light, the response
portable screen, which is easy to get out time (which has a maximum of 4 At 750g, and measuring just 12mm
and stash away as and when you need it. milliseconds) and even the company’s thick (if you ignore the stand), this is a
As you might expect, the MSI Pro ‘Eye-Q’ features. These are designed very portable monitor. MSI also offers
MP161 doesn’t offer the high quality to keep you working safely with protection via a lightweight travel pouch
we’re used to from the best monitors reminders to regularly adjust your that can help prevent scratches while on
or laptop screens. It’s a six-bit panel posture or check for eye-strain. The the move, and it comes with a generous
that’s capable of producing 16.7 million screen also has a highly effective two-year warranty.
colours. However, the result is a subdued anti-glare coating, to help visibility in
picture, recreating only 57 per cent of exceptionally bright conditions.
the sRGB colour standard. It’s not the There are two usable – albeit low- VERDICT A decent second screen
kind of screen you’d want to view photos fidelity – 1.5W speakers, as well as two if you work on the move or have little
on or watch films. USB-C ports and one mini HDMI, so you desk space, but it isn’t as high quality as
It’s reasonably bright, though, peaking can connect the monitor to three devices full-sized monitors or laptop screens
at the same time, including tablets and
phones. We also appreciate the flexibility
★★★★★
provided by its rotating stand, which ALTERNATIVE Iiyama ProLite
means you can use the Pro MP161 in XU2492HSU-B1 £109 If you don’t
portrait mode as well as landscape. mind losing the
portability, you
SPECIFICATIONS can get this larger,
15.6in 1920x1080-pixel IPS screen • 60Hz refresh
rate • 4ms response time • 2x USB-C ports • 1x mini superior monitor
HDMI port • 233x362x17.8mm (HxWxD) • 750g • cheaper
Two-year warranty www.snipca.com/47543

WHAT SHOULD I BUY? We solve your buying dilemmas

The website Datarecovery.com
bought some fake 2TB USB drives to
Should I buy cheap 2TB USB sticks? investigate how they worked. You
can read its article at www.snipca.
I’m looking to buy a larger- Unfortunately, if something com/47546, but to summarise the
Q capacity USB stick, but the
largest capacity available in
A looks too good to be true, it
often is. SanDisk doesn’t
drives told Windows they were 1.9TB,
but actually only had 32GB of storage
stores where I live is 128GB, at a make 2TB USB sticks, so the ones available.
cost of around £30. I’ve already you’re seeing advertised are certainly Currently, your only options are
got one of these and can fill it fake. 1TB drives are widely larger-capacity hard drives such as the
in seconds. available, but they can’t yet SanDisk 2TB Portable SSD (£98 from
I’ve searched online, and be manufactured and Amazon at www.snipca.com/47613) or
searched for even larger-capacity sold that cheaply. smaller-capacity USB sticks like the 1TB
USB sticks, and found 2TB SanDisk’s 1TB sticks Integral Black USB 3.0 (£43 from
sticks for less than a tenner! cost £140 each (www. Amazon at www.snipca.com/47612).
Are they any good? snipca.com/47547, Do you need advice on what you should buy?
Brhienesh Charan pictured). Email us at [email protected]

26 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Reviews
KEYBOARD | £70 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47512

JLab Epic Wireless Keyboard

Low key, high quality

US manufacturer JLab is best known for Underneath the keys are scissor
its speakers and headphones (we reviewed switches with soft white LED of devices. There’s also a cable in the box
its Go Air Pop earbuds back in Issue 636) backlighting. They aren’t as tactile as the for recharging the battery, though you
but it also makes keyboards and mice. best mechanical keyboards, but are still shouldn’t need to use it too often.
This wireless keyboard is its top-of-the- comfortable to type on. The key travel is a
range model, but still costs a very meagre 1.8mm, but the action is firm and
reasonable £70. responsive. They are also incredibly quiet, VERDICT A great mid-range wireless
Straight out of the box you can feel the which those around you may appreciate. keyboard, as long as you can live
high quality of the product. While parts The most interesting feature is the without mechanical keys
are plastic, the base is metal, providing volume dial (top right), which JLab refers
much-needed stability for even the most to as the ‘Smart Media Knob’. The
★★★★★
heavy-handed typist. The keys have a brushed metal dial has a pleasingly ALTERNATIVE Logitech Pebble
slightly concave centre, which helps to smooth rotation with notches that make Keys 2 K380S £45 A smaller, more
guide your fingertips into each one for a it easy to control. It can also be pressed to affordable alternative that’s easier to
smoother typing experience. play or pause music or videos. carry around
The keyboard layout is full size, with
SPECIFICATIONS dedicated keys for switching between
Full-sized keyboard • Soft-touch scissor switches
• Programmable keys • USB dongle supplied •
different modes. It comes with both a
Bluetooth 5.2 • 32x425x140mm (HxWxD) • 783g • USB dongle and Bluetooth connectivity,
Two-year warranty www.snipca.com/47512 so you can easily switch between a couple

HEADPHONES | £129 from Logitech www.snipca.com/47514

Logitech Zone Vibe Wireless The included

travel pouch
will help to
Talk of the town protect them
when you’re on
the move and
the two-year
Those who spend a lot of time making you need to briefly speak off-mic. warranty indicates
voice and video calls on their computer The microphone automatically blocks that Logitech expects
will appreciate these over-the-ear background noise when you’re talking, them to last.
headphones, which are designed but the headphone speakers don’t have The battery will keep going for
specifically for this purpose. Connection noise cancelling, so aren’t ideal for up to 20 hours, and they take two hours
to a PC or other device can be made via listening to music in noisy environments. to fully charge – while the first five
Bluetooth or a USB dongle. When listening to music, the audio minutes provides a fast charge, which
The set comes with a built-in quality is reasonable, but not exceptional. will keep them going for another hour.
microphone, which you can pull out The same applies to the recording
when you’re talking or push back into the capability of the microphone. Both are
headphones if you want to be muted or more than good enough for handling VERDICT Pricey but comfortable
aren’t using the microphone. There’s also speech, however. headphones, ideal for lengthy voice
a handy mute button on the microphone, What’s perhaps more important for calls or video meetings
so you don’t have to fiddle too much if this type of device is the level of comfort.
And here it scores highly. They weigh
★★★★★
SPECIFICATIONS only 185g, which is exceptionally light ALTERNATIVE Sony WH-
40mm drivers • Dual omni-directional MEMS mics • for over-the-ear headphones. You’ll CH720N £79 Sony’s noise-
18 hours talk time/20 hours listening time • 2 hours certainly appreciate this if you need to cancelling headphones
charge time • 1.5m USB-C charging cable included
• Bluetooth 5.2 • 50m range • 183x170x73mm
wear them for hours on end, but you may are cheaper and better
(HxWxD) • 185g • Two-year warranty still wonder how Logitech can charge this for listening to music
www.snipca.com/47514 much for such a flimsy headset.

28 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Reviews
SMARTWATCH | £289 from Argos www.snipca.com/47572
DO I REALLY NEED...
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 A phone with a
Slap on the wrist screen that looks
like paper?
The latest in Samsung’s range of What is it?
impressive smartwatches comes in two Chinese TV manufacturer
face sizes – 40 or 44mm – with a choice TCL makes affordable
of Bluetooth or 4G connectivity. It has phones with unique features.
two multifunction buttons on its edge The latest is the TCL 40
and a touch-sensitive face for navigating Nxtpaper (pictured) - a phone
through its menus. The Watch6 is priced with a matt screen that feels
to compete with similar watches from more like paper than glass.
Apple and Google – but does it?
Fit apps. Those who use phones made by What does it do?
other manufacturers should beware. Matt screens are more
Easy to use and Aside from fitness tracking, the Watch6 common in PC screens than mobile
has much else to offer. Samsung’s sleep- devices. They tone down reflections,
offers great health coaching feature learns your sleeping which makes them easier to use on
pattern and provides tips on when you’re sunny days. This screen also has a
features, but battery likely to have the most energy for work paper-like texture.
life is too short or exercise. Call handling is easy and
reliable, and the Samsung Wallet can now What’s the catch?
store documents such as airline tickets, By its very nature, the results are duller
In use, the Watch6 is responsive and as well as payment cards for contactless than on the bright, glossy screens you
smooth. The AMOLED screen looks purchases. There’s also a huge range of find on regular smartphones. Also,
stunning and makes it easy to switch third-party apps available via Google Play, TCL specialises in budget models, so it
between apps. We’re not big fans of its including Spotify and WhatsApp. may not be as powerful as your current
default navigation, but it’s simple to stack The watch’s biggest letdown is battery phone.
your favourite functions as quick-access life. While a Fitbit or Garmin watch often
tiles around the circular digital bezel. lasts you through a week of activity, the So can I do without it?
As you’d expect, the full set of health Watch6 gave us only around 25 hours. Yes. We don’t think TCL’s phone will
features is present and correct. Walking That’s particularly disappointing if you inspire other manufacturers to switch to
and running exercises are brilliantly want to take advantage of the watch’s paper-like screens, but you may like the
handled with automatic activity sleep-tracking features. idea if you live in sunny climes.
detection – you can simply set off and the
watch will recognise your activity and SPECIFICATIONS
start recording it automatically. At the 1.3in AMOLED touchscreen • 432x432-pixel NEXT ISSUE
resolution • 300mAh battery • IP68 rating • Wi-Fi 4 •
end, comprehensive information is Bluetooth 5.3 • One UI watch • 39x40x9mm (HxDxW
presented in a clear, helpful way, and it’s excluding strap) • 33g • One-year warranty www. On Sale Weds 11 Oct
a joy to see your route displayed as a snipca.com/47572
full-colour, nicely rendered GPS map.
Dell Inspiron 24
There’s a selection of profiles for An affordable
tracking other activities, including VERDICT One of the best Android all-in-one PC that
cycling and swimming, plus less obvious watches around, but battery life is short runs like a dream
ones such as yoga and weight machines. and it works best when paired with a
The only downside is Samsung phone
that the health Minisforum
features work best
★★★★★
UN1265
when synced to ALTERNATIVE Google Pixel Its 12th-generation
the Samsung Watch £271 This suffers Intel processor keeps
Health app from a similarly short this mini PC below £400
running on a battery life, but it’s
Samsung phone better at sharing These and much more...
– you can’t easily its fitness data with Subscribe to Computeractive at
share the same data Android’s apps www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
with Fitbit or Google

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 29

 Buy It Find out which other products we liked.
Buy our 2022 Back Issue CD:
£17 from www.snipca.com/44660

Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award

LAPTOP ENNEW DESKTOP PC APPLE iPAD
TR
Y
Acer Swift Edge 16 Palicomp Apple iPad 10.2in
£1,299 from www.snipca.com/47480 AMD Cobra £369 from www.snipca.com/36178
Tested Issue 667 £400 from www.snipca.com/43515 Tested Issue 623
Tested Issue 643

This is a much better all-rounder than

Acer’s Swift 3, and so replaces it as our
top choice. It’s faster, has a sharp 16in
screen – two inches bigger than the The 9th-generation of the basic iPad,
Swift 3 – and comes with more ports, This fast PC is a mouth-watering released in 2021, is now the best-value
including two USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 bargain, with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD Apple tablet. The 2022 version looks
ports and HDMI. It’s 13mm thick with the and a six-core processor – though it better and has a faster processor, but
lid closed and weighs a mere 1.25k lacks USB-C ports and built-in Wi-Fi. it’s not worth paying £130 extra for.

ALTERNATIVE Lenovo Yoga 6 Gen 7 ALTERNATIVE Wired2Fire Ultima WS ALTERNATIVE iPad Mini With an even
Has a slower processor, but with a 15- Home Office Workstation Blisteringly better, but smaller, screen than the
hour battery and a great 13.3in screen fast PC, powered by an overclocked 10.2in iPad, the Mini also supports
it remains a good laptop for the price. eight-core processor and 1TB SSD. the Pencil and has 64GB of storage.
£549 from www.snipca.com/44950. £634 from www.snipca.com/41500 £569 from www.snipca.com/33050

APPLE iPHONE P
ANDROID TABLET ENNEW DRRIC ANDROID PHONE
TR OP E
Y
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Apple iPhone 13 Google Pixel 7a
£690 from www.snipca.com/47493 £599 from www.snipca.com/43498 £449 from www.snipca.com/46332
Tested Issue 667 Tested Issue 627 Tested Issue 660

With a much brighter screen than our

previous favourite – the Galaxy Tab S8 Now £200 cheaper than its 2021 launch
– this is perfect for watching TV. It also price, the iPhone 13 has a superb screen,
has a faster processor, so tasks feel long battery life and an excellent camera - A cheaper version of Google’s flagship
smoother, even with several windows particularly for taking quick snaps without phone, this uses AI to add clarity to
open. It’s a great buy even at its full blurring. You could pay £799 for the newer photos, and lasts an impressive 10
price of £799, so this discounted deal is iPhone 15, but we’re not convinced it’s hours. Has a fast processor and 8GB
an absolute steal. worth the extra money. RAM to supercharge performance.

ALTERNATIVE Lenovo Tab P11 Pro It’s ALTERNATIVE iPhone SE With a single ALTERNATIVE Xiaomi Poco F3 This
slower than the Tab S9 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. £395 from storage as the iPhone 11, it’s great value. under £450 that’s faster is the iPhone
www.snipca.com/45244 £429 from www.snipca.com/34773 SE. £259 from www.snipca.com/44553

30 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Buy It
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
EBOOK READER SECURITY SOFTWARE WEBCAM P
DRRIC
OP E
Kobo Libra 2 Norton 360 Premium Logitech C925e Business
£169 from www.snipca.com/40645 £19.99 from www.snipca.com/33247 Webcam
Tested Issue 624 Tested Issue 629 £69 from www.snipca.com/41104
Tested Issue 608

Norton has always performed

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

ALTERNATIVE Amazon Kindle This low- ALTERNATIVE Bitdefender Total ALTERNATIVE Anker PowerConf C300
cost option is a good choice, especially Security Another top performer that Good image quality, crisp audio and
now it has 16GB of storage. £85 from we’re offering at a discount. £19.99 lots of features. £90 from www.snipca.
www.snipca.com/44221 from www.snipca.com/41141 com/41105

PC MONITOR SOLID-STATE DRIVE PRINTER

Iiyama ProLite Corsair MP600 Pro LPX Epson EcoTank ET-1810

XU2492HSU-B1 500GB £150 from www.snipca.com/41232
£109 from www.snipca.com/39701 £52 from www.snipca.com/41547 Tested Issue 628
Tested Issue 618 Tested Issue 630

This 23.8in screen is superb value, In our tests, this M.2 SSD hit speeds of An inkjet printer that comes with
with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. 7,364MB/s and 6,870MB/s when enough ink to print 4,500 mono
Colour is good, covering 88 per cent of reading and writing data – astonishingly and 7,500 colour pages, making it
the sRGB colour range. Connect your fast scores. It’s compatible with the exceptionally cheap to run. It’s not
computer via HDMI, DisplayPort or new PCIe 4.0 standard, which is twice the fastest printer, but quality is good,
VGA, and there’s a USB hub to connect as fast as PCIe 3.0. The 1TB model especially on photo paper – we’ve
your mouse and keyboard. costs £70; 2TB costs £105. never seen better on an inkjet.

ALTERNATIVE AOC 27P2C ALTERNATIVE Crucial MX500 500GB ALTERNATIVE Brother DCP-J1140DW
This also has a 1920x1080 resolution but As fast as an SSD can get in the Compact multifunction model with rare
it’s 27 inches, so pixel density is lower. But traditional 2.5in SATA format, this features at this price, including
you’ll only notice if you look really closely. is a great-value upgrade. £30 from double-sided printing. £140 from
£203 from www.snipca.com/41609 www.snipca.com/37304 www.snipca.com/43670

32 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Buy It

COMPETITION

Win 1 of 5
Kingston XS1000
External SSDs
Kingston’s new XS1000 External SSD memories and media files. To enter this competition, answer
is a small and incredibly sleek option It uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity the question at www.snipca.
for backing up files. It’s incredibly to achieve read speeds up to com/47554 and submit your details.
compact, fitting easily into your palm, 1,050MB/s, and 1,000MB/s write It runs until midnight Tuesday 10
and weighs just under 29 grams - speeds. It’s backwards compatible October. Good luck!
letting you easily take your files with USB 3.2 Gen 1, and comes with
wherever you go. a USB-C 3-to-USB-A cable so you You can buy Kingston XS1000
Small like a key fob, the XS1000 can use it seamlessly with older external SSDs from Amazon (www.
serves as a reliable companion for devices. snipca.com/47555), priced £63.98
easy file backups, guaranteeing It works with Windows 10 and 11; for 1TB and £102.98 for 2TB. They
continuous macOS (10.15.x+) are backed by a limited five-year
access to your Linux (4.4.x+), warranty with free technical
important Chrome OS, support. For more information on
documents, Android and iOS/ Kingston products visit www.
cherished iPadOS (v.13+). kingston.com.

SMART TV ROUTER SMART SPEAKER

Samsung Q60B Asus RT-AXE7800 Google Nest Audio

£445 from www.snipca.com/45083 £204 from www.snipca.com/47586 £90 from www.snipca.com/36475
Tested Issue 652 Tested Issue 665 Tested Issue 593

Produces a rich, clear sound, and better

understands your questions than
With our former favourite – the TCL This router has Wi-Fi 6E, so will be Amazon’s Echo devices. You can use
55RP620K out of stock – Samsung’s capable of the fastest possible speeds Google’s app to control audio from
43in set is our new pick. It has excellent on the 6GHz network over the next few other units around your home (pair two
colour reproduction in well-lit scenes, years. It has five Ethernet ports and also of them for £130). The clever Ambient
and the picture is wonderfully sharp – a USB 3.0 port to connect a hard drive or IQ tool increases the volume if it detects
especially in 4K. NAS drive. external noise, such as a hairdryer.

ALTERNATIVE LG OLED42C3 ALTERNATIVE Synology WRX560 ALTERNATIVE Amazon Echo (4th

LG’s 42in TV is three times the price, Our previous favourite remains an generation) The latest version of the
but unlike TCL’s model it has an excellent choice, delivering speeds of Echo changes the shape from a cylinder
OLED screen, boosting picture quality up to 791.5Mbps. Add more units to set to a ball, which improves sound quality
considerably. £1,066 from www.snipca. up mesh Wi-Fi. £213 from www.snipca. – though the Nest’s is still superior.
com/47271 com/44696 £82 from www.snipca.com/41111

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 33

Computeractive 2022
Back Issue CD & USB Stick
Both the CD and Stick contain all 26 issues from 2022

LE NOW!
ON SA
NEW!

Buy the CD from us at Buy the Stick from us at

www.snipca.com/44660 www.snipca.com/44976
 Pull Out
& Keep

Workshops & Tips Issue 667

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

35 F
 ind files quickly using 40 R
 eaders’ Tips PLUS
symlinks in Windows 44 Phone & Tablet Tips 47 M
 ake Office Better
42 B
 rowser Tips: Attach
38 U
 se GPS data to the Edge sidebar to 46 M
 ake Windows 48 In the Club: Use AI to
rename your files your desktop Better create a presentation

HOW TO...
Find files quickly using
symlinks in Windows by Nik Rawlinson

What you need: Windows 10 or 11 Time required: 30 minutes

S
ymbolic Links, also called without simultaneously creating redundant duplicates, where there’s
symlinks, are a useful but often several copies. always a risk of you losing track of the
overlooked feature of modern For example, imagine you were most recent copy.
operating systems. In Microsoft’s own planning a family holiday, and you But by using symlinks you can create a
words, they are “‘virtual’ files or folders wanted to organise all the relevant single ‘holiday’ folder wherever you like
which reference a physical file or folder documents in a single folder. If your and generate symlinks inside it for the
located elsewhere”. existing filing system worked on the basis files you need to keep track of. The files
In doing so, they make it easy to of spreadsheets in one folder, letters in can stay in their original locations, but
navigate to files that are hidden in another, and archived emails in a third, you’ll be able to open them with a
obscure locations or several folders deep. creating a single folder for everything to double-click on each symlink, just as
Open one and rather than stepping into do with your trip would require you you would if you were clicking on the
a folder just one level away in the file either to relocate your originals or to files themselves.
system, you could be transported to a create copies. Symlinks work in both Windows 10
completely different directory several Neither of these is an ideal solution: and 11. While the official way to create
layers deep. moving files breaks your existing filing them is still via Command Prompt, you
One of the primary benefits of creating system and risks the originals getting lost can now download programs that will
symlinks, aside from making it easy to if you forget where they are or don’t handle the task for you. We’ll get to that
quickly reach a particular file, is that you spend time putting them back at the end later, but first we’ll take a look at the
can create multiple links to a single file of your trip. Copying files creates Command Prompt process.

Understand the different known as a soft link, which connects the see how this works in practice. We’ll use
1 types of symlink
The command for creating a
user to a specific folder, either on the same
drive as the symlink itself, or on a remote
the computer on which we’re writing
this as a case study, but bear in mind that
symlink is mklink, after which you can computer. Add /j to create a junction point, your folder structure will inevitably be
specify a few options. Add /h to the end which lets you point to a folder on your different. If you want to follow, replace
of the command to create a hard link. This local computer. In most instances, you’ll the locations of the folders as appropriate
connects directly to a specific file on the use /d and /h, which we’ll focus on here. to your system.
same drive as the symlink itself, like a Open Command Prompt by pressing
spreadsheet of costs in the holiday Create a symlink the Windows key, then typing cmd and
planning example above. Add /d to the
end of the command to create what’s
2 in your C: drive
Let’s create some symlinks to
clicking ‘Run as administrator’. Windows
will ask if you want to allow it to make

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 35

 1
How I use symlinks
2 I use symlinks to maintain a small collection of shortcuts to
folders that I use frequently. By saving them all in the top-level C:
Type cd \ to go to the very top level of your folder I can go straight to them and quickly navigate to directories
hard-drive heirarchy that would otherwise be several clicks away. It’s a significant
timesaver. Symlinks also work on Linux and macOS, both of which
changes to your device. Click Yes. At I use at different times during my working week, so I could do the
the prompt itself, type cd \ ( 1 in our same there if I chose.
screenshot above) and press Enter. This Nik Rawlinson
takes you to the very top level of your How do you use symlinks?
hard drive (C: in our example 2 ) from Please let us know: [email protected]
which your computer boots. You can
create symlinks anywhere you choose,
Excel showed
but by creating one here we’ll be able to this error
find it easily in the future. message after
We’ll create a symlink called ‘holiday- we tried to save
costs’ that connects to a folder called a file that we
opened from a
‘costs’ inside our Documents folder. As symlink
the Documents folder is at Users\Nik\
Documents, the command is: mklink /d
holiday-costs \Users\nik\Documents\ spreadsheet called ‘expenses.xlsx’. We’ll created, you’ll see an old version. This
costs ( 1 in our screenshot below). create a symlink for that in the top-level happens with all types of file, not only
Press Enter, then type dir 2 and folder of our boot drive, alongside the those created and edited using Excel.
you’ll see that a new folder called holiday-costs symlink. To do so, switch It occurs because many programs
holiday-costs has been created in your back to Command Prompt and type: have a built-in fail-safe that should
C: drive (see screenshot below right). mklink /h expenses-link.xlsx \Users\nik\ prevent you from losing your work if
You can use this new symlink like Documents\costs\expenses.xlsx something goes wrong when saving
you would use a regular folder. Type Notice how, where we used the /d option a file. Rather than directly overwriting
cd holiday-costs (where ‘cd’ stands for to create a symlink to a directory, we’ve the original, they create a temporary
‘change directory’) and press Enter, and used the /h option this time to create a second copy of the document, then
you’ll be immediately taken to the costs ‘hard’ link to a specific file. delete the original and rename the copy
folder, without having to type the far As you would imagine, double-clicking using the name of the file they just
longer address of the original destination. the ‘expenses-link.xlsx’ file in the c:\ deleted.
Likewise, open a new File Explorer folder opens the original ‘expenses.xlsx’ As far as you’re concerned, the next
window and click C: in the sidebar, and spreadsheet in Excel. However, if you edit time you visit the original location and
you’ll see the holiday-costs symlink. the file and try to save it, Excel throws up you see the file ‘expenses.xlsx’ in your
Double-click this and you’ll be taken an error message (see screenshot above). costs folder, it appears that you’re looking
straight to the costs folder without having A further complication arises if, instead at the document you created days, weeks
to navigate through the interim directories. of accessing the file through the symlink, or months ago when, in reality, it’s only
you open it in its original location (at C:\ as old as your most recent save.
Be careful which Users\nik\Documents\costs\expenses. Your symlink, on the other hand, is
3 files you link to
Let’s create a symlink for a
xlsx). You can save the file without any
problems when you do that but, if you
still pointing to the old file, which has
been deleted but is resurrected when
specific file so we can get to it quickly. later open it from
Inside our costs folder, there’s an Excel the symlink you
Type this
command,
press Enter,
then type
dir…

…and a folder called ‘holiday-costs’ will be created in your C: drive.

36 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Find files quickly using symlinks in Windows

2 1

1
4 3 2

Be careful when deleting a symlink that you don’t also remove some
Symbolic Link Creator makes it easy to create symlinks of your original files

you double-click the ‘expenses-link.xlsx’ symlink. To replicate what we did in the To delete a symlink while keeping
symlink. steps above, click My PC in the box that your data safe, therefore, avoid using the
You can test this by deleting the appears to reveal its contents, then C: del command, and instead either delete
original ‘expenses.xlsx’ file, then followed by OK. Type the name you the symlink by right-clicking it in File
launching the symlink again. Although want to use for your symlink into the Explorer and clicking the bin icon, or by
you might expect this to result in a ‘file next box down – it’s holiday-costs 2 in using the rmdir command.
not found’ error, what happens is, after our example. As its name suggests, rmdir is short
a brief pause, the ‘expenses.xlsx’ file is Move down to the Destination Folder for remove directory and, in this instance,
resurrected inside Excel, even though section and click Explore 3 , then navigate it removes the symbolic link without
it’s not recreated on the drive. to the existing folder for which you want affecting its contents. To remove the
To save yourself a lot of confusion – to create the symlink. Click OK once holiday-costs symlink we created above,
and to avoid opening a file you can’t you’ve selected it. Leave ‘Symbolic Link’ the command would therefore be:
save – stick to creating symlinks to selected in the ‘Select the type of link’ rmdir holiday-costs (see screenshot
folders where practical, and only link to menu 4 , then click Create Link. below).
specific files when you’re certain that the The link will be created in the background, This is also the first step in amending a
program used to edit them saves directly and you’ll see a very similar confirmation symlink, because, while you can change
over the original, rather than creating message to that which appears in Command the name of a symlink, it’s not possible to
and renaming backup copies. Prompt. You can now use it for navigation directly edit the folder to which it points.
both in File Explorer and in Command Instead, remove the symlink using rmdir,
Create symlinks using Prompt. then recreate it from scratch, this time
4 Symbolic Link Creator
Now that you know what’s Delete and edit
using the updated destination.
If all you want to do is rename your
going on in the background, let’s switch
from Command Prompt to a graphical
5 symlinks
Symlinks are just representations
symlink, use the rename command,
again in Command Prompt. To rename
program, which makes creating symlinks of alternative locations on your hard holiday-costs to winter-break-costs, use:
quicker. There are several tools to choose drive. However, you still need to be rename holiday-costs winter-break-costs.
from, but we’re going to use Symbolic careful when deleting them to make sure Now, when you double-click winter-
Link Creator because it’s available as a you don’t lose any of your original data. break-costs in Windows File Explorer, or
portable program that doesn’t need to Earlier, we created a symlink called you open the file in Command Prompt by
be installed. ‘holiday-costs’ using the mklink /d typing cd winter-break-costs, you’ll still
Visit www.snipca.com/47487, then scroll command. We can quickly and easily be taken to the original costs folder.
down and click Download Standalone delete this in Command Prompt by
Executable under the Downloads heading. typing del holiday-costs ( 1 in our
When the program has downloaded, screenshot above right).
unzip the compressed file in your However, when we press Enter
Downloads folder, then launch it. Windows asks us ‘Are you sure (Y/N)?’ 2 .
To create a symlink to a folder, select This is because as well as deleting the
‘Folder symbolic link’ from the dropdown symbolic link, that command will delete
menu at the top of the window. The any files – but not any folders – inside the
alternative is to create a link to a file directory to which the symbolic link is
by selecting ‘File symbolic link’. Now pointing. So, if we had a handful of
click the first Explore button ( 1 in our spreadsheets and scans of receipts in the
screenshot above) and navigate to the original folder, they would be deleted at Type this command to remove a symlink
folder in which you want to create the the same time as the symlink. without affecting its contents

Next issue: Catalogue items using the best free software Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 37
 Workshop
Use GPS data to rename your files
What you need: Advanced Renamer
Time required: 30 minutes

W indows’ powerful built-in search

tools make it easy to find files
and folders scattered across your
time-consuming and tedious
process. Thankfully, Advanced
Renamer – a free download from
system, but it helps to know what www.advancedrenamer.com – can
you’re looking for in the first place. help. It lets you set up a pattern
That’s not always easy when working or use data built into the files
with auto-generated file names, like themselves to rename long lists
those produced by a camera or of files in a batch. A recent update
smartphone. Renaming them can adds a GPS option to rename image
help, but doing this yourself can be a and video files, as we’ll explain.

STEP Open Advanced Renamer, click Files 1 and navigate to STEP We want to edit both the file names and created dates

1 the files you want to rename. If they’re all in the same

folder you can add several at once by clicking the first,
2 of our selected files. To see these details in the interface
click Columns 1 , then untick Path and Error in the
holding down the Shift key then clicking the last in a range, or ‘Columns’ column of the Customize Columns box. This hides
by holding down Ctrl while clicking individual files. Click Open that information so we have room in the program window for
when you’ve added all you need. If they’re not all in the same the details we do need to see. Scroll down and tick the boxes
folder and you need to add further files from another location, beside Created Date 2 and New Created Date 3 . Click OK 4 .
click Files again and repeat the process until the Rename Files
panel 2 includes everything you need to edit.

1
1
2

3
4

STEP Click Timestamp 1 in the ‘Add batch

3 method’ panel, then select ‘Absolute date

and time’ and enter the date and time you
want to use in the boxes at the bottom of the panel 2 .
You’ll see the date you entered now shown in the
New Created Date column 3 . This only changes the
dates and times of the file in Windows, which makes
the folder look tidier. However, it doesn’t adjust the 3
timestamp in the file’s metadata, so you’ll still be
able to use that to sort and search your photos and
videos in an image-management tool. 1

38 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 2

1
3

STEP Click New Name 1 . If you took your photos or videos STEP You’ll notice that your files have now turned red 1 .

4 on a smartphone they almost certainly have GPS data

attached, which records where they were taken, as well
5 This is a warning that they will all have the same name,
which your operating system will struggle to handle.
as other details like time, sensitivity settings, and whether you Click the menu in the ‘Name collision rule’ column and select
were holding the phone horizontally or vertically. You can use ‘Append number’ from the options 2 . A new Separator box will
the GPS data to rename your pictures, which saves you having appear (it’s obscured by the menu in our screenshot) with an
to change each file name individually. Select ‘GPS Location Tags’ underscore (_). Leave this as it is. This tells Advanced Renamer
in the dropdown menu on the left 2 , then click ‘<GPS City> - what to do if two renamed files end up having the same file
City where picture was taken’ 3 . name – namely to add an underscore, followed by a sequential
number (1,2,3 etc).

STEP So far, all the changes have been automatically

6 applied: either from data drawn from the image

itself or through the addition of a sequential
3
number. You can also manually add any text or numbers
you want. Click Add 1 then specify what you want
added to the file name in the Add box 2 . By default, it’s
added at the start of the file name. If you want to add it
to the end of your new file name (but before your
automatically added number), tick Backwards 3 .
1

STEP Click ‘Start batch’ 1 and

7 Advanced Renamer will ask

you to check that your
settings are correct before clicking
the Rename button (even though
1 there is no Rename button). Instead,
click the Start button. When it’s
finished renaming your files (which
2 3 took a couple of seconds for 124 files
on our PC), it will tell you how many
it amended and whether it
encountered any errors. If ‘Errors
found’ 2 is anything other than zero,
click See Errors 3 to see what went
wrong, then go back and change
your settings.

Next issue: Replace Windows’ Start menu with a better alternative Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 39
 Readers’ Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT

Encrypt your USB stick with VeraCrypt

You’re right to encourage readers to use VeraCrypt will be installed on your stick.
VeraCrypt (www.snipca.com/47319) 1 You now need to create a ‘volume’
as a free encryption tool (Issue 665, on your stick. You do this by clicking
page 19). I agree that it’s “less friendly” Create Volume, then ‘Create an
than other tools like Wise Folder encrypted file container’. Now follow
Hider (www.snipca.com/47315), the instructions and when you’re
but it doesn’t cost a penny. asked for your volume location click
I use it more often to encrypt my USB 2 ‘Select File’, then choose and name
sticks than folders on my computer. I your stick.
need to travel between homes and Finally, you need to pick how much
offices carrying sensitive information, 3 of your stick you want encrypted. In
so VeraCrypt brings peace of mind. my experience, this process lasts about
Once you’ve inserted your stick, open click Browse ( 1 in our screenshot) and 15 minutes on 16GB sticks,
VeraCrypt then click Tools at the top, locate your USB stick on your computer 2 . and twice that on 32GB.
followed by Traveler Disk Setup. Next, Select your stick, click Create 3 , and Nigel Gall

Nigel wins a copy of our 2022 Back Issue CD Buy it from us at www.snipca.com/44660

SEARCH segments (see screenshot below left).

Bring up the Google spinner Click ‘Spin’ to get it started. I showed
Following your recommendation to this to my grandchildren, and they were
use the dice and coin flip built into delighted to see the option to turn it into
Google Search (Issue 665, page 49), a fidget spinner. 2
there’s another way to generate random Ken Pitman
decisions: use a spinner. Just type 1
Google spinner and you’ll see a spinning SOFTWARE
wheel divided into six numbered Make Wintoys launch in the bottom left of Wintoys ( 1 in our
your preferred section screenshot above), then looking for the
Thanks to recent tips from readers ‘Landing page’ dropdown menu. Click
and Issue 663’s Workshop (page this and select the section you want to
38), I’m now using Wintoys (www.snipca. see at launch. I chose the Apps section 2 ,
com/46778) to monitor my PC’s health. which shows every program I’ve got
There’s a small setting that’s worth installed. I like to check this every day
activating because it launches the to make sure nothing suspicious has
program in the section you want. sneaked on to my system.
You’ll find this by clicking Settings at Craig Forster

Why I stopped using…

My iPad I was encouraged by your review of the
A few years ago I spent £349 on Amazon Fire 11 Max (Issue 662, page 22),
an Apple iPad, and it’s been a especially by the price – just £250 for
decent device. But I only use it for 64GB of RAM and a screen size of 11
looking at photos and watching videos, inches. This was bigger than the 10.2
and ignore most of the apps that come inches on my iPad.
with it. I bought one from the link you gave I know some people are put off
(www.snipca.com/46580), and it’s Amazon Fire tablets because they lack
And what I use instead… brilliant. Videos of my grandchildren play the Google Play Store, but if you don’t
I decided to buy a replacement in smoothly, while photos look spectacular. need extra apps that’s not a hindrance.
August, and was instantly put off Apple I realised quickly that I should’ve paid Gary Wales
when I saw that the latest version of the £290 for the 128GB edition, but there’s a
iPad now costs £499! That’s a lot of microSD card slot for cards up to 1TB, so Tell us why you stopped using a website, app
money just to view photos and videos. I’ll buy one of those instead. or program: [email protected]

40 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

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

WEBSITE
Get photos uploaded to Dropbox Reader recommends…
Further to your interesting guide
on how to print photos more PCSpecialist Topaz Supreme
cheaply (Issue 664, page 35), I’m keen to £899 from www.snipca.com/46624
recommend Photo Express (www.snipca.
com/47351). You can ask it to save your Since retiring from It has been a revelation,
photos to a CD, DVD or USB stick, but my job as a pilot, I’ve however. Your review
my preference is to get them directly been hooked to Microsoft mentioned it has a high
uploaded to my Dropbox account. They Flight Simulator (www. frame rate, and I can
charge £5 per order for this, but it’s flightsimulator.com). It’s confirm that it hasn’t
extremely convenient. The website is a almost as good as the real stuttered once during my
family-owned business in Hull, and I’ve thing! But the computer I flights. This is probably
used it for many years without problems. had – a decaying Dell helped by the 2.5GB
Heather Potts dinosaur – struggled Ethernet connection, which
with the graphics. I use rather than the Wi-Fi.
WEBSITE I needed a more powerful It’s advertised as a gaming
Use Met Office’s PC – probably one with a PC, but with six USB 3.0
rainfall radar map gaming pedigree. They ports it’ll satisfy most
I have used the browser extension all seemed too expensive needs. The panel at the top
Rain Alarm (www.snipca. until I read your review giving easy access to three
com/46775) that you recommended in of PCSpecialist’s Topaz ports is especially useful.
Issue 663 (page 43) and I agree it’s Supreme (Issue 662, page Steve Armitage
excellent. But just as good is the ‘UK 23). At £899 it was the first ‘gaming’ PC Want to recommend hardware or software
rainfall radar map’ provided by the Met I’d seen for under £1,000, but I was still to fellow readers?
Office (www.snipca.com/47393). a little nervous about spending so much. Email [email protected]

solution to the answer you provided – the widows and orphans separately, but
error is shown by a Sony monitor and not that’s not the case in Word – it’s either
the motherboard or Windows. ‘ETI’ both or neither. I hope Microsoft fixes
means ‘elapsed time indicator’, and it’s this annoying quirk in a future edition
been used for 9,284 hours. It probably of Word.
needs a new backlight or tube. To reset Frank Turner
the timer, first turn off the monitor. Next,
press down both the ‘volume down’ and AI
Search for a location at the top and ‘power’ buttons, then select Service Use ChatGPT to write
you’ll see it pinned on the map. Now followed by ‘Clear ETI’. letters of complaint
zoom into your location, then scroll the William Franklin Prompted by recent letters and
timeline at the bottom and you’ll see articles about how to use ChatGPT
whether any rain clouds are heading OFFICE (www.snipca.com/45950), I used it to
your way (see screenshot above). You Turn off orphan control in Word help me write a letter of complaint to BT.
can get more information, such as In Issue 666’s Make Office Better I did this after the company had failed to
temperature and wind speed, by clicking (page 47) you explained how to take my first complaint seriously, closing
the top-left menu. turn off ‘Orphan control’ in LibreOffice it after four hours without any action
Kevin Powell Writer to neatly split paragraphs across being taken. I
pages. This is something I’ve also done in gave all my
HARDWARE Microsoft Word, and it’s easy to achieve. information
Buy new monitor backlight or Right-click anywhere in your document to ChatGPT
tube indicated in error message and select Paragraph. Next, click the ‘Line and within
I read David Dunnett’s letter and Page Breaks’ tab at the top, then under minutes it had
Issue 663 (page 67), asking what the Pagination heading untick ‘Widow/ produced an
the ‘ETI : 9284 H’ error message (see Orphan control’ (see screenshot below). effective letter
screenshot below) means on his Windows In LibreOffice Writer, you can turn off that I then sent
98 computer. I have an alternative to BT (see screenshot above). The outcome
was a full apology, a credit for the time I
was without a landline service, and £100
compensation. I can fully recommend
ChatGPT to anyone who is trying to get a
fair outcome for a problem or complaint.
Maureen Brown

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 41

 Browser Tips
CHROME screenshot below left) to allow cookies on
Temporarily allow the current site for 90 days, while
third-party cookies still blocking them on other sites. Reload
We often recommend blocking the page for the change to take effect. If
third-party cookies to stop sites you’re worried about the site tracking
tracking you around the web. Private you, simply disable the option again.
browsers such as Brave and Firefox enable Incidentally, if you have upgraded to
this option by default, but in Chrome you Chrome 117 you may have noticed the
need to activate it manually by going to browser’s fresh look. This applies a
Settings, then ‘Privacy and security’ and Material You design that gives your tabs
selecting ‘Cookies and other site data’. rounded corners, and the top menu bar
Chrome 117, released 12 September, a blue tint – though not much else has
adds the ability to allow third-party changed.
cookies temporarily if you have trouble
loading a specific website. It will then EDGE
remember your preference for 90 days, Attach the Edge sidebar
without you needing to disable cookie- to your desktop
blocking for all sites. Microsoft has spent a lot of
To use the new feature, click the time this year experimenting with Settings cog at the bottom.
padlock icon in the address bar – or a the sidebar that runs down the right- Once detached, you can set the sidebar
crossed-out eye icon if you see one – and hand side of Edge. Its latest wheeze, in to open automatically when Windows 10
choose ‘Cookies and site data’. Switch on version 116 of the browser (released at starts, by clicking the three-dot icon
the ‘Third-party cookies’ option (see the end of August), is to let you detach and choosing ‘Auto-start sidebar’. To
the sidebar from Edge and attach it to reattach it to the browser, select ‘Close
your desktop instead. and re-attach to Edge’ (see screenshot
This means you can access tools above).
including Search, Outlook, Microsoft 365
apps, file-sharing service Drop and AI CHROMIUM & FIREFOX
assistant Bing Chat, from outside the Block YouTube ads (again)
browser. Indeed, even when Edge is with uBlock Origin
closed, the sidebar will remain active and
pinned to the right-hand side of your
desktop (you can’t move it elsewhere). As we explained in our ‘Keep your ad
Strangely, the option is only available blocker working’ feature in Issue 663
in Windows 10, perhaps to avoid (page 60), YouTube has started clamping
interfering with Microsoft’s forthcoming down on ad blockers, by insisting that
Copilot feature in Windows 11. To detach users disable them if they want to
the sidebar from Edge, right-click the watch videos for free. Recently, some
‘Detach from Edge’ button above the users of the excellent content blocker

WORKSHOP Import extensions from Chrome to Firefox

1
2

2
1
2

1 Type about:config into Firefox’s address

bar, press Enter and click ‘Accept the
Risk and Continue’. Search for the
2 When the browser reopens, click the
three-line menu button and select
Settings, then the General tab. Alternatively,
3 Select ‘Chrome’ in the dropdown menu
1 to import compatible extensions
from the browser – you can specify the
preference browser.migrate.chrome. type about:preferences#general 1 in the relevant profile. Click the plus sign to
extensions.enabled 1 and double-click it address bar and press Enter. Scroll down to select the data you want to import, such as
to change its value to ‘true’ 2 . Restart the Import Browser Data section and click bookmarks, extensions and passwords –
Firefox for the change to take effect. the Import Data button 2 . or tick ‘Select all’ – then click Import 2 .

42 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Secret settings and the best extensions

BEST EXTENSION FOR… Keeping your browser awake

Caffeine – Keep Awake and whether Caffeine should control only also an option to put your PC to sleep
Chromium your screen or your whole system. There’s once a file has finished downloading
www.snipca.com/47477 (see screenshot). The extension’s icon
Although leaving your PC running changes automatically to indicate whether
while not in use is a waste of electricity it’s active, and you can make this an even
and money, there are times when it’s clearer symbol – such as ‘d’ for disabled.
preferable to keep it active – such as
when you’re downloading a large file or If you don’t like that, try…
reading an ebook. This extension lets Keep Awake
you control your system’s power state, to Firefox
stop it entering hibernate or sleep mode, www.snipca.com/47478
directly from your browser. Right-click This Firefox add-on works in a similar way
its coffee-cup toolbar button to specify to Caffeine but only prevents your screen
how long you want to keep your PC from being put to sleep rather than your
awake – from five minutes to 24 hours – system from going into hibernation mode.

browser to the other private by generating fake information

you need to manually to enter in online forms.
reinstall all your favourite This includes a username, password,
1
add-ons. email address, real name, phone number
To make things easier, and postal address, though annoyingly
Mozilla has introduced its fake contact details are all in US
2 the ability to import format – complete with ZIP code and
certain extensions state. Simply click the Generate button
directly from Chrome, in the top-left corner ( 1 in our screenshot
though the option is below) to create your alternative identity
currently a hidden and copy the required data to a
experiment. Reports registration form.
suggest it will be properly Although we’ve seen similar tools
uBlock Origin (www.snipca.com/47086) added to Firefox in before, such as Fake Data (www.snipca.
have found that the extension is no longer version 118, which is set to be released com/47476), Faux has the advantage of an
blocking all ads on YouTube. Instead in October, but you can enable it integrated inbox 2 , so you can receive
they’re being displayed before, during now by following the steps in our account-verification codes sent by email.
and after videos, suggesting that YouTube Workshop opposite.
has found a way to block the blocker. Currently, only 71 extensions
Thankfully, there is a workaround are supported by the new import
that lets you restore uBlock Origin’s method, including uBlock 2
ability to block YouTube ads. Click the Origin, AdGuard, Ghostery,
extension’s button on your browser’s Bitdefender TrafficLight and
toolbar followed by the ‘Open the LastPass, but more are likely to
dashboard’ three-cog button in the be added in the future. 1
bottom-right corner ( 1 in our screenshot
above). Click the ‘Filter lists’ tab then CHROMIUM
the ‘Purge all caches’ button at the top of Fake your data when
the page 2 , and click ‘Update now’. registering with websites
This will remove cached content from
uBlock Origin and update its rules for
blocking YouTube videos, in line with It’s difficult to avoid disclosing
recent changes. your name and email address
when you sign up with websites,
FIREFOX and you may even be asked for
Import your favourite additional details such as your
extensions from Chrome phone number and date of birth.
Although many popular extensions A new extension called Faux
are available for both Chrome and (www.snipca.com/47475) helps
Firefox, if you intend to switch from one you keep your personal data

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 43

 Phone and Tablet Tips
ANDROID & iOS screenshot below) – or tap the ‘New chat’ button
Hide and back up private ‘Do not back up’ to then ‘New group’ and
images in Google Photos keep items stored on select up to five contacts –
The Locked Folder option in your device – and use with groups of more
Google Photos lets you hide your screen-lock than six people, you still
sensitive pictures and videos in a method to protect the need to enter a name.
folder that can only be opened using a folder. Tap the ‘Move Tap the Next icon and
PIN, pattern, password or fingerprint, items’ button, select the you’ll see the ‘Group name’
depending on how you unlock your photos and videos you field now says ‘optional’
screen. want to hide, and tap (see screenshot left). Press
This handy privacy feature is finally Move. You – and only the tick confirmation
available in Google Photos for iOS (www. you – can then open button to start your group
snipca.com/47548), nearly two years after your Locked Folder by chat without providing a
it was introduced on Android. You can tapping that option on name.
also now back up the contents of your the Utilities screen and
Locked Folder online, to access your unlocking it. ANDROID & iOS
private photos and videos on any phone To turn backup on or off, tap your Add emoji to saved places
or tablet. These items won’t appear in profile picture in the Photos apps, choose in Google Maps
your photo grid, Memories or Albums, ‘Photos settings’ then Backup and select Google Maps lets you save
and Google says all the content you back ‘Back up Locked Folder’. locations for future reference
up “is protected by one of the world’s and compile them into lists such as
most advanced ANDROID & iOS Favourites, ‘Want to go’ and ‘Travel plans’.
security Create WhatsApp group It has now expanded this feature with
infrastructures” chats without a name the ability to customise your saved places
(www.snipca. If you ever have trouble using emojis, which then appear in the
com/47549). thinking of an appropriate relevant positions on the map. For
To set up Locked name for a group chat in WhatsApp, example, you can use a coffee-cup emoji
Folder, tap the you’ll appreciate a small but to indicate your favourite coffee shops, or
Library tab in the welcome tweak to the messaging a grumpy-face emoji to mark places you
Google Photos app. This lets you start a new group never want to go back to again.
app and choose chat without choosing a name first. To use the new feature, tap the Saved
Utilities, then Instead, WhatsApp will use the tab in the centre of the bottom toolbar
Locked Folder. names of the participants as the in Google Maps and select ‘New list’.
Press the ‘Set up group’s title – or their phone Give your new list a suitable name and
Locked Folder’ numbers when group members don’t optional description, then tap ‘Edit icon’
button, tap ‘Turn have each other saved as contacts. (see screenshot above right) to open the
on backup’ (see To create a nameless group chat, emojis panel. Choose an emoji for your

BEST NEW APPS What you should install this fortnight

Samsung Food Voiijer RadioTime

Free Free Free*
Android www.snipca.com/47550 iOS www.snipca.com/47553 Android www.snipca.com/47557
iOS www.snipca.com/47551 This social network for nature enthusiasts RadioTime lets you tune into FM and
Formerly called Whisk, Samsung Food lets you browse and share photos, videos AM radio stations from all over the
helps you plan and prepare healthy meals. and articles relating world, but due to licensing restrictions
Browse more than to the wonders it’s limited to UK
160,000 recipes, of the natural broadcasts over
which contain clear world. Explore here. Still, the app
instructions and categories such as is easy to browse,
user comments; Fossils, Desert and streams stations
save ingredients to Mountaineering to instantly and has
a shopping list; and view ‘observations’ a sleep timer that
use the Meal Planner from fellow Voiijer stops playback
tool to decide what users, which you automatically after
to eat for breakfast, can comment on a specific time.
lunch and dinner for and ‘like’ in the Pay £2.99 to
the next week. usual social manner. remove ads.

*Contains in-app purchases

44 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Brilliant things to do on your device

list and tap the contact card containing the selfie, Photos to select an
plus button in name, profile photo and existing picture, Memoji
the bottom-right background of your choice. to use an animated
corner. When you update your avatar of yourself or
You can now iPhone to iOS 17, tap the Monogram to create a
save places to prompt to ‘Update Your custom poster. You can
your list, either Name and Photo’ and press tweak the font, colour
by searching for Continue. If you skipped this and crop the size.
them or by option by choosing ‘Set Up Specify whether to share
tapping ‘Choose Later in Settings’, open the your poster with your
on map’ to find Contacts app, select ‘Contact contacts automatically,
and select them. Photo & Poster’ and tap Edit. or ask first. They’ll also
These will appear Enter the name you want need to be using iOS 17.
as ‘Dropped pins’ in the list. Tap ‘Save’ to display then choose a We’ll have more tips
when you’ve finished adding places, and poster style (see screenshot about iOS 17’s new
they’ll now be marked with your chosen right). Tap ‘Camera’ to take a features in our next issue.
emoji on the map.
To remove the emojis, tap the three-dot
button next to the name of the saved list
BEST APPS FOR... Learning something new
and either select ‘Hide on your map’ or
‘Delete list’. You can also share your list, Vocabulary
complete with the emojis on the map, Free*
with other people. Android www.snipca.com/47560
iOS www.snipca.com/47561
ANDROID & iOS Expand your vocabulary using this app, which
Cut costs using teaches you up to 20 new words a day.
MoneySavingExpert’s Bill Buster Specify your current vocabulary level and
MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has you’ll be presented with a set of words, along
updated the Bill Buster tool in its with definitions, example sentences and
app for Android (www.snipca.com/47558) pronunciations. You can then receive more
and iOS (www.snipca.com/47559) it now words as notifications and via its widget.
helps you track your mobile and Best For Improving your vocabulary
broadband bills, get alerts when your
contracts are ending and compare the Memrise
cheapest deals. Free*
To use Bill Android www.snipca.com/47564
Buster, you need iOS www.snipca.com/47565
to register and Memrise teaches you a new language using
link your bank videos of native speakers, which is useful
account, which for learning everyday phrases and hearing
may put you off them spoken in context – rather than the
– especially as stilted word-by-word approach of Duolingo.
the feature is still You need to subscribe to unlock all its
in beta. However, features and courses, but daily practice
MSE says it lessons are free.
doesn’t store Best For Learning a language
your bank details
or access your data, but identifies Kinnu: Superpower learning
outgoing payments and asks you to Free
confirm them (see screenshot above) so it Android www.snipca.com/47562
can provide cost-cutting advice. iOS www.snipca.com/47563
Kinnu is a ‘microlearning’ app that helps
iOS you master different subjects through
Customise how you appear bite-sized, three-minute lessons. Explore its
to people you call map of topics, which span everything from
One of the most interesting new Anthropology and Chess to Green Energy
features in iOS 17, which began and Poetry, then tap to start a course and
rolling out in mid-September, lets you set up reminders to resume learning at a
customise how you appear to the people convenient time.
you call. It’s called Contact Posters and Best For Expanding your knowledge
you can use it to create a personalised
*Contains in-app purchases

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 45

 Make Windows Better Expert tips for every version

WINDOWS 11
WINDOWS 10 & 11
Use secret hack to speed up
File Explorer
When you search or navigate File
Explorer, Windows flashes a
Crop websites and software into
‘working on it’ message (see smaller windows
screenshot below). Some users online
have worked out a way to remove this, New in version 0.73 of create your own shortcut. This can be
claiming that it speeds up File Explorer. Microsoft’s PowerToys any combination, as long as it starts
All you have to do is open File Explorer, is the ‘Crop and Lock’ with Win, Ctrl, Alt or Shift.
then tap the F11 button on your keyboard tool, which lets you reopen part of a Next, left-click and drag your cursor
twice to enter and close full-screen program or browser in a smaller to draw a red line around over the
mode. We tried it, and it seems to work window, helping you to focus more on section you want to crop 3 . Release
– though it’s hard to know why because what’s important to you. This is useful the left-click and your program or
Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged the tip. if, for example, you want to concentrate browser will be resized into a smaller
One theory is that Windows disables on the text in an online article and hide window. Click X at the top-right to
some search indexing options when you any other distracting elements. restore your original window.
go full screen, which means it has fewer In PowerToys, click ‘Crop And Lock’ If you’ve already downloaded
tasks to perform. on the left, open Settings and make PowerToys, launch it and check whether
sure Enable Crop And Lock is set to On you have an update to install. This should
( 1 in our screenshot). Use the Reparent take you to version 0.73 or more recent.
‘Win+Ctrl+Shift+R’ shortcut to crop, or If not, download it from the Microsoft
click the pencil icon 2 next to this to Store (www.snipca.com/47273).

3
WINDOWS 10
Compare pictures
side by side in Photos
Microsoft has updated the Photos
app in Windows 10 with
2
improvements that bring it in
line with the version on Windows 11.
You can install it from the Microsoft
Store: www.snipca.com/47566.
One of the best new features is seeing
your photos side by side in a ‘multi-view’ WINDOWS 11 INSIDER
preview mode. To see this, first hold Ungroup software icons 1
down the Shift key and left-click your from the taskbar
images. Those you select will be marked By default, the taskbar in
with a top-right tickbox ( 1 in our Windows 10 and 11 groups
screenshot below). icons from the same
Right-click an image then click Open. program to stop it looking
2
You’ll see your images next to each other cluttered. You’ve always been
in a box at the bottom 2 . Untick one to able to disable this in Windows 10,
remove it. In our example, we can see but this option has only just been 3
only the first two images because we’ve added to a new Preview build
unticked the third 3 . available to Insiders (version
22631.2199 – see www.snipca.
com/47570 for details).
1 Search for and open ‘Taskbar
settings’. Next, click ‘Taskbar behaviours’ The first applies to your default display,
( 1 in our screenshot above right) and and the second to any other screen you
2 scroll down until you see the ‘Combine might be using, such as an external
taskbar buttons and hide labels’ and monitor. Change both from Always to
3 ‘Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels Never 3 . Your taskbar icons will now be
on other taskbars’ options 2 . separated from each other.

46 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

Make Office Better Top tips for the best office programs

MICROSOFT EXCEL

Create a search box in your spreadsheet

Excel’s Indirect function lets Match function to create what’s in effect a in our screenshot) – Excel automatically
you use a string of text from search box in our spreadsheet. shows the population, air fare and hotel
one cell to show data from We’ve entered the 50 most populous price in G4, H4 and I4 respectively 2 .
another, but you can also combine it US cities in columns A and B, and flight To make this work, we have to type
with other functions for more powerful and hotel prices in C and D. By typing a formulas into G4, H4 and I4. In G4 we
results. Here, we’ve used it with the city in I2 – New York in our example ( 1 typed =INDIRECT("B" & MATCH(I2,
A1:A51, 0)) 3 – the ‘B’ relates to
the populations in that column.
We typed the same formula into
1 H4 and I4, changing ‘B’ to ‘C’
2 and ‘D’ respectively to refer to
the Flight and Hotel columns.
Once that’s done, we can type
3 any city into I2 and its
population, flight and hotel info
will appear in G4, H4 and I4.

MICROSOFT WORD LIBREOFFICE WRITER

Add captions to items Add page numbers to
Adding captions to items – your documents 2
like images, charts or tables – LibreOffice 7.6 (www.
is a great way to offer more snipca.com/47483), 1
context for readers of your documents. released late August,
To do this, right-click on the item, lets you insert page numbers to 3
choose ‘Insert caption’, then type the documents in Writer documents,
main text into the ‘Caption:’ box ( 1 in then add formatting so they
4
our screenshot below). In our example, appear in your preferred style.
we typed ‘Three penguins playing on the Click ‘Insert’ in the top toolbar, then ONLYOFFICE
beach’. Choose ‘Figure’ from the Label ‘Page Number…’. This opens a box with Change colour in slideshows
dropdown menu 2 if it’s an image, but settings you can configure. Click the using eyedropper
you can also choose Table or Equation. ‘Page numbers’ dropdown menu to pick a When creating a slideshow, it’s
Now set the position to below or above style – we chose Roman numerals – I,II,III important to keep colours
the selected item 3 . ( 1 in our screenshot below). consistent to create a style that
Tick ‘Exclude label from caption’ 4 if We want this to appear at the bottom viewers will like. OnlyOffice 7.4, released
you want to remove ‘Figure’ (or ‘Table’ right of our documents 2 , so we selected in June, makes this easier by adding an
or ‘Equation’) from your captions. this option in the Position 3 and eyedropper to its Presentation tool. This
This means ‘Figure 1’, for example, is Alignment dropdown menus 4 . lets you choose colours for your titles and
captioned simply as ‘1’. Finally, click Once you’ve made your choice, click subtitles based on ones that already
OK and Word will insert your caption OK and they’ll be added throughout appear throughout your slideshow.
below your image, chart or table 5 . your document. To use it, first highlight the text you
3 want to change ( 1 in our screenshot
1 above). Next, click Home on the toolbar
followed by the ‘Font color’ button 2 .
Click the ‘Eyedropper’ option 3 , and your
2
cursor will change into an eyedropper
symbol accompanied by a small box that
3 changes colour depending on which
colour you’re hovering over.
4 Note, you can’t see the eyedropper
4 cursor in our screenshot, but you can
tell where it’s positioned 4 . Move your
1 cursor to sample different colours, and
5 left-click when you’re happy with your
2 choice. The text you highlighted will
change colour.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 47

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

Use AI to create a presentation

A rtificial intelligence (AI) is making
life much easier for people managing
clubs. We’ve already revealed how to
1
use it to transcribe your meetings (Issue
655), edit your podcasts (Issue 659) and
create free images (Issue 663). Here, we’ll 3
explain how it can build a presentation
from just a single prompt.
2
Choose your subject
and edit the outline
The tool we recommend is Gamma,
which creates a presentation with
slides containing all the graphics and
text you’ll need. We know this sounds Make any final changes, then share or present your finished work
too good to be true, but we’ve tried it
with a range of subjects and it works Document or Webpage. For now click presentation in real time - it’s fascinating
exceptionally well. If you don’t like what Presentation, but check out the other to watch. It’s important that you don’t
it has written or designed then you can options later. close the tab while Gamma is generating
easily edit the slides yourself. Now it’s time to choose a topic. We your presentation – or you risk losing it.
You need to create an account before opted for Chess ( 1 in our screenshot Wait for it to finish then look through
you can use Gamma. A free account gives below left), but you can type anything what it has produced.
you 500 credits, which is enough to build you like. The AI will now produce a If there’s anything you don’t like, go
several presentations. For example, a suggested outline for your presentation 2 . through the options to edit them. You
seven-page presentation we created that You can use this as it is, edit it, or click can switch to a different theme ( 1 in our
explained chess to beginners used 40 the ‘Try again’ button 3 to let Gamma screenshot above), and click text and
credits. Upgrading to $96 a year (you have have another go. Once you’re happy images to change them – options will
to pay in dollars) gives you 400 credits with the outline, click Continue to appear on the right 2 .
every month, and removes the ‘Made create your presentation. Clicking the Share button gives you a
with Gamma’ badge from the slides. Now it’s time to choose a theme. Click URL to send to people, while clicking
Create your account at https://gamma. one displayed on the right ( 1 in our Present 3 puts you in presenter mode.
app – you can sign in with your Google screenshot below right), or click the This clears the screen so only your
account if you prefer. Next, you need to ‘Surprise me’ button 2 to let Gamma presentation is visible, letting you step
create a workspace and give it a name, pick one for you. When you’re ready through it using your arrow keys.
then enter some details about where you click the Continue button. Pressing the Esc key will put you back
heard about the Gamma app (don’t forget in edit mode. Gamma automatically
to mention Computeractive!). You now Make changes to the presentation saves your presentations, so they’re easy
have to choose between Presentation, Gamma will now type and create your to find when you next sign in.

1
3
2 1

Type your subject and Gamma will create an outline for your presentation Select one of the default themes or ask Gamma to pick one for you

48 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667 Next issue: Record a voiceover for your presentations
What’s All the
Fuss About...
WordPad
Microsoft is finally bidding farewell to this long-neglected tool
What is it?
It’s a word processor that was introduced
in Windows 95 as a replacement for
Microsoft Write and has been part of the
operating system ever since. You may
remember what it looked like back then
(see screenshot below). But it’s not going
to be around for much longer.

Microsoft is ditching it then?

Yes. In early September, Microsoft added
WordPad to its ‘Deprecated features
for Windows client’ list (www.snipca.
com/47534), saying it’s “no longer being
updated and will be removed in a future
release of Windows”.

What does it suggest

we use instead?
It recommends Word for rich-text
documents (with the file extension .rtf)
and Notepad for plain-text documents So if both Word and WordPad Anyone who has been bamboozled by all
(.txt). are rich-text, what’s the point the menus, icons and sections on Word’s
of the latter? ribbon toolbars might agree.
What’s the difference That’s what many people have asked over But we suspect that even if it was still
between rich and plain text? the years, and Microsoft now has an popular, Microsoft would have chosen to
It’s to do with formatting. Rich-text answer: there’s very little point to ditch it anyway as a way of making
documents, like those created in WordPad, so we’re getting rid of it. It’s money. It presumably hopes that those
WordPad, retain their original formatting hardly a surprise. Microsoft did add voice who use WordPad will now pay for a
– such as font, bold text, italics and typing to it in Windows 10, but then in version of Word, rather than switch to
margins – when opened in other rich-text 2020 relegated WordPad to the status of free alternatives like LibreOffice Writer
programs like Word or LibreOffice Writer. an ‘optional feature’, which meant you or OnlyOffice.
You can see this in the screenshot above could remove it from Windows. A sign of
right. By contrast the plain-text Notepad how little Microsoft cared for WordPad When will it be removed?
has no formatting, making it better for came the same year, when it added Very soon, we think – maybe even by the
writing quick notes rather than more pop-ups to WordPad advertising the time you read this. It might be missing
complex documents. It is ‘plain’ and online version of Office. It clearly saw the from the latest ‘Moments’ update for
basic, not ‘rich’ with features. program as little more than a billboard Windows 11, which Microsoft is expected
for its other tools. to release by the end of September. If so,
it would join the recently axed Cortana
Do many people in the great big recycle bin in the sky.
still use it?
Microsoft hasn’t published any And will Notepad survive?
figures, so it’s impossible to know. We think so, because Microsoft has
But WordPad’s fans like it because continued to add new features to the
it’s a stripped-down alternative to Windows 11 version of the tool. Earlier
Word. They appreciate that it has this year it introduced tabs (press Ctrl+N),
essential formatting like bold, while a forthcoming update saves all your
italics and paragraphs, and isn’t text automatically so it’s waiting for you
cluttered with what they see as the next time you open Notepad. But
Having the final word: Microsoft added WordPad to unnecessary options, such as we’ll leave the final word to WordPad:
Windows in 1995, but is now ditching it creating tables, footnotes or forms. goodbye!

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 49

 COVER FEATURE

WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
Cancel your subscriptions
to streaming and pay-TV
services, and watch
everything online for free.
Robert Irvine reveals
the best TV and film
channels that cost you
nothing

E
arlier this year, it was reported Thankfully, you can save money
that two million UK homes had while enjoying a constant stream of
WHAT YOU CAN DO cancelled their subscriptions to entertainment by tuning into free online
streaming services since the TV channels. In the last few years, these
• Watch classic and recent TV series
cost-of-living crisis began (www.snipca. services have significantly improved the
on-demand for free
com/47542). With Netflix and Disney+ quality and quantity of their content.
• Stream hundreds of live TV channels
recently increasing their monthly prices, Once limited to obscure reality shows
in your browser
we imagine that figure is now much and dreadful low-budget movies, they
• Sync your viewing across your PC,
higher, especially if you include now include TV series and films from
phone and TV
cancelling expensive TV packages from major broadcasters and studios, and even
• Use a VPN to access free US
Sky, BT and Virgin Media. produce their own programmes.
streaming services
Although there are plenty of shows to In this feature, we recommend the 20
• Enjoy thousands of free movies and
stream for free on BBC iPlayer, ITVX, best free web TV channels that will keep
documentaries
Channel 4 and My5 (though obviously you entertained without costing you a
• Watch free films without ads using
you need a TV licence to watch them live, penny. They’re all available in the UK
your library card
and on-demand on iPlayer), there comes (though on page 53 we mention some
• Stream live news from CNN without a
a point when you’ve seen everything you that aren’t), don’t require a subscription
subscription
want and miss the variety offered by and are supported by an acceptable
paid-for services. number of adverts.

50 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
WATCH FREE ON-DEMAND AND LIVE TV
Freevee If you want to watch ‘just
www.snipca.com/47482 one more thing’, Freevee
has seven seasons of
Freevee is the closest free Columbo
equivalent to a paid-for
streaming service such as Netflix,
aside from those provided by UK
broadcasters. Owned by Amazon, and
originally called IMDb TV, it offers a huge
selection of TV shows and films, and
numerous ways to watch them.
Freevee is available through the Prime
Video app for smart TVs and mobile ‘live’ TV channels, which are mostly sign up for an account, which means you
devices; via the Prime Video section of themed around specific series including can dip in and out as you please. It
the Amazon website (at the link above); Homes Under the Hammer, Great British features nearly 250 ‘live’ TV channels,
and as a separate app for Fire TV, Google Menu and Baywatch. It recently organised into categories such as
TV, Roku, Apple TV+, and Android and expanded its line-up with channels from Entertainment, True Crime, Sitcoms &
iOS. This makes it ideal if you like to NBCUniversal and UKTV, and later this Comedy, News and Real Life Adventure,
stream on different devices, and once you autumn will add content from MGM. with 12 devoted to movies.
sign in with your Amazon account (you Although these channels operate on a As with Freevee, some channels show
don’t need a Prime subscription) you can schedule, they don’t broadcast shows live back-to-back episodes of specific shows,
start and resume playing content so you don’t need a TV licence to watch including Mission Impossible, Judge Judy
wherever and whenever you want. them. They’re classified as FAST (free and the CSI franchise (see screenshot
Freevee is regularly updated with new ad-supported streaming television), so below left), while others offer a mix of
series and movies. At the time of writing, are completely funded by advertising. content from UK broadcasters including
these included the first seven seasons of The ads are the main downside to Channel 5 and UKTV.
Columbo (see screenshot above right), Freevee, but recently they seem to be If there’s nothing interesting in the
every episode of Little House on the inserted less randomly (though they’re schedule, you can delve into Pluto’s large
Prairie and US political drama The West still repetitive). You can skip ads when library of on-demand viewing. This has
Wing. Notable films included the watching in your browser by installing recently been expanded with several
Oscar-winning Chicago and Fargo, the Chromium extension Freevee Skipper British series, including Pointless, Wild at
horror flicks Poltergeist II and The (www.snipca.com/47484). Heart and Come Dine with Me, as well as
Amityville Horror, and post-apocalyptic Kenny Everett’s cult comedy-horror film
drama The Road. DON’T MISS Bloodbath at the House of Death. Most of
Freevee also lets you watch dozens of Freevee’s original series Jury Duty, a the content is American, but there’s
reality show about a fake court case, has something for all tastes and ages.
been widely acclaimed and nominated Pluto TV is available on smart TVs
for three Emmy awards. It also recently (including Philips sets, as of this month),
revived the Australian soap opera Android and iOS devices, and online –
Neighbours (pictured left), a year after it click the Theatre Mode button to enlarge
was cancelled by Channel 5. the video player to fill your browser.

Pluto TV DON’T MISS

https://pluto.tv Pluto TV’s ‘5 Exploring Britain’ channel
As well as being completely free features Channel 5 documentary series,
Freevee is the new home of Australian soap to watch (supported by ads), including Walking Britain’s Lost Railways
opera Neighbours Pluto TV doesn’t require you to (pictured below), while its new UKTV
Play Uncovered channel shows historical
Pluto TV has
dedicated documentaries such as Secret Nazi Bases.
channels for the
various strands of
the CSI franchise

Watch Walking Britain’s Lost Railways on

Pluto TV’s ‘5 Exploring Britain’ channel

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 51

 Rakuten TV
www.snipca.com/47485
Rakuten TV combines a paid-for
store, which lets you rent or buy
films, with lots of free movies
and TV shows. Although you won’t find
recent releases among the latter, there’s
lots of great stuff to watch if you don’t
mind the “carefully selected ads”.
We spotted such notable titles as Oliver
Stone’s JFK (see screenshot right), the
Oscar-winning Birdman, the film
adaptation of Bill Bryson’s book A Walk
in the Woods, sci-fi saga Andromeda and
Channel 5 shockumentary series Britain’s
Horror Homes.
You can also stream nearly 100 FAST TV
channels for free, including 18 for movies
and others spanning categories such as Rakuten TV offers lots of TV shows and films for free and tells you where to expect ads
entertainment, lifestyle, cooking, news
and sport. You don’t need to register for 1942 (pictured below left) and an Plex has lots
an account to watch Rakuten’s free adaptation of Stephen Fry’s novel The of excellent
films
content, and we like that you can see Hippopotamus. including
when ads will appear from the markers When We
in the player’s timeline. Plex Were Kings
Rakuten TV is available to stream www.snipca.com/47486 from 1996
through its website and its apps for Plex boasts more than 300
Android, iOS and most smart TVs and free live TV channels, though
streaming devices, including – as of you’ll notice some crossover
February this year – Amazon Fire TV. with Rakuten TV, which provides
many of them. They also include
DON’T MISS channels for children, music channels
Rakuten TV has a dedicated British Films from Canadian streaming service
channel, which screens Brit flicks 24 Stingray, foreign-language news and
hours a day. When we visited, these some rather niche sport channels –
included World War II drama Resistance: including three devoted to poker. Opinion, Movies and Comedy.
That’s not to suggest Plex is somehow Alternatively, you can stream content
cheating its viewers because there’s lots on-demand in Plex’s Movies & Shows
of interesting and entertaining content to section, which features more than 50,000
enjoy for free (interspersed with ads). The titles, including classics such as Zulu and
best way to explore it is to click ‘Tune in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes.
free’, then click the Live TV button in the You need to sign into a free Plex account
left-hand sidebar (see screenshot below) (and disable your ad blocker), but can
to open the comprehensive TV Guide. watch in your browser without installing
This shows you what’s on by hour and by its software.
Rakuten TV’s British Films channel shows day, and across categories such as
films such as Resistance: 1942 Entertainment, Lifestyle, News & DON’T MISS
Award-winning documentary When We
You can use
Plex’s TV Guide Were Kings (pictured above), about the
to browse the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing match
hundreds of free between Muhammad Ali and George
channels on offer Foreman, is available to stream on Plex
for free. You’d need to spend £30 to buy it
on Blu-ray.

Wedotv
www.snipca.com/47488
Wedotv has a similar design to
Netflix, right down to the large
auto-playing video player
showing previews and trailers on its
homepage (click the Stop button to halt
this – see screenshot above right).

52 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
Free US TV you can watch with a VPN
Some of the best free TV-streaming services are only available in the US. By using a VPN you can access them in your browser in the
UK. Most don’t require registration, which means you can start watching without needing to create fake account details to pretend you’re
American. The free versions of Windscribe (www.snipca.com/47497), Proton VPN (www.snipca.com/47498) and PrivadoVPN (www.
snipca.com/47499) all provide US servers. We found they unlocked these three services without problems.

Tubi Crackle Xumo Play

https://tubitv.com www.crackle.com https://play.xumo.com
Promising “fewer ads than cable”, Crackle features thousands of free Xumo Play provides an interactive
Tubi stands out from other free movies and TV shows, and though TV guide for hundreds of US
services by offering free TV shows and their quality is as varied as on UK services, networks including CBS News, The
films you’ve actually heard of. Indeed, its there’s always plenty of good stuff to enjoy. Weather Channel, USA Today and
library of 20,000 titles compares When we visited, this included the first two Hallmark Movies, as well as themed
favourably to Netflix. Movies include Mrs series of The Saint (pictured), 2015 disaster channels for shows such as Alfred
Doubtfire, I, Robot and The Death of Stalin. film San Andreas and ITV’s Doc Martin. Hitchcock Presents and The Walking
TV series include the BBC’s Merlin and Crackle is Dead. It has free movies and TV series to
ITV’s Midsomer also available view on-demand,
Murders. It lets on smart including The
you stream TVs and Fifth Element
hundreds of mobile and the US
live TV channels devices if you version of Deal
for free. install a VPN. or No Deal.

Wedotv UKTV Play

shows lets you
auto- binge-
playing watch box
videos on its sets of
homepage, hundreds
which you of shows
can halt by for free
clicking the
stop button

Peter Cushing and and use its picture-in-picture mode to loads of shows on-demand for free.
Christopher Lee pop out its video player into a floating Sign up for a free account on the
star in The House
That Dripped Blood window. There’s only a small selection of UKTV Play website to browse its
live TV channels, but a decent range of content by channel or category, such as
films, including Glengarry Glen Ross, Comedy, Crime Drama or Engineering.
Austin Powers and Stephen Fry in Wilde. You can also binge-watch box sets (see
screenshot above) of hundreds of UKTV
DON’T MISS Play shows, including The Bill, Lovejoy
Get ready for Halloween with Wedotv’s and Whatever Happened to the Likely
extensive free collection of horror films. Lads?, and stream its four channels
These include The House That Dripped live. Sadly, you need to disable your ad
Blood (pictured left), Paranormal blocker first.
Although it can’t compete with Activity and rat flicks Willard and Ben.
Netflix’s range of TV shows, we like its DON’T MISS
quirky category titles – such as ‘Treasure, UKTV Play Watch all 26 episodes of the landmark
Temples and Tombs’, ‘Fabulous Fathers’ www.snipca.com/47492 1970s documentary series The World at
and ‘Dogs!’ – and that you can watch all Although UKTV Play’s four
UKTV Play
its content for free without an account, channels – Dave, Drama, W and lets you
though it’s all preceded and interrupted Yesterday – are available on watch the
by ads. Freeview across most of the UK, and in complete
There are Wedotv apps for Android, its mobile and smart TV apps, you may series of The
World at War
iOS and most smart TVs and streaming find it more convenient to watch them in for free
sticks, or you can watch in your browser, your browser. This also lets you access

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 53

 War (pictured on page 53), rather than
paying £40 for the DVD.
Or, for a lighter take on World War II,
UKTV Play has 22 episodes of ’Allo ’Allo.

Discovery+
www.snipca.com/47494
Discovery+ is a little frustrating
to use because its website and
apps list the same shows for both
free users and subscribers. If you only
sign up for a free account, you’ll see an
‘Upgrade to watch’ message when you try
to play programmes on-demand.
Our reason for including the service
here is that it lets you stream several
channels for free online, including Quest,
Really, HGTV, Food Network and DMAX.
Click the TV Guide tab at the top of the The Discovery+ TV Guide gives you
access to a selection of free TV channels
page (see screenshot above right), then
scroll down to find these. DON’T MISS
Additionally, if you subscribe to BT TV The free Discovery+ channels are
Entertainment, you now get access to a available on Freeview, but if you
Discovery+ Basic plan at no extra cost. If can’t get enough of The Repair
you pay for BT Sport (now called TNT Shop (pictured right), you can
Sports), you can get a ‘free’ Premium watch it in your browser on Quest.
plan, including all the sport channels,
following its merger with Discovery+ The Repair Shop streams frequently on
earlier this year. Discovery+’s Quest channel

READER OFFER!
Buy Windows 11 Pro ADD A
DISC FOR
for just £79.99! £5.95
In this special offer you can buy
Windows 11 Pro for just £79.99 –
that’s £140 cheaper than
Microsoft’s full price of £219.99.

To buy Windows 11 Pro, visit

www.snipca.com/41588 and
click the red Buy Now button
on the right.
JUST SO YOU KNOW…
This offer can be used by one person only, and expires at midnight
on 10 October, 2023. It’s a lifetime licence for one computer.

54 00 – 00 Month 2023 • Issue xxx

 WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
WATCH FREE FILM & DOCUMENTARY CHANNELS
Roku Channel
www.snipca.com/47491
The Roku Channel’s 350 live TV
channels are currently only
available in the US, but in the UK
it offers a regularly updated choice of
films to stream on-demand – and you no
longer need a Roku stick to watch them.
You can now access the Roku Channel
for free on any Sky Q or Now TV device,
with no need to sign up for an account, The Roku Channel offers regularly updated Join Kanopy through your library to stream
as well as on your Roku streaming player free films and TV shows quality films without ads
or HiSense smart TV.
Along with obscure and low-budget Morgan Freeman, Robin Williams and postcode. If so, click ‘Select this library’
titles, there are some well-known films Michael Sheen. and either enter your library-card
– at the time of writing, these included number or apply for one. If your library
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), DON’T MISS isn’t listed, click ‘Can’t find your library’
Nicole Kidman in To Die For and cult The most famous film on Filmzie is and submit a request for it to make
action thriller Southern Comfort. Woody Allen’s black comedy Celebrity, Kanopy available.
starring Kenneth Branagh and Leonardo Kanopy has an impressive catalogue of
DON’T MISS DiCaprio. high-quality films, particularly arthouse,
Roku now makes its own films, including world cinema and documentaries, with
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring FilmRise Movies many Oscar winners and nominees.
Daniel Radcliffe (see screenshot above https://filmrise.com
right) as the musical parodist. FilmRise provides free, DON’T MISS
ad-supported films and TV Jim Carrey is the unsuspecting star of a
Filmzie shows to several of the services reality TV show in the brilliant 1998
https://filmzie.com we’ve recommended. Though you can’t dramatic comedy The Truman Show
Filmzie features movies from stream directly through its website, it has (see screenshot above).
independent filmmakers, which its own apps for smart TVs and mobile
“just don’t get seen by the general devices (see www.snipca.com/47501), Top Documentary Films
public”. You may suspect there’s a good and a network of YouTube channels, www.snipca.com/47511
reason for that, but there are some including FilmRise Movies (www.snipca. If you like watching
interesting films on offer and they’re all com/47503). documentaries on Netflix and
available to stream for free (with ads). The company has acquired and Amazon Prime Video, this site
There are free Filmzie apps for Android, produced an eclectic range of movies, features a huge collection of factual films,
iOS and most smart TV platforms, but including ‘based on a true story’ mostly embedded from YouTube – including
the easiest way to watch the service is on dramas, old Westerns and action flicks. BBC programmes no longer available on
the web – click Watch Now below ‘Watch However, due to licensing restrictions iPlayer. These are organised into categories
via browser’ on the homepage (see there are fewer titles available in the such as Biography, History, Performing
screenshot below). You don’t need an UK than the US. Arts, Science and Technology, as well as a
account, but signing up allows you to list of the Top 100 as rated by other users.
sync your viewing across devices, and DON’T MISS
save titles to a watch list. TV movie Guilty Until Proven Innocent DON’T MISS
Although the names of Filmzie’s stars 2023 Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser Made in 2012, Panopticon (see screenshot
1,700 films may be unfamiliar, you’ll in a story of wrongful conviction. below) is a prescient Dutch documentary
recognise some of the actors, who include about internet surveillance and online
Kanopy privacy.
www.kanopy.com
Kanopy lets you stream thousands
of films for free, with no ads, in
your browser and via its apps for
mobile devices and smart TVs. All you
need is to be a member of one of the
many public libraries that participates
with the service.
To check if your local library is a
Kanopy member, visit www.snipca.
Watch Filmzie on the web, your smart TV or com/47505 and either let the site detect Watch thousands of free documentaries on
mobile device your location or search for your area or Top Documentary Films

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 55

 WATCH NEWS & SPORT CHANNELS FOR FREE
CNN Fast
www.snipca.com/47516
Although BBC News, Sky News
and GB News are all on Freeview,
if you want to keep up with
international news on CNN, you need a
Sky subscription (it’s no longer available
on Virgin Media or BT TV). Or you can
pay £1.99 a month or £19.90 a year to
stream CNN live on its website (www.
snipca.com/47515). CNN Fast provides free video reports on TNT Sports offers lots of free content on
Thankfully, there’s now a free way to international news stories YouTube to non-subscribers
watch CNN following the launch of a
dedicated FAST channel earlier this year. free account, specify the topics you want providing comprehensive clips. In June,
This provides short-form videos on to see in your daily headlines, your BT Sport (now called TNT Sports,
international stories about major news location and your preferred news sources, see screenshot above) streamed the
events, business, entertainment, sport and Haystack will create a personalised UEFA Champions League final for free
and the environment. CNN Fast is ‘newscast’ for you. via its YouTube channel (www.snipca.
available on LG TVs and on Samsung TVs, You shouldn’t see adverts when com/47521), suggesting that sports
phones and tablets via Samsung TV Plus. streaming overseas news from the UK, broadcasters see the benefit of offering
You can also watch CNN Fast on the but there may be a pause in the broadcast the occasional freebie.
Rakuten TV app (see page 51 and screenshot where ads appear locally. Instead, you’ll
above right) – though not on its website see a ‘we’ll be right back’ message. DON’T MISS
– as well as the live CNN news channel. Skip the annoying ads in sport videos
DON’T MISS on YouTube by installing uBlock Origin
DON’T MISS To find a specific channel on the Haystack (www.snipca.com/47086). See our news
Selected CNN news reports are available News website, enter an ‘@’ followed by story on page 8 about how YouTube plans
to stream for free on its YouTube channel the name in the search box, for example to show fewer but longer ad breaks on
(www.snipca.com/47517). @abcnews. your TV.

Haystack News YouTube Sports Red Bull TV

www.snipca.com/47518 www.youtube.com/sports www.snipca.com/47523
Haystack News offers another Obviously, watching video Watch high-adrenaline sports for
free way to watch CNN, and more highlights and discussion of free on the excellent Red Bull TV
than 300 other news channels football, boxing and rugby matches is no channel and its apps for smart
from around the world. You can stream substitute for seeing the entire events live. TVs and mobile apps. The content includes
reports live and on-demand in your But if you’ve cancelled your Sky Sports or short clips, full-length films and live
browser and via its apps for smart TVs BT Sport subscription, you can enjoy streaming of major events, and spans
and mobile devices, from networks some sporting action for free – and legally sports ranging from motorbike racing and
including ABC News, Al Jazeera, – via their respective YouTube channels. rally driving to cliff diving and skateboarding.
Associated Press, Euronews and Reuters. The Sky Sports Premier League channel Best of all, there are no adverts.
To ensure you see relevant stories (www.snipca.com/47519) is particularly
rather than random ones, sign up for a good at keeping its content updated and DON’T MISS
From 27-29 October, Red Bull TV will
live-stream the Rally Central Europe
Don’t stream free IPTV channels competition (see screenshot below)
taking place in Germany, Austria and the
When you search for free TV to watch it could lead to you being prosecuted Czech Republic.
online, you may come across links to for copyright infringement. Several
IPTV channels. Although IPTV (internet individuals have been arrested this year
protocol television) is a legal technology for distributing illegal IPTV services
used by many streaming services and (see www.snipca.com/47527), and the
devices, it’s often abused to deliver police may soon extend their crackdown
pirated content – most commonly to viewers.
sporting events and paid-for films – either Additionally, IPTV sites often feature
for free or for a lower price than official malware-infected ads and have dubious
broadcasters charge. payment systems that steal your card
Tempting though it might be to save details, so stay safe and legal by sticking
money by accessing an IPTV channel, to the free channels we recommend here. Red Bull TV streams high-octane sports live
and on-demand without ads

56 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 WATCH TV
FOR FREE!
WATCH SPECIAL-INTEREST CHANNELS FOR FREE
NASA Television
www.snipca.com/47529
NASA is set to launch a new
global streaming service –
NASA+ – by the end of this year,
which it says will be “ad-free, no cost,
and family-friendly” (see the
announcement at www.snipca.
com/47530). It will offer on-demand
content from NASA’s enormous video
archive that “embeds you into our NASA will soon offer on-demand viewing as Tool_Tips is updated daily with short videos
missions”, along with several new series. well as live streaming demonstrating DIY tasks
In the meantime, you can watch NASA
Television in your browser at the link channel; as a FAST channel on Plex, Pluto careful cutting, drilling and screwing.
above, via its YouTube channel (www. TV and Rakuten TV; and – as of June this Don’t miss
snipca.com/47532) and in the NASA apps year – on Freeview channel 91. The most popular Tool_Tips videos, with
for Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV and Happily, the channel’s fantastic free nearly 5 million views, compile dozens
Roku (curiously, it doesn’t support Google content justifies its ubiquity. It streams of quick tips into eight minutes: www.
TV and it seems NASA+ won’t either). live safaris and waterhole visits 24 hours snipca.com/47536 (pictured above).
NASA Television provides live a day, so you can watch elephants, big
streaming of mission events, interviews cats and other animals in their natural Grand Illusions
with astronauts (pictured above right) habitat. The WildEarth team provides www.snipca.com/47538
and space-related programming when commentary on the action, while the This long-running YouTube
nothing significant is happening. YouTube streams feature live comments channel features the former
from viewers. children’s entertainer Tim Rowett
DON’T MISS demonstrating and reacting to unusual
You can preview the new NASA website DON’T MISS toys, puzzles and magic tricks from his
and watch a trailer for the NASA+ Register for a free WildEarth account collection of more than 20,000 (some
streaming service at www.snipca. to watch dozens of videos on-demand of which you can also buy through his
com/47531. such as the argument between lions online store).
pictured below left. Although the videos consist solely of
WildEarth Tim playing with items in front of a black
www.snipca.com/47533 Tool_Tips backdrop, his affable and informative
There are almost as many ways www.snipca.com/47535 presentation style has attracted over two
to watch the WildEarth channel From changing a tap head to million subscribers.
as there are lions in Africa, fitting a door hinge, this brilliant Grand Illusions is
including on your mobile device and YouTube channel of ‘helpful like something
smart TV; on its website and YouTube handyman tricks’ provides more than BBC Two might
3,000 how-to videos for home maintenance have once shown
and DIY jobs. Since it launched in 2020, on a weekday
Tool_Tips has amassed over 7 million afternoon, and
subscribers, thanks to its clear, concise there are around Watch quirky
demonstrations of
visual instructions. 1,500 videos to enjoy. old toys on the Grand
In a refreshing change from the Illusions channel
irritating hosts who present many DON’T MISS
YouTube videos, you never see or even Tim’s demonstration of various whistles
hear the creator, aside from his hands as he’s collected over the years (pictured
WildEarth provides free live streams and on- he focuses on the task. There’s something above) has been viewed by over 20
demand videos of safaris curiously addictive about watching all the million people: www.snipca.com/47539.

NEXT ISSUE On sale Wednesday 11 October

ON SALE
Weds
11
PLUS
STOP USING BROWSERS
Oct
• Are you breaking the law
online?

THAT TRACK YOU It’s easy to do without realising

• Don’t run out of PC memory
Switch to tools that actually respect your privacy Smart ways to free up RAM

Subscribe to Computeractive at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 57

 Stop sending
text messages
SMS might be the easiest way to
send someone a message, but it’s far
from the safest or cheapest. Robert
Irvine explains why you should ditch
texts – and what to use instead

T
ext messaging has been around times of your texts.
since December 1992, when the Even more worrying is that the content
first SMS (Short Messaging of messages you send and receive can
Service) message – saying be intercepted by third parties. Mobile
‘Merry Christmas’ – was sent over the networks around the world use a decades-
fledgling Vodafone network. Although old communication protocol called SS7
billions of texts are still sent every day, (Signalling System No 7), which has flaws
the technology is showing its age and has that are frequently targeted by hackers
failed to address the increasingly invasive and snoopers. Cybersecurity firm
nature of modern communication. FirstPoint warns that “SS7 is an attacker’s
Here, we explain why you should ditch best friend, enabling them access to the
SMS on your smartphone, and recommend same surveillance capabilities held by
safer and more versatile ways to keep in law enforcement and intelligence Text messages are used for ‘smishing’ scams
touch with friends and family. agencies” (www.snipca.com/47569). like this that try to steal your money
This might not seem a problem
WHY YOU SHOULD STOP when your texts are simple greetings or phishing websites (as pictured above), or
USING TEXT MESSAGES shopping reminders, but when they urge you to reply to or call a premium-
SMS text messages aren’t secure deliver two-factor authentication (2FA) rate phone number, so criminals can steal
The biggest risk to using SMS is that your verification codes (see screenshot below your money and personal data. Hackers
messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted. left), it becomes a major concern. have even been known to add smishing
Although your 4G or 5G network Additionally, because SMS messages texts to existing message threads.
encrypts texts between your phone and aren’t encrypted, any malware hidden on These fraudsters prey on the fact that
the nearest base station, your messages your phone will have full access to them. we’re accustomed to receiving texts from
are then unencrypted before being sent our banks, credit-card companies, phone
to the recipients. This means your mobile Text messages are used for networks and parcel-delivery firms, to
provider can read everything you’ve ‘smishing’ scams trick us into falling for their scams. With
written, and store data about the Although WhatsApp scams are on the messaging apps such as WhatsApp, you
numbers you contact, and the dates and rise, SMS remains the most common way generally talk only to people you know,
for fraudsters to target you through and have saved as contacts, so you’re
messages sent to your phone. ‘Smishing’ more likely to be suspicious of unsolicited
(SMS phishing) scams are easy to carry messages from unknown numbers.
out because they use dedicated software
to send texts to thousands of numbers Sending photos and videos
at the same time to see who will bite. is expensive
Smishing messages usually look like Aside from the security concerns, text
Verification codes sent by unencrypted text they originate from a reputable messages can also prove costly if you
message are a security risk organisation, and either contain links to regularly send photos and videos to

60 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

friends and family. Nearly all the UK
mobile networks now charge you for
MMS (multimedia messaging service),
Verify accounts with an authenticator app
which they switch to automatically when Authenticator apps provide a access to your account.
you share photos and videos. more secure way to sign into The best authenticator apps
These messages aren’t included as part online accounts than receiving are Twilio Authy (https://
of the text or data allowance of your a verification code by text authy.com) and Microsoft
monthly plan – even if both are ‘unlimited’ message. Although they also Authenticator (www.snipca.
– so they significantly increase how use 2FA codes, these are com/47578, pictured), which
much you pay. Sending a single image generated in the app, rather are free to use on Android and
will cost you from 55p to 70p, depending than sent unencrypted over iOS. Sadly, not all websites
on your network, and the only exception your mobile network, and even give you the option of using
is Voxi (www.voxi.co.uk), which includes work when your phone is offline. an authenticator-app code rather than one
unlimited picture messaging in its plans. Additionally, the one-time passcodes sent by SMS. Big names that do include
Your phone may even convert SMS to (OTPs) are updated every 30 seconds, and Google/Gmail, Amazon, Facebook,
MMS because the message contains an never repeated, so if a hacker did intercept Microsoft, Apple, PayPal, Bitwarden and X
emoji or other image content, which one, they’d have to act very quickly to gain (formerly Twitter).
means you’ll be charged without realising.

WHAT TO USE INSTEAD To switch to RCS in the Messages app, bubbles) rather than SMS (which has
OF TEXT MESSAGES tap your profile picture in the top-right green bubbles) when talking to other
Switch on RCS in corner and choose ‘Messages settings’, iPhone owners. Open the Settings app,
Android’s Messages app then ‘RCS chats’. Select the option to tap Messages and check that iMessage is
Recognising that many Android users ‘Turn on RCS chats’ ( 1 in our screenshot switched on (see screenshot below left).
still use text messages instead of or as below left), but make sure ‘Automatically
well as a third-party messaging app, resend as a text (SMS/MMS)’ 2 is Switch to an encrypted
Google is heavily promoting its RCS (Rich switched off, to stop you being charged messaging app
Communications Services) technology. to send photos when RCS isn’t available. The most popular alternative to SMS
This improves the Messages app that is undoubtedly WhatsApp, which has
comes installed on Android phones (it’s Always use iMessage over two billion active users. All your
also available from the Play Store – www. on your iPhone messages are end-to-end encrypted,
snipca.com/47255) with extra features Google has been trying to convince and WhatsApp is frequently updated
not offered by SMS and MMS. These Apple to add RCS to the Messages app with new features that increase your
include group chats, read receipts, typing on iPhones, so Android and iOS users privacy and security – such as the ability
indicators and the ability to send high- can interact freely and securely. The to lock and hide your sensitive chats
resolution photos and videos without app currently offers both Apple’s own (see Issue 659, page 44).
being charged by your mobile network. iMessage service, which encrypts If you don’t trust WhatsApp because it
Most notably, as we explained in Issue messages sent to other iPhones, and requires you to share data with Facebook-
665 (page 44), RCS now offers end-to-end SMS/MMS, which suffers the problems owner Meta, there are other private
encryption, so all your messages will be mentioned opposite. messaging apps available. Telegram
completely private – provided the person When you send an iMessage text to (https://telegram.org) has the advantage
you’re talking to has RCS enabled too. It an Android phone, it’s automatically of letting you contact people without
works over 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi, depending converted to unsecure SMS, and if Wi-Fi knowing their phone numbers – instead
on which is available. isn’t available it may not be sent at all. you can search for their usernames or
Google says these problems exist “because message them directly if they are
Apple refuses to adopt modern texting existing contacts and have the app
standards” (www.snipca.com/47574), and installed. However, you need to opt in to
can be fixed by the company adopting RCS. end-to-end encryption by creating a
1 That’s unlikely to happen any time ‘secret chat’, and the protection isn’t
soon, but you can at least ensure you’re available for group chats.
using iMessage (which has blue chat In contrast, Signal (https://signal.org)
applies end-to-end encryption by default,
for one-to-one and group chats, and voice
and video calls, to ensure nobody can
intercept your communication or even
see who you’re talking to. It doesn’t share
or make money from your data, and is
2 free of ads and ‘creepy trackers’. The
main catch is that you can only message
other Signal users – and there are only
around 40 million worldwide.
Upgrade your SMS chats to RCS for extra Ensure your iPhone is using iMessage rather See page 74 to learn how to combine
features and end-to-end encryption than SMS for chats with other iPhones multiple messaging apps in one place.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 61

 Tech giants sued:
do they owe
you money?
Amazon, Apple, BT and Google are among
the tech firms being sued for ‘unfair’
consumer practices. Daniel Booth explains
why it could mean a bumper payout for you

I
n 2020, a UK Supreme Court ruling Sign up to www.callclaim.co.uk
allowed individuals to represent for updates on the case against BT
large groups of customers without
seeking their permission. This has
led to a wave of ‘opt-out’ class actions from 31 October 2018. There
where every affected customer is are further conditions though,
automatically included – and is only which you should read in the
excluded if they request to be. There are FAQ section at www.snipca.
no legal fees to pay. com/47600. Lawyers are
Many of the cases are against tech a BT landline and broadband separately seeking just under £500m in compensation,
firms who have been accused of (not a bundle) from October 2015 until though there’s no estimate yet on what
anti-competitive practices that forced today. individuals might receive.
consumers to pay higher prices. However, Last year, BT lost an appeal that would
they can take years to resolve as they have forced Le Patourel to ask every Amazon
work through the legal system. affected customer to opt in to the claim In a separate case, Amazon is
Here, we’ll explain if you’re eligible This means that all eligible customers being accused of promoting its
and how much you could receive. are automatically included – visit www. own products over rivals’ goods
For updates, sign up to the newsletter callclaim.co.uk (pictured above) for in its ‘Buy Box’, which contains the
from Consumer Voices: www.snipca. updates. BT called the claim “speculative” ‘Add to Basket’ and ‘Buy now’ buttons
com/47616. and said it will fight allegations that it (pictured below). This appears at the
doesn’t take seriously its responsibilities top-right of a product page on Amazon’s
BT to customers. website, and at the bottom of the screen
Around 2.3m BT landline on the Amazon app. Campaigners say it
customers have been Amazon & Apple
overcharged, lawyers allege. Amazon and Apple have
The £600m case was prompted by an been accused of doing a
Ofcom investigation in 2016 which found deal in 2018 to remove
that, although the wholesale costs of Marketplace sellers that had listed Apple’s
providing landlines to customers had Beats headphones at a discounted price.
fallen by at least 25 per cent, BT increased Campaigners say that in return Apple
its fees by 28 to 41 per cent. gave Amazon preferential wholesale
It’s being led by campaigner Justin Le prices on Apple and Beats products.
Patourel, who thinks customers could get Amazon said the claim is without merit.
payouts of £500. You’re eligible if you To be eligible, you must have purchased
were a BT landline customer between Apple and Beats products from any
October 2015 and April 2018 but didn’t retailer (online or in-store) in the UK Amazon has been accused of promoting its
take a BT broadband service, or if you had other than as part of a mobile contract own products over rivals’ goods in its ‘Buy Box’

62 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

excludes independent sellers, even
when they’re offering the same product
for less. Amazon, which could end up
paying £900m in compensation,
dismissed the case as “without merit”.
The claim is open to anyone living in
the UK who has made a purchase
through www.amazon.co.uk or Amazon’s
app since October 2016. The Competition
Appeal Tribunal will decide who can
make a claim later this year. Sign up for
updates at www.ukbuyboxclaim.com. Tap ‘Purchase history’ to see everything Sony is being sued for allegedly overcharging
you’ve bought from the Apple App Store 8.9 million customers on its PlayStation Store
Apple & Google
Both tech giants have their £920m. Apple users might end up playstation.com, pictured above). Sony has
own payment systems in getting more because the firm is facing yet to comment publicly on the lawsuit.
their app stores, and force a bigger payout of £1.5bn. The case Anyone who lives in the UK, owned a
app developers to use them. They take a against Google is now expected to go to PlayStation 4 or 5 any time from 19
cut of up to 30 per cent on purchases, a full trial – see www.snipca.com/47592 August 2016 onwards, and bought games
which campaigners say forces developers for details. The case against Apple will or in-app purchases is automatically
to charge more than they otherwise start in January 2025 and is expected included in the claim.
would, leading to “unfair and excessive” to last seven weeks – see www.snipca. Sony could end up paying between
prices. They want both companies to let com/47593. £67 and £562 per person, coming to
app developers use different payment To check whether you’ve made a £5bn. Following a hearing in June,
systems when charging customers. Apple purchase in the Google Play Store, open the Competition Appeals Tribunal is
said the claim was “meritless”, while the Play Store app on your device then considering whether the case should
Google said its fees were “comparable to tap the top-right profile photo. Now continue. Sign up for updates at www.
our competitors”. choose ‘Payments & subscriptions’, snipca.com/47588.
You’re eligible for the Google case if followed by ‘Budget & history’.
you’ve spent money in the UK version of For Apple, open the Settings app on Meta (Facebook)
the Play Store since 1 October 2015. The your iPhone or iPad, then tap your A lawsuit against Meta, which
purchases must have been made on an name. Next, tap ‘Media & Purchases’ owns Facebook, alleges it made
Android phone or tablet that has Google followed by View Account. Sign in if billions of pounds by forcing
Play pre-installed. You must also have prompted, then tap Purchase History users to agree to “unfair” terms and
been living in the UK on 18 July 2022. (see screenshot above). conditions that meant they surrendered
Apple’s case applies to anyone who valuable personal data. Anyone who
owns an iPhone or iPad who has bought Sony signed into their account between 1
apps, paid subscriptions or made other In a similar case to the claims October 2015 and 31 December 2019 is
in-app purchases within the UK App against Apple and Google, Sony eligible – as long as you were living in the
Store since 1 October 2015. You must have is being sued for allegedly UK and signed in while in the UK.
been living in the UK on 5 May 2022. overcharging 8.9 million customers This is thought to be more than 44
Google users could get around £50, who bought games and in-app purchases million people, each of whom could
leaving the company with a bill of via its PlayStation Store (https://store. receive a £50 payout. Meta said that
people chose its services because “we
deliver value for them and they have
Get Compensation for security leaks meaningful control of what information
they share”. Sign up for updates at www.
As well as for alleged anti-competitive between April and July 2020. Several law snipca.com/47594.
policies, lawyers are seeking compensation firms are giving you the chance to seek
for security breaches, with two of the compensation, including JLG Johnson Qualcomm
biggest cases involving EasyJet and Virgin (https://flightdatabreach.com), Keller Qualcomm allegedly abused its
Media. Both are opt-in claims, so you’ll Postman (www.snipca.com/47591), and market dominance by charging
have to register with the relevant law Leigh Day (www.snipca.com/47590). Apple and Samsung too much for
firms. Around 900,000 Virgin Media using its processor in their phones. The
Hackers stole the details of nine customers are being asked to make case is being brought by consumer group
million EasyJet customers in January a claim after one of the company’s Which?, and includes everyone who
2020, ranging from email addresses to databases was accessed without bought a new Apple or Samsung
payment-card numbers. You might be permission (see www.snipca. smartphone after October 2015 – see
eligible if you booked flights or holidays com/47602). Customers between www.smartphoneclaim.co.uk.
between 17 October, 2019 and March April 2019 and 28 February 2020 may Qualcomm could end up paying £500
4, 2020. If your details were stolen, have been affected - visit www.snipca. million, with individuals receiving
EasyJet should have emailed you com/47601 to apply. between £5 and £30. The company said
there’s “no basis” for the lawsuit.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 63

 Problems Solved
Our experts solve all your tech problems

PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT

Can I remove phone number from

Google? 1 Directories such
as Yelp let you
request that your
There’s a company called the listed details be
Q Super Doll Centre advertising
in Google search results, using
amended

my landline phone number! So, of

course, I sometimes get calls for them –
but obviously I can’t contact them by
phone. Instead, I went to the shop’s
physical address but it’s a private
residence, and the owner was very
surprised and knew nothing about the
supposed business. Whoever is doing
this is therefore using both a false
phone number and address. What’s the based their operations at this address. – possibly many years ago. In turn, that
point? What kind of scam is this? I’ve So what’s the scam? We don’t think information has been robotically
tried Trading Standards and other there is one. Or at least, not one that’s ‘scraped’ by numerous directory
organisations, including Virgin Media specifically and actively targeting you or services, which are what you’re seeing
(who supply my phone number), but your telephone number. Rather, we think in the Google results. It could be
none can help. Any ideas? this is a case of a business that once that years ago your current phone
Graham Bartlett existed at the address you know, but number was legitimately in use by
probably only ever as a legal entity. this business, because old numbers
We’ve changed the name of When you search Google for this are eventually reallocated to new
A the business to save you even
more unwanted calls, because
‘company’ it does show your phone
number. The company no longer seems
subscribers. Alternatively, it could be
that the web robots doing this data
you’re right – Googling the actual to exist but its contact information was scraping simply made a mistake
name does lead to your phone number once published somewhere on the web pairing your real number with this
and an address that’s just a seemingly defunct or fictitious
random private house. We should 2 business.
stress that, while we can’t be certain, Is there a fix? Well, you
we do believe that the address really could contact the directory
is a private residence. At least, it is companies concerned.
currently. Yelp is one that lists your
We say that because a search on the number, for example:
Companies House website (www. clicking the ‘Suggest an edit’
snipca.com/47377) reveals that the link (see screenshot 1 )
physical building, if not the specific followed by ‘I’m a customer’
address, has over the years hosted a would allow you to request
multitude of different businesses – a change, and the reason for
many dozens, in fact. At least one of it 2 . You’d have to do this
these is an accountancy firm. This last for every different service,
fact possibly explains the existence of though. Alternatively,
the all other businesses using the contact Virgin Media again
premises as their registered address. and ask for a new landline
In short, it’s very murky. It’s entirely number: the company can’t
possible that dodgy businesses have stop your current one being
been based there in the past, or even wrongly published online,
now, or that every single one of them Yelp provides a box where you can explain why you think but it should be able to issue
was (or is) a legitimate concern that has a listing of your details needs changing you with a new number.

64 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

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

Why did my iPad reboot without my input?

Recently, my iPad became to uninstall itself, though it’s Disable ‘Security Responses
Q unresponsive and then rebooted
without any input from me. In
very unlikely. Apple tightly
controls everything about
& System Files’ by sliding the
switch to its off position
the Software Update section of the its operating systems and, automatically, to its own
iPadOS Settings page, the version was with hundreds of millions schedule. That’s probably
shown as 16.4.1, with 16.4.1 (a) available of users globally, such how your iPad ended up
to install. Being 99 per cent certain I had hiccups get quickly found with 16.4.1 (a) without you
recently and successfully upgraded to out – and we’ve heard of knowingly installing it.
16.5 from 16.4.1 (a), I was suspicious and nothing of this nature. Known as Rapid Security
didn’t install it. About 30 minutes later, We suppose it could also Responses (www.snipca.
I checked again, and my iPadOS was be that you initiated the com/47378), the feature
shown as 16.4.1 (20E252), with an option upgrade to 16.5, saw the allows Apple to patch
to remove 16.4.1 (a) (20E772520a), which progress bar appear and up stuff it considers
I didn’t. The only available update shown assumed that when it had exceptionally urgent,
now is to 16.5, which I won’t install until gone, the upgrade was done. without asking or
I know more. Can you shed any light on That is the usual course of events, for bothering you. This feature can be
this? Is it a genuine Apple update gone sure. However, if your iPad hit a hurdle disabled, if you wish. To do so, from
wrong, or something else? during the update – such as the power Settings, tap General followed by
Nick Browning being removed, even momentarily – Software Update, and then Automatic
then it could have abandoned the process Updates. Now just tap to slide the
We’ll work backwards, because and wound back to 16.4.1. ‘Security Responses & System Files’
A “99 per cent certain” is,
obviously, not actually certain.
Adding to the confusion is the fact that
both iPadOS and iOS (for iPhones) now
switch to its Off position (see screenshot).
As for the offered updating to 16.5,
So, there’s a tiny chance that some have a form of ‘forced’ update – meaning we’re confident it’s legitimate – so we’d
undiscovered quirk in iPad 16.5 caused it Apple can (and does) apply them advise pressing ahead.

Where are my
pinned items?
Overnight, the Pinned section
Q that appears when I right-
click my Excel taskbar icon
has disappeared. The one for Word
works fine. Recent files display fine,
but when I try to pin a file the display
blinks and nothing happens. I run
Microsoft 365 on Windows 10, and
there are no outstanding updates. As
far as I am aware, I haven’t changed Flip the ‘Show
any settings. I’ve been a subscriber to recently opened
your brilliant magazine almost from items in Jump
launch and have never seen anything Lists...’ switch
to its Off
like this. position
Gus Smeaton
officially called Jump Lists, and we’d then flip it back to On.
Neither have we, and we don’t suggest disabling and then re-enabling it. If this doesn’t help, then try
A know what’s causing this.
However, we do have a couple
To do this, click Start followed by the
Settings cog, and then Personalisation
removing and re-adding your Excel
taskbar icon. First right-click it before
of ideas you can try. Fellow readers will followed by Start. Now click to flip the choosing ‘Unpin from taskbar’. Next,
doubtless contact us with more, which ‘Show recently opened items in Jump find Excel in the Start menu, then
we’ll happily pass on to you. Lists...’ switch to its Off position (see right-click it before pointing to More
The feature you’re talking about is screenshot). Wait a couple of moments, and then choosing ‘Pin to taskbar’.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 65

 Problems Solved
How do I change my Gmail address?
Is AVG clashing
with Microsoft
My Gmail email address
1
Q has been compromised,

Defender? and I’m receiving copious

amounts of spam. After much
research online, it appears that you
My Windows 10 PC runs are not allowed to change a Gmail
Q very slowly when I flip
between applications, with
address. I read that the only option
is to open a new account and then
the system freezing for about 30 cancel your old Gmail (and Google)
seconds. When this happens, I get a account in order to be rid of the old
notification telling me that Microsoft email address. Is this actually
Defender is running a periodic correct? I’ve found numerous
check. I have AVG AntiVirus and articles online about the process
various other security tools installed. but they all vary slightly. I did To delete your Gmail account, click the bin symbol next
Could there be a conflict? attempt to follow the instructions to Gmail
Trevor Wilcock but fell at the first hurdle.
Bob Barker though this would obviously leave you
Not necessarily a conflict so without a functioning Gmail service.
A much as a momentary We’re afraid that this is indeed Google will also require a new, different
handover of control, as
Defender is muscling its way into
A true. There’s nothing anyone (and non-Gmail) email address with
outside of Google can do about it which to sign into your Google Account.
proceedings. In a belt-and-braces – and the company hasn’t ever shown If you want to do this, first log in at
approach, even with third-party any intention of budging on this policy. If https://myaccount.google.com, then click
security installed, Microsoft forces you want to set up a new Gmail address, ‘Data & privacy’. Next, under ‘Data from
Defender to run periodically – and it you have to set up a new Gmail account, apps and services you use’, click ‘Delete a
is this that’s causing your PC to slow and that’s that. Google service’. Then, next to Gmail,
down. But with trusted third-party However, it is possible to delete just the click the Bin icon (see screenshot 1 ). Tap
antivirus installed, you don’t really Gmail service itself and retain everything in your alternative email address, then
need Defender running, even else associated with your Google account, click ‘Send verification email’ 2 .
periodically.
To disable it, first click Start 2
followed by the Settings cog. Next,
click ‘Update & security’, followed by
‘Virus & threat protection’ and then
‘Microsoft Defender Antivirus
options’. Finally, click to flip the
‘Periodic scanning’ switch to its Off
position (see screenshot – and, for
the benefit of other readers, note that
this option is visible and switchable
only if you have non-Microsoft
antivirus software installed and
actively running).

Type your different (non-Gmail) email address and then click ‘Send verification email’

Q: Can I rescue my Humax TV

recordings?
A: Issue 643, page 65 – find it on
our 2022 Back Issue CD
Turn off Defender by flipping the ‘Periodic Buy it from
scanning’ switch to its Off position www.snipca.com/44660

66 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 Can I make my 1 2
CDs play on
any device?
I have a verbal presentation
Q that I recorded on various
portable dictation machines.
I’ve used Audacity to piece it all
together and now I want to put it on an In Windows Media Player, ensure that you Alternatively, in Ashampoo Burning Studio
audio CD that’ll play in any player. I’ve choose Audio CD select Create Audio CD
tried Windows Media and the free
version of Ashampoo Burning Studio, sure to choose the relevant one in your 3
but none will play anywhere except on software, before burning the disc.
a computer. I feel like I’m missing In Windows Media Player, after
something so I’m asking for help. I’m selecting the Burn tab, click the ‘Burn
also running out of discs. Any ideas? options’ button near the top right and
Terry Nicholls choose Audio CD (see screenshot 1 ). In
Burning Studio, you choose the ‘Audio +
You didn’t tell us what Music’ option – not the Burn Data option
A specifically you’ve tried, but
we wonder if you’re making
– followed by Create Audio CD 2 .
If you’ve already tried this, then it’s
You can slow the burn speed in Windows
Media Player to an option such as Medium

the mistake of creating data rather than possible that the quality of your discs the ‘Burn speed’ dropdown menu and
audio CDs? Burning the file (or files) isn’t up to the speed at which your drive choose a slower speed 3 (medium in
directly on to a CD is fine if you’re burns. To put the brakes on Windows our example). In Burning Studio, use
going to play the audio on a PC, but Media Player’s burn speed, first click the Speed dropdown menu on the
audio CDs that’ll play in any player are Organise, followed by Options and then ‘Writer settings’ page after clicking
a distinct format. So, you need to be the Burn tab. Next, under General, open Next on the Selection page.

How do I conduct BIOS updates in Linux?

I have an HP Notebook, model Click ‘Download’ to get the
1
Q 15-af157na, which came with
Windows 10. However, I’ve since
latest BIOS file (left)

installed Kubuntu – a version of Linux.

I want to update the computer’s BIOS 2
but can’t find a way to do it under my
preferred operating system, and don’t
want to switch back to Windows. Any
ideas?
Steve Squires

You won’t need to switch your

A computer back to Windows.
However, you will need access to
a Windows computer, and a USB memory
stick. That’s because HP allows use of a Select the ‘Create
Recovery USB flash
BIOS-recovery drive that’ll boot (start) a drive’ option (above)
laptop without any operating system in
order to apply a BIOS update – but the (‘sp96570.exe’ at the time of writing). update failing. Then, ensuring it’s fully
creation of that stick does itself require Now double-click the downloaded file powered down, take this recovery stick
Windows. (see screenshot 1 ) to launch the tool and, and slot it into a spare USB slot. Press
So, if you have a second computer when prompted, choose the ‘Create Windows key+B and keep both held
running Windows, or can persuade Recovery USB flash drive’ option 2 . Then down while pressing the power button
someone to let you use theirs for a short follow the prompts to complete the task. for a couple of seconds. From here, the
while, first visit www.snipca.com/47379 Next, be sure to back up your HP BIOS-update process is automated – so
to download the latest BIOS file laptop, as there’s always a risk of a BIOS just sit back and watch until it is done.

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 67

 Problems Solved
How do I stop my scrollbars disappearing?
I use Microsoft Edge as my main
Q browser. It has recently been
‘upgraded’ to include a Chat
option. Now whenever I open a page in 1
Edge, the vertical scroll bar appears 2
briefly and then disappears. I have found
that if I click Chat and then back to
Search, the scroll bar comes back. Any
ideas about why this is happening and 3
how to rectify it would be welcome.
Chris Ellison

This hasn’t got anything to do

A with the Chat function being
added to Edge, but the latest
upgrade has enabled a feature that hides
the scroll bars – an idea that’s part of
Microsoft’s ‘Windows Fluent’ design. You
can tweak a hidden setting in Edge to
enable a switch that will allow you to
Click the menu button (1), select Appearance (2), and flip ‘Always show scrollbars’ to On (3)
keep the scrollbars displayed at all times.
First, in the address bar at the top, type Settings’. Now restart Edge. Appearance 2 and then, in the right-hand
edge://flags and press Enter. Next, type Next, visit the Edge Settings page, by pane, scroll down to find the ‘Customise
fluent and then, alongside ‘Windows clicking the menu button (three dots, browser’ heading. Below that, click to
Fluent scrollbars’, click to open the top right, 1 in our screenshot) followed change the ‘Always show scrollbars’ slider
dropdown menu and choose ‘Enabled in by Settings. Then, on the left, click to its On position 3 and you’re done.

How do I remove Under ‘Apps

& features’,
select
Medal TV? Medal
and click
Uninstall
I’ve been a subscriber for
Q longer than I can remember,
and now I need your help.
Every time I switch on my computer,
I have to find a way around Medal TV,
which is always there telling me to
click on something or other.
Sometimes it stops me getting online.
What is it and how do I get rid of it?
Kevin Selby

Medal (https://medal.tv) is a
A niche tool for capturing clips
of games. If you don’t recall
installing it, then it either came with
your PC or, as likely, was installed along
with a program you did knowingly opt
for: software like this can slip through
unnoticed, not least because some
developers use devious techniques to
catch out unsuspecting users.
Medal is not itself malicious, but it
seems clear that you neither need nor the Settings cog, and then Apps. Next, in Medal, and then click Uninstall, and
want it, so we’d suggest uninstalling it. the right-hand pane, under ‘Apps & confirm by once more clicking
To do that, first click Start, followed by features’, scroll down to find the entry for Uninstall (see screenshot).

68 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

 ?? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN...
Digital and optical zoom?
I buy new things only when The latest Samsung Galaxy detail. Levels of
Q necessary. My old Android
phone has given up the ghost
S23 Ultra boasts a 10X
optical zoom
‘magnification’ can be
measured in the tens or
– after 12 years! Now retired, I’m more hundreds, but results
interested in the camera side than zoom levels are to be can be highly variable.
before, but really only for day-trip favoured over any claims of But we said
snapshots. My old handset’s camera digital prowess. In simple ‘traditionally’ for a
was very poor, so I imagine anything terms, an optical zoom reason. While every
modern would be an improvement. level is something that is manufacturer has
Some phones claim to offer huge achieved either through different names for
zoom levels. I assume those are digital mechanical manipulation the idea, the related
zoom? Are they worth having over of lenses or a higher- concepts of
optical? Any advice appreciated. magnification telephoto ‘computational
Derek Foulds lens – or sometimes photography’ and
both. Many premium ‘hybrid zoom’ are now
First, yes, we’d imagine any smartphones offer optical widespread. By using
A modern smartphone camera
would outperform the snapper
zooms of 2, 3 or 5X. The
latest Samsung Galaxy
artificial intelligence
– and sometimes a bit
in such an old handset. Almost every S23 Ultra (pictured, www. of well-intentioned
aspect of smartphones has improved snipca.com/47373) goes a fakery (www.snipca.
greatly, especially on the photography step further, with a 10X com/47374) – the best
front. optical zoom. implementations of
Nonetheless, you need to be wary By contrast, digital zoom digital zooms today are
– or at least aware – of the basis for has, traditionally at least, immeasurably better
some of the claims made by involved enlarging a cropped part of an than those of the recent past.
manufacturers. Problems Solved isn’t image so that it looks like a full-size, Want to know the difference between
the place for detailed product zoomed photo. Some level of digital technical terms? Email noproblem@
comparisons but, generally, optical trickery is usually used to pad out the computeractive.co.uk

How will we make calls during power cuts?

I’ve just renewed my ISP The UPS-550VA offers (around £90, www.snipca.com/47376) is
Q contract for another two years
and was told that we had to
backup if the electricity
supply cuts out
a six-socket uninterruptible power
supply (UPS) that kicks in
move to a VoIP service for the phone. automatically if the mains goes
No problem there but, as we both have have a mobile phone, down. Plug your ONT, router
mobile phones, they seem to think or can’t get a signal – and phone into this and they’ll
that's fine. My problem is that whenever must be able to contact remain active for a short while
the power goes out we lose the local emergency services during a during power cuts.
mobile mast as well. In these situations, power cut (www.snipca.com/47375).
we therefore have no phones at all. While this requirement is open to ON SALE
Is this legal?
John Prater
interpretation, typically it means the
free provision of a battery-backup Next Issue Weds
11 Oct
unit that’ll provide an hour or so’s
It’s legal but the consequences power to the optical network terminal • Why can’t I format my
A are not necessarily inevitable.
We don’t have space here for an
(ONT) and router, or the supply of a
basic mobile phone. •H
drive?
 ow do I digitise my
in-depth analysis of the law but, as the However, few if any providers will cassettes?
UK moves toward the scheduled switch- give either of these away willy-nilly, so •W
 hy did my VPN fail?
off of traditional copper landlines in expect to be asked to prove that your ...And many more
2025, communications regulator Ofcom need is critical.
has stated that service providers must Alternatively, you can buy your own Subscribe to Computeractive at
ensure that customers who are reliant on battery-backup system. For example, www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
a landline – either because they don’t the pictured Amazon Basics UPS-550VA

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 69

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Reader Support
Having a problem with our recommended software or expert tips?
Email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help

How can you permanently

disable BT’s hotspot Wi-Fi?
In your answer to Mrs R Bayne’s
Q question in Issue 665’s Problems
Solved (‘Can I Switch off my 1
Wi-Fi?’, page 64), you suggested disabling
the Wi-Fi in the router administration
page. Mrs Bayne says she has electrical
sensitivities. The BT router not only
transmits a Wi-Fi signal for use at home,
2
but also for hotspots for anyone passing
by her home. So while the Wi-Fi may Look in the technical specifications to see
3
be turned off, the router will still be whether your printer has pigment or dye ink
transmitting a powerful signal. Update ‘yt-dlp’ in Vividl and you’ll be able to
The only way to fully stop the signal is the recommended Epson EcoTank ET- download YouTube videos again
to buy an aftermarket router such as 1810 (www.snipca.com/41232), which is
from TP-Link, which doesn’t have the your current ‘Buy It!’ choice (see page and Dailymotion (www.dailymotion.
BT hotspot feature. Also, you can opt 32), but I can’t find out which type of com/gb).
out of BT hotspots to stop other people ink it uses. Is there a product code that However, Vividl’s developers have
logging in. indicates pigment or dye? since advised users to update yt-dlp,
Stephen Wickes Harry Saunderson which is a command-line tool that lets
you download videos and audio.
We take Stephen’s point, but This is usually mentioned in the To do this, open Vividl, then click
A Mrs Bayne asked a general
question about the possibility of
A printer’s specifications within
the manual or the product’s
Options at the top followed by Settings.
Next, click Application ( 1 in our screenshot
switching to BT in the future, in order to page on the manufacturer’s website. For above) and click Check For Updates 2
maintain a landline. We made it clear that the Epson EcoTank ET-1810, you’ll find it under the ‘youtube-dl/ yt-dtp’ heading.
she wouldn’t need to switch to BT, or at www.snipca.com/47528 in the Tech This will update yt-dlp to ‘2023.07.06’ or
maintain a landline, if she didn’t wish to Specs section, under the Technology later 3 . Once that’s done, you should be
do so. We included instructions on how heading. As you can see from our able to download YouTube videos again.
to disable Wi-Fi radios in a router, and screenshot above, it uses dye ink. Vividl remains just as easy to use. Find
used the BT Smart Hub purely as an a video you want to download, then copy
example in case she switched, but Mrs Why won’t Vividl work the URL. Now open Vividl and paste the
Bayne doesn’t currently have this router. with YouTube? URL into the main page. Next, click the
As every router is different in this I was keen to try the video ‘Convert to MP4’ dropdown menu and
regard, it’s difficult to give advice that
covers everyone. But we’re happy to
Q downloader Vividl, which you
recommended in Issue 664
select a format to save the video into.
Now click the download arrow on the
publish your thoughts in case they prove (page 53). I downloaded it fine from right and, once it’s finished downloading,
useful to others. BT customers wishing to www.snipca.com/46995, but I can’t get click the folder icon below. This will take
opt out of the BT Wi-Fi hotspots feature it to work with YouTube. Am I doing you to where the video has been saved
should follow the company’s instructions something wrong? on your computer.
at www.snipca.com/47573. John Harris To download multiple videos, first
copy all the URLs then click the
What type of ink does No, you’re not doing anything lightning-bolt icon. This will paste every
my printer use?
In Issue 662’s ‘Choose the right
A wrong. Soon after Issue 664
was published we started having
URL into Vividl. Click the download
arrow at the top and every video will start
Q specs’ (page 25) on pigment and
dye-based inkjet printers you
the same problem. We thought that
YouTube had blocked Vividl because the
downloading. You can also download
just the audio or video separately by
mention that printers will only use one program was still working on other video clicking the Configure Download icon
type or the other. I’ve recently purchased sites, including Vimeo (www.vimeo.com) (a screwdriver and spanner).

Issue 667 • 27 September – 10 October 2023 71

 Jargon Buster
2G Second-generation cellular Cache A temporary space for End-to-end encryption Ensures MicroSD card A small type of
network. storing information. Can be that messages can be seen only by memory card. Can be converted to
memory used on a computer the sender and recipient. SD size using an adapter.
3G/4G/5G Technologies that processor, or space on a hard drive
deliver faster mobile broadband, used by a web browser. Fps Frames per second. Used to Mini HDMI An HDMI connector
so called because they are the indicate gaming performance. See measuring 10.42x2.42 mm. Mini
third, fourth and fifth generations cd/m2 Candela per square metre. ‘Frame rate’ below. HDMI ports are often used by
of mobile-data networking Standard unit of brightness. digital cameras, as well as some
standards. Frame rate The number of still tablets and laptops.
Client A program that acts as an images, or frames, shown per
4K Video with a resolution of at interface between PC and server. second to create a moving image. MP3 A type of digital audio file
least 3840x2160 pixels. Higher frame rates make games often used on music players.
Clock speed The speed at which a appear smoother and more
AI Artificial Intelligence. computer processor can perform realistic. NAS Network-attached storage.
Intelligence demonstrated by a operations. Measured in Gigahertz A hard drive attached to a
machine rather than a human (GHz). GPS Global positioning system. network that can be shared with
being. Often used to describe Satellite-based navigational system. other PCs.
technology that can perform Command line A way to control
human-like tasks. a computer by typing instructions Graphics card A component in a OCR Optical character recognition.
one at a time. In Windows this is computer that produces the image The process by which printed text
AMOLED Active-Matrix Organic called Command Prompt. shown on the monitor. is scanned and converted into
Light-Emitting Diode. An documents that can be edited.
alternative technology to LCD for Cookie A small text file stored on HDMI High-definition media
creating flat-panel displays. Most your computer by a website. Used interface. A type of connection that OLED Organic light-emitting
commonly used in smartphones, to store browsing preferences, transmits high-definition video and diode. A thin-film organic
tablets and smartwatches. website log-in details and so on. audio signals. light-emitting diode used in
computer displays and television
Aspect ratio A measurement of Core Units on a processor that Hotspot A public area covered by screens.
the shape of a screen. Traditional carry out program instructions. a Wi-Fi network that allows you to
PC screens are 4:3. Widescreen access the internet, either free or Phishing A form of internet
displays are 16:9 or 16:10. Cryptocurrency An online for a fee. fraud that tries to trick you into
currency not backed by any revealing personal details.
Avatar A graphic or icon used to country. The most popular is Hz Hertz. Measures the frequency
represent a computer user, either Bitcoin. something happens: 1Hz equals Picture-in-picture mode Shows
online or in a video game. once a second. video in a small moveable screen
Dark mode Showing white text while you browse the web or
Backhaul The process of sending on a black background. IMEI Integrated Mobile Equipment watch TV.
data to a wired access point to Identity. A unique number used to
reach the wider internet. Defragment To reorganise the identify each mobile phone. Plug-in A small program that
data stored on a hard drive so files adds extra features to software or
Benchmarking Comparing are stored in one piece and can IP68 International Protection to your web browser.
software and products with an be accessed quickly. Sometimes marking. The ‘6’ denotes that a
accepted standard. shortened to defrag. device is resistant to dust, general PNG Portable Network Graphics.
dirt and sand. The ‘8’ indicates that A format for images that shrinks
Beta A version of software that’s DisplayPort A new socket for it can be placed underwater for 30 file sizes using compression but
being tested. Beta versions are connecting monitors. minutes at depths of up to 1.5m without discarding any data.
often released so problems can be without effect.
ironed out. Dual-band router A Wi-Fi QR code Quick response code.
router that operates on two JPEG Joint Photograph Experts A barcode that can be read using
Biometric Using measurable bands: 2.4 and 5GHz. Wireless Group. A common type of image smartphones and dedicated QR-
personal characteristics, such as networks working at 2.4GHz file created by most digital reading devices.
fingerprints, for identification. have longer range, but are more cameras. Some image quality is
prone to interference. Wireless lost with each save. RAM Random-access memory.
BIOS Basic Input-Output System. networks working at 5GHz have The computer’s working area,
Software built into every PC that shorter range, but are less prone LED Light-emitting diode. An used for data storage while the
connects the vital components. It’s to interference and therefore electronic device that emits light. PC is switched on. Its capacity is
visible for a few seconds when the tend to be faster than 2.4GHz Used on almost all electronic measured in megabytes (MB):
PC starts. networks. devices, and to provide the the more memory your PC has,
backlight for some LCDs. the more things it can process
Blue light Light given off by PC Emoji A small graphic that can be simultaneously and the faster it
and phone screens. Can disrupt inserted into a text message or Memory dump A file containing will seem.
sleep patterns. email. contents of PC memory in order to
show why a crash happened. Ransomware Malware run by
Bootable Describes a device or Encode Convert media files to a hackers who lock files on your PC
disc with system files on it so it can new format, such as WAV audio Metadata A set of data that gives and demand a payment to release
be used to start up your computer. files to MP3. information about a file. them.

72 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667

Refresh rate Measured in SMART Self-Monitoring Analysis Travel The distance the keys of VoIP Voice over IP. The routing
Hertz (Hz), the number of times and Reporting Technology. PC- a keyboard have to be pressed of voice conversations over the
per second that the image on testing technology developed by before the keystroke is recognised. internet, which is cheaper than the
your monitor is redrawn. Slight IBM. telephone network.
changes in the image each time Two-factor authentication
it is updated combine to give the SMS Short Message Service. More A system that uses two VPN Virtual private network.
illusion of movement. commonly called text messaging. different means to identify the Keeps all internet communication
user. For example, a code sent safe and private.
Refurbished A second-hand sRGB A standard RGB colour to your phone in addition to a
device that has been repaired by space for use on monitors, password. WAV file Also known as a
its manufacturer so that it can be printers and the internet. Wave file and saved with a .wav
resold and reused. UEFI Unified Extensible Firmware extension. An audio file, used for
SSD Solid-state drive. Storage that, Interface. A modern replacement recording music and other sounds
Response time How fast a coloured unlike a hard drive, uses no moving for the BIOS, designed to get a PC to disk.
pixel turns to white and back again. parts. Faster but more expensive into a state where it can launch an
than conventional hard drives. operating system. Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi standard with
Rich Text A file format used to speeds up to 10 times faster
transfer files between different Tag A keyword used to describe a USB 3.0 An even faster version of than 802.11ac. Also called
types of word-processing file or web page. Many programs the USB standard used to connect 802.11ax.
programs. It preserves most of the use tags to organise related devices to a computer.
formatting of a document. information quickly. Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi 6 extended to
USB-C A new connector that’s include the 6GHz band.
SATA Serial ATA. An interface for Temporary file Created by sites reversible, letting you plug it in
connecting hard drives and optical and software to store info for a upside down. Widget A small program such
discs to a computer. specific purpose, but not meant to as a calendar that runs on the
be stored permanently. Virtual memory Data that is Windows desktop.
Scissor switch Keys that have two temporarily moved from RAM
plastic pieces that interlock in a Timestamp The time which an to hard drive to make up for WMA Windows Media Audio.
scissor-like fashion. event is recorded by a computer. shortages in memory. Audio format created by Microsoft
 Easy when you
Know How
Tired of being interrupted by notification pings on his
phone, Robert Irvine tries to…

Combine his messaging apps

A
s someone who has spent the last I ignored these and clicked the Add
few years shrinking his social Network button in the sidebar (see
circle to the size of a hula hoop screenshot bottom left), which presented
– the toy, not the crisp – I often wonder 2 me with a list of 15 chat networks ( 1 in
how people with hundreds of friends and our screenshot left).
colleagues cope with the relentless I selected WhatsApp, which is my
barrage of message notifications. preferred messaging service, and clicked
My reaction to hearing a WhatsApp Continue. This involved opening WhatsApp
1
chime or a Messenger ding ranges from on my phone, selecting ‘Linked devices’
‘Ooh, who could that be?’ to ‘Oh, what Beeper let Robert combine several chat apps - then ‘Link a device’, and scanning the QR
now?’, but the thought of receiving including WhatsApp - in one place code provided by Beeper 2 . This instantly
constant alerts throughout the day, each connected my account and added a
demanding a response or appropriate to my email address – and created an WhatsApp button to Beeper’s sidebar.
emoji, is enough to drive me insane. account. I saved the recovery code Beeper Clicking this button displayed a list of
The more messaging apps you have provided to ensure I could access my my WhatsApp chats, but instead of their
installed, the greater the scope for chats should I get locked out. content was the error message: ‘Unable
interruption, but if you put your phone to decrypt: The sender has disabled
on silent there’s a nagging fear of encrypting to unverified devices’. This
missing something important. was clearly no use, so I signed out of
So I was intrigued to read about a new Beeper and restarted the program. When
free tool called Beeper (www.beeper. I signed back in, all my WhatsApp
com), which brings all your chat services My reaction to hearing messages were there, allowing me to
together in one place. It’s a desktop browse and reply to them on my PC.
program as well as a mobile app, so a ding ranges from ‘Ooh, Emboldened by this success, I next
you don’t need to keep checking your connected Instagram and Facebook,
phone for new messages or put up
who could that be?’ to which entailed enabling two-factor
with persistent notification pings.
Beeper is currently invite-only, so I
‘Oh, what now?’ authentication for those services; and
LinkedIn, which merely asked for my
signed up and waited patiently to try it. username and password. I was tempted
After 15 days, I finally received my invite to add SMS too, so I could read text
code, just after I noticed that the Beeper messages on my big screen, but this
blog (www.snipca.com/47459) is giving required me to install the Beeper app for
them away to all comers. I downloaded Beeper’s welcome screen informed me Android (www.snipca.com/47461).
and installed the Beeper software (www. that audio and video calls aren’t yet With several messaging apps now
snipca.com/47460), entered the invite supported, but as they annoy me even combined in one, I figured I’d better
code – along with a verification code sent more than messages, this wasn’t a problem. specify the type of notifications I’d
It also recommended that I keep existing receive. I clicked the cog in the top-right
chat apps installed on my phone and corner of the side panel and selected
disable the notifications, which I planned Settings then Notifications. The options
to do anyway. Most importantly, Beeper were already set up to allow desktop
reassured me that my chat history would notifications but not audible ones, which
be encrypted, so nobody would be able to was perfect for my needs.
eavesdrop on my less-than-enthralling When a WhatsApp message arrived, I
conversations. With that understood, I was politely informed with a pop-up alert
clicked ‘I’m in, let’s go’ to continue. in the corner of my screen. Which, of
When Beeper opened, there were course, I then blissfully ignored.
already a few messages in my inbox, See our feature on page 60 for more
allowing me to talk to the Beeper Help about messaging apps.
Click the Add Network button to open team, read about the latest updates and Need help managing your notifications? Let us
Beeper’s list of chat networks start an encrypted chat with myself. know: [email protected]

74 27 September – 10 October 2023 • Issue 667 Next issue: Robert tries to remove PC junk using scripts
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