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One of things I like about editing Computeractive is that it grants you many ‘when I were a lad’ moments. Such as: when I were a lad, a dashboard was only in your car. It’s still there, of course, but dashboards are now on computers too – as panels of settings. We’ve seen lots of ‘privacy’ dashboards recently, as companies try to reassure users their personal data is safe. Microsoft’s new dashboard is welcome, but it’s not clear what you should do with each setting. In our Cover Feature we go through it step by step. I wasn’t quite a lad when Computeractive launched in 1998, but I was definitely a springier chicken. With our 500th issue weeks away, we want to hear about how computing has changed for you…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2016 Back Issue CD: £15 from www.snipca.com/23209 LAPTOP Asus ZenBook UX305CA £610 from www.snipca.com/22321 Tested: Issue 475 PRICE DROP This metal-cased ‘ultrabook’ looks much more expensive than it is. There’s no touchscreen or 36-degree hinge, just great quality all round and an ultra-sharp display. The M3 processor is adequate for most tasks, though not gaming. ALTERNATIVE: Dell Inspiron 15 5000 If you need a full-size Windows 10 laptop with a DVD drive and a desktop PC-level i5 processor, this is a solid choice. £550 from www.snipca.com/21650 DESKTOP PC Palicomp AMD Avenger £500 from www.snipca.com/20927 Tested: Issue 479 AMD’s Athlon X4 880K processor gives this PC solid performance with money left for GTX 960 graphics and a very fast 128GB SSD…

ANDROID Download Netflix movies and TV shows to watch offline In Issue 492 (see page 44), we explained how to download Netflix movies and TV programmes to watch offline. This kind of data can quickly eat into your phone’s storage space. Thankfully, Netflix now lets some Android users download content on to their SD card. Netflix says that the feature is not available on all devices. We’ll show you how to check whether the feature is available for your device. Open the Netflix app on your device (www.snipca.com/23317) and create an account (or log in if you already have one). The service is free for the first 30 days, after which monthly subscription plans starts at £5.99 (see www.snipca.com/23318). To watch offline you’ll need to change Netflix’s default download settings,…

WINDOWS 7, 8, 10 Make your Start menu load faster If your Start menu seems to take ages to load, there’s an easy way to make it pop up faster. It involves editing a value in your PC’s Registry Editor, so press Ctrl+R, type regedit, then press Enter to open it. Now navigate to the following key using the dropdown menus on the left: HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Control Panel\Desktop. In the right-hand section, double-click the MenuShowDelay key (see screenshot below). You’ll see its default value is 400, meaning your Start Menu takes 400 miliseconds (0.4 seconds) to launch. Change this to a lower value (200, for example). Once done, restart your PC and see if your Start menu loads more quickly. If not, try even lower values (but don’t change it to…

Asecurity researcher has revealed how he exposed a flaw in Netgear routers that allows hackers to access admin passwords, forcing the company to issue emergency fixes for 31 models. Simon Kenin from Chicago-based security company Trustwave, said that he discovered the vulnerability early last year. In a blog post (www.snipca.com/23360), he writes that he needed to reset his Netgear router, but was “tucked in bed, cosy and warm”, and so didn’t want to go downstairs. He chose instead to reboot the router via its website, but couldn’t recall the password. He tried to recover it by hacking the website’s security. After some trial and error, he found “a totally new bug” that would allow a hacker to easily steal your log-in details if they were on the same Wi-Fi network.…

Tell us what’s on your mind Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive I blacklist sites with ‘obnoxious’ adverts Ken Rigsby never spoke a truer word than when raging against ‘obnoxious web adverts’ in Issue 494 (The Final Straw). I accept that websites need adverts. It never bothered me in the early days of the web, when the ads were fairly tame. They didn’t blare loud music, or devour your screen. But times have changed, and the internet has become almost unusable at times because of adverts. It’s not so much the volume of adverts as their style. A TV equivalent would be an advert popping up over a programme, obscuring half the screen, rather than waiting for the traditional commercial break. They are clearly designed to be impossible to…

SYSTEM & SECURITY TOOL Process Network Monitor 6.0 www.snipca.com/23225 What you need: Windows 7, 8/8.1 or 10 Track the internet activity of all your PC’s running processes, using the new ‘Mega 2017 edition’ of this free tool. Process Network Monitor displays a list of running processes that are currently communicating with the internet, and shows how much data they’re sending and receiving. At a glance, you can see which programs are hogging your bandwidth and may even be spying on you. As well as rooting out Trojans and spyware, you can discover which programs and Windows tools are sending data to their servers from your PC. The list of network-active processes is likely to include your browser, your antivirus (AV) and Windows Search (‘SearchUI. exe’). If you don’t recognise a…

PC MONITOR ? £420 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23257 When flatscreen monitors first replaced the chunky old cathoderay- tube models, they used a ‘twisted nematic’ (TN) system, which was basically LCD crystals between two polarised glass plates. The screen is lit from the back, but any light that passes through the first plate can’t pass through the second. When a voltage is applied, the crystals twist the light, which can then pass through, lighting up a pixel. IPS (in-plane switching) works in a similar way, but with the crystals parallel to the screen rather than perpendicular. This overcomes some of the problems with TN, including limited colour reproduction and colours looking wrong from an angle. But TN has one advantage: the pixels can change faster. That means it’s stuck around as an…

GAMES/STREAMING CONSOLE ? £190 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23243 You can’t carry a desktop PC around with you, but there’s no reason why an Android tablet or phone shouldn’t work equally well just plonked on a shelf or desk. And if that shelf happens to be next to your TV, the device won’t even need its own screen. That’s the basic idea behind the Shield TV console, which first appeared in 2015. It has now shrunk to a handier size and gained access to more online services, including Amazon Prime video streaming at (depending on your TV set) up to 4K resolution. Little has changed inside the box, but the Shield is made by Nvidia, the graphics card specialists, and so already had a surprising amount of processing power. It’s marketed partly…

PULL OUT & KEEP Issue 495 14 pages of easy-to-follow workshops and expert tips 35 Upgrade to W10 for free using Microsoft’s loophole 38 Design your own posters and flyers 40 Record your screen using keyboard shortcuts 42 Make our Snipca URLs easier to use PLUS 43 Readers’ Tips 44 Phone & Tablet Tips 46 Make Windows Better 47 Make Office Better 48 Secret Tips For... Restore points What you need: Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 Time required: 3-4 hours The deadline to upgrade to Windows 10 for free was July 29, 2016. However, as we mentioned in Issue 482 (see page 58) Microsoft has left a back door open. With the Windows 10 Creator’s Update arriving some time in spring, there’s a good chance Microsoft will close this window…

Don’t Leave It Free iOS: www.snipca.com/23330 This app is a godsend for those who often forget something when leaving the house. You save a list of items you need to take with you and set an alert range (such as 30 steps). When you exceed that range, you’ll see a reminder showing you the items you should have with you. Lego Life Free Android: www.snipca.com/23333 iOS: www.snipca.com/23335 Adults have loads of social networks to choose from, but Lego has now created one for kids (though they’ll need their parent’s consent and details to sign up). Kids can upload and comment on photos of Lego creations. There are also Lego challenges and ‘how to’ videos. Evernote Free iOS: www.snipca.com/23332 Evernote has updated its iOS app with a few new features. Press…

EXCEL Make printing spreadsheets easier Excel data can run into dozens of rows and columns which can make printing the relevant spreadsheet difficult. We’ll explain how to simplify this process. First, highlight the data you want to print. To make it easier to read in a print-out it’s a good idea to convert the data into a table format. To do that, click in the selected area and press Ctrl+T. If your data has headers, ensure that ‘My table has headers’ is ticked in the ‘Create a Table’ pop-up menu, then click OK. Next, select this table, click the Page Layout tab, the Print Area dropdown menu, then click Set Print Area. If you see any text or data outside your defined print area, click the Home tab, then Wrap…

If you have Windows on your PC – and very possibly even if you don’t – Microsoft has you on file. It knows your name, address, phone number, email address and, if you’ve ever bought something from its store, your payment details. If that isn’t worrying enough, the company also knows your internet browsing and search history, as well as the important dates in your calendar, who your friends are, how quickly you type and where you are right now. One of the best ways to check exactly what Microsoft knows about you is on its new Privacy Dashboard. We’ll show you exactly how to use it so you can see your stored online history for yourself. We’ll then show you how to dig even deeper and find hidden settings…

Before you start reading this article (and certainly before you start applying any of our tips here), open a photo on your PC and take a few seconds to look at it. Though it might look perfectly fine, the chances are that its reds aren’t really red, its blues are far from blue and its greens… well, you get the idea. That’s because monitors don’t come pre-calibrated to suit the unique conditions of the room you are in, meaning what you see on screen is a far-from-accurate rendition. In fact manufacturers of PC monitors and TVs often crank up the brightness levels and oversaturate colours so that their screens look vivid – even garish – in order to stand out on the shelf of your local PC World store. That’s…

Why is my PC saying ‘MIC On’ when I boot it up? QIn a recent issue you explained how to install and use GodMode (see Issue 492, page 51). I followed the steps precisely. Now whenever my PC boots up it says out loud ‘MIC On’. I don’t even have a mic connected. Please help. Jeremy Newman AWe’d never heard of this happening before, but we don’t think this has anything to do with GodMode. We confirmed with Jeremy that he didn’t have a microphone connected to his PC. So we considered the possibility that the ‘MIC On’ message might refer to Wi-Fi encryption (MIC stands for Message Integrity Code and is related to Wi-Fi access). Jeremy then contacted us again to let us know that Microsoft’s support team had…

4K Video that has a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. Beta A version of software that’s being tested. Blue light Light given off by PC and phone screens. Can disrupt sleep patterns. Blue screen of death Technically called a ‘Stop error’, this is shown when your PC crashes. Botnet A group of infected computers connected together via the internet, and used to infect other PCs, send junk email and perform other criminal tasks. Browser hijackers Programs that change your default browser, its homepage and search engine, without prior warning, when you install them. Calibration The process of checking that colours are accurate on a monitor. Cast To wirelessly send content from your PC to TV. Clock speed The speed at…

Petulant printers Last week, I needed to print an address on an envelope. So I found the appropriate template in LibreOffice Writer, tapped out the address, inserted the envelope in the printer’s slot and then hit the Print icon. What could go wrong? While I waited for things to kick into gear, I did what every seasoned printer user does next. I pulled on my wellies, trudged down to the garden shed, hefted my sledgehammer and – whistling contentedly as I diverted back via the kitchen to wish dear Mrs Rigsby a fine morning – returned to my office. And then, obviously, I used it to smash the printer into a million small pieces. When I sadly awoke from this satisfying dream I was faced with the nightmare reality: printing…

JUNK OFFENDER: AHEAD Junk offender: Skype It’s taken me a year to get round to installing Skype on my Windows 10 PC. It then took me 10 minutes to get round to uninstalling it – at which point I discovered that Skype is one of a few junk offenders that pushes rubbish on the way out as well as on the way in. In case you weren’t sure, Skype doesn’t come pre-installed with Windows 10. Since the Anniversary Update, Windows 10 has included an app called Skype Preview. If you want Skype itself, though, you have to download and install it. That’s a pain for us, and an opportunity for Skype’s owner Microsoft to force-feed our hard drives with Bing and MSN – the slime at the bottom of its…

How do I know if EE overcharged me? Q I’m worried that I’m one of the 6,905 customers overcharged by EE that the company says it can’t track down (see News, Issue 494, page 7). I’ve switched to Vodafone, but if EE overcharged me I want my money back. How can I find out? John Palfrey A It’s possible that many of the customers who can’t be accounted for are no longer signed up with EE. But this doesn’t change anything – they are still entitled to get their money back. To help their case, they’ll need to produce evidence that they were overcharged. EE’s advice is to check your bills to see if your calls to 150 from abroad were charged at £1.20 per minute instead of 19p, or…

No.13: A PHOTO LIBRARY THAT WORKS Photography has been transformed from taking 36 pictures on a roll of film and waiting three days for prints, to grabbing a shot with your phone at any time. Even if you still use a camera, it’s probably digital, and downloading your photos takes just a few minutes. Either way, you have instant and permanent access to any photo you ever take. But that’s not how it really works, is it? You have photos on your phone, tablet, camera, and on a pile of old memory cards. You ought to have downloaded them all to your PC for safekeeping, but when you check there are hundreds missing and hundreds of duplicates. If there’s more than one PC in your household, everyone ends up with…

TIPOFTHEFORTNIGHT Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk The Home button on my iPad recently stopped working. The device is past its warranty and I was quoted an exorbitant amount to fix the problem. Initially, I was worried because I couldn’t access my home screen and apps. However, I was happy to find that I can still use my iPad without the Home button. There are two ways around this problem. The first method is to turn on your screen using the power button at the top, swipe left to the widgets screen, then pinch inwards using four fingers. You’ll then see the Enter Passcode screen. If this method doesn’t work, go to the widgets screen again, but this time tap the search bar…

AGES 0?5 Sago Mini Puppy Preschool £2.49 www.snipca.com/23336 (Android) £2.99 www.snipca.com/23337 (iOS) This new app has four simple games that will teach your youngster how to count and to recognise colours and shapes. Our favourite game (which all feature puppies) involves matching a toy to the correct shape. AGES 6?10 Brain It On* Free www.snipca.com/23341 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/23343 (iOS) This game offers simple puzzles that will encourage your child to think creatively. Each one requires different solutions that usually involve drawing a line that joins the correct elements. You win stars upon completing each level, which then automatically unlocks the next one. AGES 11?16 Pokémon Duel Free www.snipca.com/23344 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/23345 (iOS) In this new Chess-like strategy game, your child has to choose six different Pokémon figures with different strengths.…

Use system protection in W10 It’s a mystery why Microsoft deactivated system protection – the automatic creation of system restore points – in Windows 10 (even if you upgraded from a Windows 7 or 8.1 PC that had it enabled). However, you can turn it back on quite easily. Click the Start button, type restore point then select ‘Create a restore point’. Click the Configure button, then select ‘Turn on system protection’, move the Disk Space Usage slider to 2 per cent and click Apply (see screenshot below). Create a system restore shortcut You can set up your PC so that creating a new system restore is a simple matter of double-clicking a desktop shortcut. In Windows 10, right-click the desktop, select New, then Shortcut. In the Create Shortcut pop-up…