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Keeping your computer free of junk is one of those ‘painting the Forth Bridge’ tasks (though Wikipedia busts that myth: www.snipca.com/40130). You never manage to completely wipe clutter from your PC. You merely leave space for more junk in future to accumulate. At least, that’s how it always seemed to me. But I followed Robert Irvine’s junk-blitzing masterclass in our Cover Feature and eradicated more useless files than ever before, none of which have returned. Yet. Robert’s challenge was to identify new types of junk likely to be pestering you now and throughout 2022. In doing so he covers both Windows 10 and 11, which will be our policy in future issues of Computeractive. Some of you have upgraded, but many haven’t (or can’t). We’ll make sure our advice is…

Windows 10 will now receive one Feature update per year, bringing it in line with Windows 11. It has received two updates every year since launching in 2015. Microsoft confirmed the move in a blog post (www.snipca.com/40156) announcing the release of the November 2021 Update (version 21H2) for Windows 10. It added that the next Windows 10 Feature update will be released in the second half of 2022, and that it will “continue to support at least one version of Windows 10” until 14 October, 2025. Microsoft is staggering the release of the November 2021 Update so it’s available initially “to users with select devices running Windows 10, version 2004 or later”. To check if you can install it, open Settings (press Windows key+I), then click ‘Update & Security’, followed…

PLUSNET EMAIL ‘TO CLOSE’ SAY CUSTOMERS The future of Plusnet’s email service has been cast into doubt after several customers claimed they were told it’s set to close in 2022. They wrote on Plusnet’s forums (www.snipca.com/40119) that the company’s support team said users would need to find a new service by next March. The comments were posted in mid-November following a week of disruption to Plusnet’s email. ITV HUB UNAVAILABLE ON EARLY YOUVIEW ITV Hub will stop working on the first generation of YouView set-top TV boxes from January 2022, including the Humax T1000 from BT and the Huawei DN370T from TalkTalk (pictured below). YouView said it’s because ITV is updating its “content protection technology”. BT will contact customers to discuss options, while TalkTalk customers should visit www.snipca.com/40127 and search…

The UK’s leading cybersecurity experts thwarted a record 777 attacks between September 2020 and August 2021, 54 more than in the previous 12 months. In its annual review (www.snipca.com/40141), the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said around 20 per cent of attacks were aimed at the health sector and organisations involved in the development and roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine. In one incident, researchers working on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine sought the NCSC’s help after hackers threatened them with ransomware. Several attacks were linked to state-sponsored criminal gangs based in China and Russia. The NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, said China was a “highly sophisticated” operator in cyberspace, and had an “increasing ambition to project its influence beyond its borders”, including stealing secrets from British companies. The review reveals…

ANOTHER 1.6M HOMES GET VIRGIN GIGABIT Virgin Media O2 has made its 1Gbps broadband service available to a further 1.6 million homes, including in Bath, Fife, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Lancaster, Lincoln, Salisbury and Slough. The company says this means that more than 90 per cent of its UK network can deliver gigabit speeds. Read more at www.snipca.com/40100. 1976 APPLE COMPUTER SELLS FOR $500,000 A rare Apple computer built in 1976 by co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs has sold for $500,000 (around £372,000) at auction in the US. The Hawaiian koa wood-cased Apple-1 (pictured below) is one of only 20 that still work. It initially cost $666.66 when sold 45 years ago. See details from the auction house at www.snipca.com/40098. MICROSOFT KILLS OLD ONEDRIVE Microsoft will soon end support for the…

If you’re not keen on the poetry and film-quote passwords suggested recently by readers (see Letters, Issues 617-619), you’ll instead need the services of a decent password generator. Your latest option, joining the likes of LastPass, KeePass and Bitwarden, is Apple’s ‘iCloud for Windows’. The tool is mainly used for accessing on your Windows PC photos, videos and files you’ve saved on your Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac etc), syncing them automatically. But Version 13, released in November, adds a password generator – simply click ‘Generate strong password’ as shown in our screenshot. The update follows Apple’s decision in August to allow Windows users to sync passwords through iCloud. To install ‘iCloud for Windows’ you’ll need to visit the Microsoft Store. Either open the store on your computer then search…

My laptop is two years old, so can Currys refuse help? LEAD CASE Q I bought a £999 HP PC from Currys in November 2019, but it developed faults within the year, making it unusable. Because we were in lockdown and I wasn’t aware that Currys was accepting returns, I arranged for it to go back to HP twice. But the company couldn’t fix the problems. Although HP has issued a case number showing the fault is inherent and unrepairable, Currys is refusing to help, saying the one-year warranty has expired. Can you help untangle this? Julian Rota A Yes, we should be able to. The case was complicated by Julian dealing initially with HP rather than Currys. It’s true that like many companies Currys was under immense pressure during…

Add war medals to your research Medals can reveal a lot about an ancestor beyond the fact they served in the military. A great place to start researching medals is the Forces War Records website – go to www.forces-war-records.co.uk/medals to learn which medals were awarded for which conflict. It may even help identify medals your ancestors left with the family. If they received a medal for gallantry, then there’s a chance their actions were noted in their unit’s war diaries – read Issue 597’s column for a guide to tracking them down. And if not, you can use additional information, typically their service number, to find more details from other records, as we’ll explain. Find ancestors who fought in wars We’ll start with ancestors who fought in either world war.…

Can I reduce background noise in video calls? Q I’ve been using Zoom to stay in touch with friends and family since the lockdowns began. I sometimes have trouble hearing the person I’m talking to because of background noise and echo – but they say the problem is at my end! Is there any way to improve the sound quality in video calls? Peter Jeffries A You could try installing a program called Krisp (www.snipca.com/40091), which uses AI to remove background noise and echo from video calls to leave ‘only the human voice’. When you install Krisp, choose which video-chat tool you use, from options including Zoom, Skype, Slack, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. It then provides instructions for setting it up with that service. In Zoom, for example, click…

This fortnight’s wrong ’un is so young the courts prevented us from naming him! But he wasn’t too young to set up an elaborate online scam that could have potentially netted him £2 million. The Lincolnshire lad got bored in lockdown and set up a fake website made to look like voucher site Love2Shop, paying for Google ads to encourage people to visit. He conned them into entering their actual Love2Shop account details, and collected more than 12,000 credit-card numbers and 197 PayPal accounts. He used these stolen details to buy cryptocurrency which by the time the police turned up was worth more than £2 million. All he got for his troubles, however, was a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and 150 hours of unpaid work. “If he was an adult…

Brother is best known for business printers that serve the needs of offices, rather than consumer printers designed for the home. However, with the recent changes in the way many people work, the company has shifted the focus of its inkjet range, launching new models aimed at home workers. Our pick of the bunch is the Brother DCP-J1140DW, a 3-in-1 multifunction printer, which means it can print, copy and scan documents. It’s compact, with a footprint that’s not much larger than a sheet of A4 paper, and is 151mm high. It has a fairly conventional design, with a lid that lifts to reveal the glass A4 scanner bed and its inkjet cartridges are easily accessible via a flap on the front (pictured below). “A decent all-round printer for the home…

Those looking for a more affordable smartphone might be tempted by the sub-£200 Nokia G50. It’s 5G-ready and represents one of the cheapest ways to take advantage of faster mobile data. However, as you might expect, such a low price for 5G comes with compromises. One of these trade-offs is its screen. While it’s certainly large and bright, it only has a 720p (1560x720-pixel) resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. The Snapdragon 480 processor, meanwhile, is fine for general tasks, but it may struggle when using more demanding apps and games. These underpowered components do, however, boost battery life. The G50 has a 5,000mAh cell that lasted a couple of days in our general-use tests. Unlike the Google Pixel 6 above, Nokia hasn’t devoted too many resources to perfecting the…

LAPTOP Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (256GB) £692 from www.snipca.com/39635 Tested Issue 601 Weighing just 1.16kg, this is an excellent lightweight laptop with a great screen and an AMD processor faster than many Intel rivals. It has two USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a microSD card reader. Battery lasts nearly 16 hours. ALTERNATIVE Dell XPS 13 New Intel CPUs and a taller screen make this a more powerful, all-round slim laptop. Prices start at £999 from www.snipca.com/40042 ANDROID TABLET Lenovo Tab P11 Pro £600 from www.snipca.com/38585 Tested Issue 609 A fast tablet that comes with a magnetic stand and keyboard that means you can also use it as a laptop. It has an outstanding screen, 128GB storage and a 17-hour battery life, while its excellent dual mics make you…

I have more cameras than I know what to do with. Unfortunately, very few of them get taken out on an away day for precisely the reason mentioned in the introduction: I can’t be bothered to download the photos. Building a tiny web server and the necessary components to broadcast a wireless network into an SD card greatly simplifies the task of getting a Wi-Fi connection to each of my cameras, because I can just move the card between them. Better still, the fact I can download my photos through a browser means I’m not restricted to using an app on my phone, which developers may end support for without warning. How do you use wireless camera connections? Please let us know: letters@computeractive.co.uk…

CHROME Get Windows 11-style menus in Chrome One of the most notable design changes in Windows 11 is its replacement of the sharp, square corners on menus and windows with softer, rounded ones. Chrome 96, which was released in mid November, lets you apply this style to the browser’s menus in any version of Windows, though the option is currently hidden on its Experiments page. To activate it, type chrome:flags into the address bar at the top of the updated browser and press Enter. Type Windows 11 into the search box at the top of the Experiments page to find the entry called Windows 11 Style Menus. Click the dropdown menu next to this, select ‘Enabled – All Windows…’ (see screenshot below) and click the Relaunch button. When Chrome restarts,…

ANDROID & iOS Find lookalikes of your pets in works of art One of our favourite features in the Google Arts & Culture app for Android (www.snipca.com/40063) and iOS (www.snipca.com/40064) is Art Selfie, which matches photos of you with similar-looking people in classic paintings. The app has now added an option called Pet Portraits, which does the same for your cat, dog, bird or other beloved animal companion. Tap the camera icon at the bottom of the Google Arts & Culture app and select the Pet Portraits icon (a cat in a green circle). Choose ‘Take a photo’, then ‘Get started’ and either snap a quick picture of your pet or choose an image that’s stored on your phone or tablet. The app will then find matches among its tens…

WINDOWS 10 Get search results in dark mode Microsoft has updated its dark mode to include Windows Search, making the results appear in white text on a black screen (see screenshot below). You’ll see this only if you turn on dark mode, which you can do by opening Settings (press Windows key+I), then clicking Personalisation followed by Colours in the left-hand menu. Next, choose Dark in the ‘Choose your colour’ dropdown menu. WINDOWS 10 & 11 Install Firefox from the Microsoft Store In June, Microsoft relaxed its rules covering which browsers were available through its store, allowing those that weren’t built using its own browser engine for the first time. Opera was the first major browser to take advantage of this (see www.snipca.com/40067), and now Firefox is available. Mozilla, which…

Both Excel and Calc let you subtract times to find out the difference between them, but the method isn’t the same. In Excel, create the cells you want to record times in (we’ve given ours the headings Start, Finish and Time), then select them all. Next, click the Home tab, then Format on the right. Click ‘Format Cells’ at the bottom of the menu, then choose Time in the box that appears. In the ‘Type’ box select your preferred format for presenting time (for example, 13:30:55), then click OK. Select the cell you want to use to display the time difference (it’s D2 in our screenshot 1). Now type =B2-A2 in the formula bar above 2 then press Enter (replacing B2 and A2 with whatever cells you’ve used). You’ll now…

Keeping your computer free of junk is a never-ending struggle. No sooner do you carry out a thorough clean-up than the clutter starts accumulating again, taking up valuable space on your hard drive and slowing down your system when you’re performing everyday tasks. The battle against this detritus isn’t helped by the fact that new types of junk are constantly emerging and some of it is foisted on Windows by Microsoft itself. You may not even realise how much useless stuff your PC is hoarding, until you try to download a file or install a program, only to be told that you have low or no available drive space. Thankfully, there are lots of reliable ways to remove these unwanted files, and stop them building up again. In this feature,…

There’s a big difference between what you can remove and what you should remove to free up space on your PC, but traditionally Microsoft hasn’t offered much guidance. Windows 11 addresses this dilemma by suggesting which files to delete through its Storage Sense feature. Go to Settings, then System and select Storage, and you’ll see a new ‘Storage management’ section that has a ‘Cleanup recommendations’ option. Click this to see Windows 11’s suggestions, which may include temporary files, items in your Downloads folder and thumbnails for images, videos and documents. Storage Sense also lists large and unused files that you can probably do without, unused programs you’ve probably forgotten about and files you’ve synced to online storage and no longer need on your hard drive. Select all the items you…

Wired or wireless? Over-ear, in-ear or on-ear? Budget or break the bank? Headphones come in many varieties and price ranges, so you should think long and hard before buying a pair. Naturally, you’ll want a pair that makes your music and podcasts sound great, but you also want to be comfortable – possibly for hours at a time. We’re here to help, with answers to four key questions you should consider. Earbuds or headphones? Whatever else you learn in this article, remember this above all: earbuds fit inside your ears, while headphones sit outside. There’s another distinction to be made between on-ear headphones (with flat pads that sit against each ear) and over-ear headphones (which are larger and have built-up sides – like cups – that enclose the ears). Over-ear…

Why don’t my apps install on my new SSD? Q In Issue 613’s ‘Ditch your old USB sticks’ Cover Feature, on page 55, you describe how to install programs on to a USB drive to save space on the main C drive. To increase storage on my laptop I installed a larger SSD as my C drive and assigned the original SSD as drive E. I went through the process to change where new content is saved, as you described – choosing E. I uninstalled a program and reinstalled it, but it still ended up on the C drive. Can you please explain why the process does not work as intended? Don Harvey A The function we referred to works by default only for apps downloaded and installed via the…

Microsoft has launched a new Media Player app that matches the design of Windows 11 and plays both your music and videos. The app is meant to replace the old Windows Media Player, which has barely changed in over 10 years, and the Groove Music app, which arrived as part of Windows 10 in 2015. If your music is stored in Groove Music, your library and playlists will move automatically to the new app. However, to use the new app you must currently be a Windows Insider in the Dev Channel (https://insider.windows.com). Microsoft hasn’t said when it will be available to everyone. Writing online (www.snipca.com/40154), Senior Program Manager Dave Grochocki said the new Media Player “beautifully showcases your local music and video collections and compliments the new look and feel…

Complaints to broadband, TV and phone companies fell sharply between April and June this year as lockdown restrictions began to ease. Ofcom’s latest quarterly figures (www.snipca.com/40115) show that complaints fell “to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic”. This drop is probably due to the fact that fewer people were working from home than in the first three months of the year, and were therefore less dependent on fast broadband during work hours. The fall in complaints also coincided with schools reopening, so children could return to their classrooms rather than rely on video lessons. Ofcom said that complaints to Virgin Media fell “significantly” after the regulator raised concerns with the provider about its customer service in the previous quarter. However, the company still topped the number of complaints for TV…

GOOGLE EXTENDS CHROME ON WINDOWS 7 Google will continue to support Chrome on computers running Windows 7 until January 2023, a year later than previously stated. It will continue to receive security updates and fixes during this time. Microsoft is due to end Windows 7 support for Internet Explorer in June 2022, and Edge in January 2023. APPLE LETS YOU FIX BROKEN IPHONES Apple now lets people repair their iPhones at home without voiding their warranty. Its ‘Self Service Repair’ has launched in the US, and will come to “additional countries” throughout 2022. To repair a device, you’ll have to order parts through Apple’s online store. Models in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 ranges will be the first eligible for repair, followed by older devices. For details visit www.snipca.com/40136.…

Tesco’s alleged ‘exclusive award’ My neighbour almost fell for a scam text that claimed she had been ‘selected to get an exclusive award’ from Tesco. She tapped through the options until she was asked to give her details and give a verdict on the shopping experience at her local store. The scam then asks you to pay £1 by entering your bank details. Why would you need to pay £1 if you’ve been selected? My neighbour came to her senses at this point, and closed the app. She thinks the app may have taken her email address, but thankfully no money. It’s yet another supermarket scam to be aware of. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

Currys has admitted it mistakenly told a reader he would need to endure a second repair, and has refunded him. As explained in Issue 619, Les Hamilton told us that Currys insisted on repairing his JVC Fire TV (pictured) a second time, after the first repair failed within just five days. In our response to Les, we said that we’d expect Currys’ management would apologise for the error and refund him the full amount (£249.99). That’s what has happened, and it took nothing more than a nudge from us. Currys realised it had to offer a refund because it had already attempted one repair, which is all that’s allowed under law. Also, because less than six months had passed between purchase and the TV breaking, it couldn’t ask Les to…

Do you know when the 1921 Census will be available to view? Laura Post Find My Past, which won the contract to digitise the 1921 Census and place it online, has announced that it will be available for public viewing in early 2022 (see www.findmypast.co.uk/1921-census for details). You’ll have to pay £2.50 to access each transcript, or £3.50 to access an image of the original census document. It will contain information not listed in previous censuses, such as education levels. Have a genealogy question for Nick? Email letters@computeractive.co.uk with ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line.…

A few years ago my photo collection was a jumble of phone pictures, DSLR shots and scanned family photos of my ancestors taken in Limerick, Ireland, way back in the early 1900s. To ease this mess, I turned to the formidable organisational powers of Google Photos (www.google.com/photos). I started by installing the Google Drive tool for Windows (www.snipca.com/40026), then told it which folders contained my photos. I then chose the Google Photos option, and waited while it uploaded my images to the service. Google Photos is also available for Android and iOS, so I set it to back up my phone pics. Once done, there was a list of photos in Google Photos ordered by date. I wanted to organise them and add data, so I created an album for…

We’re at that curious moment in time when new PCs can come with either Windows 10 or Windows 11 installed. Mass-market laptops, such as this new MateBook 14s from Chinese manufacturer Huawei, would have been built before Windows 11 was finalised, so this comes with Windows 10 installed. However, the laptop is fully compatible with Windows 11 so you can expect Windows Update to recognise this and start the upgrade process soon after you switch it on. “A jaw-dropping screen and it runs Windows incredibly well” With Intel’s Core i7-11370H processor, it offers a jaw-dropping amount of power for the price. The ‘H’ at the end of the name stands for ‘High performance optimized for mobile’ and indicates that it’s one of Intel’s fastest mobile Core processors. Huawei has also…

We’ve seen a handful of new monitors recently with built-in webcams, such as the excellent Philips 243B9H (see our review, Issue 613) and the slightly less impressive Asus BE24EQK (see Issue 611) – both are 24in models. If you want a larger monitor with an integrated webcam that isn’t overloaded with features aimed at gamers, the 27in Dell S2722DZ is a good option. “It has one of the best built-in cameras we’ve seen” For starters, the webcam is one of the best we’ve seen, and will provide your video calls with significantly sharper pictures (1920x1080 pixels) and and sound quality than similar models. When not in use the webcam can be hidden away behind the bezel at the top of the screen, so there’s no question of accidentally compromising your…

Q I wondered if you knew of a mechanical keyboard I can get spare sets of keycaps and switches for, so they can be repaired if needed. I’ve had numerous keyboards from the likes of Corsair and Logitech, but I haven’t been happy with how long they’ve lasted. Adrian Smith A There are a few companies that make the switches that go in mechanical keyboards, but Cherry is arguably the best known, having produced computer keyboards since 1973. Its MX switches are used in keyboards made by other companies, and replacement switches are widely available. We did some research on keycaps (the plastic cover that sits on top of the switch) and came to the conclusion that Cherry MX keycaps are also more widely available than most other brands and…

In Issue 616 (page 28), we reviewed Google’s Nest Cam battery-powered wireless security camera, which you can use inside or out. If you only want to monitor the interior of your home, you can opt for this model instead. It costs half the price of its outdoor counterpart, and uses a three-metre cable to permanently connect to a wall socket, so you never need to recharge it. “Easy to set up and use, but its best features require a costly subscription” It’s mounted on a dome-shaped stand so can easily sit on any flat surface, or you can mount it on a wall with just a couple of screws. It has a 135-degree field of view and a 6x zoom, and can record standard video and night vision. It records…

Pinnacle Studio 25 Ultimate combines a full suite of powerful video-editing tools and a robust selection of creative effects to help you achieve stunning results. With a wealth of new tools, it will help you exceed even your highest movie-making expectations. The latest updates include new Blend Modes that bring artistic flair to your videos by creating superimposed effects, blending masked areas and creating light bleeds, as well as other colour and exposure effects. Also new is Smart Object Tracking (pictured), which uses shape-aware motion tracking to follow any object in your video. In addition, the new Advanced Audio Editing features ensure your audio sounds crisp and clear. You can even identify and remove unwanted sounds with Noise Reduction to ensure your voiceover or music track sounds perfect. To enter…

1 Type chrome:flags into Chrome’s address bar, press Enter and search for uninstallable 1. Click the dropdown menu next to ‘Enable PWAs to register as an uninstallable app…’, choose Enabled 2 then relaunch Chrome 3. 2 Find the unwanted PWA in the Windows Start menu, right-click it and choose Uninstall 1. This will open the ‘Uninstall a program’ section in the Control Panel. Alternatively, search for and open control panel through the Windows search box then click ‘Uninstall a program’ 2. 3 If the PWA isn’t listed, right-click the window and click Refresh. Click the app to select it – Pinterest in our example 1 – then click the Uninstall button 2 at the top of the list. When the confirmation box opens, select ‘Also clear data from Chrome’, then…

RealPlayer Free* Android www.snipca.com/40074 iOS www.snipca.com/40075 RealPlayer will be a familiar name to long-time web users, and it’s now available as a mobile app. This lets you play videos stored on your device, stream them from the RealPlayer software on your PC and cast them to your smart TV. However, you need a £2.99-per-month subscription to unlock features such as 25GB of online storage. FarmVille 3 – Animals Free* Android www.snipca.com/40072 iOS www.snipca.com/40073 FarmVille was hugely popular on Facebook until it shut down last year, but it lives on as a mobile game. This new version involves you raising and breeding animals, from an eclectic selection that includes cows, geese, horses, peacocks and alpacas, as well as harvesting crops and expanding your farm. Stick Around Free Android www.snipca.com/40076 If you’ve…

One way of creating folders in Windows is to right-click your desktop, followed by New, then Folder. This can get fiddly if you have several folders to create, so instead try this Command Prompt trick to make multiple folders in one go. Search for cmd in Windows, then open Command Prompt. Now type cd followed by where you want the folders to be created – for example, cd C:\Users\daniel booth\Pictures\ Saved Pictures (1 in our screenshot). You can cut and paste this address from the File Explorer toolbar. Press Enter, and you’ll see this address appear on the next line. Next, type md followed by the name of the folders you want to create (we’ve chosen the months of the year 2). You can now close Command Prompt and open…

Create presentations with WeTransfer Paste WeTransfer is best known as a way to share large files over the internet, but it also has a simple online tool called Paste (https://pasteapp.com) that lets you design and collaborate on presentations. It’s ideal for people who don’t need all the advanced tools in PowerPoint. The free version restricts you to working on three ‘decks’ (presentations) at one time, and limits you to sending a maximum of 2GB of files via WeTransfer. If you want to create unlimited decks (and send up to 200GB) you need to sign up for the Pro version, which costs £10 a month. Three decks doesn’t sound like a lot, but once you create one you can export it as a PDF or PowerPoint file to edit how you…

EMPTY WINDOWS FOLDERS What’s the problem? Many Windows 10 users have experienced a bug whereby the operating system creates thousands of temporary folders for no apparent reason. Right-clicking these folders reveals them to have a file size of ‘0 bytes’ (1 in our screenshot below) and opening them confirms that they’re empty. That might not sound like a major concern – after all, they aren’t using any drive space – but the sheer number of these pointless folders can mean scanning your PC for malware and junk takes much longer. The folders all have names beginning with ‘tw’ and end with a ‘.tmp’ extension. On our system, we had more than 2,000 of them 2 – you can check your own hard drive by opening File Explorer and going to…

ADDA DISC FOR £5.95 In this special offer exclusively for Computeractive readers, you can buy Windows 10 Pro for only £69.99. That’s a whopping £150 cheaper than Microsoft’s full price of £219.99. To buy Windows 10 Pro, visit www.snipca.com/38398 and click the red Buy Now button on the right. If you buy this you’ll be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free – if your computer is compatible JUST SO YOU KNOW… This offer can be used by one person only, and expires at midnight on 14 December, 2021. It’s a lifetime licence for one computer.…

We wouldn’t call Windows 11 junk – see our four-star review in Issue 618 (page 50) – but we are concerned that in 2022 Microsoft could forcibly upgrade compatible Windows 10 PCs to the new operating system. You can prevent this from happening by tweaking the Windows registry to keep your PC running its current Windows 10 version. Type regedit into the Windows 10 search box and select Registry Editor, then navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate. Right-click WindowsUpdate and select New, then DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value TargetReleaseVersion, then double-click it, set the ‘Value data’ to 1 then click OK. Next, right-click WindowsUpdate again, choose New, then String Value. Name this value TargetReleaseVersionInfo (see screenshot) and set its ‘Value data’ to 21H1, which is the current version of…

Unless you’re using a locked-down work computer, it’s reasonable to assume that as the owner and primary user of your Windows computer, you are also the administrator. In fact, if you go to Settings, click Accounts and select ‘Your info’, you may see Administrator under your name. However, Windows also has a hidden administrator account, which is more powerful than the standard one. The latter is really just a user account with some administrative rights, which is why you’re still required to manually run certain tools as an administrator, whereas the former has the highest permissions of any profile on your PC. Here we’ll explain how to unlock the secret Administrator account and reveal what you can do with it. How to enable the Windows Administrator account There are several…

Q I’m still a relative newcomer to computing, and your magazine, having got my first PC just a couple of years ago. My needs are simple, but recently I found myself playing with Windows 10 to learn a bit more about how it all works. One thing that I’m struggling to understand is the volume control. My keyboard has buttons for making things louder or quieter, and these work well. However, by right-clicking the speaker icon on the bottom bar in Windows I found a tool called Volume Mixer. The controls change with whatever the computer is doing, but the Speakers and System Sounds sliders are always there. I don’t really know the difference between these. Could you explain? Martin Seaton A We like this question because it shows that…

5G The latest generation of mobile networks. 720p A common resolution of high-definition video: 1280x720 pixels. Accelerometer A sensor that detects movement. Used in smartphones to decide whether or not to display a portrait or landscape screen, control games or even work as a spirit level. Add-on A program that adds extra features to your browser. Adware Unwanted adverts that come with software. Aspect ratio A measurement of the shape of a display. Traditional computer screens are 4:3. Widescreen displays are 16:9 or 16:10. Augmented reality Lets you view the real world on a screen and add digital elements. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. Beta A version of software that’s being tested. Beta versions are often released so problems can be ironed out. BIOS Basic Input-Output…

Microsoft is often guilty of offering nine similar tools when just one will do, so we applaud this move. Being able to play music and video in a single app makes life simple. We won’t miss Groove Music, which lacked many tools found in other audio players, nor the old Media Player. We’ll start testing the new app now, as well as other tools Microsoft launches for Windows 11. But we’ll also recommend third-party programs that add features Microsoft has left out – starting with the Cover Feature in our next issue.…

BT is building robots inspired by moles and worms to help lay broadband cables without having to dig up roads. The work is taking place at BT Labs, a new 5,000-square-foot robotics facility in Martlesham, near Ipswich. BT said researchers will team up with universities and robotics firms on major engineering projects in the UK and abroad. A major part of its research will be to develop “trenchless” techniques for laying cables, using tunnelling robots (pictured) to avoid the cost, time and disruption of digging up roads. BT said it’s “expected” the work will “play an important role” in the company’s drive to deliver full-fibre broadband to 25 million homes by December 2026. Other projects include clearing blocked ducts, and mending ducts that have collapsed. Robots are also being built…

The BBC has redesigned the iPlayer app on smart TVs to make it easier to browse channels and find shows you want to watch. It has moved the navigation menu to the left (1 in our screenshot), which makes it simpler to “browse different categories like comedy, drama or sport”. This change gives more space on the screen for other shows 2, so viewers are “more likely to spot something new to watch”. Some viewers will see the change straight away, while others will get it over the coming weeks. You can get it early by opening the iPlayer’s menu and selecting ‘Switch to iPlayer beta’. With a new menu on the left the iPlayer now resembles Netflix and other streaming services. The move was prompted by research from viewers…

Sloppy grammar on social media is killing the apostrophe, researchers have said, after conducting the biggest ever study of written and spoken English. A team from Lancaster University built a database of 100 million words to analyse trends from the early Nineties to the present. They found that people ignore apostrophes particularly when writing on Twitter in order to keep to the 280-character limit. Dr Vaclav Brezina, who led the study, said the most striking change is how informal vocabulary and grammar has become. He said: “We can see the emergence of dropping apostrophes on social media, but the question is how much more time will it take for this to extend to elsewhere?” The decline of the apostrophe is especially noticeable after a plural noun – such as birds’…

Scammers have created fake adverts posing as Royal Mail in an attempt to trick you into subscribing to a postal-tracking service that charges you $70 a week (about £51). The ads, which appear when you browse the web on your phone or tablet, have the headline ‘Congratulate Your Winnings’ and claim you’ve won £650 (see screenshot 1). However, to get your money you have to tell 20 friends or five online ‘groups/chats’ about the offer. If you click OK, you’re taken to a survey asking whether you use the Royal Mail, your age and gender, and which social-media site you use most (see screenshot 2). After all this you’re asked to download a postal-tracking app from the Google Play Store. The app’s details are written in Russian, and it has…

My Epson 2711 printer (pictured) wouldn’t print colour, despite me refilling the ink. I had to print some train tickets at 9pm (for early the next day), which was obviously too late to talk to a real person. Instead I ended up using Epson’s automated live chat, which asked me a series of yes/no questions, before suggesting I needed to clean my print heads. It showed me how to do this through ‘Devices and Printer’, via the Control Panel. By 10pm I had the printed tickets in my hand. I’m sure Epson’s support team would have been as helpful over the phone, but they’re allowed an evening off! I’m just glad their synthetic substitute worked so well. I’ve used many automated chats in the past, and Epson’s was the best,…

BACKUP TOOL Macrium Reflect 8 Free www.snipca.com/40092 What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11 Macrium Reflect Free offers several ways to protect your data and Windows installation against malware infection, file corruption and system failure. It lets you create disk images of drives and partitions on your PC, including the Recovery partition that helps you restore Windows in the event of disaster. You can also create a rescue disk on a USB memory stick or in ISO file format. This new version adds support for the exFAT file system, which lets you clone USB sticks and SD cards as standard internal drives, and create backups on external devices that are larger than those permitted by the FAT32 file system. The program’s Restore tab has been renamed Existing Backups…

SOFTWARE WARNING! Torch Browser’s sneaky Avast download It’s hard enough for new browsers like Torch to get noticed with 10-ton gorillas such as Chrome and Edge crashing around the jungle. However, they’re not going to drag people away from the big beasts by foisting unwanted software on people. The Torch Browser team talks a good game. On their FAQ page (https://torchbrowser.com/faq), they tut at rogue download sites that add pointless browser toolbars with legitimate software. “In some cases, an optional toolbar may be offered as part of Torch’s installation process,” the FAQ explains. “This usually happens when Torch is not downloaded from www.torchbrowser.com, but rather from a download site or after clicking a banner ad.” It goes on to say: “The best way to download Torch is from www.torchbrowser.com –…

In Issue 619, we reviewed the Stormforce Onyx GTX 1650, a new Windows 11 desktop PC that’s available for a very affordable £700. However, Stormforce had to make a few compromises to keep the price that low. If your budget stretches a bit further, this Chillblast Fusion Prime 11 is a more powerful Windows 11 PC that could be well worth paying extra for. “16GB of RAM allows Windows 11 to run programs at peak efficiency” The key distinguishing feature between the two is the processor. This PC uses a six-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, which has significantly more power than the Intel Core i3 found in the Onyx. The Chillblast also doubles both the RAM (to 16GB) and the SSD storage (to 1TB). The RAM boost is particularly welcome,…

What does it do? AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) is a type of screen technology that’s becoming increasingly common in phones and tablets, and is a step up from the standard OLED screens typically used on TV sets. The Active Matrix is an additional layer that helps the screen show content more efficiently. The technology allows manufacturers to make phone screens with higher refresh rates and longer battery lives. Among the models that have it is our favourite Android phone, the Xiaomi Poco F3 (pictured). How does it work? Each pixel in an OLED and AMOLED screen is an individual light, so to control which colour is displayed, the device lights up each pixel by sending an electric current through it. OLED screens use physical circuits and tiny…

Google’s latest smartphone comes in two models, the £599 Pixel 6 (which we review here), and the more expensive Pixel 6 Pro (£849). Both come with Android 12 and are powered by Google’s new Tensor processor. The Pixel 6 lags behind flagship phones from, say, Samsung and Apple, when it comes to performance. It’s clear that Google’s first foray into processor design hasn’t achieved the same kind of speed levels. However, while this is cheaper than most top-end phones, it outperforms rivals of a similar price when we put it through the usual benchmark tests. It boasts 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 4,612mAh battery, which should last you a full day. The 6.4in Full HD (2400x1080-pixel) OLED screen is large, looks fantastic and has a 90Hz refresh…

What is it? Netgear is about to launch the latest model in its Orbi mesh router range, the Orbi NBK752 (pictured). This Wi-Fi 6 mesh device can use 5G to connect to the mobile network, alongside the standard Ethernet port that connects to your landline. What does it do? It provides 5G access to the internet as a backup to, or in place of, a landline. This could prove useful if your current internet connection is unstable or slow. What’s the catch? You need a 5G SIM to slot into the router and you must live in a 5G area. It’s also expensive. UK pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but in the US the NBK752 costs $1,099 for a two-unit system. That’s around £810. So can I do without it?…

What you need: Camera with an SD card slot; wireless SD card Time required: 30 minutes It’s long been said that the best camera isn’t necessarily the one with the sharpest lens, the fastest reaction speed or the highest resolution: it’s the one you happen to have with you, regardless of its specifications. You won’t be able to take photos of impromptu events with your £2,000 digital SLR (DSLR) if you always leave it lying in a drawer at home. It’s no surprise, then, that the vast majority of photos taken these days are snapped on a smartphone, and the market for traditional cameras is rapidly declining. In 2020, manufacturers sold around 54 per cent fewer cameras than they did the year before (see www.snipca.com/39962). Admittedly, the pandemic confined us…

TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Skip the ‘Start’ screen in Microsoft Office Ian Grady’s letter in Issue 617’s Problems Solved (page 68) about accessing pinned files reminded me of one of the things that irritated me when I upgraded from Office 2010 to 2019. In Office 2010, each program loaded straight to a new blank document, but in 2019 I had to go through the ‘Start’ screen. To change this in 2019 I clicked the File tab in an open document, then selected Options. In the General section I scrolled down to the ‘Start up options’ section and unticked ‘Show the Start screen when this application starts’ (see screenshot). You can also customise the Quick Access Toolbar to include recent and pinned files. Click ‘Quick Access Toolbar’ on the left-hand menu,…

ASolver Free* Android www.snipca.com/40080 iOS www.snipca.com/40081 Still got an old Rubik’s Cube that you never managed to complete? Then install ASolver, which lets you scan the Cube with your phone to discover how to solve it in the fewest moves. Simply take pictures of the puzzle’s six sides and the app will tell you how to rotate it to get the right coloured tiles on each face. Best For Solving a Rubik’s Cube Guess Who Am I? Free* Android www.snipca.com/40082 There isn’t an official app for the classic 1980s board game Guess Who?, but this Android version gets pretty close. Ask your virtual opponent questions about their chosen character, such as if they have a beard, glasses or blue eyes, and use the process of elimination to try and identify…

MICROSOFT EXCEL & WORD Make your clipboard appear automatically You can set the clipboard to appear automatically whenever you open a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, letting you see your most recently saved items (up to 24). To do so, open a document or spreadsheet, then click the Home tab, followed by the small arrow in the Clipboard section at the top left of your screen. Next, click Options at the bottom, then tick Show Office Clipboard Automatically box (see screenshot below). Once that’s done, the clipboard pane will open on the left whenever you open a document or spreadsheet. LIBREOFFICE WRITER Change the ruler’s default unit of measurement LibreOffice Writer shows a ruler (1 in our screenshot below) at the top of a document to help you measure margins,…

What are they? A running total of how many times people have expressed disapproval about something online. Or, more simply, how many times the thumbs-down button has been pressed on a comment, video, photo or other type of content. It’s become a standard way of saying ‘I don’t like this’, but YouTube has now decided that it’ll no longer show how many times a video has been disliked. Why’s that? Some video creators had complained of being “harassed” by a campaign of dislikes from groups of viewers working together – what YouTube calls “dislike attacking behaviour”. It said these attacks mostly targeted smaller video creators, particularly those starting up. In reponse YouTube ran a test which found that not displaying the number of dislikes on certain videos discouraged viewers from…

Introduced in Windows 98, Disk Clean-up has long offered an easy way to remove junk from your PC without needing to download a third-party clean-up tool. It can delete temporary files, empty your recycle bin, clean up system files and much more. However, in 2018 Microsoft announced that Disk Clean-up was being phased out in favour of Windows 10’s Storage Sense feature, and in Windows 11 it’s been further tucked away. Previously, you could run the tool by right-clicking a drive, choosing Properties and clicking Disk Clean-up; but in the new operating system, this option has been replaced by a ‘Storage usage’ button that opens Storage Sense. Currently, it’s still possible to use Disk Clean-up in Windows 11 – just search for the app in the Windows search box, or…

JUNK CREATED BY NEW SOFTWARE What’s the problem? Any program you install on your PC creates its own junk files on your hard drive, but – unlike apps on your phone or tablet – there’s no simple option to ‘Clear cache’ when you need to free up space. Clean-up tools such as CCleaner (www.ccleaner.com) let you delete junk from a small selection of software – usually the major browsers, office tools and popular programs such as VLC – but to keep their interfaces tidy, their lists of options don’t extend to newer and lesser-known names. This means you may not be able to clean the cache, history and other junk generated by your favourite software – or even check how much storage its unnecessary files are consuming. How to fix…

Subscribe to Computer active today and save on the single issue price. Each issue of Computeractive will be delivered directly to your device each fortnight. SEE NEXT PAGE FOR SET-UP INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO SUBSCRIBE… … on an iPad or iPhone STEP 1 Return to the Computeractive library STEP 2 Choose your subscription term and tap twice on the 'price' box STEP 3 Choose whether to create an optional PixelMags account STEP 4 Enter your Apple ID password to confirm … on a kindle Fire Kindle Fire subscriptions come with a FREE one month trial. STEP 1 Tap 'Free Trial Subscription' in the Computeractive library STEP 2 Chose your subscription term from the drop down menu on the popup that appears STEP 3 Tap 'Subscribe' … on an Android device STEP 1…

Having unrestricted access to your computer might sound appealing, but it also puts you at greater risk from hackers and malware infection. A malicious program that runs instantly without the safeguard of Universal Account Control could cause you all sorts of problems, while hackers can more easily target accounts that have the default name of Administrator and no password protection, and run riot when they succeed. For these reasons, it’s wise to disable Administrator mode when you’re not using it. To do so, run Command Prompt as an administrator (or just open it if you’re in Administrator mode), then type the following command and press Enter: net user administrator /active:no. Another option is to rename your Administrator account to something less obvious to hackers. Type this command into Command Prompt,…

NOW CHEAPER THAN EVER! We’re delighted to announce an outstanding new Reader Offer for the antivirus software Norton 360 Premium. For just £24.99, you’ll protect 10 devices for two years WHAT YOU GET ✔ Real-time malware protection ✔ Secure VPN ✔ 75GB PC Cloud Backup ✔ Webcam hack alerts PLUS Monitors the dark web for your personal information Norton is made by NortonLifeLock Inc – a standalone company dedicated to consumer cyber safety. It has always performed strongly in Computeractive antivirus tests, so we highly recommend it. 10 devices for two years NOW ONLY £24.99* Normally £179.99 Buy it from our Software Store at www.snipca.com/33247 *while stocks last…

Christmas party season is almost upon us and, unlike last year, I don’t have much excuse for not getting into the festive spirit. We’re not in lockdown (at the time of writing), I’ve had my flu jab and Covid booster shot, and as I’m trying to keep my heating bills down, I’m better off going to a nice warm restaurant or pub than sitting in my cold, draughty flat. Besides, once I overcome my ‘bah humbug!’ reservations, I do enjoy catching up with friends, family and work colleagues for a bite to eat and a few drinks. Although when I review the photographic evidence the next day, I usually despair at how chubby I look and wonder who on Earth that is in the background, ruining the shot. Photobombing –…