Table of contents for 536 in Computeractive

One of the first ‘wow’ moments in my long (and mostly positive) relationship with computers came when I first looked inside one. As a teenager, back in the Eighties, I paid more attention to the outside of a computer - specifically, what appeared on screen - than its internal organs. That changed when a teacher dissected a PC in front of a spellbound after-school class. It took me a few months to attempt my own surgery, but ever since I’ve been a regular upgrader, and encouraged many others to follow suit. As I hope this Missing Manual shows, it’s fairly straightforward when you’ve got plain-English instructions to follow. Photos always help, too! I’d like to thank the readers who have emailed me saying they like our new look. The verdict…

Microsoft is updating its Sticky Notes tool to let you sync notes and back them up across different Windows 10 devices. This means you’ll be able to start a note on one PC, then resume on another. Microsoft is working on Android and iOS apps for Sticky Notes, too, which will let you sync notes across computers, phones and tablets. It’s all part of a major revamp of Sticky Notes, which includes a home page for easier access to your notes so they’re no longer scattered all over the screen. There’s a new search bar, too, which makes it easier to find what you’re looking for. Another new feature is a dark theme that makes notes easier on the eye, although Microsoft describes it as more of a ‘charcoal’ colour…

A browser locker isn’t where Chrome keeps its gym kit, but devious malware that shows a pop-up warning then freezes the web page you’re on. The message typically says your ISP has blocked your PC, and urges you to call a number to regain control. Waiting on the other end are scammers ready to suck money out of your account. These fake tech-support scams are a growing threat, so we’re pleased to see Malwarebytes blocking them in its new extension for Chrome and Firefox. Other nasties that are also blocked include phishing attempts, ghastly toolbars, adverts that track you, and, interestingly, “clickbait links and fake news content”. A group of “academic researchers” decides what counts as clickbait, which are sensationalist headlines in links that direct you to worthless stories (for…

Taxing Amazon wouldn’t save the high street, so I hope Chancellor Philip Hammond doesn’t pursue this idea (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 535). The high street has been dying for decades, for years before online shopping came along. Shops were drab, customer service non-existent, and multi-storey parking a shameful rip-off. In my rare trips to busy shopping areas, it’s exactly the same. was an early convert to online shopping not because it was cheaper, but because it was so convenient, and it means I can avoid dealing with staff who clearly didn’t want to be there. It’s this degree of convenience that would make taxing Amazon so pointless. Shopping in stores is such a dreary chore that I’d happily pay a few pennies more to avoid it. My local high…

Royal Mail has asked us to advise our readers who intend to return items in pre-paid envelopes, but also want to pay to guarantee its delivery, and to insure the item inside. It follows a complaint from reader Alan Smith (Issue 533) who spent £70 insuring a faulty iPod Touch he returned to an eBay seller. He sent it inside a pre-paid eBay envelope, and so didn’t have to pay extra for postage, but he decided to anyway to make sure it arrived. Alan’s actions were understandable, but they came to nothing because the eBay seller refused to accept delivery of the item (which as a private seller, not a company, she was allowed to do). This is when the fun really started. After losing the iPod Touch trying to…

Until now I’ve recorded my family tree using FamilySearch online. Now I’d like to update it offline while syncing all changes to the website. Is that possible? Harry Jervis Yes, it’s possible. Download and install RootsMagic Essentials (free from www.rootsmagic.com). Launch it and create a new file, ticking ‘FamilySearch Family Tree Support’, before clicking OK. Next, click the FamilySearch icon on the program’s toolbar, click ‘Log in’ to log into your FamilySearch account, then click Import. We suggest importing no more than five generations of ancestors. Once done, your online tree will be replicated on your PC. Have a genealogy question for Nick? Email letters@computeractive.co.uk with ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line.…

Given half the chance, I’d fill my house with computers – laptops, desktop PCs and tablets everywhere. However, I don’t live alone, and while my kids would probably be up for it, I doubt my wife would be as keen. In fact, I’d put my (cluttered) house on it. But in my line of work, I need lots of tech. Before any advice makes it into Computeractive, we always test-drive it on our own computers first. This means experimenting with registry hacks, running dubious software and tweaking countless system settings. I do all this on a test computer, to make sure junk stays off my work computer. But it’s not a physical test computer. Instead, I rely on VirtualBox (www.virtualbox.org). This incredibly useful program lets me create as many virtual…

What does it do? Nvidia’s new graphics cards – codenamed Turing after the Bletchley Park cryptographer – build on the success of its powerful GTX 1000 series. Starting at £569 for the RTX 2070 (pictured), they are expensive but promise another huge leap forward in processing power. There’s also an innovative cooling design, with dual fans and a full-length vapour chamber to spread the heat. Why would I want it? Faster graphics cards are primarily designed to improve the look and smoothness of the most advanced 3D games, but can also be used by creative software, via technologies like Microsoft’s DirectX and Nvidia’s CUDA, to speed up tasks such as rendering photo and video effects, as well as in the creation of 3D graphics and animation. What’s the catch? The…

SMART DOORBELL | £229 from Nest www.snipca.com/28932 Nest’s Hello serves the same purpose as the Ring Video Doorbell 2 (see Issue 534). It alerts you when anyone approaches your door, even before they’ve pressed the bell, and you can see and speak to them before you let them in. It doesn’t offer remote unlocking, but its app works whether you’re at home or out of the house. You can even pre-record a message before you go out. The Nest Hello connects to your home Wi-Fi and, unlike the Ring product, it has no battery, so it also needs a mains power connection. If you already have a doorbell wired to a 16-24V transformer, you can easily replace its button with the Nest Hello. Alternatively, Nest can carry out the replacement…

PHONE | £599 from Land Rover www.snipca.com/28939 A few months ago (see Issue 524, page 22) we mentioned Land Rover was making a smartphone. Here it is. The Explore is a rugged device, rated to survive a drop from head height or full submersion in sea water. It’s heavier than the average phone, but not much bulkier. On the back, though, as well as a standard 16-megapixel camera, is a row of connnections for the included Adventure Pack, which turns the Explore into a chunkier device with longer battery life and enhanced GPS. You also get a hard case, with an integral carabiner. But when we clipped the carabiner to a backpack, it fell off. This demonstrated that the screen – protected by Gorilla Glass 5 – didn’t break, but…

Palm Touchstone What was it? Launched in 2009 for the Palm Pre smartphone, Touchstone (pictured) was the first wireless ‘inductive’ charging system offered as standard with a digital gadget. Electric toothbrushes and vehicles had used inductive charging for years, based on principles dating back to the 19th Century, when scientific pioneer Nikola Tesla argued wireless power transfer was possible. Despite building a 200ft tower to demonstrate it with 300 kilowatts of electricity, he never quite got it working. How have things changed? If Touchstone started the trend, the adoption of wireless charging by the likes of Samsung and Apple confirmed it as a mainstream phenomenon. In September 2017, Apple chose a system called Qi (pronounced ‘chee’). Earlier this year, Powermat (founders of the rival PMA alliance for mobile-device charging) announced…

Time required: Two hours Closed-circuit television – or CCTV – is finally a practical option for home use. Whether you want to see who’s calling before you open the front door or keep an eye on your home while you’re away on holiday, the latest generation of web-connected cameras lets you do just that, often via a phone app. But there’s a catch. While many cameras come bundled with online (‘cloud’) storage, letting you view your saved videos and images, the promises they make are sometimes too good to be true. Maintaining the online storage often requires ongoing payments, which over time may exceed the cost of the camera. It’s not surprising, then, that some camera manufacturers have been forced to backtrack on ambitious offers of free lifetime cloud storage.…

Skype Just two years ago, Skype was one of my favourite programs. It was fast, with an uncluttered interface, and I could use it to make group video calls long before other services offered this feature. Fast-forward to today, and the latest version of Skype is unrecognisable from that older, simpler version. The interface is littered with unnecessary options, including emoji and screen-sharing tools (see screenshot). My granddaughter said it looks like Snapchat - an app she uses – so perhaps that’s the audience Microsoft is aiming for with its redesign. And what I use instead… While Skype was always my preferred service for video calls, my children use WhatsApp, so that became the default text messaging app for my family and friends. Unlike Skype, which seems to be moving…

BBC Sounds: Radio & Podcasts Free Android: www.snipca.com/28970 iOS: www.snipca.com/28971 This new BBC app provides access to over 80,000 hours of audio, including live and on-demand radio, music and podcasts. Log in to your BBC account to view your listening history and see personalised suggestions based on your tastes. The app offers similar features to BBC iPlayer Radio, which it will eventually replace. Google Duo Free Android: www.snipca.com/28968 iOS: www.snipca.com/28969 Google’s video-calling app is now available for Android tablets and iPads. Previously, you could only use Google Duo on phones with a valid mobile number, but now you can use it on any device by installing the app and logging into your Gmail account. Picnic Photo Editor Free Android: www.snipca.com/28972 Photo-editing apps are ten a penny, but Picnic stands out…

LIBREOFFICE WRITER Find better alternative words LibreOffice contains a useful thesaurus for when you need to find a better alternative to something you’ve typed. Before using it, make sure the program’s language is set to English UK, (the default setting is English US). To do this, click the Tools tab, Options at the bottom, click the Language Settings menu on the left, then Languages. Next, click the ‘User interface’ and ‘Locale setting’ dropdown menus, change it to ‘English (UK)’ from ‘English (US)’, click OK, then click Restart Now to restart the program. Next, highlight the word you want alternatives for. To access the Thesaurus, click the Tools tab, then Thesaurus: or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F7. In the window that opens, you’ll see the highlighted word with synonyms at the…

STEP 1 Go to https://sway.office.com 1 and log in using your Microsoft account. Scroll down the ‘Welcome to Sway’ page to the section marked ‘Start from a template’ 2. Choose a template for your newsletter 3, then click ‘Start editing this Sway’. STEP 2 You’ll see two tabs: Storyline (editing view) and Design (live preview) 1. Select any image you want to replace, then choose an option from the right to upload another one. Similarly, you can replace any text with your own 2. The plus button 3 lets you add further template sections. STEP 3 When you’ve finished editing your newsletter, click Share 1. From here you can send a link that lets others view or edit 2 your newsletter. Click ‘Get visual link’ 3 to add a preview of…

The CD/DVD drive was once an essential part of any PC, but thanks to music downloading, video streaming and cheap removable storage such as flash drives, the world’s appetite for shiny 4.7in discs has waned. Depending on your needs, though, you may have reason to upgrade. Many new PCs – especially laptops – come without an optical drive, so you may need to buy one to read discs you own and rip music CDs. If you regularly use your PC to watch movies, upgrading to a Blu-ray drive, or even an Ultra HD (UHD) drive, may be worth considering. Blank discs are still a good way to archive and share data, too. So, you might want to upgrade to a drive that can write to higher-capacity discs or new formats,…

How do I fix my Datally mistake? Q I think I made a mistake when setting up the Datally app on my Android phone, as recommended in your Workshop section in Issue 533 (page 38). A pop-up appeared asking for access to something on my phone. As I’m naturally suspicious, by habit I clicked No – but that means Datally won’t now work. It says it needs usage-access permissions, but I have no idea where to enable these. William Sturgeon A When you launch Datally you should see a button labelled Open Usage Access, below the message telling you that usage-access permissions need enabling. However, on smaller screens, this button can be pushed off the bottom – so we’re guessing you’re just not seeing it. Instead, from your Android phone’s home screen,…

Sshh. I’m typing this as quietly as I can, which is not very quietly, because I’m one of those 1970s self-taught typists who still punches the keys violently with her index fingers while scowling at the keyboard. So you can probably hear me hammering away in the background of this fortnight’s tech achievement: a digitally resurrected Countdown episode that featured me alongside the dream team of Whiteley, Vorderman, Dent and Stilgoe - plus the scoundrel who beat me in a crucial conundrum (see screenshot below). “I fashioned a smartphone tripod out of the SCART-HDMI adapter’s box, then pointed it at the screen and pressed record” That episode, broadcast in March 2005, never made it on to the internet. It’s mentioned on The Countdown Wiki (http://wiki.apterous.org/Episode_3885), but the only known recording…

Microsoft removes Skype ‘clutter’ to win back users Microsoft has redesigned Skype yet again to remove “redundant and underused features that create clutter”, hoping to win back users who have switched to other services in recent months. It follows heavy criticism from users who disliked the design of Skype 8.0, finding it too messy and packed with unwanted features. As a result, Microsoft will remove the Capture and Highlights tools from the desktop version of Skype. Tapping the Capture tool launches the camera, making it easier to take photos and videos. You can then annotate what you captured, or decorate it using digital ‘stickers’. The Highlights tool lets you post a stream of photos and videos that friends can view, and react to by submitting emoticons, such as ‘smiley’ faces.…

A report has called for NHS staff to stop making handwritten notes in hospitals as it emerged nearly 10,000 patient records were lost in 2017. It’s prompted fears that criminals could be selling the data to fraudsters on the dark web. Research from think-tank Parliament Street found that 94 per cent of NHS trusts still write notes on paper, rather than save them on electronic devices. Its ‘NHS Data Security’ report, compiled from a Freedom of Information request, says handwritten notes are “no longer fit for purpose”, and should be replaced by tablets and phones. A total of 9,132 patient records were misplaced in the 12 months from April 2017. University Hospital Birmingham alone reported 3,129 missing or lost records, followed by Bolton NHS Trust (2,163 records), and University Hospital…

Intel has released new laptop processors that promise much faster Wi-Fi speeds and longer battery life. The eighth-generation processors, part of Intel’s Core U- and Core Y-series, come with built-in Gigabit Wi-Fi, which Intel claims can download 12 times faster than current speeds. The speed boost will be most noticeable on cheaper mid-range laptops. Intel said: “While out and about, you’re capturing photos and video – when you get home, with Gigabit Wi-Fi you’ll be able to back those files up to your network-attached storage faster”. The company also claimed that “many” laptops powered by U-series processors will last up to 10 hours on a single charge, with some reaching between 16 and 19 hours. In addition, the processors have built-in support for voice-activated ‘assistants’ like Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s…

Fake iPhone X competition I was on eBay on my iPad when what looked like a genuine Google advert popped up asking three questions to win an iPhone X. I answered the questions and sure enough I ‘won’ the iPhone. The links took me to something called the ‘National Consumer Center’ where I had to insert my details for delivery. Then it dawned that this might be a scam. I went back to the advert and deliberately got the questions wrong. Sure enough, my answers were deemed correct. Thankfully, there are instructions on removing the advert: www.snipca.com/28914. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

I disagree with Martin Adams’s view that Microsoft is acting immorally by ending security updates for Windows 7 (Letters, Issue 535). With the greatest respect, I believe his argument misunderstands the fundamental nature of operating systems. Put simply, they are not ordinary household objects that, once bought, don’t require regular updating. An operating system is not a bed, lampshade, sofa or toaster - all objects that should perform the same basic task on day 4,590 as on day one, give or take a bit of wear and tear. Instead, operating systems should be regarded as an ongoing service that requires continuous maintenance, rather than as a one-off product. It might even help to see them as half alive (odd though that sounds) and therefore constantly evolving. They are never truly…

I bought a Pure One Maxi DAB radio (pictured) a couple of years ago along with a rechargeable battery pack. It gave me great service running on mains and using the battery pack, recharged by the radio’s power-supply unit (PSU). A few weeks ago it would not work using the mains PSU, which I realised was due to the miniUSB charger socket on the radio being distorted and worn. The only way for it to work was using ordinary batteries. I contacted Pure and explained the situation, and asked if they could quote for a repair to the charger socket. Pure replied that the unit was still under guarantee and therefore if I returned it to them they would send a replacement. I returned it and lo and behold a…

EMAIL CLIENT Thunderbird 60 www.thunderbird.net What you need: 7, 8/8.1, 10 A more powerful alternative to Windows Mail, Thunderbird remains a popular choice for those who prefer to access their email on their PC desktop rather than via a browser. Mozilla, the developer, has given Thunderbird’s appearance a makeover, bringing it in line with its latest Firefox browser. The tabs along the top are now square, and you can hide the main menu bar to free up more space for your email (click View, Toolbars, then Menu Bar to do that). A new menu item, ‘Add-on Options’, provides quick access to any extensions you have installed. Mozilla says that compatibility problems with some add-ons are to be expected, but we haven’t noticed any. In fact, any extensions not marked as…

WARNING: JUNK AHEAD Junk offender: Win Tonic It seems that using a cleaning tool on your PC is an increasingly hazardous way to deal with junk files. CCleaner’s descent from brilliant tool to potential privacy threat is well documented (see page 60). But at least it’s still an effective junk remover. Win Tonic (www.pctonics.com), which claims to be an “All in One PC Maintenance & Protection Tool”, is an even worse offender. Installation is the usual minefield – dodging extra programs you’ll never need. But the real junk here is the program itself. Security firm Symantec (which makes Norton) recently classed Win Tonic as “a potentially unwanted application that gives misleading information about issues on the computer” (www.snipca.com/29017). So, basically, it ‘scans’ your PC and makes up fake problems. Besides…

PHONE | £68 from Amazon www.snipca.com/28947 In the 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix film, Keanu Reaves, as Neo, receives a high-tech matt black monolith that slides out into a very cool curved mobile phone. For the rest of us, the original Nokia 8110 (1998) didn’t pop open like the spring-loaded Hollywood mockup, and nor does this revival, but you can flick it one-handed with practice. “More of a novelty toy than a phone for everyday use” At just 60 per cent of the original thickness, and lacking the stubby aerial, the new 8110 fits easily into your pocket. Sliding it answers a call without needing to tap anything, and reveals a set of number keys with the traditional arrangement of letters for texting. The colour screen beats the old model’s…

Q I’ve read your magazine for many years, and now I find that my PC, like myself at 86, no longer performs as well as it did. I need Wi-Fi and I’m thinking of an all-in-one PC. The Lenovo IdeaCentre 520 is a possibility and its price of £690 is acceptable. Would you recommend it? Bill Smith A All-in-ones are less fuss than ordinary desktop PCs, but they can be overpriced for their performance because they use laptop processors, which are slower than desktop processors. Intel chips, for example, have names like i5-8250U: the number after the hyphen shows the generation, eight being the current one, and M, T, U or Y indicates a reduced-power chip. At the time of writing, John Lewis sells an IdeaCentre 910 for £629, but…

PC SPEAKERS | £208 from Amazon www.snipca.com/28937 This is the third set of PC speakers with multi-coloured LED lights we’ve seen recently, even though we’d previously never tested a set of PC speakers and bemoaned its lack of multi-coloured LED lights. Logitech has made the nicest use of the illuminations, with backward-pointing lights that shine on to the wall behind your PC rather than just the desktop. Lightsync can match colours with whatever’s on screen, like Philips’ Ambilight TVs, but only in supported games. The alternative is to have the lights react to sound. It’s attractive, but if you don’t sit facing a wall you won’t see much until someone approaches your desk and gets lit up like a Christmas tree. As for the sound, the G560’s stereo tweeters and…

LAPTOP Asus ZenBook UX410UA £590 from www.snipca.com/26789 Tested Issue 518 With a dual-core Intel i3 processor, 4GB of memory and 128GB SSD, this slim aluminium 14in has just enough power to make Windows 10 feel smooth – and unlike Asus’s cheaper models it has a very good Full HD screen. ALTERNATIVE Dell XPS 13 This premium laptop starts at £1,149, but the best deal is with the brand new quad-core i7-8550 and QHD touchscreen. £1,400 from www.snipca.com/26796 DESKTOP PC Mesh Ryzen Gaming PC CS £650 from www.snipca.com/27705 Tested Issue 528 With a six-core Ryzen 5 1600 processor and 4GB GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card, this is a brilliant all-round desktop PC for the money, completed by 8GB of memory, 120GB SSD and 1TB hard drive. ALTERNATIVE Lenovo IdeaCentre 620s…

As long as you don’t deliberately target neighbours or passers-by with your camera, installing CCTV around your home shouldn’t pose any legal problems. In the words of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, “an individual has the right to protect their property and this can be done by using a CCTV system”. The office of the Commissioner says that deploying CCTV to protect a dwelling from acts of crime and anti-social behaviour “seems a reasonable use”, but nonetheless recommends telling neighbours about the system and putting up notices informing people that recording is taking place. This latter point is good advice, as the presence of such signs may be enough to discourage crime around your home. You have a legal responsibility not to keep the recordings for longer than absolutely necessary for…

PRINT LABELS Print Avery labels on iOS While flicking through past issues of Computeractive recenty, I came across a letter from a 78-year-old reader who was having problems printing Avery labels (Issue 531, page 19). I’m 76 and have been struggling with Avery labels for years, so I sympathise with him. A friend who became aware of my plight recommended the Cardlists Label Printing app for iPhones and iPads (www.snipca.com/28994). I don’t usually pay for apps, but this one is well worth its £1.99 price because it takes all the hassle out of printing labels. Ian Stewart MOBILE PHONES Recovery memory from budget phones In Issue 535 (page 66), Alan Hughes Jones asked how to recover memory from his Samsung Galaxy Tab E tablet. I had a similar problem with…

Send Anywhere Free Android: www.snipca.com/28973 iOS: www.snipca.com/28974 Send Anywhere is our favourite free app for transferring files from one device to another instantly. Select all the files you want to share, tap the share button, then choose Send Anywhere to generate a six-digit code. Enter this code on the recipient’s device to download the files. Best for Sharing all file types between devices Resilio Sync Free Android: www.snipca.com/28975 iOS: www.snipca.com/28976 Resilio Sync works like a cloud-storage app, but there’s no limit on how much data you can store, so it’s ideal for sharing large files such as HD videos and movies. You create folders, then share items by generating a QR code. There are no adverts or annoying in-app purchases. Best for Sharing large files instantly Google Photos Free Android:…

“Tech firms are adding tools that nudge users to take a break from their devices” What is it? The idea that people should be encouraged to use technology, such as smartphones, in a way that won’t harm their physical or mental health. Tech firms have spotted this trend and are adding ‘wellbeing’ tools that nudge users to take a break from their devices. Such as? YouTube’s ‘Time Watched’ feature, which was added to the Android and iOS app in late August. As the YouTube blog (www.snipca.com/28953) explains, this feature tells you how long you spent watching videos today, yesterday and over the past seven days, as well as providing a daily average. You can set reminders to log off when you’ve reached a certain time limit. Isn’t that a bit…

CCleaner (www.ccleaner.com) – still developed by Puriform, but now owned by Avast – spent 15 years topping our free software charts, until this summer the great junk-remover became such a ghastly junk offender that even its own parent company withdrew its latest version. Can our old favourite ever be trusted again? Here, we answer your questions and look at the best free CCleaner alternatives. Q What did CCleaner do wrong? The trouble began in May, when CCleaner 5.43 added two pre-ticked boxes: ‘Allow usage data to be shared with 3rd parties for analytics purposes’ and ‘Show offers for our other products’ (see screenshot below). You couldn’t untick either box unless you paid to upgrade. CCleaner’s June release (5.44) duly spammed users with pop-up adverts for a ‘Summer Sale’. Then came the…

With a number of wireless standards and head-spinning jargon, shopping for a new wireless printer isn’t easy. Here’s what you need to know… APPLE AIRPRINT: Apple’s wireless printing technology lets you print from an iPhone or iPad without having to install a dedicated app. GOOGLE CLOUD PRINT: Print from within or outside your home network without needing to switch on a specific computer. WI-FI DIRECT: Sets up a separate Wi-Fi network solely for printing, so you don’t need to connect to an existing network first. BLUETOOTH: Print from any Bluetooth device. Speeds and range are slower than Wi-Fi, so it’s not suited to large documents or photos. NFC: Print by placing an NFC-compatible device within close range of the printer, similar to contactless card payments. Limited use and more common…

A police force has been criticised for running a trial that lets a computer algorithm decide whether a burglary is worth further investigation. Officers at Norfolk Constabulary submit details about the offence, such as whether the intruder left fingerprints or if there’s evidence caught on CCTV. The algorithm then assesses the crime using 29 factors, including “solvability”, comparing them to other offences in the county. The force said this “generates a recommendation on whether the case should then be allocated for further enquiries”. This method was slammed by campaigners. Harry Fletcher, of the Victims’ Rights Campaign, told the Mail On Sunday: “It’s far better that an individual makes these decisions than a computer, because they can take into account the impact on victims”. However, Norfolk Constabulary said all cases are…

SEND TEXT MESSAGES THROUGH SKYPE Microsoft is testing a feature in Skype that lets you send and receive text messages on your phone (Android only). Called ‘SMS Connect’, it’s currently available only to users signed up to the Skype Insider Program (www.skype.com/en/insider), which releases new tools for trial before they’re officially launched. Microsoft will respond to feedback from users before adding the tool to the full version of Skype. EU TO FINE SITES FOR EXTREMIST CONTENT The EU is drawing up plans to fine websites like Facebook and YouTube if they don’t remove extremist content within an hour of it being posted. Julian King, the EU’s commissioner for security, told the Financial Times that authorities “cannot afford to relax or become complacent in the face of such a shadowy and…

Yahoo has admitted that it scans users’ emails to show targeted adverts based on their interests and lifestyle. Oath, the US company that owns Yahoo, said it builds ‘interest profiles’ of users by monitoring emails they receive from companies. Neither Google nor Microsoft scan emails in Gmail and Outlook respectively, which means Oath is the only major email provider to do so. The company was forced to justify its stance after a Wall Street Journal investigation that spoke to former employees. The company responded by saying email was “an expensive system”, and that showing adverts was “reasonable and ethical”. Oath claimed it doesn’t scan personal emails, only commercial messages, looking for details such as shopping receipts. It then places a cookie on the computer to show related adverts in future.…

Scare stories won’t stop me using Windows 7 There have been various views in Computeractive about continuing to use Windows 7. One, like Martin Adams in Issue 535, is of the opinion that we users of Windows 7 will be “left stranded in January 2020”. He asks, “Who will stick with Windows?”. I certainly will, so long as it stays Windows 7! I have no intention of changing to Windows 10. I refuse to let Microsoft behave as if it owns my computer with forced, bloated and buggy updates, and using telemetry to snoop on everything I do. In my 30 years using computers, I’ve gone from Windows 3.0, to 95, 98, 98SE, XP (excellent), Vista (awful) and 7, the best operating system (OS) in my view. No matter which…

LEAD CASE How can I find an ADR to solve a dispute? Q You often recommend taking a case to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). But were I to have a problem getting an online trader to abide by consumer law, I wouldn’t know who to approach. Is there a quick way to find out? Enid Jones A It’s not quick, but there’s plenty of information online. It’s important to understand that there are several forms of ADR, which is a broad term to describe using an independent party to resolve a dispute between a customer and a company, in order to avoid going to the small claims court. The Government encourages ADR, but it has drawbacks. You have to contact the trader first and if they won’t agree to ADR,…

Contact distant family members online If you’ve hit a brick wall with your research, it may be time to look for distant family members who are hunting the same ancestors. With some luck, they’ll have found information on one side of the tree that joins with yours. Getting in touch is relatively straightforward. Many sites, including Ancestry, MyHeritage and FamilySearch, include both private (one-to-one messaging) and public (groups and forums) methods of getting in contact. Contact ‘Smart Match’ relatives To save time, try to contact only family members with a reasonably close connection – a shared great-great-grandparent is a good boundary. I was able to track down previously unknown photos of my great grandfather Henry Hirons as well as his parents from a descendant of Henry’s older sister, Lily. How…

How do I create my own font? Q I’m looking to create my own hand-drawn cartoon-style font. What free software can I use to do this? I don’t want to do it online. Graham Chaffer A FontForge is the best free font-creation software. It’s rich in features and lets you create a handwritten font, but also takes time to master. It’s worth making use of the tutorials that not only show you how to use the software, but also explain the fundamentals of font design. Read more at www.snipca.com/28948. Another option is Birdfont. It doesn’t have the same range of features as FontForge, but it’s easier to use. You can import a scan of your characters, use the software’s Autotrace tool to convert them to vectors, then export the font.…

A couple of weeks ago I was woken by a text message in the middle of the night, telling me that someone from Russia had signed into my Netflix account. So, I changed my password and went back to sleep, safe in the knowledge that, at some point, another company will allow hackers to steal my data and I’ll have to change all my passwords all over again. Data breaches are a sad fact of modern life. But when big companies are responsible for the breach themselves, it’s a whole different ball game. Last month, West Ham United managed to send out a ticket confirmation email to all away season ticket holders that CC’d all the recipients instead of ‘BCCing’ them. The massive gaffe basically means that every single fan…

Apple’s prices are competitive when compared with other expensive PCs, but the budget option, the Mac mini (from £479), is ludicrously out of date. We hope to see new versions of this and the MacBook Air soon. A 21.5in iMac, with an i5 processor, Radeon Pro 555 graphics card and 4K screen, isn’t a bad buy at £1,249, but you could get a faster PC and monitor. The similarly priced 12in MacBook is strictly for those who’ll pay for portability without performance. The MacBook Pro also starts at £1,249, but the cheapest model lacks the Touch Bar and uses a year-old processor. The Retina display is the only improvement over faster Windows systems at this price, and Apple has no touchscreen or laptop-tablet options. Higher up the range, performance excels,…

MESH ROUTER | £125 for two units from Amazon from www.snipca.com/28941 Linksys’ Velop (£300 for two units from Amazon www.snipca.com/28940, see our review, Issue 503) is one of the better mesh routers we’ve tested (see Issue 523, page 24), but very pricey. So Linksys has introduced a smaller, less powerful version at less than half the price. Essentially, each box (you can buy two or – for £217 – three) works similarly but has only one 5GHz radio instead of two, in addition to the 2.4GHz radio, making this a dual-band rather than tri-band system. That means there isn’t a separate network for the ‘backhaul’ – the traffic between the units, as opposed to just the network that connects your mobile devices. As a result, all the data flying around…

The latest version of MAGIX’s award-winning Movie Edit Pro software makes it even faster and easier to create brilliant videos. Using the new ‘Active destination’ feature you can drag and drop videos, effects and music to your timeline with the utmost precision. Also new is ‘Chapter export’, which lets you export individual chapters rather than the entire video. The Premium version provides access to 200 multimedia tracks, multicam editing up to four cameras, and a collection of professional plug-ins. To enter, email your address to cacomp@dennis.co.uk with ‘movie edit pro’ in the subject line by midnight 25 September. You can buy Movie Edit Pro Premium for £99.99 from www.magix.com/gb, as well as the standard and Plus versions (£59.99 and £79.99 respectively). For updates on MAGIX products follow @MAGIX_INT on Twitter…

I noticed that files on my USB stick were taking ages to open and that file transfer speeds to and from my PC were really slow. A friend told me that was because USB drives use the FAT32 file system by default. While this makes USB sticks universally compatible with other devices, such as TVs, DVD players and so on, one major drawback is that files take longer to load and transfer speeds are really slow. I only use the USB stick for viewing and transferring files, so my friend suggested I format it to the NTFS file system. You can do the same thing with an SD card if you notice that it’s running slowly. First, insert the USB stick into your PC and back up all its data…

ANDROID & iOS Read online articles without adverts All browser apps display the adverts that appear on web pages when you’re reading an article. Thankfully, Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge have built-in reading modes that strip out these annoying adverts. This is especially useful when you’re reading a long article. You can even change the font, text size and theme. To try this in Chrome, open an article you want to read. To activate Reading Mode (which Chrome calls ‘Simplified view’), tap the three dots at the top right, Settings at the bottom, Advanced, then tick ‘Simplified view’. Return to your article and tap the ‘Show simplified view’ button at the bottom. The webpage will refresh to display only the article’s text and images. Tap the three dots at the…

WINDOWS 10 Personalise emails with your own doodle or scribble A new feature added to Windows 10’s Mail app in a recent update lets you draw or scribble on emails before sending them. This is obviously easier to carry out with your finger or a stylus on a touchscreen device (like the Microsoft Surface). However, you can also use your mouse. Open the Mail app, click ‘+New mail’ at the top left, type the recipient’s email and subject line as you normally would, then click the new Draw tab at the top. Next, click inside the body of the email, then click the ‘+Drawing canvas’ button at the top right. Now click and drag the top and bottom bars in your email’s body to determine the area within which you…

Create a free newsletter A newsletter is one of the best ways to contact members and highlight the activities of your club or society. Not long ago, you would have had to learn how to use expensive design software to produce one, but things have changed, and you can now create a newsletter in less than an hour without any design knowledge. We’ll show you how to create a professional-looking newsletter that will grab attention and convey your message. You can then print and post it, or download it as a PDF file to send as an email attachment. Use a free template While you could pay for specialised design software like Adobe InDesign (£20 per month), many of these high-end programs are aimed at graphic-design experts and can prove…

Last month the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for rules on limiting so-called ‘planned obsolescence’, where manufacturers produce devices that have a built-in lifespan (www.snipca.com/29002). That’s great news, obviously – or it will be if manufacturers take any notice. But the proposals will be of little comfort to anyone whose PC is already slowing down, filling up or demonstrating other signs of old age just a few years after they bought it. The easiest way to cure a sluggish, ageing PC is to buy a new one – but that’s also the expensive way. Instead, you could upgrade your existing computer with components that help bring it in line with current PCs, breathing new life into it and extending its lifespan for a fraction of the cost of replacing…

OldVersion.com archives old editions of hundreds of programs. Here are six of the most popular. If you don’t find your favourite in the list at www.oldversion.com (see screenshot below), search for it at the top. ADOBE ACROBAT READER - from version 1.0 to 11.0.01 www.snipca.com/28904 MSN MESSENGER - from 1.0 to 15.0 www.snipca.com/28905 SKYPE - from 0.90 to 7.16.0.102 www.snipca.com/28903 VLC - from 0.2.82 to 2.0.5 www.snipca.com/28906 WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER - from 5.1 to 11 www.snipca.com/28907 WINZIP - from 3.2 to 17.0.10381 www.snipca.com/28908…

Wireless printing has its drawbacks – one being a lack of options. Even when using apps developed by the printer’s manufacturer, it’s often impossible to change basic settings such as the type of paper you’re printing on or which input tray you want to use. Also, the choice of printing sizes is usually limited - Canon’s app, for example, only lets you print on A4, US Letter, 6x4in and 8.5x11in sizes. With Google Cloud Print, there’s also a privacy concern. Google says it stores a copy of your print until it’s been completed and will also keep a log of all print jobs (but not their content). For full details, read Google’s privacy statement at www.snipca.com/28901.…

Compressed file formats? Q In Issue 534’s Problems Solved (page 67) fellow reader Edmund Hobby asked what software he needed to decompress a ZIP file he’d downloaded. I know Windows has this ability built in, but you also said that other compression types and programs exist. That got me wondering about the difference, and why you would pay for compression programs? Anna Denmark A Let’s start by imagining your questions are about, say, an office suite like LibreOffice. It doesn’t come with Windows but LibreOffice is free and handles Office documents, so why does Microsoft Office exist – and why would anyone pay for it? The answers are many but boil down to this: different companies produce different products to serve different needs, and appeal to different customers. For example, Microsoft Word…

32bit/64bit A measure of how much information a PC can process at once. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. Add-on See Extension. Architecture A set of rules and language that govern how hardware and software work. BDXL Blu-ray discs with up to 128GB of data. Beta A version of software that’s being tested. BIOS Software that connects the vital components. Cache A temporary space for storing information. Cookie A small text file stored on your computer by a website. Client A program used to access and manage a user’s email. Core Units on a processor that carry out program instructions. Cryptocurrency Digital currency. CUDA A system to increase computing performance by harnessing the power of the GPU. Dark web Websites accessed using the Tor privacy program.…