Table of contents for 701 in Computeractive

FIRST COPILOT+ MINI PC LAUNCHED Asus has released the first mini PC that meets Microsoft’s Copilot+ requirements, which means it’ll run AI tasks smoothly. The NUC 14 Pro AI (pictured below) is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, and measures 34x130x130mm (HxWxD). Prices haven’t been announced, but they’re likely to be at the top end of the mini-PC range. Visit Asus’s site for details: www.snipca.com/53374. PLUSNET AXES STATIC IP ADDRESSES Plusnet axed static IP addresses for new customers just before Christmas, though the company says existing customers will still have access to them “for the foreseeable future”, priced £5. Read how Plusnet subscribers reacted at www.snipca.com/53375. EXTEND AIRTAGS BATTERY TO 10 YEARS A new gadget called the TimeCapsule claims to extend Apple’s AirTags battery from one year to…

Google has said that tech companies like Apple and Mozilla should be able to offer several different search engines across their browsers and devices, giving users more choice than using only Google’s search tool. The proposal is in response to the US Department of Justice saying in November that Google must sell Chrome in order to break the company’s monopoly in online search. Google’s search engine accounts for about 90 per cent of all online searches globally. Government lawyers said that Google’s ownership of Chrome – along with the Android operating system for phones and tablets – allows it to guide users towards its own search engine, without giving them the choice of others. They claim Google broke the law by paying billions to manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to…

WATCH OUT FOR… Malware hidden in ‘concatenated’ ZIP files What’s the threat? Scammers are delivering malware by hiding it inside ZIP files emailed as attachments. They’re using a technique called ‘concatenation’, in which they combine two ZIP files into a single archive. One contains malware, while the other is harmless content. This makes it difficult for software to detect and block the threat. The attack was detected by cybersecurity firm Perception Point, which spotted malcious ZIPs attached to emails as a seemingly harmless RAR file. It said that whether the malware infects your PC partly depends on which software you use to open it. 7Zip, for example, shows only the safe part of the archive, leaving the malware undetected and free to infect your computer. However, opening the files with…

Google will launch a rival to ChatGPT I’ve been extremely impressed by ChatGPT search and agree that it’s the biggest challenger to Google for years (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 700, pictured right). I love how you can ‘talk’ with it to get what feels like human responses. But what you don’t speculate on is how Google will respond to the threat posed by ChatGPT. It seems obvious to me that it will have to launch its own chat-based search tool to compete. The ‘AI overview’ results that Google gives currently are useless compared with the question-and-answer method offered by ChatGPT. This is the future of search, not typing something into Google and scrolling for ages looking for a relevant website. John Seymour We don’t need Windows 11 Lite I…

Search Ancestry’s new RNLI records In celebration of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) 200th anniversary, Ancestry has made records dating from 1824 to 1989 available for free at www.snipca.com/53222. Some of the most interesting records are the medals and awards given to lifeboatmen. Ancestry’s medal books include the name and rank of an individual, as well as details of the incident that led to an award. We searched for Henry George Blogg of the Cromer Lifeboat Station in Norfolk, who’s the most decorated lifeboatman in RNLI history and therefore appears in many medal books and honorary presentation records. For example, he was awarded a second service clasp on his gold medal for his role as coxswain in rescuing survivors of the Dutch oil tanker Georgia on 15 December 1927…

This bird feeder might seem incredibly expensive at first glance, but as well as delivering food to your feathered friends, it notifies you when they arrive and films them as they eat. What’s more, the Birdfy Feeder 2 Duo can access a database of birds to identify each visitor, collating the information into daily lists of species. And with a pair of cameras, it captures footage from more than one angle. The main camera, located centrally, has a useful pan-and-zoom function that can follow birds around the feeder for the best shot. The secondary side camera has a wider-angle lens, which helps to fit larger birds in the frame. The species-recognition system can also sound an alarm if a squirrel visits the table, though we found our local squirrels pretty…

What you need: Gmail; OneDrive; Thunderbird Time required: One hour It’s easy to forget how novel it is to be online around the clock. For most of us, broadband has only been a reality for the last couple of decades, yet we now feel lost without an internet connection. No more streaming TV, no music-service subscription, and in many cases no email — as our inboxes increasingly live in the cloud. Thankfully, the latter of those is easily solved, as leading email providers like Google’s Gmail and Microsoft Outlook have offline modes which, if set up in advance of any problems, give access to your messages whether you’re online or off, at home or away. Here, we explain how to make the most of them. 1 Set up Gmail for…

If you’re not sure whether your computer supports Wi-Fi 6 or 7, there’s a quick way to find out. Type cmd into the Windows search box and click Open below Command Prompt. Now type netsh wlan show drivers (1 in our screenshot) and press Enter to see a list of drivers installed for your wireless adapter. Look to the right of ‘Radio types supported’ to see all the Wi-Fi versions you can use. If you see 802.11ax 2, your PC supports Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, while 802.11be means it will also work with Wi-Fi 7. Don’t worry if you only have 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) and 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) because Wi-Fi 6 is backwards-compatible. To find out which Wi-Fi standards your other devices use, you’ll need to check their specifications on the…

Wi-Fi 7 offers significant advantages over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, and is undoubtedly the future of wireless technology. It provides theoretical speeds of up to 46Gbps – nearly five times those of its predecessors – so it can easily handle 8K video streaming, immersive AR and VR, and advanced smart-home systems. With a Wi-Fi 7 router, you’ll be ready to enjoy the benefits of multi-gigabit broadband when it becomes widely available. Another big advantage is support for Multi-Link Operation (MLO). In the past, your connected devices could only use one Wi-Fi band at a time. For instance, if your laptop connected to the 5GHz band, it couldn’t also connect to the 2.4GHz band. With Wi-Fi 7, devices can send and receive data across different bands as well as different channels…

Your old router will continue to work past its end-of-life and end-of-service dates, but because the manufacturer may not patch security flaws beyond those dates, it could leave your network vulnerable to hackers without you even realising. That’s why it’s important to check whether your device is still receiving updates from the manufacturer. If you have an Asus router, check the company’s ‘End-of-life product list’ at www.snipca.com/53329 to see if your device is no longer eligible for firmware updates (it may still receive security patches). For example, the Asus RT-AC52U (pictured), which we reviewed back in 2015, is no longer updated. TP-Link has a new page for End of Life Products at www.snipca.com/53330, which lists the end-of-service dates for its Home Networking and Smart Home devices. Recent additions include the…

One of my favourite annual traditions is the round-up of the most commonly used (and therefore weakest) passwords. Although this list always contains the same predictable entries, I’m still curious to see if there are any new trends. According to password manager NordPass, which compiled the top 200 most used passwords of 2024 (www.snipca.com/53257), UK web users remain most partial to ‘qwerty’, ‘123456’ and of course ‘password’. The top of the global list is much the same, though further down I spotted quirkier logins such as ‘aaaaaaaa’, ‘superman’ and ‘princess’. NordPass also provides details of how long these passwords would take to crack, typically less than one second. One notable exception is ‘tinkle’, which would apparently foil hackers for up to two minutes – enough time for them to go…

Early appearances by the Marx Brothers, Mickey Mouse and Popeye are now available to download from the Internet Archive. They’re among the videos, songs and books published in 1929 that entered the public domain on 1 January. This means they’re out of copyright and free to download without permission or any need to pay royalties. One of the most significant is Disney’s first ‘Silly Symphony’ cartoon, The Skeleton Dance (1 in screenshot). It was one of the first cartoons to be fully synchronised with sound. Also available is Mickey Mouse’s debut as a talking character, in the cartoon The Karnival Kid, while he wears gloves for the first time in The Opry House. The first comic strips featuring Popeye are free to download, as is The Cocoanuts (pictured below), in which the…

The US government is considering a ban of TP-Link routers over concerns they pose a risk to national security. Investigations by three US Departments – Justice, Commerce and Defense – are ongoing, sources told the Wall Street Journal. At least one office within the Commerce Department has requested documents from the company, the newspaper reported. TP-Link, which is based in China, has grown to supply over 300 US internet service providers with routers. Its products are used by several US government agencies, including the Department of Defense and Nasa. It’s also one of the biggest router manufacturers in the UK, competing with the likes of Asus, D-Link, Linksys and Netgear. One source said the routers typically come with security flaws, which the company resists fixing when told about them. The…

An international journalist body has called on Apple to remove its new AI tool after it created a false headline claiming murder suspect Luigi Mangione had shot himself. Mangione was arrested following the murder of healthcare insurance CEO Brian Thompson in New York in December. Apple Intelligence, launched in December, summarised a BBC news story with the false headline ‘Luigi Mangione shoots himself’ (pictured). The BBC complained to Apple, claiming its news service “is the most trusted news media in the world”. Apple has yet to comment. “It is essential to us that our audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications,” the BBC added. Now Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based group that defends press freedom and supports journalists, called on Apple to…

If you’re looking for a decent Android tablet, you’re spoiled for choice at the moment. In Issue 700, we reviewed the 12.3in Honor MagicPad2 (£400 from www.snipca.com/53150) and hailed it as our new favourite Android tablet. Here, we look at a subtly different alternative, the OnePlus Pad 2, which has a slightly smaller 12.1in screen but otherwise rivals the MagicPad 2 in most areas. They have similar components. The Pad 2 is built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, while the MagicPad has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. The cheaper 8s is newer, but it lacks some of its predecessor’s features. For one thing it has a less powerful graphics chip and one fewer performance core, opting instead for one extra efficiency core (three in total). This slows…

This external SSD comes with a USB-C port that means you can connect it to almost any PC, laptop, phone or tablet. We’re reviewing the 2TB version here, but if you want to sacrifice some capacity to save money, it’s also available with 1TB (£86 from www.snipca.com/53309), 512GB (£57 from www.snipca.com/53310) and 256GB (£43 from www.snipca.com/53311). This large capacity for a portable SSD makes it ideal for high-demand use such as video editing, photo editing and gaming Bear in mind that you’ll need a very specific type of USB-C port – called USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 – on the connected device to get the top quoted speeds of 20Gbps. Check your laptop or PC’s manual or specifications. If your other device has a different port standard – such as Thunderbolt…

This is one of the best Bluetooth speakers we’ve ever tested. It’s a small, portable unit with an IP67 protection rating. In simple terms, that means it won’t break if used in dusty or dirty environments, and can survive being immersed in up to one metre of water for 30 minutes. That makes it perfect for when you’re pottering around the garden or enjoying a beach holiday. Most importantly, music sounds superb. Individual instruments were distinct and vocals came through crystal clear. High frequencies are delivered with delicacy and finesse, mid-ranges sound rich, and bass – although not delivering as much impact as a large-sized party speaker – has solid depth and dynamism. It suffered some distortion at its very highest volume settings, but most people won’t need to turn…

LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 14 Plus £799 from www.snipca.com/51831 Tested Issue 683 This laptop has the same processor (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H) as our previous favourite (Acer Swift Go 4), but manages to squeeze more speed out of it. It also comes with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD and a 14in 2240x1400-pixel screen. Excellent value overall. ALTERNATIVE Acer Swift Go 14 Still a fast and powerful laptop, with a great 14in screen. £1,099 from www.snipca.com/49733 ANDROID TABLET Honor MagicPad2 £400 from www.snipca.com/53150 Tested Issue 700 With a larger screen (12.3in) than the Galaxy Tab S9 (below) and a similar performance for less money, Honor’s MagicPad2 is a superb new tablet. The OLED screen has a strikingly sharp resolution, and yet battery life is a mighty 18 hours. ALTERNATIVE Samsung Galaxy Tab…

What you need: Windows 11 (24H2) Time required: 20 minutes If your laptop battery isn’t lasting as long as it should or you’re worried that your desktop PC is using more power than you’d like, Windows 11’s improved Energy Saver feature might help. It’s only available on the latest version of the operating system (24H2), replacing the old Battery Saver tool. Energy Saver lets youcontrol how background processes work, reduce your screen’s brightness and set what programs can and can’t do when you’re not using them. Here, we’ll explain how you can use it to get the right balance between performance and energy-usage. We’ll also explore Windows’ other energy-saving options. STEP 1 Press Windows key+I to open Settings, then click System 1. Scroll to the bottom of the main pane, click…

Create and share a digital notebook Sharing a physical notebook with club members would be impractical, but there are plenty of programs that let you create and send digital notebooks. One of the best is Obsidian, which offers enough clever tools in its free version to make it a real asset to your club. We’ll explain how to write and link notes, then categorise them using tags. Set up folders and add notes First, download it from https://obsidian. md, then launch it and click the purple Create button to create a new vault (Obsidian’s name for a notebook). This acts as your main notebook. Type a name for your notebook then click Browse and choose somewhere on your computer to save its files. Next, click Create again and a Welcome…

Most new routers from the past few years are Wi-Fi 6E models, which – as we explained on page 51 – means they’re able to support the 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands. The latter is comparatively uncongested and has almost twice as many high-bandwidth channels as 5GHz, so you’re unlikely to experience interference from nearby Wi-Fi networks. If it’s hard to get a reliable connection to your router on the 5GHz band, the ‘fast lane’ created by Wi-Fi 6E’s 6GHz band will speed up your browsing, streaming, gaming, downloading and other online activities considerably. Although Wi-Fi 6 and 6E have the same features and theoretical speeds, that extra band enables superior performance. However, there are several caveats about upgrading to a tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router. For starters, they’re more expensive…

Some Wi-Fi 7 routers are considerably cheaper than our three award winners – for example, the TP-Link Archer BE3600 currently costs only £100 on Amazon (www.snipca.com/53317, pictured). They may seem like a bargain, but the low price is because they’re dual-band rather than tri-band (or quad-band) like ‘proper’ Wi-Fi 7 routers. This means they only use the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, not the 6GHz one that allows Wi-Fi 7 to deliver blazing speeds, avoid congestion and support hundreds of devices. That’s not to say they’re rubbish routers – their theoretical performance will still far exceed the upper limit of your broadband connection. However, in the longer term, as you acquire more Wi-Fi 7 devices that can take advantage of a 6GHz network, the router’s shortcomings will become more apparent. You…

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WHY YOU NEED A VPN ON YOUR TV Watch TV shows from other countries The main reason to install a VPN on your television is to watch TV shows, films and sporting events that aren’t available to stream in the UK. By selecting VPN servers in other countries, you can access the regional versions of streaming services using valid IP addresses. These often have different and larger libraries than we have over here, giving you a greater choice of viewing. You’ll also be able to install smart TV apps that are unavailable in UK app stores due to geographical licensing restrictions. Visit the excellent website Stream With VPN (www.streamwithvpn.com, see screenshot below) to discover which shows and films you can only watch on overseas streaming services. Some services detect and…

Almost a third of adults in the UK don’t know how to erase data from old devices, according to research from the data watchdog. A survey from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that 29 per cent of people are unable to wipe files, photos and videos from phones and computers they no longer use. Three-quarters of people have kept at least one old device, with a fifth saying they did so because they were worried about their personal information being accessed. It published the survey to emphasise the importance of deleting personal data from devices replaced by newer versions at Christmas. More than two-thirds of UK adults (71 per cent) agree that erasing personal information is important, but 24 per cent think it’s too difficult. Most people (84 per…

Interpol has called for the media to stop referring to online dating and investment fraud as ‘pig butchering’ because it “dehumanizes and shames victims”. The term comes from the scammer’s tactic of ‘fattening up’ the victim, much like preparing a pig for slaughter. They spend weeks or even months talking to the victim by email or on dating apps and social media. Once they’ve gained their victim’s trust they try to con them into paying money into fake investment schemes, often involving cryptocurrency. Interpol says the term ‘romance baiting’ should be adopted when describing fraud that takes place through dating apps. It said this phrase is already being used by law-enforcement agencies and online safety experts. It said that this “places the spotlight squarely where it belongs: on the actions…

Answering this question in recent years meant waiting for the latest inflation rate to be announced. Internet and mobile providers used this as the base for increasing their prices, and then added their own figure – usually 3.9 per cent. In 2022 and 2023, as inflation soared, customers were clobbered with the biggest increases ever – over 14 per cent at their peak. This will end in 2025 as Ofcom’s ban on inflation-linked price hikes comes into effect. All contracts signed after 17 January must state future increases in “pounds and pence” to give customers a clearer idea of how much extra they’ll be paying. “Ofcom’s changes are meant to make price rises easier to understand, not to reduce them” Many consumer campaigners applauded this move when Ofcom announced it…

Dell’s Latitude 7455 is a pricey Copilot+ laptop, but for that you get a fast processor, an eye-catching screen and an exceptional battery life. It’s built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 chip, backed up by 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Be aware that as with all the Snapdragon Copilot+ laptops we’ve reviewed recently, they run a different version of Windows 11 Home than laptops that use Intel or AMD processors. It doesn’t work with some security programs, games and professional creative software, including Adobe Premiere Pro. “The longest battery life we’ve ever seen should see you through two working days” To see what is and isn’t supported, visit https://windowsonarm.org, then scroll down and check the second column in the list of software (anything other than ‘Not…

While the new Amazon Kindle (£95 from www.snipca.com/53137, reviewed in Issue 700) was a little underwhelming, the changes made to the latest version of the Kindle Scribe are – at first glance, at least – more likely to get your pulse racing. As with the original 2022 version (£330 from www.snipca.com/53347, reviewed in Issue 649), this new Scribe comes with a stylus and lets you make notes as you read. Amazon has stoked a lot of hype in the US about the Scribe’s new AI tools, which the company says improves handwriting recognition and summarises any notes that you make. “It has a great screen and comes with note-taking stylus, but where are the AI tools?” The disappointment for British customers is that these AI tools aren’t available in the…

Q I want to buy a soundbar – such as the Saiyin DS6305 (£40 from www.snipca.com/53312, pictured) or the Creative Sound Blaster GS3 (£50 from www.snipca.com/52533) reviewed in Issue 696. The connections offered by these soundbars are USB-C, Bluetooth, optical and auxiliary. My TV is an LG 32LH3000 and doesn’t seem to have any of these connections, though it does have composite video as well as a headphone socket. Can either of these be used to connect to the soundbar? Peter Miller A We’ve taken a look at your TV’s specifications and manual, and it has more ports than you think. The two you’ve listed are easily accessible on the side of the TV, but around the back, next to the aerial socket, you should find another panel with more…

We know that Microsoft Flight Simulator has always been popular with Computeractive readers, but it’s typically been aimed at aviation enthusiasts rather than casual gamers. The last version, released in 2020, took the simulation to new levels of realism, with data from Bing Maps allowing virtual pilots to fly around the world in extraordinary detail. What there was less of, however, was an actual game that could give those who don’t obsess about flaps and ailerons more of a reason to pick up the software. That’s been fixed in this new version with the addition of a career mode. This encourages you to fly a series of missions in a range of different planes. These start small, with simple tourism and local delivery tasks, but grow to include firefighting, search…

With an impressive 120W speaker and a built-in subwoofer, the Snowdon TV soundbar provides an audio experience that can’t be provided alone by your television. Tailor your audio between music, movie or dialogue and adjust treble and bass settings with the supplied remote to create a sound quality that makes any room feel cinematic. It has a range of ports and features to enjoy your own music and streaming services. Using the Bluetooth connectivity, you can immerse yourself in a spectrum of sound and enjoy your favourite songs from any phone or Bluetooth device. Alternatively, you can connect your device via the AUX port and play music directly from an MP3 player or audio device. You can mount it to your walls for a stylish fit, bringing big-screen audio to…

What is it? Google has said it routinely collects “short, silent” footage from dashboard cameras (dashcams) in cars for use with its mapping services (see www.snipca.com/53272). Google’s spying on us again, then? It’s an understandable conclusion to come to. After all, Google doesn’t exactly have the best track record at respecting your location privacy, as we explained in our recent ‘Stop Google Maps spying on you’ feature (Issue 696, page 62 – buy a back issue from www.snipca.com/53285). However, Google explains that it’s not collecting dashcam footage from the general public. So where is it getting the footage? From official business ‘partners’, specifically Geopost and Nextbase. You may know the latter – it’s a Reading-based maker of affordable dashcams you’ll find at Amazon, and on the shelves at Halfords, Currys,…

Buy a refurbished router As we explained on page 51, older routers are less likely to receive security and software updates, which can render them unsafe and slow. But many refurbished models are still supported by their manufacturers, are in excellent condition and come with a one-year warranty, helping you save money at minimal risk. Amazon Renewed (www.snipca.com/53318) sells cut-price routers from brands including TP-Link and Netgear, as well as unlocked devices from ISPs. At the time of writing, the store had several Wi-Fi 6 and 6E models, including the three-year-old TP-Link Archer AX1800 for £46 (www.snipca.com/53318 – pictured below). We even spotted a Wi-Fi 7 model, the TP-Link BE19000 Tri-Band (www.snipca.com/53319), though this still cost a pricey £510. Other good places to try include Pacetech, which specialises in refurbished…

Recent figures show one in 10 Brits own a smartphone with a cracked screen. They haven’t been juggling them while drunk (well, some may have). It’s more likely they’ve slipped through their fingers. That figure doesn’t surprise us because we’ve noticed that phones – and other handheld devices – have become harder to grip in recent years. It’s not that we’re growing clumsier. The fault lies with manufacturers who prioritise sleek glass designs over making devices easy to hold. This change began in 2010 with the iPhone 4, which was Apple’s first phone to ditch plastic and use glass on the front and back. You could say it was the start of a slippery slope. All manufacturers now favour glass for its ‘premium’ feel, which naturally means they can charge…

Having a problem with our recommended software or expert tips? Email editor@computeractive.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help Why can’t I add my Yahoo account to Thunderbird? Q I took your advice and downloaded Thunderbird for mobile (Issue 698, page 55) because I already use Thunderbird with my Yahoo email account on my desktop PC. While setting it up on my phone, however, I tried to log in but received the message ‘Oauth 2.0 is currently not supported with this provider’. I have no idea what this means. Can you help? Paul Cumbleton A You may receive this message if you’re trying to configure your Yahoo email as a POP3 account in the Thunderbird mobile app. Have you tried setting up your Yahoo account as an IMAP email instead?…