Computeractive717的目錄

Kill switches, split tunneling, port forwarding and onions – the language of VPNs sounds like it’s been taken from spy novels, engineering manuals, travel guides and cookbooks. But it all amounts to the same thing: unblocking websites to access anything you want online. As VPNs have become an essential part of the modern internet, dodgy developers have responded by building apps that scatter your private data to whoever wants it. You might get away with using other types of dubious software – being bugged only by endless adverts or nags to upgrade. Not so VPNs. You have to be 100-per-cent confident that what you’re using is safe. Robert Irvine knows that all too well, having tested dozens of VPNs for this issue’s Cover Feature. He reveals the best paid-for and…

Virgin Media has said broadband use on Friday afternoons in the summer is eight per cent lower than in the winter, as remote workers secretly log off early for the weekend. It analysed data on its networks and said there’s evidence of “changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays”. The company also commissioned a nationwide survey that found just under a third (30 per cent) of Brits are allowed to finish early on Fridays (see www.snipca.com/55810). However, despite almost half of UK adults (48 per cent) admitting they’re not authorised to finish early, nearly a third (32 per cent) say they regularly log off with or without official permission. Twenty per cent say that while they don’t officially finish early, it’s become…

You may have noticed most banks now ask you to pause and check whether the bill you’re paying is going to the right person. WhatsApp has introduced similar warnings when someone not in your contacts sends you a message. It will ask whether you recognise the number and whether the message seems legitimate (see screenshot 1). It’ll also warn you when a non-contact invites you to join a group 2. You’ll see information about the group, and have the chance to read the chat to check whether it looks genuine. If it does and you join, WhatsApp will send you notifications as normal. You can alternatively ignore the invite and click ‘Exit group’. You won’t receive any further invites or notifications for the group. Read more on WhatsApp’s blogs: www.snipca.com/55835.…

NatWest has agreed to refund the £129 that Total AV (www.totalav.com) charged Tony Souter for an antivirus subscription, after first refusing because it wanted to speak to the company (see Issue 715). It was wrong to insist on this because the Financial Conduct Authority forces banks to refund money for unauthorised payments (called chargebacks) and then wait for the retailer to challenge this decision. Tony explained to us that Total AV’s software was installed on the laptop he bought around four years ago, and that he had been unknowingly paying an annual subscription since the initial free period expired. When he did find out, he didn’t know how to cancel. If Total AV does fight the refund, we’ll tell it that Tony asked for the chargeback within 14 days of…

Search Guernsey occupation records Since April, Findmypast subscribers have been able to search records from Guernsey covering identity registrations and evacuee forms from the Nazi occupation. This began in June 1940, just after the British Government evacuated 17,000 people to the mainland. The occupation lasted until Guernsey’s liberation on 9 May 1945. Browse identity registration forms In October 1940 Colonel Graf von Schmettow, in charge of the Guernsey occupation, ordered compulsory ID cards for all islanders. The first cards, printed in English and German, were issued on 25 November 1940. From March 1941, photos were added to the cards. Every islander would receive an identity card, printed in both English and German. The original registration forms survive in Findmypast’s collection ‘Guernsey, Identity Registration Forms (German Occupation) 1940-1945’ (www.snipca.com/55765). Most include…

SOFTWARE WARNING! Gmail’s conveyor belt of adverts The greatest trick Google ever played was convincing the world it’s a technology company, rather than an advertising giant. And its second greatest trick was introducing adverts so gradually in every corner of the web that most people didn’t seem to care. But you can bet they’ll notice when their Gmail inboxes become moving billboards. Google is planning to show rows of items that automatically scroll across, dragging your eye away from more important emails. Advertising executives call these ‘carousels’, but they’re just digital conveyor belts of products you probably don’t want. These were spotted by Thomas Eccel, who works for German digital marketing agency JvM Impact. He posted this screenshot on LinkedIn (www.snipca.com/55791) showing a carousel of Wybot robotic pool cleaners (1 in…

SMART MONITOR | £399 from Argos www.snipca.com/55817 Home-based PC setups can take up a lot of room, especially if you live in a small property and have to work and relax in the same space. A smart monitor, such as Asus’ 27in ZenScreen Smart MS27UC, reduces the pressure on space because it does the job of both a PC screen and a smart TV. “Films and TV shows look great, but BBC iPlayer is a big loss” It uses Google TV as its smart-TV system. Press Home on the included remote control and you jump straight to its interface, which provides easy access to most of the popular streaming services you’ll need, including Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. It also provides access to broadcast catch-up services, including…

SMARTPHONE | £329 from Amazon www.snipca.com/55844 Xiaomi’s Poco F7 is the closest the Chinese company has come to recreating the magic of its Poco F3 phone, which is no longer available but earned a five-star rating when we reviewed it back in Issue 608. The F7 is the same as the F3 was, and also has a lot going for it, but a few compromises stop it from toppling our current favourite Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy A56 (£499 from www.snipca.com/54585, see page 30). “It handled everything we threw at it, including demanding games and intensive apps” For the price, however, it has a surprisingly high-quality build. It’s encased in metal and glass, and has an IP68 ingress-protection rating, which means it’s water resistant and dust-proof. You could take it…

EARBUDS | £120 from LG www.snipca.com/55833 While the design of LG’s xboom Buds is relatively subtle and understated, their sound is anything but. Generally they produce solid audio, but the buds are at their best when playing bass-heavy music, where the low-end is punchy and impactful. This emphasis on bass can come at a cost when listening to music with higher frequencies, such as vocals and lead guitars, occasionally sounding muddy or lacking in clarity. Active noise-cancelling (ANC) is mostly effective. We tested the buds by standing on a busy street and it successfully removed most of the traffic noise, though we could still hear the occasional birdsong. Battery life is impressive. With ANC turned off, the buds alone will last 10 hours, with a further 30 hours of charge…

LAPTOP Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 £799 from www.snipca.com/55644 Tested Issue 716 Push the screen back 360 degrees and it effectively becomes a Windows tablet. Screen is superb, and performs basic tasks well. Still good value even if price rises to RRP of £999. ALTERNATIVE PCSpecialist 16 Fusion British-made laptop with superb screen and built for advanced AI tasks. £996 from www.snipca.com/55094 ANDROID TABLET OnePlus Pad 3 £599 from www.snipca.com/55302 Tested Issue 714 With an incredibly fast processor and stunning 13.2in screen, this is the best ever Android tablet, and rivals the iPad Air. At launch both the 12GB RAM/256GB and 16GB/512GB versions were £529, so grab the latter as soon as possible. ALTERNATIVE Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Has a much brighter screen than its predecessor, making it ideal for watching…

GOOGLE Enhance your searches with AI Mode Google’s new AI Mode is now available in the UK, adding an AI Mode button to the search box on the Google homepage (see screenshot below). Click this after entering your search query to view a detailed answer that summarises information from multiple websites. You can then ask AI Mode follow-up questions, either by typing or speaking them – or by uploading an image. Google suggests the feature could be useful for “comparing products, planning a trip or understanding complex how-tos” – the more elaborate your queries, the better its responses. AI Mode is powered by Gemini, but separate from the AI Overviews above Google search results. You can access it directly at www.snipca.com/55781 or by clicking the AI Mode tab in the…

Passenger Assistance Free Android www.snipca.com/55798 iOS www.snipca.com/55799 This app lets you request assistance on rail journeys around the UK, including the use of wheelchair ramps and station buggies, as well as help finding a seat, changing trains or carrying luggage. Requests are sent to and confirmed by the train operator of your specified journey, and you can create a profile of your needs to use for future trips. Best For Assisted rail travel Wheelmap Free Android www.snipca.com/55800 iOS www.snipca.com/55801 Wheelmap provides information about places that are accessible by wheelchairs around the world – covering over 50,000 in the UK. These include restaurants, cafes, hotels, car parks, train stations and more – they are colour-coded for easy reference. The app relies on user contributions, so you can submit your own reports…

Check if your club’s emails have been leaked Your club’s website and email addresses are prime targets for hackers. If your domain gets compromised, scammers can steal members’ data, send fake emails, or impersonate your club online to scam members or make fraudulent transactions – often without you knowing until it’s too late. Verify your domain name One of the best ways to check is on ‘Have I Been Pwned?’ (HIBP). We often recommend visiting it to see if your main email address has been included in a data leak, but it also lets you check whether emails associated with your domain name have appeared in one. You can check up to 10 emails for free – you’ll need to pay for more (see www.snipca.com/55823). If you haven’t got an…

Does hard-wiring a dashcam invalidate your car insurance? Q In Issue 714’s feature ‘Hack your car’s USB port’ (page 60) you suggest hard-wiring a dashcam to your car using a £20 kit from Nextbase (www.snipca.com/55421). Shouldn’t you have suggested informing your car’s insurance company as they may deem it a ‘modification’ that could annul a policy? Don Palmer A Yes, that’s an important point we should have mentioned. Many car-insurance policies require you to confirm any modifications made to your vehicle from its factory standard. Hard-wiring a dashcam might seem minor, but it involves tapping directly into your car’s wiring, not just plugging into a ready-made socket. Failing to tell your insurance firm about a hard-wired dashcam, even if installed professionally, could invalidate your policy or complicate a claim if your…

ChatGPT becomes cynic, robot, listener and nerd in new update You can now ask ChatGPT to respond to you in four new personality types: Cynic, Robot, Listener and Nerd. These only work when you type a request, not when you use voice mode. It’s one of the most significant new features in GPT-5, which is the latest large language model (LLM) to power the AI chatbot. ChatGPT has been updated to GPT-5 automatically for free, so you don’t need to do anything to activate it. To choose a personality in the online or Windows version of ChatGPT first click your name at the bottom left, then select ‘Customize ChatGPT’. Now click the dropdown menu to the right of ‘What personality should ChatGPT have?’, which is set to Default – defined…

LG has paid a woman £150,000 in damages after its LG K8 phone (pictured) caused a fire in her home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire. Denise Parks was sleeping in bed with her husband Robert when a fire broke out in her living room at around 3am on 31 October, 2018. Before going to bed she had left a laptop and two phones, a Samsung Galaxy S7 and the LG K8, charging on a sofa. A judge at Edinburgh Sheriff Court ruled that the LG phone, supplied to Ms Parks by her employer North Lanarkshire Council, was the likely source of the fire. Sheriff Robert Fife said: “At the time the fire started, the LG was in normal use, being charged by a suitable charger, and in circumstances in which a…

Amazon scammer lost his temper I was minding my own business one July evening when a man called me claiming to be from Amazon. He told me that someone had tried to buy an iPhone using my account. That sounded odd, but it was odder when he asked me for personal details to prove it really was my account. I told him that he must know it’s my account otherwise he wouldn’t be ringing me in the first place. He then raised his voice and said I would lose money if I didn’t reveal my details. I told him he was a blatant scammer. He then shouted something incoherent and hung up. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

LEAD CASE Can I refuse to have my copper phone line moved to digital? Q Is there any legislation, disability-related or otherwise, that protects me ahead of the looming copper cut-off in early 2027? I’m elderly and disabled and really want to retain my phone. I was hoping there might be a legal mechanism allowing me to do so. Elizabeth Meekins A That’s a great question. While there isn’t a law that specifically lets you refuse digital and stick with a copper landline, there are strong legal protections in place for vulnerable people. Last year, the original plan to shut down the entire copper network by the end of 2025 was pushed back to January 2027. This delay was made specifically to ensure the safety of vulnerable customers like Elizabeth, particularly those…

VIDEO CONVERTER Any Video Converter 9.1.3 www.snipca.com/55944 What you need: Windows 10 or 11 Although it’s a freemium program, Any Video Converter (AVC) offers lots of useful features for free that go far beyond video conversion. These include merging and compressing videos; adding subtitles and background music; and adjusting their colour and playback speed. Sadly, since we last included AVC in this section, it has removed the DVD-burning and AI tools from its free version. It also now prompts you to upgrade to its Pro and Ultimate editions, which cost £35.62 and £44.52 respectively, before it performs certain actions. You can easily dismiss these prompts by clicking Continue, but they’re still annoying and pushy. The good news is AVC has introduced a major new feature to offset its annoyances: a…

MINI PC | £540 from Amazon www.snipca.com/55782 GMKtec’s NucBox K10 opts for a different case design to most mini PCs – its larger, flatter metal chassis looks a bit more business-like and functional than your typical model. This bigger footprint brings a number of benefits, including room for a wide selection of ports and more space for future upgrades – including up to three M.2 SSD drives. One of those slots is taken up by the operating system, but that still leaves two free to vastly expand internal storage. “It’s a sturdy workhorse for office software, browsing the web and playing video” On the front (pictured below) there’s a USB-C, two USB 3.2 and two USB 2.0 ports, as well as a distinctive green power button. The USB-C port can…

MESH ROUTER ❘ From £95 from Amazon www.snipca.com/55869 The Asus ZenWiFi BD4 can work as a standalone Wi-Fi 7 router or as part of a mesh system if you buy more than one unit. We tested it with three nodes, but you could easily start with one or two and add to them at a later date if required, though doing so costs more in the long run. A single unit costs £95 (see URL above); a double pack is £180 (www.snipca.com/55870); while the three-unit pack is £198 (www.snipca.com/55871). “Slower in every room than standalone routers we’ve tested recently” That’s a lower price than the last Wi-Fi 7 mesh router we tested, the Acer Predator Connect T7 (£170 for a single unit from www.snipca.com/55194, reviewed in Issue 713), but the…

Q I worked for IBM for many years and acquired a couple of its PS/2 keyboards, which I still use as they can’t be beaten in terms of key action and comfort. My new desktop PC has a combined keyboard/mouse PS/2 port (previous PCs have had separate ports) but I have not managed to get my keyboard working by using a PS/2 keyboard and mouse adapter. Can you recommend a proven PS/2 adapter or should I try a USB adapter? Failing that, is there a replacement keyboard that’s similar? Price is not an issue. Brian Dean A We haven’t tested any PS/2 splitters or adapters for a long time and can’t find any with glowing reviews, so we’re reluctant to suggest one. The same applies to PS/2- to USB-adapters. If the keyboard…

TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Automatically unsubscribe from newsletters in Proton Mail It only took about 10 minutes using Proton Mail (https://proton.me/mail) after switching from Gmail to realise I’d made the right decision. I had followed your advice in Issue 714’s Cover Feature (‘Ditch Google for Proton’), and found Proton Mail has the kind of simplistic design that Gmail used to have. One clever setting forces Proton to unsubscribe you automatically from email newsletters when you move it to the spam folder. The default option is ‘Ask each time’, but I’m confident that if I move a newsletter to spam I never want to receive another one from that sender. Launch Proton Mail, then click the settings cog at the top right followed by ‘All settings’. Now click ‘Messages and composing’…

Luck by Chance Free Android www.snipca.com/55797 This quirky but useful app provides multiple ways to help you make decisions. You can flip a virtual coin, roll a dice or get a yes/no/maybe answer to the question you’re considering. ‘Luck by Chance’ can also generate passwords, lottery numbers and compliments, and includes fun games such as ‘Rock, paper, scissors’. Kobo Books Free* Android www.snipca.com/55787 iOS www.snipca.com/55788 Kobo has redesigned its app and added several useful features for ebook lovers. You can now swipe from page to page using your thumb; automatically sync your bookmarks, notes and highlights with your Kobo e-reader; and read and listen to free ebook and audiobook samples without signing into a Kobo account. OnlyOffice Documents Free Android www.snipca.com/55627 iOS www.snipca.com/55628 OnlyOffice has updated the mobile version of…

WINDOWS 11 Set how many browser tabs open with Alt+Tab Windows 11 lets you decide whether you see your three, five or 20 most-recently opened tabs in Microsoft’s browser Edge when you press Alt+Tab. To do this, press Windows key+I to open Settings, then click System (1 in our screenshot below) followed by Multi-tasking on the right. Now click the dropdown menu to the right of ‘Show tabs from apps when snapping or pressing Alt+Tab’ and select how many you want 2. Then, when you press and hold down Alt+Tab you’ll see your tabs being highlighted with a blue border one by one. To open a tab simply release Alt+Tab when it’s highlighted. WINDOWS 11 Use formatting in Notepad Notepad is no longer just a plain-text editor. Microsoft updated it earlier…

What is it? A mental condition where people’s beliefs are distorted by an addiction to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. It can lead to tragic outcomes. Can you give me an example? In March 2023, a Belgian man took his own life after discussing his fears about climate change with the chatbot Eliza on the app Chai. After consoling him for six weeks, Eliza suggested they “live together, as one person, in paradise”. That had appeared to be an isolated case but more recently, with the soaring popularity of ChatGPT, psychiatrists have reported a rise in people having mental breakdowns after chatbots encouraged their worst anxieties. People have lost jobs, seen their relationships crumble and been detained in psychiatric institutions. Some sufferers have even set up support groups…

1080p High-definition video: 1920x1080 pixels. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. Adobe RGB A wider colour space than sRGB. AES-256bit A form of encryption based on a key length of 256 bits. AMOLED Alternative technology to LCD for creating flatscreens. Bandwidth How much data a connection can transfer at a time. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. BIOS Software built into every PC that connects the vital components. Bootable Describes a device or disc with system files on it so it can be used to start up your computer. Buckling spring switch A type of mechanical keyboard switch most famously used in IBM’s Model M keyboards. Cache A temporary space for storing information. Cast To send content from your PC to TV. cd/m2…

GET MONEY BACK FOR FAULTY SMART METERS Energy suppliers will have to pay £40 in compensation if it takes longer than six weeks to install a smart meter, or longer than 90 days to fix faulty meters. The new rules from energy regulator Ofgem are similar to Ofcom’s scheme that sees broadband providers automatically compensate customers. They should come into force early next year – for more details see www.snipca.com/55922. DASHLANE ENDS FREE PASSWORD MANAGER Password manager Dashlane will scrap its free version on 16 September. Existing users have until then to export their passwords to another service or upgrade to the paid-for version ($60 a year – about £45). After that Dashlane will delete all free accounts and passwords. Read more at www.snipca.com/55882. TOMORROW’S WORLD Mark Sewards, Labour MP…

In late June, my usual Smarty connection was very patchy. I couldn’t make or receive phone calls. I knew it piggybacked on Three’s network, and so I assumed it was being affected by the well-publicised problems Three was having during that time. Smarty mainly offers support online, but I have a physical disability that makes it easier for me to seek help on the phone. So I phoned Smarty’s line for people with special needs (0333 338 1047). I had to use my landline because the usual mobile signal was down. The person I spoke to apologised for problems and said it was probably being caused by Three’s network failing. But he still talked me through all the required steps to check this was the case. He was patient and…

How do I view photos saved to DVD on my TV? Q I was viewing some old photos on my TV that I had saved on a DVD using the ProShow Gold program. The company no longer exists so presumably the software is no longer supported. Can you suggest a modern alternative? Bernie Back A We wouldn’t recommend a like-for-like alternative for ProShow Gold. Instead, use two free tools to create photo slideshows, then burn them to DVD. First, download Microsoft’s Clipchamp (www.snipca.com/55660). Launch it, search for photo slideshow, click the template that’s closest to the look you’re after (‘Summer travel slideshow’ for example), then click ‘Use this template’. Click ‘Import media’ (1 in our screenshot) then select the photos you want to include and click Open. Now drag your photos over…

LAPTOP | £950 from Scan www.snipca.com/55796 German laptop manufacturer Medion has squeezed an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card into this Erazer Scout E15 laptop, which is no mean feat considering it has kept the price to a reasonable £950. Our tests showed it was worth it. It ran at more than twice the speed of our current favourite laptop, the Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (£849 from www.snipca.com/55644, see page 30). In our suite of test games it averaged 70fps at 1080p resolution, compared with 43fps from the 14 Plus. “A good-value gaming machine to plug into a decent monitor at home” However, those with no interest in gaming are still probably better off with the Dell 14 Plus – for a number of reasons. For example, to keep costs…

What is it? Thunderbolt 5 is the latest high-speed standard for connecting PCs to external devices. Like its Thunderbolt 3 and 4 predecessors, it uses the USB-C port and connector, and it remains fully backward-compatible with all USB-C versions. To unlock its full potential and fast-charging capabilities, however, you’ll need both devices and a cable that support Thunderbolt 5. How does it work? Like any USB-C connection, the beauty of Thunderbolt 5 is its simplicity – it just works. Connect two Thunderbolt 5 devices, and you’ll instantly enjoy its full performance. Plug it into an older USB-C device, and it will still work flawlessly, though will be limited to the maximum speed of the slower device. What are the specs? Thunderbolt 5 can transfer data at a top speed of…

ERGONOMIC MOUSE | £20 from Amazon www.snipca.com/55832 The Ugreen M571 is an ergonomic wireless mouse designed to provide greater comfort than a traditional mouse. Its design positions your hand at a natural 57-degree angle – similar to the angle used when shaking someone’s hand – rather than lying flat against the desk. This promotes a more relaxed posture and helps reduce strain during extended use. The design is similar to our favourite ergonomic mouse – the Logitech Lift Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (£59 from www.snipca.com/41687, reviewed in Issue 631). However, Ugreen’s device costs around a third of the price. While more expensive rivals typically feature a premium rubberised finish, the M571 opts for an all-plastic construction, though it does include subtle ridges to aid grip. In testing we found all the…

What is it? Sandisk has announced the UltraQNC SN670 (pictured right) – an SSD with a whopping 256TB of storage. What does it do? Like all SSDs, it reads and writes data at high speed. The difference here is the enormous capacity. For comparison, the biggest SSD Sandisk currently offers is the Ultrastar DC SN650 – a 15.36TB drive that costs £1,656 (www.snipca.com/55912). The SN670 is more than 16 times larger. What’s the catch? It will be very expensive. Also, it will be primarily aimed at businesses building supercomputers that run AI tools and the like, not the home consumer. So can I do without it? Definitely. No matter how much you struggle with storage space at the moment, no one needs a 256TB SSD. At least, not yet.…

For a more strenuous challenge download the ‘NHS Couch to 5K’ app (www.snipca.com/55651), of which I have some experience. In March 2024, some friends completed a five-kilometre race in Chelmsford. The weather was lovely and the pictures of them all holding up their medals at the finish line made it look like they were having a great time. So, knowing that I’d have a whole year to get myself ready for it, I signed up for the 2025 event, which was scheduled for 2 March. Then, as race day was so far away, I entirely put it out of my mind. Eventually, New Year rolled around and I realised I had only eight weeks to get race-ready, which was a pretty daunting thought considering I’ve always hated running and avoided…

FIREFOX Organise your tabs using AI Firefox 141, released in July, adds an AI option to the browser’s Tab Groups feature. This means rather than manually organising related tabs into groups, you can get AI to do it for you. Drag one tab on top of another and Firefox will open its ‘Create tab group’ box. Click the ‘Suggest more of my tabs’ button (see screenshot below) then Continue, to let Firefox use AI to read the titles and descriptions of your tabs. It will then suggest a suitable name for the group and relevant tabs you can add to it – you can change this name and deselect any unwanted tabs. Click ‘Done’ to confirm and create the new group. The AI works entirely within the browser, so details…

ANDROID & iOS Edit messages you send from Android to iPhone When Apple released iOS 18 a year ago, it finally added support for RCS to its Messages app. This means Android and iPhone users can now send each other RCS messages, rather than only SMS and MMS, and enjoy the benefits of RCS technology. These include group chats, read receipts and sharing large photos and videos without being charged by your mobile network. A handy new feature in the Google Messages app for Android (www.snipca. com/55789) lets you edit the messages you send to iPhone-owning friends and family, as you already can to other Android users. Long-press the message and tap the Edit (pencil) button in the top toolbar (1 in our screenshot below left). Amend the text as…

LIBREOFFICE Reset your user profile to fix problems If LibreOffice starts crashing, freezing or acting oddly, it could mean that your user profile is cluttered or corrupted. This is a folder that stores all your settings, extensions, templates and toolbar changes. Over time, it can become unstable and cause problems, especially if you’ve installed lots of extensions or made many changes to the interface. One fix is to reset your user profile, which wipes every change you’ve made and every extension you’ve added. It’s worth trying this either to resolve problems, or simply to start from scratch if LibreOffice is looking too messy. Click the Help button (1 in our screenshot) then ‘Restart in Safe Mode’ followed by Restart. Now select ‘Reset to factory settings’ 2 then ‘Reset entire user profile’…

Virtual private networks (VPNs) have been around since 1996, when their primary purpose was to let remote workers connect securely to corporate networks. Since then they’ve become an essential tool for protecting your privacy online and unblocking web content that’s unavailable in your region. For reasons we explain on the opposite page, VPNs have recently seen a huge surge in popularity in the UK. As we reported in Issue 716 (page 7), VPNs have become the most popular free apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The Swiss privacy company Proton claimed it saw a 1,800-per-cent increase in sign-ups for its VPN in just one weekend (www.snipca.com/55890). There are loads of VPNs to choose from, but sadly not all can be trusted to keep your activities private…