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Every morning, when I turn on my PC, I instinctively click the Chrome icon on my desktop and start browsing. It’s only when every web page I open is smothered by adverts that I remember how much I prefer browsing the web in Brave. No ads, no pop-ups, pages load faster. I normally switch to it and stay there all day. I’ve got too many Google accounts to stop using Chrome completely, while Edge is much better than it was a few years ago. However, while they remain the world’s biggest browsers (for Windows at least), they’re far from the best. I’m not one for saying that you should always avoid the most popular product in a category – in my view no operating system comes close to Windows –…

Thousands of people using old phones will be forced to buy a new model after BT announced it will switch off its 3G signal in 2023 – becoming the first UK network to do so. The company said customers on the EE, Plusnet and BT brands would be “phased off” 3G, adding that it now represents only two per cent of data sent. The move will free up spectrum to help BT extend its 4G and 5G connections. It aims to add 4,500 square miles of rural 4G coverage by 2025, so customers who can currently get only 3G aren’t excluded. Anyone using 3G would be offered “an attractive deal” to upgrade, a BT spokesman said. It also hopes to grow its 5G network “to cover half of the UK…

WATCH OLYMPICS ON VODAFONE FOR FREE Vodafone is giving all pay-monthly customers access to Discovery+ for six months at no extra cost, which means they’ll be able to watch the Tokyo Olympics live on their phone, as well as a range of true-crime, documentary and reality channels. Customers can stream anywhere in the UK on up to four devices. Read more on Vodafone’s site: www.snipca.com/38872. BA PAYS ‘RECORD’ SUM TO HACK VICTIMS British Airways has paid an undisclosed sum to around 16,000 people whose card details were leaked in a hack three years ago. It’s thought to be the biggest claim for a data breach ever in Britain. Another firm, Your Lawyers, is running a separate claim – you can join its group action at www.snipca.com/38876. In total 420,000 people…

Interpol has called for police forces and the computer industry to form a “global coalition” in order to prevent a “potential ransomware pandemic”. It follows a spate of worldwide attacks targeting companies, as well as schools, hospitals, power stations and other forms of vital infrastructure. In such attacks, hackers encrypt an organisation’s data or software so it can’t be accessed, and demand a ransom payment to release it. One of the biggest attacks this year saw hackers disable the Colonial Pipeline, which carries fuel from Houston, Texas to the south-eastern United States. Last month the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre reported a rise in hacks targeting schools and universities. Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock warned that the threat of ransomware “has become too large of a threat for any entity…

Don’t update your Amazon payment info A couple of days after spending a bit too much money on Amazon (during Prime Day), I got an email saying my account had been placed on hold because my “billing information” didn’t match the “information on file with the card issuer”. The yellow Update Payment Information button looked tempting, but there were too many spelling mistakes for the email to be genuine (‘cancelled’ has two l’s, not one). I’ve read too many warnings about similar scams to fall for this. It sounds like I’m not the only one to have received it, according to this tweet from Action Fraud: www.snipca.com/38824. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

LEAD CASE Can Virgin charge a cancellation fee if I move house? Q I had to cancel my Virgin TV and broadband in July 2020 because it wasn’t available at my new home. Virgin said I’d have to pay a £250 cancellation fee, which in my opinion is unfair because it can’t provide the service. I thought I had cancelled, but I’m now being harassed by a debt-collection agency, and the price I now owe has risen to £289.50. Can you help? Donald MacLeod A After clarifying details with Donald, we think that he wasn’t actually on a contract with Virgin, and therefore was free to leave without an early-cancellation fee. We’re therefore going to try to get a full refund, not simply reduce the fee Virgin thinks he owes.…

Reader Valerie Elson asked us for advice on a mystery that’s puzzled her for several years: the identity of a distant relative’s parents. George Littlewood first appeared in the 1881 census, aged seven, living with his uncle and aunt – Nathan and Ann France (nee Littlewood) – in Honley, Yorkshire. He stayed with them until at least aged 37, according to the 1891, 1901 and 1911 censuses. Valerie had identified all of Ann’s siblings – one of whom was presumably George’s father – and had ordered at least one birth certificate that turned out to be the wrong George Littlewood. Search the General Records Office birth index We first visited the General Records Office, which is the only site that has updated its database to add the mother’s maiden name…

What can I use to convert WP3 files? Q I’ve created multiple ‘photo stories’ in the WP3 format on a previous computer. I now have a new computer and have installed Magix Photostory Deluxe (www.snipca.com/38974). However, it seems I need to convert these files into WMV to work on them in the new version of Photostory. How can I do this? Alan Swallow A We suspect the problem here is that you’re confusing Microsoft Photo Story 3 (which saves projects in the WP3 format you mention) and the similarly named Magix Photostory Deluxe (which can’t open WP3 files). Microsoft no longer supports Photo Story 3 and doesn’t make the program available for download on its website. However, you can still find it on other download sites. We don’t usually recommend…

Since time immemorial, fathers and sons have enjoyed spending time together – playing football, going fishing and so on. But Faisal Fareed and his dad Mohammed had a less wholesome idea of what constitutes quality father-son time. They posted fake adverts for cars on eBay, then lured buyers to Manchester to view the non-existent vehicles before robbing them of cash, usually under the threat of extreme violence. A Manchester court heard that the pair carried out or attempted 14 robberies as part of a gang – in some cases wielding hammers and machetes. Like father, like son, 47-year-old Mohammed was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, while 25-year-old Faisal will serve 12 years.…

Wi-Fi EXTENDER| £50 from Amazon www.snipca.com/38875 There’s a huge number of Wi-Fi boosters available, but the TP-Link RE505X offers something a little different. This is one of the first wireless extenders to support Wi-Fi 6. This means it will work with any Wi-Fi 6 router to push your wireless network into the furthest corners of your house, strengthening weak signals and removing the blackspots other routers cannot reach. It’s also compatible with TP-Link’s OneMesh system, which means that if you have a compatible router, it can be used as an affordable way to boost this, too. You can check whether your TP-Link router is compatible with OneMesh at www.snipca.com/38877. The RE505X is a dual-antenna, dual-band extender, supporting speeds of up to 300Mbps over Wi-Fi 4 on the 2.4GHz band, and…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2020 Back Issue CD: £15 from www.snipca.com/38164 LAPTOP Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (256GB) £749 from www.snipca.com/38429 Tested Issue 601 Weighing just 1.16kg, this is an excellent lightweight laptop with a great screen and an AMD processor faster than many Intel rivals. It has two USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports and a microSD card reader. Battery lasts nearly 16 hours. ALTERNATIVE Dell XPS 13 New Intel CPUs and a taller screen make this a more powerful, all-round slim laptop. Prices start at £1,299 from www.snipca.com/36642 ANDROID TABLET Lenovo Tab P11 Pro £600 from www.snipca.com/38585 Tested Issue 609 A fast tablet that comes with a magnetic stand and keyboard that means you can also use it as a laptop. It has…

What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10; PeaZip Time required: 20 minutes We know many of you still like to send files via email. However, most email providers limit the size of attachments – Outlook.com’s maximum is 34MB, while Gmail and BT’s is just 25MB. There are other ways to share large files – Google Drive and Dropbox, for example – but they’re not as convenient and you might not want to upload confidential files to an online server. Here, we’ll show you how to compress large files to a fraction of their size before attaching them to your emails. STEP 1 Download PeaZip from www.snipca.com/38895. It’s available as an installable 1 and portable 2 version. The latter lets you run PeaZip from a USB stick. In our example,…

iOS Lock your WhatsApp chats with Face or Touch ID You can be sure that nobody can remotely intercept messages you send and receive with WhatsApp, because the app provides end-to-end encryption for all chats. But what if someone physically managed to get hold of your phone? There’s a possibility that if you’ve left your phone unlocked, someone could simply pick up your device and access all your private discussions within a couple of taps. Owners of iPhones, however, get the option of adding an extra layer of protection to their WhatsApp chats, by locking them behind either Face ID or Touch ID, depending on which one your model supports. To locate this little-known security feature, open WhatsApp, then tap the Settings icon. Next, tap Account then Privacy, and scroll…

WINDOWS 10 Check your computer’s network visibility When you connect a new computer to your home network, Windows will ask you whether you want to make it visible to other computers. We wouldn’t blame you for declining this offer, but it actually just means it’ll be visible to other computers on your home network – letting you share files, folders and printers. You can check (and, if necessary, change) this setting by clicking the Wi-Fi icon (an icon of a computer if you’re on a wired network) in the system tray, then clicking the Properties link for the network you’re connected to. If the network you selected is your home network, select Private in the ‘Network profile’ section (see screenshot below). However, if you’re using a public network such as…

Charts can help you visualise data, but they also take up room on your spreadsheet. Both Excel and Calc let you use ‘data bars’ to visualise data within the relevant cell, taking up less space. In our example, we want to see how fundraising for our local club has fared over the past few years. To create the data bars in Calc, we select the total donation amount for each year, open the Format menu, select Conditional, ‘Data Bar…’, then click OK. It’s easier in Excel-once you’ve selected the relevant cells, click the Quick Analysis box that appears at the bottom-right corner of the cells, then select Data Bars. Each cell in your selection will now display a bar relating to the number in it. If you change the value…

With more than 3.2 billion users and a 69 per cent share of the desktop browser market (www.snipca.com/38829), Google’s Chrome is by far the world’s favourite means of accessing the web. Microsoft Edge lags a long way behind, with an 8.1 per cent share, but since its relaunch as a Chromium-based browser in January 2020, it’s steadily gaining ground and has overtaken Firefox as the most popular Chrome alternative on Windows PCs (on macOS, unsurprisingly, Apple’s Safari reigns supreme). Both Chrome and Edge are easy to use, offer thousands of useful extensions and let you sync your bookmarks, passwords and browsing history across PCs, laptops and mobile devices. Why would you even consider using anything else to get online? Well, as we explain in this feature, there are actually lots…

Arooftop TV aerial will give you the best chance of a strong Freeview TV signal, but it’s not always feasible. Besides the cost (around £250 for parts and labour), other factors may prevent you from using one, such as if you live in a flat. They’re also easier to install, and being small and portable, they’re also perfect for use with a TV tuner attached to a laptop. Before buying one, however, it’s important to know how strong Freeview signals are in your area because this will determine what type of aerial you need. Find your nearest transmitter Enter your postcode and house number on Freeview’s coverage checker page at www.snipca.com/38922 – the name of your nearest transmitter will appear at the top of the results page. You can then…

Is AndreaMosaic a Trojan? Q I subscribe to your excellent magazine and regularly try out the sites and apps you recommend. However, when I downloaded the AndreaMosaic app featured in your ‘Turn your photos into mosaics’ Workshop in Issue 605 (page 40), my antivirus flagged it as a Trojan. I tried twice but got the same result. Is there a problem with this program? Mike Brameld A We don’t know why your antivirus software is warning you that AndreaMosaic is a Trojan. We’ve checked the shortcut address we published for the software (www.snipca.com/37973) and it’s correct. So, assuming you typed it in correctly, you should have ended up at the legitimate download page for AndreaMosaic. We’ve also checked all the download links and passed all the downloadable files through several…

Jackie Weaver (pictured below), who shot to fame earlier this year over her handling of a Handforth Parish Council meeting on Zoom, has called for more over-50s to learn new skills so they can work in IT. She is backing a campaign from the BCS, also known as the Chartered Institute for IT, to encourage more older people to work in computing. The body has published research (www.snipca.com/38884) showing that despite making up 31 per cent of the UK’s overall workforce, only 22 per cent of over-50s work in IT. In 2020 around 13,000 IT specialists aged over 50 were unemployed, the BCS claims, equating to an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent, above the 2.2 per cent for IT staff aged 16-49. This figure has risen from 8,000 in…

Sainsbury’s has said it will stop selling CDs and DVDs as millions of customers turn instead to streaming services like Spotify and Netflix for music and films. It becomes the first of the four big supermarkets to remove discs from its shelves, though some analysts expect Asda, Morrisons and Tesco to follow suit. Sainsbury’s said it will give the extra space in its stores to “food and popular products like clothing and homewares”. It added that although sales of discs will be phased out, some stores will continue to sell vinyl records. CD sales were worth £115m in 2020, but the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) expects sales of vinyl to outstrip CDs this year for the first time since the late 1980s A BPI spokesman said: “The CD has proved…

WATCH OUT FOR… Scams that mimic your phone number What’s the threat? Anti-fraud specialists have warned the public about an increase in phone scams that appear to come from numbers that are similar to their own. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which works with Action Fraud within the City of London Police, said the calls match the first seven digits of the victim’s own number. Action Fraud said that in May the public reported over 2,100 such calls. Of these, just under 70 per cent were from callers claiming to be from HMRC, and referred to the victim’s National Insurance account. They typically try to frighten you by saying you have fines to pay. Another scare tactic is for callers to claim they’re a police officer, and that there’s…

I’ll avoid Microsoft’s Windows 11 ‘mouse trap’ Maybe I’m too gullible, but I believed Microsoft when it said Windows 10 would be the final ever version of Windows. It was one of the reasons I bought a new computer with Windows 10 on it. This was back in 2019. Up to that point I had somehow managed on Windows 7. I had stuck with Windows 7 because I felt familiar with it, and it still seemed to work as well as ever. At my advanced age, I didn’t really want the stress of learning a new operating system, but I was persuaded by Microsoft’s pledge that this would be the last system I’d have to learn. What a fool I was. I’ve had Windows 10 for less than two years,…

We often pursue full refunds for readers, but sometimes it’s more appropriate to claim for damages. This is an amount of money that can be higher or lower than the original purchase cost, depending on the circumstances. One situation where you can ask for damages is when you want to keep an item despite it not being as described. In effect, this is like a partial refund, reflecting that the item can’t do everything you want it to. This is what Chris Harvey wanted from Currys PC World after buying an Asus VivoBook Flip TM420 laptop (pictured) for £499 that didn’t come with the number pad and backlit keyboard that were listed in the description. Chris initially wanted a full refund, as he was entitled to (assuming he could prove…

I’ve downloaded my great-grandfather’s unit regiment history from The National Archives (TNA), but it’s difficult to read. Is there anywhere else I can find a history? Liam Spurgeon You could try signing up for a free account at Forces War Records (www.forces-warrecords.co.uk), where you can search for your ancestor’s unit. If there’s a match, you’ll be given a summary of the unit’s history. It’s not as detailed as the records held at TNA, but you’ll at least get to see which battles and manoeuvres the unit was involved in. Have a genealogy question for Nick? Email letters@computeractive.co.uk with ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line.…

I install a huge amount of software – some good (the programs we recommend each fortnight), some awful (the stuff you don’t hear about, unless we’re telling you to avoid it). Consequently, my poor hard drive gets cluttered in no time. Back in Issue 545, I explained how I use BCUninstaller (www.snipca.com/38938 – click the ‘Installer and Portable’ link) to remove batches of programs in one go. BCUninstaller has benefited from several updates since then, and I’ve also learned some new tricks. One of my favourite new features lets me create a system restore point before it uninstalls anything, meaning I can quickly roll back any changes if necessary. To activate this feature, go to Tools, followed by Settings, select the Uninstallation tab, then tick ‘Create a system restore point…

PC| £569 from Currys www.snipca.com/38855 These days desktop PCs can come in all shapes and sizes, but this Inspiron model from Dell manages to hit something of a sweet spot – large enough to get things done, small enough not to take up too much room. Interestingly, the 324x154x293mm (HxWxD) case also includes something you don’t see much any more – a DVD drive. This may seem unnecessary to some, but if you like to back up to writable DVDs or have an old collection of discs that you’d still like to access, it’s a useful little bonus. The front of the 3881’s attractive black case also houses an SD card slot, a USB-C port, a USB 3.2 port, two USB 2.0 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Around the…

PRINTER| £240 from Amazon www.snipca.com/38914 The HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e is larger than your average multifunctional inkjet printer, measuring 318x437x396mm (HxWxD), meaning you’ll need a decent amount of desk space to sit it on. In fact, it looks more like the sort of laser printer you’d find in an office than a home-based inkjet. It has a 35-sheet automatic document feeder for the copier function, and two 250-sheet paper trays to help keep your printing workload flowing. There’s a slick colour touchscreen to control the settings and the copier function. “A bulky inkjet that’s ideal for a home office and comes with six months of free ink” It’s also the fastest inkjet we’ve tested, with mono prints outputting at 24 pages per minute (ppm) in our tests, which puts other…

Q I am an 87-year-old amateur artist and I’m seriously considering the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite tablet (pictured) to help me with my art. Does the 64GB model take an SD card to increase the memory? And will the 64GB model be sufficient or would the 128GB version be better? I’ve seen an LTE version instead of Wi-Fi-is there any advantage to this? Is it a better option than the Apple iPad 10.2? Gilbert Walker A The 64GB model (£329) should be more than sufficient for your needs, though you can add a microSD card up to 1TB, so it’s easily expandable. Having said that, the 128GB version is only £30 more (£359) and is probably worth it for peace of mind – you’ll have to work hard to…

WellPaper Free Android www.snipca.com/38863 Most of us are guilty of using our devices too much, but this app puts a fun spin on on our addiction by creating colourful, modern-looking wallpapers, based on your most-used apps. You need to grant the app permission to access your appusage data in order to generate the results. Spotify Greenroom Free Android www.snipca.com/38864 iOS www.snipca.com/38865 Music-streaming service Spotify has released a new app, intended to connect fans of music and – rather oddly – US sports with their favourite personalities (and each other), by hosting or joining a live audio conversation. It’s early days for this social platform, but Greenroom has the potential to provide access to some very enlightening discussions. Hue2 99p iOS www.snipca.com/38871 Looking for a relaxing but challenging distraction? This pleasantly…

Windows 10 includes a hidden tool that locks the operating system to a single program or website – perfect if you want to let people use your computer at a local event (such as to browse a specific website) without giving them full access to your files and other programs. It’s called Kiosk mode and is available only in the Pro version of Windows 10. To set it up, open Settings (press the Windows key+I), then go to System, Accounts and select the ‘Other users’ tab. From here, scroll to the ‘Set up a kiosk’ section, click ‘Assigned access’, then ‘Get started’. You’ll now be prompted to create a new user account with which you’ll launch the Kiosk mode, then select which app you want to provide restricted access to.…

Set up an online to-do list for members An online to-do list will help you to run your club more efficiently and remind members of tasks that still need to be done. There are plenty of free tools available for putting these together – here we explain how to use three of the best. Gmail Tasks It’s hidden away, but Tasks is a simple to-do tool that you can access from your Gmail inbox. Unlike the two other tools we cover here, you can’t share tasks with other people. However, as long as your club has its own Gmail account, anyone with access to that will be able to review, create and complete tasks. To use it, click the Tasks icon (a pen next to an orange circle) on the…

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

Although I primarily use Freesat for my main TV (see Issue 604, page 35), I recently bought a Monarch 50 aerial for the TV in my bedroom. I was initially disappointed that no matter where I placed the aerial, I achieved only very patchy reception from the Heathfield transmitter, which is around 15 miles away across some fairly hilly terrain. There’s actually a much closer transmitter just outside Brighton, but the South Downs does a great job of blocking its signals. As a last resort, I ventured into the loft and sat the aerial on a timber joist. Retuning my Freeview box resulted in it picking up all 142 Freeview channels with perfect reception. Better still, I connected the aerial to the existing junction box in the loft (this required…

Forget Microsoft’s failed attempt at explaining whether your PC can run Windows 11, or digging into your hardware to check. For now, these manufacturer lists are as definitive as you’re going to get. But Microsoft might still tweak some of its requirements to make more (older) computers compatible. Whatever you do, don’t buy a new computer yet just because your existing one can’t run Windows 11. As we’ll explain in the coming months, you may be able to upgrade your machine- or you may just not need Windows 11 at all.…

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES ‘ONLINE WINDOWS’ Microsoft has launched Windows 365 (www.snipca.com/38948), a ‘Cloud PC’ service that lets subscribers access their Windows desktop online from any other device, including tablets and Apple Macs. It’s being offered to businesses first, for workers to access their “personalised apps, content, and settings” wherever they are. The company hasn’t said whether it will launch a version for home users. REMOVE APPS STEALING FB PASSWORDS Google has removed nine phone and tablet apps that have been stealing Facebook passwords. The apps, which have been downloaded over 5.8 million times from the Google Play Store, include tools for editing photos and wiping junk from your device. They were spotted by security firm Dr Web – visit its site for the full list: www.snipca.com/38874. If you’ve installed any, you…

Amazon has apologised to a fishmonger after asking him to remove ‘prime day’ from his advertising, claiming it breached copyright. The retailer has registered ‘prime day’ as a trademarked slogan for its annual two-day event of deals and offers. In late June its lawyers asked Robin Moxon, who owns four shops and a fish smokery in London (pictured), to stop using the phrase on his website because it could make customers think the site was linked to Amazon. But Mr Moxon phoned the lawyers to explain that fishmongers had been using ‘prime day’ for hundreds of years, forcing the company to back down. He said: “This phrase was being well used probably before Amazon existed in this country and before Jeff Bezos was a glint in his mother’s eye”. He…

BROADBAND FALLS DURING EURO FINAL Broadband use fell sharply during the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, as millions of people tuned in to watch the match on their TV set, rather than online. Virgin Media said broadband use during the final was 28 per cent lower than at the same time the previous week, though it rose during half time as people went online to discuss the match. GOOGLE TO CLOSE ‘BACKUP AND SYNC’ Google is closing its ‘Backup and Sync’ service on 1 October, forcing users to switch to its new ‘Drive for desktop’ tool to access their files. If you sign into ‘Backup and Sync’ you should now see instructions on how to move to the new service and reminders that the current tool is about…

Amazon’s Ring doorbells let you see on your phone who’s at your front door, which can provide peace of mind when you’re out, but there have been huge concerns that criminals may be able to hack them. To help ease these fears, Amazon has added end-to-end encryption (e2e) to its Ring doorbells, which makes the videos they capture all but unhackable. The only device that will be able to play a video is the phone that receives it. Even Amazon wouldn’t be able to view the video. It’s available now on many of the best-selling Ring devices, including the Ring Video Doorbell Wired (£49 from www.snipca.com/38951, pictured), though not those powered by a battery. Check the full product list on Ring’s site (www.snipca.com/38950), where you’ll also find instructions on setting…

I’ve installed the preview version of Windows 11 on a secondary drive, but I’ve yet to decide whether to use it on my main drive when it’s officially launched. I like it, but Microsoft will still have to make significant changes to persuade me. The first thing it needs to address is the taskbar (see screenshot), which you should be able to move to the top of the screen. Also, I wish Microsoft would stop hedging its bets between the Settings app and Control Panel. It should give up on the latter (as it clearly wants to do), and move all essential options into Settings. Jumping between the two is a pain. I was hoping the search function might have improved, but no. It still combines files, settings and web…

Three years ago I bought a T2-R set-top recorder box from Manhattan. After a short time I had some problems with the picture. I rang the company and it told me the fault was caused by my signal being too strong. They sent me a free attenuator to reduce my signal. This worked perfectly until recently when suddenly I lost all my recordings. Again I rang them and they said they had an update for the recorder and would send it to me on a USB stick with instructions on how to rebuild my list of recordings. It arrived the following day with a prepaid envelope to send it back to them in case someone else required it. Within half an hour I had updated my box and recovered all…

NETWORK TOOL LiveTcpUdpWatch www.snipca.com/38952 What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 Back in the days of dial-up, your computer would be connected to the internet only for short periods. While today’s always-on broadband connections are convenient, they also mean your computer is constantly sending and receiving data via the internet. If you want to get a better idea of which programs are using your broadband, install NirSoft’s LiveTcpUdpWatch. This tool gives you a view of all network activity, including the connections TCP (used when loading websites and downloading files) and UDP (for streaming music and videos). As soon as you run the tool, it starts monitoring traffic. New entries are added to the bottom of the list – to automatically scroll to the bottom, open the Options menu and…

WARNING: JUNK AHEAD Junk offender: WinZip Driver Updater I’ve been known to call out dodgy driver updaters in the past (and, yes, I’m looking at you, iObit Driver Booster). But when the program in question bears the respected WinZip name, you’d probably assume that it’s a more trustworthy prospect. Don’t you believe it. WinZip has been around for more than 30 years and these days is owned by the equally renowned Corel Corporation. It’s still best known for zipping and unzipping files, but has branched into other areas in recent years via a series of “powerful, one-click solutions to take care of your daily PC needs” (according to www.winzipsystemtools.com anyway), including Driver Updater. Driver Updater is supposed to maximise your PC’s performance. In practice it can actually have the opposite…

LAPTOP| £1,050 from Amazon www.snipca.com/38850 Acer keeps its Nitro 5 range of gaming laptops regularly updated, and the latest models boast a wealth of high-end specifications mark. The configuration we’re reviewing here comes with a Ryzen 5 5600H processor, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card (with another 6GB of built-in RAM). “Powerful specs but modest screen mean this gaming PC is no all-rounder” This combination of components performed well in our gaming tests, with impressive frame rates. This is largely thanks to the RTX 3060 graphics, which while not as powerful as hardware you might find in a desktop gaming PC, is excellent by laptop standards. It also got great results when using our Windows benchmarking tools, though its powerful performance does take…

What are they? Intel is constantly working to improve the speed and efficiency across its range of processors, which include its Core i3, i5 (pictured), i7 and i9 chips. It releases new processors in groups (or generations), which benefit from the latest improvements. The 11th generation was released last year, with the 12th due in late 2021. How do they work? Each new generation of processors is given a number. The higher the number, the more recent, efficient and speedy the processor is. It has become particularly useful to know which generation of processor your PC has, because Microsoft recently announced that its upcoming Windows 11 operating system won’t work on PCs with an Intel Core processor that’s older than the 8th generation. What are the specs? Usefully, Intel gives…

What is it? A ‘SuperWide’ curved monitor from Philips (pictured) that measures 49in across the diagonal. It’s has an aspect ratio of 32:9, and a resolution of 5120x1440 pixels. What does it do? It’s like having two 24in or 27in monitors side by side, but instead of having a gap between them, this is one big seamless panel. Its Philips’ first 49in screen aimed specifically at gamers, and has some impressive gaming specs, including a 165Hz refresh rate and 4 milliseconds response time. What’s the catch? It won’t be cheap. Philips hasn’t revealed the price yet, but it’ll probably cost more than its previous 49in model, which was technically inferior and cost £899. So can I do without it? You could get two very good monitors for a lot less…

TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Find old BBC shows that include sign language I’ve spent the past few days trawling through the BBC’s incredible online archive of TV and radio shows, which you mentioned in Issue 609 (page 8). I’ve been partially deaf all my life, so I was pleased to discover that I could search the index specifically for programmes that include sign language. First, visit the Programme Index (www.snipca.com/38690), then click the Explore Playable Programmes circle. Now click the ‘Turn on advanced filters’ slider so it turns blue (1 in our screenshot), then the Accessibility heading 2. Next, click the eye icon to the left of ‘Signed’ 3 (there’s also an option for ‘Audio described’, which will interest people with no or poor sight). To see the results, click…

Daybook Free* Android www.snipca.com/38866 iOS www.snipca.com/38867 This journal app is easy to use. It lets you add photos to your diary entries and provides useful features, such as a calendar view and passcode protection as standard. Subscribing to its Premium service (£4.49 per month) lets you use it across unlimited devices and unlocks extra themes, printing and more. Best For Simple diary entries with accompanying photos Daylio Journal Free* Android www.snipca.com/38868 iOS www.snipca.com/38869 Those with busy lives may struggle to write a diary entry every day, despite their best intentions. Daylio is the ideal solution – it’s a ‘micro diary’ app that lets you quickly log various aspects of your day – socialising, hobbies, sleep and food, for example – with simple icons and emojis to represent your mood and…

MICROSOFT EXCEL Hide images and charts When you’re working on a spreadsheet that’s full of graphs and images, it can be hard to focus on the data in each cell. Microsoft Excel lets you hide these items while you’re editing your spreadsheet, then make them visible once you’ve finished. To use this feature, open the Selection window by clicking the Home tab, followed by the down arrow next to ‘Find & Select’ at the far right of the toolbar, then ‘Selection Pane…’ (or press Alt+F10). The Selection Pane will now open, displaying all items in your spreadsheet. To hide an item, click the eye icon to the right of it (see screenshot below); clicking this a second time makes the item visible. Alternatively, click Hide All to conceal all items…

What is it? Surely you haven’t forgotten Clippy? Officially named Clippit, it was the animated paperclip in versions of Office and Windows between 1997 and 2004. It would recognise what you were doing – such as typing ‘Dear’ when writing a letter – and pop up with messages designed to assist you: “It looks like you’re writing a letter. Would you like help?” Poor Clippy was meant to be friendly and accessible, but users found it intensely annoying. It’s now widely regarded as one of the worst features in the history of computing. Ah yes, I had blanked out the horror. Did Microsoft realise its mistake? Yes, pretty sharpish. Microsoft thought that because humans shouted at their computers as though they were actually alive, they would be soothed by seeing…

1080p High-definition video: 1920x1080 pixels. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 720p A common resolution of highdefinition video: 1280x720 pixels. Add-on A program that adds extra features to your browser. Aspect ratio A measurement of the shape of a screen. Traditional computer screens are 4:3. Widescreen displays are 16:9 or 16:10. Augmented reality Lets you view the real world on a digital screen and add elements from the digital world. Bandwidth A measure of how much data can be transferred through a connection at one time. Batch file A list of commands executed in sequence that typically don’t require your input. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. BIOS Basic Input-Output System. Software built into every PC…