Table of contents for 594 in Computeractive

After the year we’ve had, we all deserve a treat. A fortnight in the tropical sun seems unlikely at the moment, so how about a brand new computer instead? I have a hunch thousands of people will decide that the money saved from staying indoors for much of 2020 will be best spent on a new PC or laptop. But choosing the right computer is second only to house-hunting in complexity. Just considering which processor you need propels you into a mystifying world of clock speeds, cores and threads – and that’s before you move on to graphics, memory and storage, not to mention price and type of device (laptop, PC, mini PC, all-in-one?). Fortunately, Will Stapley has faced this dilemma many times over the years. In our Cover Feature…

The Internet Archive is preserving Flash games, videos and animations so they live on after Adobe stops supporting the unsafe plug-in at the end of the year. It’s using a Flash emulator called Ruffle, so you won’t need to have Flash installed to play the content. In its blog (www.snipca.com/36709), the Archive says it has saved over 1,000 pieces of content. To browse it, visit www.snipca.com/36710 and scroll down. You can search the content in the search bar at the top left, or sort the results by different criteria, including how many times it’s been watched and when it was created. The Archive has “handpicked” some of the most famous animations in their own section (www.snipca.com/36711), including the ‘Badger Badger Badger’ dance (pictured). • Uninstall Flash now – see page…

AVAST SECURE BROWSER COMES TO IPAD Avast has launched its Secure Browser for iPhones and iPads, letting you block adverts when you browse online. You can also stop sites tracking you, so they can’t show adverts based on where you go on the internet. There’s a VPN built in too (pictured). The browser is also available for Windows PCs, Apple Macs and Android devices. Install it from www.snipca.com/36695. CHEAP VIRGIN INTERNET FOR CREDIT CLAIMANTS Virgin Media has unveiled a cheap broadband service for existing customers who receive Universal Credit. Priced £15 per month, the Essential Broadband plan offers download speeds of 15Mbps, unlimited data usage and a 30-day rolling contract. The service is broadband only, so you’ll lose your TV and phone line if you currently use those. Visit Virgin’s…

The UK’s leading mobile networks have launched a security system that lets you prove your identity when using your phone without having to receive and type a one-off code. They hope the service, called Number Verify, will make it quicker and easier for customers to log into websites and sign into banks. It works by checking that the phone number you’re using is the same that you used to register your account. This should happen instantaneously, making it faster than the current system of two-factor authentication (2FA) in which sites send a code to your phone that you need to type. However, websites can combine it with other methods of checking your identity, including asking for your username and password. The system complies with the SCA (Strong Customer Authentication) rules,…

NEW VIRGIN BOX REWINDS LIVE TV Virgin Media has launched a TV-streaming box that lets you restart live TV programmes and can be controlled by your voice. Called Virgin TV 360, the box can stream Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer, with Disney+ expected to be added next year. It can show 4K and HDR shows, and comes with Mini boxes that let viewers watch different programmes at the same time. Visit www.snipca.com/36643 for details. BT OFFERS BROADBAND WITHOUT LANDLINE You can now sign up for BT broadband without also paying for a landline, which many customers regard as an unnecessary ‘tax’ on having an internet connection. However, the price isn’t any cheaper than it is when you sign up for a traditional copper phone line or a VoIP…

We’ve all got used to asking Google questions, from the mundane (‘When does B&Q shut?’) to the profound (‘Is there life after death?’). Google wants to tap into this habit to make it easier for you to check the security of your Google account. If you type Is my google account secure? into Google’s search box (1 in the screenshot), you’ll see a results box on the right 2, with your name and email address at the top (only you can see this). When we searched, it told us it had found ‘Critical security issues’ 3. We clicked this, and discovered that eight passwords saved in Chrome had been “compromised” and should be changed. Google also warned us about a “recent security event”, which turned out to be a “suspicious…

Les James wasn’t the only person to shed a tear over the demise of Yahoo Groups (Letters, Issue 593). I was especially upset because it was through these groups that I met my wife, nearly 20 years ago. Like Les says, the internet was a more innocent place then. People chatted merrily to each other, without fear of causing offence or being ‘cancelled’. Appropriately enough, we met through a regional computing group, and bonded over a shared love of software programming (yes, we are both rather geeky!). Our wedding in 2003 had a Yahoo theme to reflect how we met. Thankfully, our marriage is still going strong, unlike Yahoo. We both stopped using Yahoo Groups in around 2007, partly because we had met each other and didn’t need to talk…

We often point out that retailers can ask you to prove a product is inherently faulty, or that they can deduct money from a refund to reflect how long you’ve used the item. Sometimes, though, often after pressure from us, they admit responsibility and give all your money back. That’s what Currys did, more than six months after John Gilson’s 40in JVC TV stopped working. As we reported in Issue 582, the fault occurred in March at the start of lockdown, just days before his 12-month warranty ran out. Currys said it would fix the TV, but never got around to it. Yes, these were difficult times and we wouldn’t expect repairs to happen quickly, but Currys treated John badly by leaving him in limbo. In the end he gave…

What’s the easiest way to incorporate Find My Past records into my Family Tree Maker (FTM) file? Stuart West You can do this using FTM’s web-clipping feature. Switch to the Web Search view in FTM then log into your account at https://findmypast.co.uk using its built-in browser. Locate your record, then click the scissors button to activate the web-clipping tool. From here you can click and drag to select portions of text to add facts using the pop-up menu. Once done, click Merge to bring the record into your family tree. Have a genealogy question for Nick? Email letters@computeractive.co.uk with ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line.…

I couldn’t be without my 32GB USB stick. I use it on a daily basis to transfer photos between PCs, store notes, run portable apps and much more. However, its portability also presents a problem: it’s very easy to mislay. Whenever I’ve lost it in the past, it’s always turned up again. But if it does get permanently lost – or worse, stolen – I’ll at least have peace of mind that no one will be able to access my files. Why? Because I’ve encrypted it with VeraCrypt (www.snipca.com/36631). On this page back in Issue 542, I explained how I used VeraCrypt to encrypt a section of my PC’s hard drive. To do the same for my USB stick, I didn’t want the hassle of having to install VeraCrypt on…

Q My arthritic hand doesn’t sit well on my PC mouse because my fingers are distorted to one side, making access to the buttons difficult. Are there options that allow the mouse shape to be customised, or any mice that may be more suitable? Peter Grundy A Looking at the photo you sent showing how your hand rests on the mouse, the Trust Ozaa (£45 from www.snipca.com/36484) might help. It’s angled downwards towards the outside and has ledged grips for your thumb and little finger. A more radical option is the Anker Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (£18 from Amazon www.snipca.com/36485, ured), which is picturned almost on its side, changing your hand position. Contour, Evoluent and Logitech also make angled mice at higher prices, while the Jelly Comb Ergonomic Mouse (£24 from…

I bought my Chromebook more than three years ago, for about £230. As a writer I wanted a highly portable computer I could use when travelling, and for meetings with clients. Before long I found I was using it at home, too, with my Windows PCs barely getting a look-in. You can see how much I’ve used them by looking at how worn out the keys are (pictured). I love the simplicity of Chrome OS, and the security of knowing everything I write is instantly backed up online. Now I’ve used CloudReady to convert two old laptops to Chromebooks – my sons use them for school work. How do you use your Chromebook? Please let us know: letters@computeractive.co.uk…

Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk APPS Use FileBrowser to move files from phone to PC Thanks for your great How To on dragging and dropping files between phone and PC (Issue 590, page 35). In the past, I’ve found transferring files between my PCs and Apple devices very frustrating. Having used Windows’ logical folder system, I find iTunes confusing and have no desire to use online services like iCloud. I also don’t want to mess about with USB-to-Lightning leads every time. I just wanted a simple method where you can copy files from your PC and paste it into your Apple device (or the other way round). What I now use is the iOS app FileBrowser from Stratospherix, downloadable from the Apple…

Microsoft To Do Free Android, iOS and web https://to-do.microsoft.com Check the item counts to see at a glance how many jobs you still have outstanding, and sync your tasks across mobile devices and Windows 10. You can also view them online. Best for Syncing across mobile devices and Windows 10 Todoist Free* Android www.snipca.com/36552 iOS www.snipca.com/36551 Todoist lets you keep multiple to-do lists side by side. It works with Amazon’s Alexa smart speakers, letting you add items to your shopping list using your voice, then check them off in the store using the synchronised list on your phone. Best for Use with voice assistants Google Tasks Free Android www.snipca.com/36549 iOS www.snipca.com/36550 For anyone already using Google Calendar, the Tasks app neatly adds any tasks that have a date. If you…

LIBREOFFICE CALC Resize images with cells If you want to add images to cells in your spreadsheets, it’s worth using a few of Calc’s hidden tools to size them automatically. In this example, we’ve added logos for the USB sticks in our speed-test spreadsheet. To add an image, select the cell you want it to appear in, then click Insert, ‘Image…’ and select the appropriate image file. The image will now appear in your spreadsheet, but it will probably be far too big. Right-click the image, then select ‘Fit to Cell Size’. You can also set Calc to automatically resize your images if you change the size of the cells they’re in. To do this, right-click the image again, then click Anchor, followed by ‘To Cell (resize with cell)’ –…

NOW CHEAPER THAN EVER! WHAT YOU GET ✔ 100-per-cent malware protection ✔ Password-hack alerts ✔ Free online backup (75GB) ✔ Password manager PLUS A free VPN Norton is made by respected US security company Symantec. It has always performed strongly in Computeractive antivirus tests, so we highly recommend it. 10 devices for two years NOW ONLY £24.99* Normally £179.99 Buy it from our Software Store at www.snipca.com/33247 *while stocks last…

SEE ‘BADGE’ ALERTS IN YOUR TASKBAR Microsoft has added notification ‘badges’ to the sites you pin to your taskbar, showing how many alerts you’ve got to read. In the example above, recruitment network LinkedIn has 12 notifications for you. This new feature appears in version 85 of Edge for Windows 10 users who have upgraded to the May 2020 Update (version 2004). Edge 85 also shows notifications when websites are not running in the background. Read more at www.snipca.com/36679. EE LAUNCHES 5G MOBILE ROUTER EE has launched its first mobile broadband router to provide 5G in areas that can get it. The company claims its 5GEE WiFi service delivers speeds “as fast as fibre”, with an average download speed of 150Mbps. Prices start at £45 a month for 50GB of…

Google will stop offering unlimited free photo and video storage next year in a move that has surprised and angered users. At the moment Google gives you 15GB free storage if your photos and videos are saved in ‘original quality’, which is 16 megapixels for photos and over 1080p for videos. Once you’ve hit 15GB, you have to pay to store more ‘original quality’ content. But if your photos and videos are of a lower quality – which Google actually calls ‘high quality’ – you can store an unlimited number for free. You can switch by clicking the top-right cog icon then selecting ‘High quality’ (see screenshot). Google defines ‘high quality’ as 3-16 megapixels for photos and 480p-1080p for video. However, Google is scrapping this free option from 1 June,…

A curry from Currys? Pilau the other one I received an email from info@ticket. ma that suggested I’d made an order for seats in a restaurant in Newcastle through Currys PC World! It said my order was unclaimed and urged me to click a purple button saying ‘Click here to cancel your order’. It says you’ll be able to cancel your order via PayPal, but you’ll actually be taken to a fake site that will capture your credentials. The email takes many forms, as you can see on this YouTube video: www.snipca.com/36617. Several people have commented that they’d also received the email. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

Having let off steam about rubbish rural broadband before in Computeractive’s Letters page, I was heartened by the News story in Issue 593 (page 7) about BT pledging a ‘simple solution’ to make broadband provided by the Universal Service Obligation more affordable. Could it be true? I contacted www.bt.com/broadband/USO as provided in the article to submit a request, as my village has ADSL broadband of around 5 to 7Mbps. The dream ended when I was told I was ineligible. Why? Because my village could get a 4G mobile signal. Therefore, I would have to use a 4G hub. My arguments on the strength of rural mobile phone signals made no difference. Unless I tried a BT/EE 4G hub and that proved inadequate, I couldn’t request a USO connection. Investigating 4G…

I have a four-year-old Tacx (now part of Garmin) Vortex Smart Bicycle Trainer, which recently stopped working. I spoke to Tacx/Garmin, who told me they couldn’t repair the broken part, and nor did they know if or when replacements would be available. They also said that it was out of warranty because it was more than two years old, and suggested that I buy a new trainer! In desperation I contacted Electronic Partners of Telford (https://uk.electronic. partners), and in spite of this being outside their usual line of repair work, they sent me a stamped, addressed label for me to send them the trainer. They carried out an inspection, sent me a quote (which I paid), then they returned the unit, fully operational. Their website is one of the easiest…

FILE COMPRESSION PeaZip 7.5 www.snipca.com/36714 What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 Windows has a built-in tool to open and create compressed files (just right-click the files you want to compress, select ‘Send to’, then ‘Add to archive’), but it only supports the ZIP format and lacks any additional features, such as the ability to adjust compression settings or add encryption. PeaZip is a far more powerful alternative that not only supports all major compression types (including ZIP, 7z, TAR, ARC and PeaZip’s own PEA format), but also provides plenty of extra features. New to version 7.5, you can now run EXE files within an archive without having to first extract the entire contents to a folder. Just open the archive in PeaZip, then double-click the file you want…

Junk offender: PDF Creator What is it with PDF tools, these days? Not long ago (Issue 589), I named and shamed a program called PDF Shaper Free, which tries to trick users into installing a horde of junk. Well, since then I’ve discovered yet another free PDF tool that’s seemingly intent on clogging up hard drives – PDF Creator from www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator. PDF Creator is a once-respected tool that appears to have fallen from grace. It used to be a popular way to convert word-processing documents and images into PDFs. That was before Windows provided a built-in option to create PDFs from within pretty much any program (just click Print then select ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’ from the Printer menu). I appreciate that PDF Creator offers features that Microsoft’s tool doesn’t,…

LAPTOP | £800 from Currys www.snipca.com/36495 Vanity unit Owned by the Hong Kong-based Alco Group, Nexstgo is one of many computer brands you’ve never heard of. Unlike others, its Avita laptops are now readily available in the UK. And while earlier models like the Pura 14 (£350 from JD Williams www.snipca.com, see our review, Issue 590, page 24) were aimed at the bottom of the market, this is a premium machine that could claim to compete with big-name rivals costing over a grand. “Looks stylish but can be ponderous on any but basic tasks” The sleek metal case comes in a distinctive copper-coloured finish (brown and pink versions also exist). It’s too slim for even USB-C ports to fit on any edge, so instead you get one each side of…

ROUTER | £80 from Honor www.snipca.com/36562 Three and easy Wi-Fi 6, also known as the 802.11ax wireless networking protocol, is now appearing in new laptops and mobile devices, and to take full advantage at home you’ll need a Wi-Fi 6 router. It’s not an urgent upgrade, because Wi-Fi standards are backward-compatible, so everything will keep working. But by encoding data more efficiently to pack more into the signal, and using new technologies to improve the handling of multiple streams simultaneously, a Wi-Fi 6 router should give you better speeds around your home. That’s even true when connecting existing 802.11ac devices, especially if your current router is getting on a bit. “Budget Wi-Fi 6 router is quick and goes the distance” So far, however, Wi-Fi 6 routers like TP-Link’s Archer AX6000…

What are they? DropLabs’ EP 01 trainers (pictured) incorporate speak in their soles. Audio vibratio can be felt up your legs, and when you’re listening to the same audio source through headphones, the sound becomes more immersive – or that’s the theory. How do they work? Selling for $299 (about £225 without VAT), the EP 01 shoes connect to your Bluetooth device and headphones, and run on batteries charged through a magnetic port on the back. Users have found them particularly effective with virtual-reality games, enhancing the sense of being in the computergenerated scene. To keep the sound synced with the action, often a problem with wireless connections, there’s an optional wired low-latency cable that connects to the same magnetic port. What’s the catch? It’s hard enough using a VR…

This AOC Q34E2A 34in IPS monitor has Wide Full HD (WFHD) resolution – 2560x1080 – delivering superior picture quality and crisp imagery that reveals every detail. Besides looking modern and attractive, the frameless design makes it easy to set up more than one monitor. Your cursor and windows will not be lost in the dark bezels when you have screens placed side by side. The widescreen 21:9 aspect ratio is perfect for watching films in an expansive format or immersing yourself in the latest game, plus it offers more space when it’s time to work. Built-in speakers make it easy to catch up with family, friends and colleagues when video chatting. You’ll enjoy quality audio in films, TV and games without the hassle of connecting external speakers. AOC’s Flicker-Free Technology…

I’ve just discovered a new registry tweak for turning off online search results from Microsoft Bing when you search for files in Windows. It looks like Microsoft has added this new tweak having disabled the old option earlier this year. It’s a good idea to deactivate this if you don’t use Bing because it can slow down Windows Search. You have to open the Registry Editor (press Windows key+R then type regedit and press Enter). Next, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer. If you can’t see an Explorer folder, rightclick the Windows folder and create a key with the name Explorer. Now right-click the Explorer folder (1 in the screenshot) and hover your cursor over New. Click ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ and look for a box that appears in the central pane. Type a…

ANDROID Use Google’s new screen-capture tools Android 11 introduces a new screen-recording tool, which lets you add a voiceover so you can narrate what’s happening on screen. You can find it by swiping down from the top of the screen to reveal your shortcuts, then swiping to the second screen and tapping ‘Screen record’. If you’re running Android 11 but can’t find this option, tap the pencil icon at the bottom of the shortcuts pane to open the full range of tools, then drag ‘Screen record’ from the shaded bottom area into the top black half of the screen. Tap the left-pointing arrow to return to the shortcuts. Once you’ve tapped ‘Screen record’, use the on-screen sliders to (optionally) simultaneously record audio using the phone’s built-in microphone, and to ‘Show…

WINDOWS 7, 8.1 & 10 Find your Wi-Fi password When a house guest asks for your Wi-Fi password, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to recite it from memory. If you haven’t changed it from the default password that came with your router, you’ll probably find it on a printed label on the back of it. BT routers list it on a small, removable panel on the back. If it’s not there or you changed the password, there’s a quick way to find it. Log into a PC or laptop that connects to your router via Wi-Fi, then right-click the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray (bottomright corner of your desktop) and select ‘Open Network & Internet settings’. Scroll down and click ‘Network & Sharing Centre’, then click your network name…

Whether you want to mark a document as a draft, confidential or even top secret, a watermark will leave whoever’s reading it (whether in printed form or on their computer) in no doubt as to its status. In Writer, open the Format menu, then select ‘Watermark…’. In the window that opens, type the text for your watermark in the Text box (see screenshot), then choose what font you want it to use. The other options let you change the angle of the watermark, along with its transparency and colour. When you’ve made your choices, click OK. You’ll now see the watermark appear on all pages of your document. In Word, select the Design tab, then click Watermark, which is located in the Page Background section at the right of the…

Let’s face it, 2020 has been a year to forget. We’ve endured health fears, lockdowns, work-fromhome orders and months apart from friends and family. It’s also been the year we’ve all been using our PCs more than ever – for streaming, downloading, working and gaming. But is your PC still up to the increased workload? If not, it might be finally time to ditch it and get the computer you always wanted. We’re confident that the reviews and recommendations in each issue of Computeractive will help you in your buying decisions, but we wouldn’t blame you for wanting to browse online stores and – pandemic permitting – high-street shops to see what else is available. We also know that, with their long, unwieldy names and specifications that leave your head…

As with insurance, broadband and pretty much any subscription-based service you can think of, antivirus companies attract new customers by offering big introductory discounts. Their hope is that once you’ve installed their software and used it for the length of the licence period, you’ll be so happy with it that you’ll willingly pay full price when your subscription comes up for renewal. This could be as much as double what you were initially paying – or more. Worse still, if you’ve signed up for automatic renewal (McAfee, for example, demands you do this if you want to use its bundled VPN), the payment may be taken from your account weeks before your original licence has even expired. Of course, you’ll be emailed in advance about the payment, but it’s easy…

If you’ve found a website or program on your PC that relies on Flash, you may be tempted to find a way to carry on using it next year. One option is to download an old version of Chrome (or any other browser) that runs Flash, and then stop it from updating – thereby keeping its built-in Flash player working. However, we don’t recommend doing this. Browsers are regularly updated with security fixes, and using one that’s out of date puts your PC and your personal data at serious risk. Likewise, we don’t recommend installing any browser extensions or programs that promise to keep Flash running. In all probability they’ll either be faulty and may even contain malware. Our advice? Use what little time remains before Flash goes for good…

1080P Common type of highdefinition video: 1920x1080 pixels. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband. 480p Standard definition resolution, also known as ‘DVD quality’. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 802.11ac A standard for wireless networks that allows for much higher transfer speeds than 802.11n. 802.11ax Wi-Fi standard with speeds up to 10 times faster than 802.11ac. Also called Wi-Fi 6. Adobe RGB A wider colour space than sRGB. ADSL A technology that converts a standard phone line into a broadband internet connection. Benchmarking Comparing software and products with an accepted standard. BIOS Software built into every PC that connects vital components. Cast To send content from your PC to TV. Core Units on a processor that carry out program instructions. DDR4 The newest, fastest commonly…

Has Microsoft been peeking at our letter to Santa? Just under socks and slippers we’ve got ‘no more updates’, so we’re delighted by this decision. We’ve long suspected that Microsoft releases more updates than it needs to, and this summer seemed to prove it. Our PCs ran fairly smoothly between March and July, as Microsoft turned off the update taps. 2020 has forced many businesses to try new ideas that have turned out to have unexpectedly positive outcomes. We hope Microsoft learns this lesson and rations updates throughout 2021.…

You can search your open tabs in the new version of Chrome (87), released in November. To do this, click the new down arrow in the browser status bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+A) and type your search term in the box that appears. When you type, the results box will show you which tabs the search term appears in (see screenshot below left). If you click the result you’ll be taken to the relevant tab – watch how it works at www.snipca.com/36691. Google said this feature is being added to Chromebooks first, before coming to Windows versions of Chrome soon. Also new in Chrome 87 is a redesigned PDF viewer that has a sidebar on the left showing previews of all the pages (1 in the screenshot above). The zoom buttons…

British cyber-spies have launched an operation to stop Russia-backed agents spreading lies online about coronavirus vaccines. A Government source told The Times that GCHQ is believed to be combatting Russian disinformation that claims vaccines developed in the West don’t work, or have bizarre side effects. Russian news shows have reported that the British vaccine being made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University can reverse evolution by turning people into monkeys. These conspiracy theories have been turned into crude online videos and illustrations, including one showing Boris Johnson made to look like the Yeti, with the caption ‘I like my bigfoot vaccine!’ (pictured). Russia is thought to be targeting countries outside Europe, including Brazil and India, in an attempt to sell them its own Sputnik V vaccine. GCHQ is using the same…

Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive Why is Microsoft ditching Control Panel? Why is Microsoft moving Control Panel settings and planning to get rid of it entirely? (News, Issue 593, page 9) I use the current Control Panel, with the setting selected to display with ‘Small icons’ (see screenshot above right). This is all the settings in a relatively small window. Microsoft’s new method of showing them all in the Settings app wastes space, and has time-wasting individual windows. Most of the time I can’t find what I want. Microsoft’s developers along with Mozilla’s and others seem to have forgotten what the ‘G’ in GUI actually means (Graphical User Interface). So many apps these days actually have a TUI (Textual User Interface), with no Graphics. I want my computer…

Contact us so we can investigate your case Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk Please include your name, phone number and address. Can McAfee keep taking money if I’m not using it? Q For the past two years McAfee has taken out an annual subscription of £89 from my account, even though I’m no longer using its security software. The subscription was not set up as a direct debit on my bank account, so can you shed some light on this? Have other readers been affected? David Salenius A We’re happy to cover this because we know other readers have been caught out by subscriptions. Sadly for David, McAfee hasn’t done anything wrong. When he signed up for the software, he would’ve agreed (probably unintentionally) to a rolling subscription. These payments will show up…

One word on a death certificate guaranteed to leave more questions than it answers is ‘inquest’. It’s what prompted reader Roger Allen to email us about an ancestor, William Nicholls, who died after falling from a train in 1915. The death certificate says accidental death, but Roger’s family has always suspected foul play. The certificate includes the date of the inquest (1 December 1915) and the name of the coroner. Roger wants to know whether he can track down the documents involved to try and learn more about the incident. Search local newspapers for news articles Sadly, there’s no online archive of inquests. The National Archives says that few coroners’ reports from the 19th century have survived (www.snipca.com/36386). They’re not considered public records, and only those recorded before 1875 were…

Q I have hundreds of image-based PDF files scattered over my PC that I would like to perform text searches on. How can I convert them in one go using OCR, replacing the originals with text-searchable versions? Mike Dalgleish A One option is to upload all your PDFs to Google Drive (if you don’t already have one, create a Google account at www.snipca.com/36637, then go to https://drive.google.com). Google Drive automatically applies OCR (optical character recognition) to everything you upload, and it works impressively well. To upload your PDFs, drag them from a File Explorer window into Google Drive within your browser – don’t worry, the originals will stay on your PC. Because your PDFs are spread across multiple folders, you might find it easier to first locate them using the…

Some of my villains are scammers who rip people off. Some are big businesses that treat customers unfairly. And some, like John Wood, are just deeply unpleasant individuals. The 42-year-old was arrested during an investigation into LuminosityLink – malware he used to hack people’s webcams. Police discovered his hard drive was full of thousands of illicit recordings made between 2011 and 2016, most of which showed people having sex in their own homes. Wood also used secret cameras to record people at a number of other locations, including the women’s changing rooms at the Butlin’s resort in Bognor Regis. Of course, actions like these aren’t just unpleasant – they’re illegal. In October, Wood pleaded guilty to six counts of voyeurism and two charges under the Computer Misuse Act in Swindon…

What do they do? The camera on the back of a smartphone (pictured) lets you take photos and videos of what’s in front of you, previewed live on the screen. The camera on the front lets you take photos and video of yourself. How do they work? As in any digital camera, a lens focuses light on to a sensor chip, which takes the place of film. Like a screen, the sensor is divided into pixels, each recording how much light falls on it while the camera shoots one picture or frame. This data is processed and saved into a file, using compression to take up less storage. When a phone has multiple cameras, each duplicates these components; lenses with different focal lengths provide a choice of zoom factor. Your…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2019 Back Issue CD: £15 from www.snipca.com/33711 LAPTOP PRICE DROP Honor MagicBook 14 £550 from www.snipca.com/Tested Issue 580 Using an AMD Ryzen 3500U processor, this lightweight metal laptop beat Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3 with Intel’s i7-1065G7 in our tests. The 14in Full HD screen lacks colour accuracy but looks decent. For the money, it’s a great buy. ALTERNATIVE Dell XPS 13 New Intel CPUs and a taller screen make this a more powerful, all-round slim notebook, although prices now start at a steep £1,600 from www.snipca.com/35349 DESKTOP PC Palicomp Intel Mercury £600 from www.snipca.com/34223 Tested Issue 576 If you don’t need advanced gaming, your money’s well spent here on a six-core Intel i5-9600K processor overclocked to 5GHz. 16GB of memory…

Hydra £4.99 iOS www.snipca.com/36565 Hydra is a do-everything camera tool that can improve low-light performance, zoom beyond your phone’s built-in abilities and shoot HDR photos with shadows and highlights that really pop. How? By combining up to 60 photos taken in quick succession and combining the best parts of each. Reeder 5 £4.99 iOS www.snipca.com/36555 Rather than skipping from site to site to read the latest news, subscribe to your favourites using Reeder, and they’ll all be available in a single app. It presents the contents of each one in a clean, readable layout, and you can easily add new subscriptions by typing their homepage address. Rain Sounds – Sleep & Relax Free* Android www.snipca.com/36548 Whether you’re having trouble sleeping or finding it difficult to concentrate on what you’re reading,…

When you’re on a video call and your friends or relatives are struggling to hear you, it could be because your microphone levels are set too low. To check this, right-click the volume icon in the system tray, then select Sounds. In the window that opens, select the Recording tab. You should now see your microphone listed. Double-click it to open the Microphone Properties window, then select the Levels tab. The ‘Microphone’ slider at the top lets you adjust its overall level (in most cases, you’ll want to set this to its maximum). The slider below that (Microphone Boost) lets you boost your microphone level by 10 decibels (dB), 20dB or 30dB (see screenshot). Bear in mind that the louder your voice is in Skype calls, the more distorted it…

If your club relies on an offline or paper-based system for members to book its facilities (whether that’s a tennis court, bowls lawn or even a laptop that you lend to members), you’ll probably already know how unreliable it can be. Not only does one person have to keep on top of all the existing bookings, but they’ll also have to handle emails and phone calls from members wanting to make new bookings. By switching to an online booking system, everyone will be able to see the latest availability and manage their own bookings. In our example, we’re going to use a tool called Schlott to set up a booking system for our tennis club. The web is awash with online booking tools, but Schlott is one of the few…

Email us your problem and we’ll try to help: noproblem@computeractive.co.uk PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT Why is Windows desktop washed out? Q As an avid subscriber to Computeractive, I’ve been taken from novice to a fairly confident techno addict – but I finally need to ask for your help. I bought a new ‘convertible’ laptop/tablet, which is excellent except for one niggling issue. The Windows desktop background is a lovely clear image until the icons load. Then, it immediately fades to a wishy-washy picture. I’ve updated Windows and numerous drivers, but no change. I've never had a convertible laptop before, so I’m not sure if there are special settings that also affect the desktop image. I did find that Windows 10’s Tablet mode was on but disabling this didn’t fix the…