Computeractive 26.october.2016

STILL
ONLY
1.99
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Step-by-step Workshop
NOV 2016
ISSUE 487 26 OCT 8
gy
og
hnolo
A new lick of Paint p9
Your friendly guide to tec
p16
1.99
Welcome
EDITORIAL
Group Editor Daniel Booth
Features Editor Mike Plant
Technical Editor Sherwin Coelho
Production Editor Graham Brown
Art Editor Katie Peat
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From the Editor

It took me a long time to accept that my
previous computer an XP machine was
ready to be shut down for the nal time. I
carried on using it for much longer than I
should have, and was rightly mocked by
my brother, who did his best John Cleese
impersonation: This PC is no more! It has
ceased to be! If you hadnt nailed it to the
desk itd be pushing up the daisies.
The thing is, I knew I could have added
years to its life had I performed essential
health checks. You can avoid feeling a similar
sense of regret by taking the 11-step test in
our Cover Feature. Itll make sure your PC
doesnt join the bleedin choir invisible.

By the way, thanks to everyone who has
taken our 2016 Reader Survey. Youve got
until 8 November to complete it, and enter a
draw to win a 50 Amazon voucher. Just
visit: www.snipca.com/21984.
Daniel Booth
editor@computeractive.co.uk
p16
p40
OVERSEAS LICENSING
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licensing. Contact Nicole Adams at nicole_
adams@dennis.co.uk or +44 (0)20 7907 6134
ONWARD RESALE
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without the written consent of the publisher.
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LIABILITY
While every care was taken preparing this
magazine, the publishers cannot be held
responsible for the accuracy of the information
or any consequence arising from it. All
judgments are based on equipment available
to Computeractive at the time of review.
Computeractive takes no responsibility for the
content of external websites whose addresses
are published in the magazine.
A DENNIS PUBLICATION
Computeractive is published
fortnightly by Dennis Publishing
Ltd, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD.
Company registered in England. Material may
not be reproduced in whole or part without the
consent of the publishers. ISSN 1461-6211
Average sales, Jan-Dec 2015, 87,565
copies per issue.
p50
p35
p18
THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS

31 years
Age of Microsoft
Paint, which is being
revamped p9
Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
400,000
Computeractive
Printed in the UK
How much TalkTalk

has been fined for last
years hack p11
419Mbps
Top speed we got

testing TP-Links new
five-star router p23
HOW TO USE
SNIPCA URLs
We use snipcas to turn long URLs that
are hard to type into ones that are
short and simple. They arent websites
themselves, which means they wont
be recognised if you type them into
Google. Instead, you need to type them
into your browser address bar, then
press Enter. Doing this will take you to
the correct website.
26 October 8 November 2016 3
Contents
In this issue
When will your PC die?
50
Put your PC through our
rigorous health check to nd out how
long it has and how you can give it a

new lease of life
26 Oct 8 Nov 2016 Issue 487

CO
FEA VER
TU
P50 RE
When Will Your
it worth the money?

57 IsMalwarebytes
Premium
Are the new Windows 10
58
apps any good?
More programs are becoming apps, but
is it a change for the better?
What you can do with

60
the new Outlook.com
Microsofts online email service has
been revamped
ped heres what you
pe
yo
need to know
Take our 11-step Essential Health Check

to nd out
10
Windows 10s
new apps
p58
Outlook.com:
the new
features p60
In every issue
6 News
11 Question of
the Fortnight
Why was TalkTalk ned a
measly 400,000?
33 Competition
Win a Packed Pixels
portable laptop screen
49 Whats All the Fuss
About? Kodi
12 Letters
64 Problems Solved
14 Consumeractive
70 Fast Fixes
Microsoft Edge
16 Protect Your Tech

18 Best Free Software
Firefox 49
30 Buy It!
4 26 October 8 November 2016
73 Jargon Buster
74 The Final Straw
Ken Rigsby hammers
illogical keyboards
Daft
keyboards:
no laughing
matter
p74
Subscribe
be
NOW!
See page 62
for our speciall
subs offer
Reviews
20 Acer Aspire S13
Acers new laptop is light and fantastic
BUY IT!
21 Kobo Aura One

Kobos larger ebook reader start of
a new chapter?
22 Lenovo Yoga 500 (14in)
A convertible that fails to convert us
23 TP-Link Archer VR2600
A router for those with a need for
speed
24 Amazon Echo
Amazons new smart speaker will
have everyone talking
CCL Ho
Hori
rizon p25
5
Horizon
TP-Link Archer VR2600 p23
Am
Amazon
Ec
Echo
p2
p24
BUY IT!
25 CCL Horizon
An impressive PC that even makes
room for improvement
26 LG Spirit 4G
A budget phone with little substance
28 Sony Xperia XZ
An impressive, if hardly unique, phone
29 Kingston SSDNow
A decent SSD to give you drive
Workshops & Tips
14 pages of brilliant workshops and expert tips

35 Clean Windows 10 deeper
than ever
42 Master Googles new

messaging app
38 Force-remove files that

wont delete
43 Readers Tips
Fix new Windows Update fault
40 Stop your hard drives

crashing
ng
44 Phone and Tablet Tips

Boost your Android phones
performance
2015
BACK ISSUE CD
W!
O
N
E
L
ON SA
46 Make Windows Better

Use Edges new extensions
47 Make Office Better
Create email templates in Outlook
48 Secret Tips For iOS 10
BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON

at www.snipca.com/21619
News
The top stories in the world of technology
Not so fast, BT! Misleading

broadband ads banned
T
hree BT broadband adverts

have been banned after
the Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) ruled that
they made false speed claims.
The adverts, which
appeared on TV, online and in
newspapers and magazines,
boasted that BTs Innity
up-to-52Mbps service
provides the fastest bre
speeds as standard.
They featured Hollywood
actor Ryan Reynolds, whose
fast-paced lifestyle was used
to promote BTs speeds.
Virgin Media complained to
the ASA, saying that the
adverts were misleading
because they implied BTs
cheapest deal oers a faster
speed than any of the cheapest
deals oered by rival internet
service providers (ISPs).
The ASA agreed, although
not because Virgin itself oers
COMMENT
faster speeds. In fact, the ASA

said that the ISPs BT compares
its speeds to in the adverts Sky,
Plusnet, TalkTalk and Virgin
all oer slower broadband in
their cheapest packages.
But the ASA also said that
there were other, smaller ISPs
whose cheapest packages
advertised speeds faster than
52Mbps in some cases
signicantly so.
Fewer confusing
broadband ads
The ruling comes just weeks

before new regulations are
enforced to make broadband
adverts easier to understand.
From 31 October ISPs will
have to show all monthly
costs such as line rental in
adverts that include prices.
Adverts will also have to
show prominently the
Did Virgin really think through

this complaint? In raising it,
did the company not realise
that the ASA would point out
that its cheapest broadband
is slower than BTs (albeit
not by much)? We can only
assume that Virgin thought
this was an acceptable tradeo for BTs integrity taking
a hit. But its certainly one of
the pettier complaints about
broadband adverts that the
ASA has investigated. We
may see cases on similarly
trivial grounds as ISPs look
for loopholes in the new
regulations.
contract length, installation
costs, and what the long-term
price will be once the discount
period ends.
Yahoos U-turn over email forwarding

Yahoo Mail once again lets
you forward your emails to
another account, after the
option had been disabled in
early October. Many suspected
Yahoo had done this to make
it harder for users who were
angry about the recent hack to
switch to another account.
Email forwarding still
worked for users who had set
it up before Yahoo turned it
o. But for about a week users
who wanted to turn on this

option were unable to.
In a blog post (www.snipca.
com/22152) the company
apologised for the
inconvenience, and said
that disabling the option was
part of upgrading Yahoo
Mail to improve its search,
and to make it work across
multiple accounts.
Auto-forwarding is available
on most popular email
Youll like this

Google has released a free font for anyone
to use (www.google.com/get/noto)
services. It lets users

try a new service
while still receiving
emails to their
old address. For
example, a Yahoo
Mail user could set
up forwarding to a new Gmail
address, so that emails sent to
the former are redirected to
the latter.
Many users had set up email
forwarding since the hack
because they were

worried about the
security risks of
signing into their
Yahoo account. In
September, Yahoo
admitted that the
details of 500 million users
had been stolen in 2014.
Well explain how to switch
and close your Yahoo
accounts in our next issue
out Weds 9 November.
but not this

British banks hide hacks to avoid bad
publicity (www.snipca.com/22150)
Use an HP printer? Install this

update to use cheaper cartridges
HP has released its
promised rmware
update that lets Ocejet,
Ocejet Pro and Ocejet
Pro X printers use cartridges
made by other companies.
These are often cheaper than
the companys ocial
cartridges.
The update reverses
HPs block on third-party
cartridges, which came into
eect on 13 September and
was resulting in error
messages. Thousands of
printer owners were angered
by HPs decision, forcing the
company to backtrack and
apologise (read its statement
at www.snipca.com/21987).
Initially, the HP helpdesk
(http://support.hp.com) told
frustrated users that the
problem was caused by a fault
with the printers. An HP
spokesperson later said that
this information was wrong,
and that the company had
intentionally blocked
untested cartridges to
protect printers from possible
damage and hacks. The

companys chief operating
ocer, Jon Flaxman, said HP
should have made customers
more aware of this.
To update your printer visit
HPs customer support web
page (www.snipca.com/
22137), then enter its model
number under Enter my HP
model number. On the next
page click the Firmware
heading, look for an update
dated October 12, 2016 and
click the blue Download
button beside it (see
screenshot).
HP will show a box with the
pre-selected option to
download the update using its
installation tool. You dont
need this, so select Download

only instead.
For more info on the update,
which is 23.2MB, click the
blue Details button. It says:
This rmware update removes
previous security rmware
that may prevent the printer
from working with certain
ink supplies that contain
non-HP security chips. The
message also warns that HP
cannot guarantee the quality
or reliability of cartridges
made by other companies.
The update appears to work.
Computeractive used it on an
Ocejet printer that had
stopped working with unocial
cartridges, and found that it
accepted them again.
Shoplifter caught on Street View

A shoplifter has been
convicted after being
identied on Google
Street View, despite it
blurring her face to
comply with the
companys privacy
policy.
On 19 June
Tammy McIvor was
photographed by the
Street View cars leaving the
discount shop Savers in
Middlesbrough. She was
carrying a bag that contained
60 worth of washing-up
products she had stolen from
the store.
Images show her being
chased by a member of sta
(see image). Cleveland Police
identied her from her

distinctive white outt, which
she was wearing both in the
Street View images, and when
she was arrested.
McIvor appeared at Teesside
Magistrates Court where she
was handed a year-long
community order, which
requires her to undergo drug
rehabilitation.
But she would have

got away with it had it
not been for IT worker
Peter Darby, who
stumbled upon McIvors
crime while looking on
Street View at places
where he used to live.
He said that it was
obvious there was
something a bit strange
about the images. You could
denitely tell she was up to no
good, he added.
Googles Street View cars
are equipped with cameras
that take 360-degree images
of cities, towns and villages
across the world. It rst added
images of the UK in 2009, and
has updated them regularly.
IN BRIEF
NEW CHROME
TO MAKE PCs FASTER
Google has said that a

new version of its Chrome
browser will use less of
your PCs RAM, making it
run faster. The company
said that in some cases
Chrome 55, due for release
on 6 December, uses up to
50 per cent less memory.
Youll notice the dierence,
particularly when browsing
the web with multiple tabs
open, and with programs
running in the background.
ANTI SCAM WEBSITE

NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
A new website hopes to

highlight the dangers of
scams, including those
perpetrated online and by
email. Run by the National
Trading Standards, Friends
Against Scams (www.
friendsagainstscams.
org.uk) lists sessions
around the UK that raise
awareness of fraud. It is
asking for volunteers, which
it calls ScamChampions,
to host these meetings.
The campaign is also
encouraging MPs and senior
public gures to become
ScamAmbassadors.
Tomorrows
world
Google has programmed a

computer to read the London
Underground map. It taught
DeepMind, the companys
articial intelligence (AI)
technology, to understand
questions like How do you
get from Moorgate to
Piccadilly Circus?. This
shows that DeepMind can
remember details forever,
then apply them later when
reading other maps, say.
Read more on the DeepMind
blog: www.snipca.com/22141.
News
IN BRIEF
GOOGLE TO FACT CHECK
NEWS STORIES
Google is ghting against

inaccurate articles in Google
News by adding links to factchecking websites. These will
be marked with a Fact Check
label. Clicking the link takes
you to analysis from sites
including Full Fact (https://
fullfact.org), a UK-based
fact-checking charity. See
more details: www.snipca.
com/22144.
AMAZON BANS
REVIEW BRIBES
Amazon has made it harder

for companies to oer free
and discounted products to
customers in exchange for a
review. From now on, such
reviews can only come via
Amazons Vine programme.
A recent study showed that
shoppers were more likely
to leave positive reviews
for items they didnt have
to pay for. Amazon said that
these so-called incentivised
reviews make up only a tiny
fraction of the tens of millions
of reviews on Amazon:
www.snipca.com/22146.
Dont like W10 apps? Now

its easier to remove them
Microsoft looks set to make it
easier to uninstall Windows 10
apps that are built into the
operating system (OS), an
option that many users have
been calling for.
A recent preview version of
Windows 10 Build 14936
lets users click an Uninstall
button to remove Microsofts
apps (see screenshot),
including Mail and Calendar,
Calculator, Groove Music,
Weather and Maps. To see it,
click Settings, open the
System section then click
Apps & features on the left.
In previous versions of
Windows 10 this Uninstall
button was greyed out,
meaning you couldnt click it.
You were still able to remove

apps, but only by using
non-Microsoft programs such
as 10AppsManager (www.
snipca.com/22142), or by
using a PowerShell command.
To receive Build 14936 youll
need to sign up to the Windows
Insider Program (https://
insider.windows.com), which
is a scheme for users to try
new versions of the OS.
The Uninstall option is
expected to appear in the full
version of Windows as part
of the next major update,
codenamed Redstone 2, due
next March.
BUT HERES THE BAD NEWS

Windows 7 and 8.1 users
may soon be revisited by an
old annoyance messages
from Microsoft urging them to
upgrade to Windows 10.
These messages, called
nagware by many critics,
were delivered by Microsofts

Get Windows 10 app, which
sat in the taskbar of 7 and 8.1
desktops. Microsoft disabled
this app in September, but
now two new updates (KB
2952664 for Windows 7 and
KB 2976978 for 8.1) suggest

that the company may resume
promotion for Windows 10. It
says that these compatibility
updates will check whether
computers are ready to receive
further updates of Windows.
NHS ransomware puts patients data at risk

Cyber-criminals have
targeted at least 28 NHS
England trusts with
ransomware in the last
12 months, leaving
millions of patients
data at risk.
The gures come from a
Freedom of Information (FoI)
request by cyber-security rm
NCC Group. However, no
ransom was ever paid and no
data ever lost, according to
NHS Digital, the body which
oversees cyber-security for
the health service.
Ollie Whitehouse, technical
director of NCC Group, said it
had seen a 400 per cent
increase in ransomware
attacks on organisations and

businesses.
He added: NHS trusts are
being increasingly targeted
and any loss of patient data
would be a nightmare. Like
everyone else, they need to
apply robust controls.
NCC didnt name the 28
trusts attacked, which
amounts to 14 per cent of the
total trusts in England.
NHS Digital said that such
incidents are rare. It told the
i newspaper: In all
reported cases, eective
and swift action was
taken.
Security experts say
that the health sector is
seen by criminal gangs as a
lucrative target. They can sell
medical records to other
hackers for a lot more money
than, say, banking data.
Last month US security
rm McAfee revealed that
in the rst three months of
2016 hospitals around the
world had paid $100,000 to
ransomware hackers. It
identied attacks in the UK,
Germany, the US, Canada
and Australia.
Its often said that you can

buy anything online. Well,
heres the conclusive proof:
for $24 you can order a
candle that gives o the
odour of a new Apple
Mac, which apparently is a
combination of mint, peach,
basil, lavender, mandarin
and sage (www.snipca.
com/22111). Will we see a
Windows candle next? After
espeare almost
all, as Shakespeare
mputer
said, a computer
er
by any other
ld
name would
weet.
smell as sweet.
Draw on your screen using new

Microsoft Paint
Microsoft is working
on a new version of its
long-standing Paint
program that will let
you draw on screen,
add stickers and
create 3D objects.
These would be the
most advanced tools
ever in Paint, but
Microsoft insists that
anyone can use them,
regardless of age, ability or
ambition.
Leaked details suggest that
the company is planning to
completely redesign the tool,
and add new features. It wants
Paint to be seen as a more
serious rival to image-editing
software like Paint.NET (www.
getpaint.net) and Gimp (www.
gimp.org).
A demonstration video on
YouTube (www.snipca.com/
22102, see screenshot) shows
an artist using the new Paint
with a touchscreen pen on a

Surface Pro, Microsofts
laptop-tablet hybrid.
The 3D creations she draws
highlight the limitations of the
existing version of Paint, in
which you can draw only
simple images with virtual
paintbrushes and predened
shapes.
In another video (www.
snipca.com/22103) Microsofts
artist in residence, Paul
Kercal, transforms a vase of
owers from 2D to 3D.
Its thought Paint will be
available as an
installable app from
the Windows Store,
not a downloadable
program. Theres no
release date yet, but
more details are
expected at an event
in New York on 26
October, when the
company is due to
unveil a new Surface model.
Some experts think the
revamped Paint will come in
the next major Windows 10
update, codenamed Redstone
2, due in the rst half of 2017.
The changes could prove to
be the most substantial
improvements since Paint rst
arrived on PCs, as part of
Windows 1.0, back in 1985.
At the time you could draw
in only black and white.
Whats your favourite imageediting software? Let us know:
letters@computeractive.co.uk
Hackers can read infosent to police websites

Many of the UKs police
websites fail to even encrypt
personal information sent by
members of the public,
leaving them at risk of being
intercepted by hackers.
A report from the Centre for
Public Safety, an organisation
that seeks to promote police
and public safety eciency,
says that 73 per cent of police
websites provide such poor
security that they should
be considered a cause for
concern.
It also said that 24 per cent
of sites lack all support for
secure connections, which
means that data submitted
online by the public is at
greater risk. Much of this data
often details of suspects and
criminal activity is of a
highly sensitive nature.
Around 1 in 10 sites had a
signicant
vulnerability in how
people submitted data,
including https://ceop.
police.uk, the website
of the National Crime
Agencys Child
Exploitation and
Online Protection
Centre (CEOP, see
screenshot), which
tackles child sex abuse
on the internet.
The report graded police
websites based on their
implementation of Transport
Layer Security (TLS) and
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),
which are common techniques
for encrypting data.
A websites security doesnt
necessarily depend on its
budget, the report claims. For
example, the Metropolitan
Police invested over 110
IN BRIEF
DRUGS AND GUNS
SELLING ON FACEBOOK
A host of illegal items are

being sold on Facebook
Marketplace, the sites
new service that lets users
buy and sell to each other.
Within hours of Marketplace
going live in the US in early
October, people were selling
drugs, guns and prostitution.
The company apologised,
saying it encountered a
technical issue that stopped
it detecting items which
violated its standards.
Marketplace is now available
in the UK read more at
GOVT SETS UP NATIONAL

CYBER SECURITY HQ
The Government has

announced its latest initiative
to ght cyber crime the
National Cyber Security
Centre (NCSC). One of its
aims is to make it easier for
businesses to get advice from
security services. Its hoped
this will help companies
bolster their defences against
hackers. The Government will
also work with some of the
biggest companies in the UK
to set up a giant rewall to
lter malware.
SAMSUNG: STOP USING

OUR EXPLODING PHONES
million in IT infrastructure in
2014/15, but was found to
have insecure connections on
its websites. Constabularies
in Dover, Durham and
Warwickshire, meanwhile,
achieved top ratings despite
relatively meagre resources.
The report graded websites
from A (best) to U (worst).
Find out how well your local
police force performed by
downloading the report:
Samsung has stopped selling

its Galaxy Note 7 phones, and
told owners not to use them,
as it continues to investigate
reports that the batteries are
catching re. In September,
the South Korean company
recalled 2.5 million phones,
replacing them with devices
it insisted were safe. But
there are fresh reports that
these new phones are also
catching re, with potentially
catastrophic results. In the
US a domestic ight was
evacuated before take-o
after a new Note 7 started
emitting smoke.
News
Jane Hoskyn puts

t th
the boot into tech villains, jargon-spouting companies and
software stued with junk
WARNING: JUNK AHEAD

Junk oender:
McAfee WebAdvisor
Whats McAfee been up to

lately? Hard at work improving
its antivirus (AV) suite, McAfee Internet
Security? Trouncing criminal
masterminds? No, its been electing US
comedian Amy Schumer the internets
most dangerous celebrity (www.snipca.
com/22073) in a survey to promote its
browser extension, WebAdvisor (www.
snipca.com/22069). The extension,
formerly called SiteAdvisor, is supposed to
block malicious downloads of the kind
that use poor Amy as bait. But Ive found
it far more trouble than its worth.
In its 10 years as SiteAdvisor, McAfees
tool got a reputation for blocking safe
sites and dramatically slowing your
browser. I couldnt tell you if WebAdvisor
is still guilty of this, because it infuriated
me so much I uninstalled it within minutes.
extension, but WebAdvisor got the party

started anyway and invited an old friend.
IE, youre back
McAfee WebAdvisor prompts Internet Explorer

to open and then hijacks its search engine
WebAdvisor attaches itself to your

default browser (Chrome, in my case),
forcing a restart and then opening a
pop-up window containing a list of
permissions that sound like hostage
demands from a browser kidnapper:
Read and change all your data on the
websites that you visit, Manage your
downloads and Communicate with
cooperating native applications. I found
these intrusive, so I didnt click Enable
Ive never opened Internet Explorer (IE)

on my Windows 10 PC and wasnt
planning to, but WebAdvisor had other
ideas. It opened IE, covered its homepage
in McAfee regalia and added a box that
wanted to change my default search
provider to TheSearch (thesearch.net).
TheSearch.net is a known browser
hijacker (www.snipca.com/22074), and
infecting PCs with it is not the kind of
behaviour Id expected from McAfee.
If youre using an up-to-date browser,
rewall and AV (such as McAfees proper
product, Internet Security) you dont
need an extension like this, and indeed
youre better o without it. Dont let
companies like McAfee, AVG and Avast
con you into downloading this junk.
What are they

talking about?
Janes villain of the fortnight
What they say
Con men are emptying the bank

accounts of internet daters at an
epidemic rate and readers of the
Daily Mails website reckon they know
why. They (the victims) are sad old
bats, says Erinjaeger. Women over
40 are desperate for attention, reasons
whinewhine (www.snipca.com/22075).
Im not sure what upsets me more,
the scam or the victim-blaming and
not just because Im a web-loving
divorcee on the wrong side of 40.
These con artists target widows and
other vulnerable people, and then
extort thousands of pounds by exploiting
their kindness, trust and love. Several
victims have lost their homes; at least
one has committed suicide.
International Data
Corporation (IDC,
www.snipca.com/22062): The
wave of available devices on the
market continues to increase and
is accompanied by interest among
enterprises for the adoption of
detachables, as the mobile form factor
perfectly fits their mobility strategies.
What they mean
Were using more

mobile devices and
fewer big computers.
Never underestimate
th
the abilit
ability of research analysts to
express simple trends in gobbledygook.
Romance fraudsters
According to Action Fraud (www.

actionfraud.police.uk), this so-called
romance fraud is the UKs fastestgrowing crime - and yet it goes largely
unreported, because victims are
ashamed. The trolls who attack them
are complicit in fuelling the crimewave.
Want to nominate a villain of the fortnight?
Email us at editor@computeractive.co.uk
Question
of the
Fortnight
Why was TalkTalk fined

a measly 400,000?
Lax security blamed for huge data theft but the fine is laughable
unishment is relative. If
you were ned 400,000
for failing to do your job
properly, it would ruin your
life. If a company the size of
TalkTalk were ned that
amount, it would be a drop in
the ocean. TalkTalks global
revenue last year was 1.83
billion.
And yet 400,000 - which
barely buys a house in Slough
these days - is precisely how
much the broadband giant has
been ned for security failings
that let hackers plunder
customers data with ease.
The punishment, such as it
is, has been handed down by
data-protection watchdog the
Information Commissioners
Oce (ICO, https://ico.org.
uk), a year after hackers stole
the names, addresses, dates of
birth, phone numbers, email
addresses and, in many cases,
bank details of 157,000
TalkTalk customers.
cheap, and so is 400,000 to

TalkTalk. Headlines, including
the one on the ICOs website,
called it a record ne.
Loyal customers received
no nancial recompense in
the wake of the attack, which
left many fearing their bank
accounts might be raided by
hackers. Instead, they got an
TalkTalks global revenue

last year was 1.83bn, so this
fine is a drop in the ocean
TalkTalks failure to
implement the most basic
cyber-security measures
allowed hackers to penetrate
TalkTalks systems with ease,
the UKs Information
Commissioner Elizabeth
Denham said. Yes hacking
is wrong, but that is not an
excuse for companies to
abdicate their security
obligations (www.snipca.
com/22097).
Tough talk. But talk is
apology. Talking up this

derisory ne as a record is
insulting.
So, why is the ne so small?
The simple answer is its close
to the legal limit. Under the
UK Data Protection Act, the
maximum penalty for
companies is 500,000. It
begs the question: why is the
maximum so low? Penalties
imposed elsewhere in the EU
are signicantly higher. Under
the EUs General Data
Protection Regulations
(GDPR), companies must pay
four per cent of revenue or
20 million euros (18 million),
whichever is higher.
To put that into perspective,
the 400,000 ne cost
TalkTalk around 2.50 for
every customer whose data
was stolen. If we followed
GDPR rules, the ne would
have been 72 million or
460 for every customer
aected.
The ICO wants to see these
much larger nes in the UK.
Indeed, the GDPR was due to
come into force here in May
2018 but Brexit may change
that. Days after the referendum
in June, the ICO released a
statement saying reform
of the UK law remains
necessary. On 29 September,
Elizabeth Denham told BBC
Radio 4s Today programme:
I dont think Brexit should
mean Brexit when it comes to
standards of data protection.
While we wait and see what
Brexit means for data laws,
TalkTalk is facing punishment
in a more direct way - through
THE FACTS
At least 156,959 customers
had their personal details
stolen when hackers
attacked TalkTalks website
last October
Hackers exploited a bug
on out-of-date web pages
that, the ICO says, should
have been xed
The 400,000 ne goes to
HM Treasury, not to victims
although TalkTalk oered
customers a free upgrade
as a small gesture
falling prots. Its prots more
than halved from 32 million
in 2015 to 14 million in the
year ending April 2016, and
101,000 subscribers shut
their accounts following the
attack. Even so, revenues have
continued to grow, and chief
executive Dido Harding
dismissed lost subscribers as
churn. Until bigger penalties
are imposed, companies like
TalkTalk know its not worth
digging into their prots to
improve our security.
Letters
Virgins 25 loyalty bonus
after haggle
After reading the News article on

haggling to avoid Virgin Medias
price rise (Issue 486, page 9), I rang the
0800 customer service number. After a
discussion to conrm that my current
package was best suited to my
requirements, I was oered a reduction
from the proposed 69.47 per month to
53 for the rst six months of a 12-month
contract, followed by six months at 63.
I was then oered a better deal - 51
for the rst six months of an 18-month
contract, followed by the same 63 for the
remaining 12 months. Since I have been a
satised Virgin Media customer for about
15 years, I told the helpful assistant that I
had no intention of changing my supplier
in the foreseeable future. I was then
promised a thank-you credit of 25 on
my account as a loyalty bonus.
Jim Bradshaw
Nonplussed by Plusnet
I totally agree with Lynn Dobsons

letter in Issue 486. Plusnet doesnt
care about looking
after their loyal
customers. Ive been
a customer of theirs
since 2003, before
their takeover by BT.
Earlier this year, I phoned them to see if
they could do me a good deal as a loyal
customer if I upgraded to bre broadband.
To my amazement they were not
bothered and didnt care, and would only
do good deals for new customers.
Before the takeover Plusnet would bend
over backwards to look after and keep
their loyal customers. But since BT
bought them, their attitude has changed.
Over the past 10 months Ive been having
problems with my internet speed
dropping by half every four to eight
weeks. I have to keep phoning them to
turn up my speed. When I nd an ISP
that will do me a good deal I will be
leaving Plusnet. Loyalty works both ways.
Peter Pounder
Lotus is so Smart it even

works in Windows 10
With reference to your piece about Lotus

SmartSuite (Whatever happened to?,
Issue 485), I can conrm that having used
Tell us whats on your mind
Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive
Twitter: @ComputerActive
www.twitter.com/computeractive
this superb desktop

publishing software
for more than 20 years,
Ive successfully
downloaded it on to
every version of
Windows that Microsoft
has chucked at me,
from 3.0 right through
to Windows 10. And
Lotus has performed
without any problems
on every version.
It saddens me that the
bullying attitude of
Microsoft has resulted in this easy-to-use
software (in my opinion far superior to
Word) being consigned to the scrapyard.
I long for the day when the brilliant
Lotus SmartSuite will take its rightful
place at the top of user-friendly software,
but alas, tech giants have very dierent
ideas.
Brian Leith
CA says Brian was just one of many
readers who told us they managed to
install Lotus SmartSuite on Windows 10.
Inspired by their eorts, were going to
try to install several more ancient (and
much-loved) programs on the new
operating system. See our results in the
next issue out Wednesday 9 November.
Google
diagnosed
my shingles
In Issue 486, Dr
Smith reminded
us that GPs often have
diculty interpreting
what patients say. This
works both ways,
meaning patients have
diculty interpreting
what doctors say.
As for self-diagnosis,
sometimes I feel this can
help. In June 2013, I
developed a strange sensation over my
right eyebrow on a Friday. I contacted the
medical centre on Monday to be told that
I had to see the triage nurse. I suggested
that the sensation might be a warning of
shingles. Cant be shingles, theres no
rash I was told. I went home and
Googled the question Can one develop
shingles without accompanying rash?.
Answer? Yes.
I phoned the medical centre and the
triage nurse grudgingly gave me a
prescription for anti-shingles tablets. By
Thursday, with my forehead and scalp
smothered in scabs, I managed to actually
see a doctor. She prescribed some pills,
but four times the strength, and told me
it was probably too late anyway. Every day
HP U-turn is proof of people power

We often hear these days that
the large tech companies exploit
the loyalty of their customers. So its
extremely pleasing to read that HP has
decided to lift its ban on people using
cartridges made by other companies
(News, Issue 486, page 8).
I think it shows that theres still a
place for people power even in this
age of multi-billion-dollar companies
that seem to make huge prots just so
they can derive pleasure in dodging
tax. As the owner of an HP printer I
emailed the company several times,
urging them to change their mind.
Several people I know did likewise.
And we werent the only ones there
was a huge backlash against HP in
forums across the web.
If there hadnt been such a negative

reaction, do you think HP would have
backtracked? Of course not. So, my
fellow tech travellers, dont give up
when a company does something
immoral. Stand up and ght back!
David Ellison
I still have intermittent irritation over my

right eyebrow.
Moral 1: where possible you should
Google your symptoms prior to
contacting medics, taking time and care
to describe the symptoms accurately.
Moral 2: get the anti-shingles jab when
possible because shingles is not pleasant.
If you publish this, I would be grateful
if you withhold my name. Medical
centres seem to get upset if mere patients
make comments which might be seen as
a complaint, and one can nd oneself
struck o.
Name and address supplied
Yahoo hack affects

Sky email users too
This latest Yahoo scandal (News,

Issue 486, page 6) makes my blood
boil. Not for one moment do I believe that
Yahoo have only recently become aware
of the theft of their data in 2014. My rst
encounter with a scam email was
receiving one in that same year from a
friend with a Yahoo account - except that
it didnt actually come from that friend.
Since then, Ive received loads of scam
emails (supposedly from friends and
family who had Yahoo email accounts).
What has not yet been mentioned in all
this is that Sky uses Yahoo as a platform
for their email service. On 4 October, I
received a scam email from a friend with
a Sky account. It so happens that this
friend had actually changed his account
details when this Yahoo aair rst came
to light, and yet scam emails are
supposedly still being sent from his
account. It should be brought to the
attention of all Sky users that this Yahoo
problem can and does aect them also.
George C Griths
CA says We agree with George that
Yahoo has left many questions
unanswered about the hack. In our next
issue well explain how you can safely
close your Yahoo accounts and move to
another service.
STAR LETTER
Haggling with Virgin?

Make sure you keep it personal
In Issue 486 (News, page 9), you
told us how you managed to get
10 o your broadband bill by haggling
with Virgin. Thats an impressive result
the Computeractive oce is
obviously staed by expert hagglers.
Please allow me to pass on some tips
based on my experience of negotiating
with Virgin. It happened back in 2013.
I knew I had to cut my living costs
because I was heading for retirement,
so I phoned Virgin more in hope than
expectation. I wasnt very condent the
rst time, and I think the salesperson
detected this. He oered me a puny 2
reduction every month, so I said no
thanks.
I waited a week and took some advice
from a friend, who said that when
haggling you should make your case as
personal as possible. He told me to
make a list of the prices Virgins rivals
were charging in my area, and quote
these to the salesperson. So I did just
that when I next phoned, and it seemed
to have an immediate eect. I was
oered a reduction of 5 a month.
I was fairly happy with that, but I
sensed I could get an even better deal. I

then remembered what my friend said
about making it personal, so I told the
salesperson that I had to cut costs
because I was retiring. That seemed to
clinch it. He put me on hold to talk to
his manager (a sales tactic perhaps?),
then came back and said he could
reduce my bill by 9.50 a month. I
thanked him, said that was acceptable,
and signed up.
Since then Ive twice haggled cheaper
deals with Virgin. I would urge anyone
to try. You dont have to play hard ball,
or be aggressive. Just be yourself, and
dont accept the rst oer
Kenneth Foot
The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!

Getting q mixed up with g
I was interested to read about

James McMadeups problem with
his email address (Problems Solved, page
67, Issue 486). I have a similar problem
with my Gmail address richard gsmith@
gmail.com (Ive changed it slightly for
security reasons). The problem is that
there is another valid email address for
richardqsmith@gmail.com (note the q
in the middle, rather than a g). The
problem arises because most times an
email address is typed, its turned into a
hyperlink and underlined. In the font Im
using for this email to you, Century Gothic,
you can just about make out the dierence
between the two addresses, but with q
being quite an unusual initial people
often copy the address with a g instead.
Recently, I was surprised to see Google
telling me about a new entry in my
calendar for a stay at a hotel in Leicester
in November. Ive nothing against

Leicester, but I wasnt planning a visit
there this year. This was almost
immediately followed by an email from
said hotel conrming my booking. As I
have previously received several emails
intended for the other Richard I quickly
realised what had happened and let the
hotel know.
In your response to James, you pointed
out that Google does not recognise full
stops to the left of the @ sign in email
addresses. This would not appear to be a
consistent policy across providers
because my Virgin Media email address
has my rst name and surname run
together, but someone else with the same
name uses rstname.surname. This has
also caused confusion in the past when
my son forgot that I didnt have a dot in
my name.
Richard Smith
Consumeractive
Must I put up with
a laptop repair
after 30 days?
My daughter bought an HP
Pavilion laptop from Currys 21
days ago. Within two days the
fan was making loud noises. Currys
replaced it, but after two days this second
laptop suered the black screen of death.
Currys ran tests but insists theres no
fault and refuses to exchange it or give a
refund. I still think its inherently faulty,
but proving it will take me beyond 30
days since purchase. Will this aect my
chances of getting a full refund?
Sian Hoskins
Sian told us that her laptop died

on the 29th day after purchase,
and Currys has now oered a
full refund. It had no choice but to do
this. Since the Consumer Rights Act was
introduced last October, companies have
only one chance to repair or replace an
inherently faulty product.
However, if Currys hadnt exchanged
the rst faulty laptop, and it had died
shortly after the 30-day limit, we think
Sian would still have been entitled to a
full refund because shed been agging
up the faults since purchase. The fact
Currys failed to act during this time
doesnt mean she should
have been penalised and
have to put up with a
repair or replacement.
I think Virgins throttling my

broadband can I cancel?
Ive had a broadband account
with Virgin for a year and
recently renewed my 30Mbps
contract because it says it no longer
uses trac management. Im an
amateur photographer and have
recently started storing my images
in the cloud, but sometimes it takes
ages to upload big les. If Virgin is
sneakily throttling speeds, is there any
way I can cancel this contract without
penalty? Perhaps by using Ofcoms
slow broadband rule?
Ernie Slater
There are ways you can cancel

your broadband service early
without penalty, but sadly
none of these apply to Ernie. The
simplest way is to cancel within 14 days
of signing, as set out in Ofcoms
Broadband Code of Practice 2015, but
Ernie has missed this deadline.
Ernie mentions Ofcoms rules on
slow broadband, but these arent
related to ISPs trac-management
policies (TMP). These complicated
regulations are based on Ofcoms
minimum guaranteed access line speed
(MGALS), which deals with very slow
broadband speeds. The usual culprit is
the old ADSL2+ standard, rather than
the (theoretically) faster bre
UPLOAD
broadband Ernie has. MGALS states
that if an ISP cant provide you with
the minimum speed it quoted when
you signed the contract, you can cancel
without penalty (BTs explanation is
worth reading: www.snipca.
com/22057).
Ernie also suspects that Virgin had
sneakily reintroduced trac
management (sometimes called
broadband throttling), which ISPs use
to restrict upload and download speeds
at busy times so everyone gets a stable
connection. Even if he proved this, he
wouldnt be able to cancel without a
penalty because Virgin clearly states
that it still restricts upload speed at
peak times (read its conditions at
www.snipca.com/22058). Because
Virgin is upfront about this, it complies
with Ofcoms Code of Practice. Ernie
may be thinking of Virgins
decision in 2014 to ditch
trac management on
download speeds.
Wheres my refund from Next?

I recently bought several items
of clothing from the online Next
Directory (www.next.co.uk)
which didnt t. I returned them, but
after three weeks theres still no sign of
my refund in my bank account. How
long should I wait to get my money back?
Jordan Nugent
Jordan shouldnt have to wait

three weeks for a refund, so we
contacted Next to investigate. It
told us that when shopping on Nexts
website you create an account, and

through this pay in full or in instalments.
Jordan paid in full, and under the
Consumer Contract Regulations shes
entitled to a full refund, including any
post and packaging, within 14 days of
returning the items.
However, rather than refunding money
back to the customers card or bank
account, Next credits the customer with
money to their Next account. This is why
Jordan hasnt seen the refund in her bank
account. But Next cant hold on to this
money without Jordans permission.

She can choose to leave the
account in credit, or tell
Next to refund the money
to her bank account.
Contact us so we can investigate your case
Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk
Write: Consumeractive, Computeractive, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD
Please include both your phone number and address.
Unfortunately, we cant reply to all your letters.
We sstand up for your legal rights
IIve b
been wrongly subscribed to a service what can I do?
In June, I needed advice on
a technical matter so I
emailed a website called
JustAnswer (www.justanswer.co.uk).
I paid for the advice, but now I nd
that the website has signed me up to
the service and its costing me 35 a
month. Ive asked the company to
cancel this and return my money,
but it says it has no record of my
original email. Can you help?
Doug McBain
Well certainly do our best.

JustAnswer works by connecting
you to professional experts,
such as lawyers, doctors and vets, who
answers your question for a fee. Subjects
include health, cars, tax and computers.
Once an expert has answered your
question, you can rate them, much like

you can an eBay seller.
We think Doug must have accidentally
signed up to a monthly subscription after
the free trial. The site explains how this
works at www.snipca.com/22059.
CASE UPDATE
Readers Fitbit is fighting fit again
We are happy to report that Fitbit has replaced
the faulty activity tracker that Simon Reilly
bought from Currys for 150 (see Issue 486).
Simon was concerned that by using Fitbits
warranty he would lose his legal right to a refund from
Currys should the device break again. But this is never
the case.
Currys had initially said it would send the item to Fitbit for a
repair, but said it would charge him for the fix. Currys justified
this by saying that the fault wasnt covered by Fitbits warranty,
and therefore it would need to pay Fitbit to fix it. But we
disagree with Currys interpretation of Fitbits warranty. In any
case, Simon is now happy with his replacement.
Before issuing a refund most retailers advise customers to
contact the manufacturer and use its warranty. Theres nothing
wrong with this, but they cant force you to do it.
Bear in mind, you risk losing your right to a refund if you
get a repair carried out by a person or company not authorised
by the retailer. If the item subsequently stops working, the
retailer may argue that the
repair is to blame. It could be
very hard for you to prove
otherwise. However, if you
thought the repair did cause
further damage, you could
sue the person or company
that carried it out.
Doug told us he hadnt told his bank

to cancel these payments in case he
breached some kind of contract with
JustAnswer. But we told him to go
ahead and cancel because there
doesnt appear to be any contract. Nor
did he receive conrmation from
JustAnswer about the subscription.
We wonder if he was somehow
transferred to the companys US site
(www.justanswer.com), and
inadvertently signed up to a contract
there. Weve contacted JustAnswers
customer service on both sides of the
Atlantic to nd out whats happened.
We hope that the site lives up to its
stated values of compassion,
humility, generosity,
candour and fairness
and gives Doug a refund.
THIS WILL COME IN USEFUL
How to track online orders

Amazon
EE
Apple
Ikea
www.snipca.com/22016
Argos
www.argos.co.uk/
ordertracking
B&Q
www.ikeaordertracking.
co.uk
Jessops
John Lewis
Boots
Parcelforce
BT
http://bt.com/ordertracking
Currys
eBay
www.parcelforce.com/
track-trace
Royal Mail
www.royalmail.com/
track-your-item
Tesco
Vodafone
Protect Your Tech

Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR
Photo malware in email attachments

Whats the threat?
Security researchers have discovered a

serious security aw in OpenJPEG, an
open-source photo format commonly
used to embed photos in PDFs.
OpenJPEG (www.openjpeg.org, see
screenshot) is a codec of the JPEG
2000 standard, and its open-source
nature means anyone can use or
modify it. Its a popular choice for
embedding photos in PDFs using
programs such as Poppler (https://
poppler.freedesktop.org) and MuPDF
(http://mupdf.com).
The bug was classed as a zero-day
aw when it was discovered in July by
Aleksandar Nikolic, a researcher at
security rm Cisco Talos. This means it
may have been exploited by hackers
before it was discovered.
Any hacker aiming to exploit it would
developers immediately, so browsers,

antivirus tools and PDF viewers not
to mention OpenJPEG itself could be
updated to patch the aw. Cisco has
now gone public about the aw in a
blog post (www.snipca.com/22030).
What should you do?
have infected an OpenJPEG photo with

malicious code, and then circulated it in a
PDF attached to a spam email. Researchers
said victims may also have been tricked
into downloading infected PDFs from
public Dropbox or Google Drive folders.
Clicking an infected photo would
ultimately let the hacker take control
of your computer, in a type of attack
known as remote code execution.
Cisco revealed its discovery to software
New tools
Windows 10s spying habits and forced
upgrades have made headlines recently,
but this is nothing new Windows 7
and 8/8.1 track you too. Free new tool
Ancile blocks tracking in all these
versions of Windows.
Ancile is a portable script with no
program window. To get it, go to the
URL above and click the link under
Latest Version, save and extract the ZIP
le, right-click ancile.cmd and then
click Run as administrator. The
Control Prompt will open and ask you
to create a system restore point. Press
y, then Enter. Ancile instantly gets to
work disabling tracking and tasks that
phone home to Microsoft.
Be aware that Ancile also changes
your Windows Update settings to block
all automatic updates (see screenshot).
Youll be notied of updates instead,
Ancile
Update your software, including

extensions and Windows apps.
Developers have now had three
months to x the OpenJPEG aw,
but youll only get this protection if
your software is up to date.
Protect yourself further by being
careful when clicking photos whose
origins youre not sure about. Photos
and GIFs embedded in emails and PDFs
are put there by a person, and you
dont always know who that person is
or what their intentions are.
ScamWatch
READERS WARN READERS
Pretty sure thats not

HMRCs email address!
then youll need to install them

yourself. Given what weve just said
about updates in our Watch Out For
story above, we recommend you only
use Ancile if you trust yourself to keep
Windows safe.
I wanted to pass on a little joy that

turned up in my inbox, claiming to
be from HM Revenue & Customs and
oering me a tax refund of 198.54 if
I clicked a button. I know Britain is
looking to save money wherever it
can, but I dont think HMRC is so
skint that it has to use the email
address service@chan-yu-shun.
com. Where these low-lifes got my
contact details remains a mystery. I
looked for information online, and
found this page: www.snipca.com/
22035. Theres a link for reporting
HMRC scams at the bottom.
Brian Richardson
Warn your fellow readers about scams at
letters@computeractive.co.uk
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Best Free Software

Jane Hoskyn recommends new programs that wont cost you anything
BROWSER
Firefox 49
What you need: Windows 7, 8/8.1 or 10
The new version of Mozillas open-source browser impressed
us with its security features (see Protect Your Tech, Issue 486).
But thats not the only reason Firefox 49 is worth a look,
especially if you nd web articles hard to read in some browsers.
Reader View, an optional setting that strips away clutter and
makes web pages much easier to read, has been part of
Firefox since last year. However, it used to be tucked away
behind an assault course of conguration settings with catchy
names like reader.parse-on-load.enabled. Now, its an icon
on the address bar above any text-heavy page. Click it to
automatically reload the article on a clean white background,
like the BBC News page in our screenshot below. You can then
adjust text size, layout and font to suit you, and even have the
article read out loud using the new Narrate tool.
Pocket, the popular read it later add-on (Firefoxs name for

extensions), is now built into Reader View as well, but youll
need a free Pocket account to use it (www.snipca.com/21914).
While Reader View says hello, Firefox Hello waves goodbye.
Hello, the instant messaging and video chat tool, wasnt a big
hit (clearly). Firefox has a list of free third-party alternatives
for anyone wholl miss it: www.snipca.com/21916.
To get Firefox 49, click the Download Firefox button, then
save and run the installer. The Options button lets you opt out
of background updates. Firefox then asks if you want it to be
your default browser; click Not now if youre only trying it
out. Youre invited to set up a free Firefox account. You dont
need one, but its handy if you use the browser on your laptop
and other devices, and want to keep your settings in sync.
2
3
1 To switch to Reader View,
click the book icon that

appears in the address bar
on text-heavy web pages.
Click the icon again to
return to normal view.
2 Click the text icon on the
Reader View sidebar to make

the page even easier to read.
Click to change font, size and
spacing, and to make the
background darker.
3 Click this icon to launch
Narrate. In the box that

opens, click the play icon to
read the page out loud. Use
the slider to speed up or slow
down the narration.
4 Click the Menu icon to
open a window containing

your Firefox shortcuts.
Click Customise to see
more. Drag any shortcut to
the window and/or toolbar
for quicker access.
VPN
TunnelBear 3.0
www.tunnelbear.com
What you need: Windows Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10
VPN (virtual private network) tools like TunnelBear let you
browse the internet without being tracked. They do this by
disguising your IP address, which also lets you unlock web
content thats normally only available in the country youve
chosen as your location.
For example, as mentioned in Issue 485 (page 39), you can
potentially use TunnelBear to watch BBC iPlayer abroad. We
tried this using a Windows 8.1 laptop in Spain. We installed the
new TunnelBear 3.0, then created a free account and switched
to a UK IP address. Hey presto, iPlayer worked! Now for the bad
news: TunnelBear made the laptops connection too slow to
watch any programmes. By contrast, TunnelBear actually
seemed to improve our internet connection on a fast Windows
10 PC. So be aware that
this tool is no magic
bullet. Also note its free
only for the rst 500MB
of data roughly one
two-hour lm, or 35
hours of web browsing.
Unlimited usage costs
from $4.16 (3.21) per
month.
FILE MANAGEMENT
Large Files & Folders

Finder+ 2.0
www.ftsoftcompany.com
What you need: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10
Find and delete your PCs space-hogging les and folders using
this powerful program. Its new version adds a Disks Watchdog
that warns you if selected folders or drives go over a certain size.
Installation is quick and theres no junk to opt out of. Run the
program, tick the folders you want to search, and then click
Start to list all les and folders larger than 500MB (default) or
your specied size. You can then delete or move the space-hogs
from the list or open them in Explorer, and export the whole list
as a spreadsheet if you want.
WHAT SHOULD I DOWNLOAD?

We tell you what software to use
What program should I use

to back up my PC?
Windows and Norton Security keep reminding me
to create backups of my PC and les. Whats the
best way to do it? Id like to nd a program for
cloning and backing up my entire system. Im running
Windows 10 Pro and have a 222GB SSD and 500GB
hard drive.
K Attwood
The reminders are right.

If your PC stops working,
ransomware infects your
PC or your house is ooded, you
could lose everything from photos
to nancial data. Backup software
makes a copy (image) of some or all of that data in case
disaster strikes.
Good back-up software comes at a price. The gold
standard is StorageCraft ShadowProtect (www.snipca.com/
21932, pictured), which costs $99.99 (77) for one licence.
It lets you create a complete snapshot of your system or
partition, then lets you restore it all with one click.
If youd like more options such as backing up certain
les and folders try Acronis True Image 2016. It normally
costs 39.95, but is available at an exclusive reader discount
on our Software Store for 19.95 (www.snipca.com/21990).
Free back-up software is a mixed bag. Theres a free version
of EaseUS Todo Backup (www.snipca.com/21934), but watch
out for junk in the EaseUS installers (see Named & Shamed,
Issue 481). A top free program is Clonezilla (http://clonezilla.
org), an open-source tool for cloning and restoring systems.
Installation is not easy, but theres plenty of help on the site.
Click Downloads, then stable or alternative stable, and
change the values in the dropdown menus to suit your PC.
Click Download and follow the instructions.
Do you need our advice on what software to use?

Just email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk
ON SALE NOW!
The A-Z Jargon
Buster Book
This A-Z guide contains over
950 definitions of computing
and tech jargon, helping you
take back control of your PC.
Buy it now at
Reviews
New products tested by our experts
LAPTOP 550 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22034

ipca.com/22034
Acer Aspire S13 (S5-371)

A lightweight contender
The secret of the thinnest, lightest laptops

is aluminium. All right, its not really a
secret. Manufacturers are quite keen to
draw attention to it, in fact. The point is,
its the molecular fortitude of this
lightweight metal that makes it strong
enough to hold a 13in screen and full-size
keyboard without bending, even when
its cast thin enough so that the whole
machine is barely more than a centimetre
thick. Try to cut costs by doing the same
with plastic, and you get something
that exes and creaks alarmingly when
you open it.
Ultra-thin all-round
laptop with nice keys
and great battery
Its a problem that Acer hasnt quite
solved with the S13. Like other recent
laptops from the Taiwanese manufacturer,
the worlds fourth largest PC maker, it
looks reassuringly classy. The black
version has a subtly grooved lid, while
the smooth white option switches the
hinge from metallic silver to gold. Either
way, though, youd want to carry it in a
sturdy briefcase and avoid trailing the
power cable where it might trip someone
rugged it aint.
Typing on it is ne, though, thanks to
Acers very usable tile-style keyboard. The
keys dont move very far, but they do
move, with a quiet but distinct click to let
your nger know its

made contact. Below the
keyboard is a good-sized touchpad that,
unlike some, worked very smoothly for
us, responding reliably to swipes, scrolls,
taps and Windows 10 gestures. Thats
important, because this is a conventional
laptop, not a touchscreen system.
The Full HD display, as it turns out, is
where some more corners have been cut.
Brightness and contrast were quite
acceptable, but colours dont quite stretch
to full saturation across the entire
spectrum. Were generally partial to a
matt screen nish, which cuts reections
from bright room lights or sunshine that
can make the screen dicult to see, but
in this case the benet was undermined
by a tendency to cause haziness in
conditions where it should have helped.
Following Apples lead, some
manufacturers have been banishing
connectors from their laptops, citing lack
of space and the replacement of physical
storage by the cloud. With a modest
128GB available on the S13s built-in SSD,
however, you might well need a USB
stick, memory card or external hard drive
for some of your stu. Sensibly, Acer has
squeezed in three USB 3.0 ports, one of
them a fast USB 3.1 Type-C, and a
full-size SD slot. Youd need an adapter
for Ethernet, but 802.11ac Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth 4.1 take care of wireless
connections.
Inside the S13 is a low-power i3
processor, at the bottom of Intels Core
range but a step up from Atoms,
Celerons, Pentiums and the like. In our
tests, it was ne for everyday Windows 10
tasks and basic photo and video editing,
but noticeably struggled when we tried to
multitask. The int

mu
integrated
3D graphics manage
managed more
demanding games on low settings
de
at 1280x720-pixel resolution. If you
need more oomph, an i5 version of the
laptop can be found for about 100 more,
but bear in mind this has the same
graphics card.
What we couldnt fault, however, was
the S13s battery life. Nine hours 12
minutes of video playback was a great
result for a laptop at this price. The
otherwise comparable HP Envy 13 (699
with i5 from HP www.snipca.com/
22036) only managed six hours 23
minutes. It even nearly matched the more
expensive Asus ZenBook UX303UA (777
with i7 from Amazon www.snipca.com/
22038). Getting all the way through a
working day is such an advantage that we
can overlook its aws and recommend
the S13 as a practical laptop.
SPECIFICATIONS
2.3GHz dual-core Intel i3-6100U processor 8GB

memory 128GB SSD Intel HD Graphics 520
13.3in 1920x1080-pixel screen Webcam SD
card slot 2x USB 3.0 ports 1x USB 3.1 Type-C
port 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.1 Windows 10
14.6x326x288mm (HxWxD) 1.3kg One-year
warranty www.snipca.com/22033
VERDICT: Not the strongest, fastest or

brightest, but this is a good Windows 10
all-rounder at a reasonable price
ALTERNATIVE: HP Envy 13 699 With

a faster i5 processor, this
is also slim and light; but,
tillll
although aluminium, it still
feels a bit imsy
EBOOK READER 190 from Kobo www.snipca.com/22031
Kobo Aura One

A good read
By now, everyone knows an ebook reader

is a paperback-sized electronic gadget
that shows books one page at a time.
Hold on, though: paperback-sized? The
average ebook reader screen is quite a lot
smaller than the average paperback. That
means either smaller print or turning
pages more often.
Kobo says users asked them for a bigger
reader and here it is. The 7.8in screen
almost matches an iPad Mini, making
Amazons 6in Kindle Paperwhite feel
tiny. Like the smaller Kobo Glo (see our
review, Issue 452), its also very sharp
(with 300 pixels per inch) and has Kobos
rendering options, which let you adjust
how bold and crisp the text looks, as
well as the font size and type.
A big ebook reader

with ample battery
life and sharp text
thats designed for
use in any light
In our tests, the text didnt look quite as
dark as on the Kindle Oasis (270 from
www.snipca.com/22032), but it was very
comfortable to read. Like other ebook
readers, the Aura One is designed for
use in bright light, just like a real book,
but it also has a backlight when needed.
The backlight could be more even, but
it has an ambient light sensor to adjust
it according to conditions and a
ComfortLight Pro option that subtracts
blue light for when youre reading before
bedtime. You might nd the orangey tint
odd, but its a thoughtful way to avoid eye
HOW WE TEST
Computeractive is owned by Dennis

Publishing, which owns a hi-tech facility
for testing the latest technology. Youll
often read references to our benchmark
testing, which is a method of assessing
products using the same criteria. For
example, we test the speed of every
PC and the battery life of every tablet
in exactly the same way. This makes
our reviews authoritative, rigorous
and accurate.
Dennis Publishing also owns
the magazines PC Pro, Computer
Shopper, Web User and Micro Mart
and the websites Expert Reviews (www.
expertreviews.co.uk) and Alphr (www.
alphr.com). This means we can test
thousands of products before choosing
the most relevant for Computeractive.
strain and preserve your sleep.

Although its width means the Aura
One isnt so easy to hold in one hand,
its very slim, and lighter than a tablet.
It feels a bit more plasticky than
Amazons premium models, but the
textured back panel makes it hard to
drop, and unusually for an ebook reader
its fully waterproof.
Because this isnt a Kindle, it cant
access Amazons ebook store, but it
supports more le formats to let you shop
around (see specications below). Kobos
store has the same bestsellers, albeit
sometimes at higher prices. Bear in mind,
you may struggle to nd more obscure
titles. As with Kindles, though, you can
sign up for the OverDrive lending scheme
to borrow ebooks with your local public
library ticket. Theres no slot for extra
storage, but the built-in 8GB should be
plenty: Kobo estimates itll t 6,000 books.
Amazons battery-life stats assume you
only read for half an hour a day. Kobos
estimate of one month is dependent on
individual usage. We had more than 50
per cent left after three days, reading at
least three hours per day, so charging
once a week seems realistic.
Our ideal ebook reader would still be
slimmer, lighter and cheaper, but this is
one of the best yet.
SPECIFICATIONS
7.8in E Ink touchscreen 8GB memory 802.11n

Wi-Fi Reads EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, CBZ, CBR,
TXT, RTF, HTML, XHTML, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF
196x138x6.9mm (HxWxD) One-year warranty
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
Our writers follow strict guidelines to

ensure the reviews are fair and
impartial. The manufacturer has no
involvement in our tests.
OUR AWARDS
We award every product

that gets five stars our
BUY IT! Buy It! stamp of approval.
It means we were
extremely impressed by the product,
and we think you will be too.
Every product that gets a
four-star review is given
the Great Pick award. We
highly recommend these
products, although they just fail to meet
the high standard of our Buy It! winners.
PRICES
Our reviews contain a link to the best

price we found online at the time of press.
VERDICT: Amazons book choice is hard

to match, but Kobos versatile reader is
a strong rival to the Kindle
ALTERNATIVE: Amazon
azon
Kindle Paperwhite
99 If you want to buy
rmat,
books in Kindle format,
this is an adequate
reader without the
Oasis high price
Reviews
LAPTOP TABLET 375 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22039
Lenovo Yoga 500 (14in)

ks
Not the bargain it looks
The best
Webcams
Logitech C920 HD Pro
There are lots of laptops now that

an
fold all the way round, so you can
ignore the keyboard and use thee
touchscreen as a tablet. Some of
at the
them are neatly designed so that
er
screen and keyboard t together
odel,
equally well both ways. This model,
w
which isnt the latest but is now
ce,
available at a very tempting price,
is not one of those.
ga
Instead,when you fold the Yoga
500s screen against the rear of
the keyboard, it just looks like
youve broken your laptop. The
curved backs of the two pieces
would rather be anywhere else than
ough, if you
pressed together. It feels as though,
orce them
kept squeezing in an eort to force
ould pop
to come together, the hinges would
o and shoot across the room.
It kept going for

just two hours 49
minutes. Weve seen
people make a pint
last longer
Apart from that, whats the Yoga 500
like? Not great. The 14in size is an odd
choice neither as expansive as a full
15in nor as portable as a 13in. In fact, at
1.8kg and over 2cm thick, its not actually
very portable at all. The case is plastic,
with a brushed nish reminiscent of,
well, plastic. The fairly coarse screen
covers only 57 per cent of the sRGB
colour range, making it one of the least
vibrant weve seen. Were not saying it
isnt bright, but it wouldnt get into a
grammar school. At least the touchscreen
worked well, which was a relief, because
the trackpad was useless.
SPECIFICATIONS
Intel dual-core i3-4030U processor 4GB memory

1TB hard drive 14in 1366x768-pixel screen 2x USB
3.0 1x USB 2.0 HDMI SD card reader 802.11ac
Wi-Fi Windows 10 21.5x340x235mm (HxWxD)
1.8kg One-year warranty www.snipca.com/22041
The Yoga 500s i3 processor should be

adequate for general Windows tasks
assuming you can nd a way to travel
back in time to 2014. Yes, the processor is
two years old. Once it managed to start
up, we tried to run our usual tests. And
waited. Then tried some easier tests.
Games? Minecraft defeated it. We were
beginning to feel a bit guilty about testing
this hybrid at all when (mercifully) its
battery ran out. In our ocial videoplayback test, it kept going for just two
hours 49 minutes. Weve seen people
make a pint last longer.
Is there anything nice to say about the
Yoga 500? Well, the casing could be
worse. Asus 11.6in Transformer Book
Flip TP200SA (see our review, Issue 476)
is arguably even plastickier (if thats a
word), but then its lighter, has a touchpad
that works, feels less wrong in tablet
mode, runs for nine hours and costs half
as much. One scant redeeming feature of
the Yoga 500 is its 1TB hard drive. Lets
end on that positive note, shall we?
VERDICT: The specication looks more
like a desktop PC than a laptop-tablet
hybrid, but the results dont bear that out
ALTERNATIVE: Asus Transformer

ransformer
Book Flip TP200SA
170 If you want a
cheap hybrid, try this
really cheap (and more
portable) one instead
60 from Amazon www.

snipca.com/21697
Logitechs C920 is about
the best webcam you can get.
ge
It doesnt rotate (pan), but can
an
be tilted up or down. Its built-in
t-in
stereo microphone sounds far better
than its rivals. Autofocus and exposure
are reliable, and unlike some Full HD
webcams it can actually manage 1080p
at a full 30 frames per second. Note
that Microsofts Anniversary Update
completely broke the way Windows 10
worked with many webcams, including
this one. The problems have been xed
in later updates.
Logitech C525 HD
42 from Amazon
Its only 720p, but this is
a versatile camera thats
highly adjustable, with full
36-degree rotation, and it
folds at to carry. As well
as auto-focusing accurately,
it adjusts the image automatically to
compensate for changing light.
Microsoft LifeCam
HD-3000
20 from Amazon
This 720p camera lacks
autofocus, relying instead
on xed focus, and
Microsofts video quality
isnt the clearest, but its
very cheap and works ne,
although its TrueColor
auto-adjust feature is a bit erratic.
HP HD 4310 Full HD Webcam
35 from Amazon
As you can see (below right) this 1080p
camera has a sit-up-andbeg stand that can be tilted
and panned. Video quality
isnt quite as vibrant as the
Logitech C920, but with
eective auto-exposure its
a very good deal.
ROUTER 197 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22052
TP-Link Archer VR2600

A fast router for any broadband line
Weve recommended TP-Links Archer
C9 and D9 Wi-Fi routers (see our review,
Issue 454) as good mid-priced options for
cable and ADSL broadband respectively.
This is their new big sister, with the
fastest Wi-Fi technology currently
available, known as MU MIMO.
The web-page interface through
which you manage the router is pretty
average, with a Basic mode for essential
settings and Advanced for more tweaking.
Helpfully, though, there are setup
instructions to get you started rst time,
with presets for all the major ISPs.
You can set up two guest networks, one
on the old 2.4GHz band and one on the
SPECIFICATIONS
Dual-band 802.11ac/a/b/g/n with MU MIMO

ADSL2/VDSL2 modem 4x Gigabit Ethernet
ports Ethernet WAN port 2x USB 3.0 ports
37x264x198mm (HxWxD) Three-year warranty
BUY IT!
typically faster 5GHz for newer

802.11ac devices, so that visitors can
get fast access without exposing your
network. There are two USB 3.0 ports to
let you share a USB stick or printer
clunkier than using a NAS or a printer
with built-in Wi-Fi, but a useful bonus.
You can also plug in a 3G or 4G modem
dongle with a SIM card in it to keep you
online if your broadband develops a
fault. The usual port forwarding, dynamic
DNS and rewall facilities are provided if
you need them, and parental controls let
you block websites based on keywords.
In practice, MU MIMO wont reach
its full potential of up to 1,733 Mbps
unless you only connect devices designed
to support it, which basically dont exist
yet. But its nice to feel future-proofed,
and even with our regular 802.11ac
laptop it reached 419Mbps at close
range, which is extremely fast, falling to a
still speedy 256Mbps 10 metres away.

On the 2.4GHz band (the only one older
devices can use), we got 66Mbps at 10m,
which isnt the fastest weve seen but
very acceptable.
VERDICT: There are routers with fancier
features, but for very high speed at a
fair price, this should suit most people
ALTERNATIVE: Netgear
R8500 Nighthawk X8 GT
370 Also has MU MIMO
and is very fast, with twin
5GHz networks
BREXIT MAY
MEAN BREXIT
BUT WHAT ON EARTH DOES
HYPERTHREADING MEAN?
Find out in our new

A-Z Jargon Buster Book
Buy it from Amazon at:
26 October 8 November 2016
Reviews
SMART HOME SPEAKER 150 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22047
Amazon Echo
Alexa, whats the point of you?
In science ction, the best articial
intelligences (AI) are disembodied
voices that you can hold a conversation
with. Deep Thought in The Hitch-Hikers
Guide to the Galaxy. Samantha (played
by Scarlett Johansson) in Her. HAL 9000
in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Alright,
(spoiler alert!) maybe HAL isnt the ideal
example. But theres something
appealing about getting a computer to
do things for you simply by asking.
We already have Apples Siri,
Microsofts Cortana and Googles well,
whatever the voice thing in Google Now
is called. Googles newly announced
Pixel phones have an even smarter AI,
known as Google Assistant. Eventually,
itll become clever enough to give itself
a name. But Amazons AI is called
Alexa, and she lives inside the Echo, a
Pringles-tube-sized Wi-Fi speaker that
sits in your house, listens out for you
talking to it, then answers your
questions and follows your commands.
Its just become available in the UK, so
is it useful, or creepy, or both?
Could be useful for

anyone who doesnt
mind paying 150 for
a talking can
Its certainly high-tech. The metal
cylinder contains seven microphones,
to make sure it hears you, and a
decent-sounding 360-degree speaker
that can play audio from internet
services or (via Bluetooth) from your
PC, phone or tablet, as well as serving as
Alexas voice output (she sounds just
like youd expect robotic and bland).
You can simply tell Alexa what you
want to listen to: Alexa, play my Party
playlist, or Alexa, play some rock
SPECIFICATIONS
802.11n Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0 7x microphones

2.5in woofer 2in tweeter Mains adapter
235x84x84mm (HxWxD) One-year warranty
music. The Echo can

access your accounts
with online music
services such as Spotify
Premium and Amazons
own Prime Music.
Alexa can also access
information such as news
stories, sports results,
weather forecasts and
trac updates, and
within this shell respond
to quite complex
questions, like Hows my
commute looking? You
can also ask things like
How many centimetres is
two foot six? or How
many calories in a slice
of pizza? Extra skills
are available from
organisations like Nationall
Rail, Skyscanner (for plane
e
times) and Just Eat (for
takeaways), but youll need to
install these and ask Alexa specically
to use them. We often had to rephrase
our requests.
The Echo can also operate smart
home gadgets from brands like Philips
Hue, Wemo and Honeywell. So you
could ask it to put the lights out, turn
the heating up or lock the doors. This is
where we might start to worry about
security. For example, whats to stop a
burglar walking up to your house and
shouting Alexa, open the front door
through the window? Essentially,
nothing (see News) because the Echo
doesnt distinguish between voices.
Its also slighly unsettling that the
Echo listens all the time, indicated by
the blue LED ring on top, which lights
up at the side your voice originates
from. But Amazon says it only uploads
what it hears after you say Alexa (or
Amazon, or Echo, if you prefer), and
security experts agree its very secure.
Keep in mind that the Echo app, which
you use to set up and manage the
device, keeps a list of all your requests.
It doesnt really do anything you
couldnt do with your smartphone, but
once you start using it, the fact that

Echo is always ready to respond makes
it quite habit-forming. Of course, its no
good unless youre in the right room.
The Echo Dot (50 from www.snipca.
com/22049), a smaller version with a
less impressive speaker, makes it
cheaper to buy more than one. Googles
equivalent, Google Home (see www.
snipca.com/22050), has been announced,
and, judging by the Pixel phone software,
should be a worthy rival, but theres no
news yet on when itll come to the UK.
VERDICT: Its a long way from real
intelligence, but Alexa could be a useful
companion for anyone who doesnt
mind paying 150 for a talking can
ALTERNATIVE: Google
Home 130 The price
is a guess, since its
not yet available in the
UK, but it might make
sense to wait and
compare this
ca.com/21867
PC 997 from CCL www.snipca.com/21867
CCL Horizon
A PC for everything
BUY IT!
The 1,000 PC is the stu of legend.

Throughout the history of personal
computers, this is the price youve had
lly
to pay for a desktop system that really
y.
shows the current state of technology.
You can pay a lot more, of course, if
tly
you want to; or you can get a perfectly
ehow
adequate machine for less. But somehow
ets
or other, spending a grand usually gets
you something special. And in this
instance, three quid change to boot.
It made photo- and

nd
video-editing tasks
very fast
CCL builds the Horizon in a Phanteks
Eclipse P400S case: a sizeable beast, as
tall as it is deep, but classily styled,
with a distinctive wedge-shaped front,
illuminated at the bottom edge by
colour-changing LEDs. At the side is a
large window through which you can see
exactly what youre getting for your
money, most obviously the very latest
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card
with 6GB of its own memory.
This is the least expensive option in
Nvidias new range, which also includes
the 1070 and the ridiculously powerful
1080, but even the 1060 is far from basic.
In our tests, it had no trouble with the
most demanding 3D games on the
highest-quality settings at Full HD
resolution (1920x1080 pixels), and it
could run lesser titles smoothly even at
4K (3840x2160). Many gamers are

currently excited about 1440p (2560x1440),
a mid-range resolution thats supported
by many 27in monitors, and the GTX
1060 copes well with this. Its also ready
for use with VR (virtual reality) headsets,
which according to a lot of experts were
all going to be using by Christmas. You
might not think thats necessarily true,
but its nice to feel prepared.
Behind every great graphics card is a
great processor, or ought to be. CCL hasnt
gone all the way up to an i7 processor in
this conguration, but the quad-core
i5-6600K had no trouble with our Windows
10 benchmark tests, blitzing photo- and
video-editing tasks. The K in the title
means theres room to overclock it, as
Palicomp did with its latest PC (see page
20). While CCL hasnt done this for you, it
has clamped a big heatsink on top of the
processor to make sure you can exercise
this option without burning out your PC.
Underneath all this silicon is Asus Z170
Pro Gaming motherboard, which has a
second full-size, full-speed PCI Express
16x slot beside the one hosting the Nvidia
card, plus one x4 and three x1 slots one
of which comes with an 802.11n Wi-Fi
card. Assuming this will be your main
PC, youll probably prefer to cable it to
your router via the Gigabit Ethernet
socket. This shares the back panel with
two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 and two
USB 3.1, one of which comes in the new
Type-C format, ready for the next
generation of ultra-fast external storage.
Storage isnt the Horizons strongest
point: the 1TB hard drive is accompanied

by a 250GB Samsung Evo 750 SSD to load
Windows and programs faster, but its on
the SATA interface rather than a speedier
M.2 connection, so its not as nippy as it
might have been. It doesnt play DVDs or
Blu-rays, either, but there is plenty of
room for more internal drives.
Out of the box, the Horizon isnt the
absolute fastest PC you could get for this
price, but its been put together well and
oers good scope for upgrades. If games
arent your rst priority, and youre not
into DIY overclocking, an i7 PC would be
a better choice (consider the Wired2Fire
Diablo 1,000 from www.snipca.
com/21896). Otherwise, this is a solid
PC that wont disappoint.
SPECIFICATIONS
3.5GHz Intel Core i5-6600K processor 8GB

memory Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics
250GB SSD 1TB hard drive 2x USB 3.1 6x USB
3.0 2x USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet 802.11n Wi-Fi
Windows 10 Home 465x470x210mm (HxWxD)
Three-year warranty www.snipca.com/21867
VERDICT: A good graphics card and

processor in a quality case make it a great
all-round PC with room for tweaking
ALTERNATIVE: Palicomp i5
5
Focus 1,000 This PC has
been overclocked to make
it faster and has a 2TB hard
rd
drive, but the case is less
impressive
Reviews
PHONE 110 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22080
LG Spirit 4G
A good, but hardly spectacular, budget phone
This low-cost phone looks quite similar
to LGs agship G4, with its oddly
shaped face, reminiscent of those
personal digital assistant (PDA) gadgets
we had before smartphones, and the
distinctive segmented camera cutout on
the back. It also supposedly has a curved
screen, but the curve is so subtle you
might not notice.
The rear panel is denitely bent, rising
from a normal phone thickness at the
edge to 9.95mm in the middle (come on
LG just call it a centimetre and have
done with it). Despite all this room, the
designers still couldnt quite make the
headphone jack t, so it cuts awkwardly
into the chamfer on the top edge.
The battery
lasted an excellent
11 hours, longer than
its closest rivals
Overall, the Spirit looks all right, in a
businessy kind of way. In use, the screen
covered only 65 per cent of the sRGB
colour range, with good contrast but
average brightness. It could be worse,
though, and the 1280x720-pixel

resolution is sharp for its size.
Unlike many cheap models, its
protected by Gorilla Glass. Photos
and Full HD video from the
8-megapixel camera showed
good colour accuracy, although
detail was quite grainy, especially
indoors. The front sele camera
is very low-res.
The quad-core Snapdragon
processor is OK by budget
standards, but in our tests the
similarly priced eight-core
Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 was faster.
The Spirit kept up well in web browsing,
but still felt jerky with image-heavy
pages. 3D games need more processing
power than this, but we found 2D
games all right.
At 11 hours and 20 minutes of video
playback, the removable battery outlasted
the Smart Ultra 6 and even, by a few
minutes, the Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen),
which is an excellent result. Although the
Spirit comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop,
you can upgrade it straightaway to 6.0
Marshmallow, which in turn means you
can make full use of storage you add via
the microSD card slot. Thats just as well,
because less than 4GB of the built-in 8GB
is available to use.
WHAT SHOULD I BUY?
SPECIFICATIONS
4.7in 1280x720-pixel screen 8-megapixel rear

camera 1-megapixel front camera Quad-core
Snapdragon processor 8GB flash storage microSD
card slot 802.11n Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0 3G/4G
133x66x9.95mm (HxWxD) 118g One-year
VERDICT: Its nicely made with no

disastrous aws, but the Spirit doesnt
quite break the budget mould
ALTERNATIVE: Moto G (3rd Gen)

126 Now with Android 6.0
(Marshmallow), this waterproof
phone is slightly faster and has a
better screen and camera
We solve your buying dilemmas
Which laptop would be good for watching my DVDs?

Can you suggest which laptop
to buy? I need a 13 or 14in
Windows 10 model with an
excellent screen and drive to play DVDs.
There are so many to choose from!
Gerald Clothier
DVD drives are very rare now

in 13-14in laptops, and most
have resolutions lower than
Full HD, so you wouldnt get the most
from downloaded movies either.
There are 15in models with DVD
drives, though, and screen quality may be

a deciding factor. HPs Envy 15-ah100na
(see image, 365 from Amazon
www.snipca.com/22055) has a decent
AMD processor and Radeon R6 graphics
card, but its Full HD screen looks dull
and the claim of 9.5 hour battery life is
very optimistic. Dells Inspiron laptops
also have lacklustre screens; its pricey
XPS models have superb screens but no
DVD drive.
Asus X556UA (500 from Amazon
www.snipca.com/22095) has a powerful
i7 processor and
a better Full
HD display.
Another choice
oice
would be MSIs
SIs GL62 6QD (550 from
Ebuyer www.snipca.com/22077),
w.snipca.com/22077),
aimed at gamers but with good
all-round specications and a superior
Full HD screen. Like most 15-inchers,
though, its big and heavy.
Do you need advice on what you should buy?
Email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk
Zoostorm recommends Windows.
The Zoostorm range of home desktop PCs deliver reliable performance thats perfect for everyday computing and offers the
perfect mixture of performance and price to suit every budget. Browse the web, work with documents, create visual content
and enjoy light gaming with ease. Work and play in high resolution and experience visual perfection with HD graphics.
ZOOSTORM EVOLVE DESKTOP PC
ZOOSTORM QUEST DESKTOP PC
Available to
buy from:
7260-0183
7260-0220
7260-0221
7260-0222
BLACK
WHITE
RED
BLUE
Windows 10 Home
AMD A6-7400K Processor

4GB RAM
500GB Hard Drive
DVD/RW
1 Year Collect & Return Warranty
269 .99
Available to
buy from:
7260-0219
7260-0180
7260-0217
7260-2018
BLACK
WHITE
RED
BLUE
Windows 10 Home
Intel Pentium G4400

8GB RAM
1TB Hard Drive
DVD/RW
319 .99
521/1777
522/1011
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Home

8GB RAM
1TB Hard Drive
128GB SSD
DVD/RW & WiFi
VGA, HDMI, USB 2.0 & 3.0
Red LED fans
399 .99

8GB RAM
2TB Hard Drive
128GB SSD
DVD/RW & WiFi
VGA, HDMI, USB 2.0 & 3.0
Red LED fans
429 .99
Reviews
PHONE 540 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22085
Sony Xperia XZ
A good, but pricey Android phone
Bear with us here, because this gets
confusing. The last high-end smartphone
we saw from Sony, the Xperia X (see Issue
478, page 22), was a quality product but
lacked exciting innovations. We werent
the only ones to feel that way, and Sony
seems to have got the message: while the
pound has fallen since the summer,
making many phones more expensive,
the suggested retail price of the Xperia X
has been reduced from 459 to 399.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to have told
phone networks or shops, which are
currently charging anything from 439
to 500 for it.
As if that wasnt odd enough, Sony also
launched a very similar phone with a
faster processor, the Xperia X
Performance, at the same time. This is
quite hard to nd, but you can get it from
Amazon for 550 (www.snipca.
com/22088), if you really want to pay that
much for a faster, boring phone. Or,
instead, you could look at the new Xperia
XZ, which has just gone on sale for 10 less.
The Xperia XZ feels

good but not strikingly
special. We expect the
price will drift down
Youre now probably wondering if this
is a third version of the same phone, and
the answer is no. Its much more like last
years Xperia Z5, with its slightly larger
5.2in display. The back is now metal
rather than glass, which seems a lot more
durable but looks plain and picks up
ngerprints too easily. An awkward line
just up from the bottom edge betrays the
diculty of getting wireless signals
through metal, but at least its subtle. The
SPECIFICATIONS
5.2in 1920x1080-pixel screen 23-megapixel rear

camera 13-megapixel front camera 32GB flash
storage Snapdragon 820 processor microSD card
slot 802.11ac Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.2 3G/4G Android
6.0.1 146x72x8.1mm (HxWxD) 161g One-year
phone is still waterresistant, but Sony no

longer promises itll
survive being fully
submerged for any
length of time.
None of this seems
much like progress,
but then you turn it
on. The sharp Full HD
(1920x1080-pixel)
screen reproduces
almost 100 per cent of
the sRGB colour range
with almost perfect
accuracy, and very
high contrast and
brightness make it one
of the best around.
Maybe its not quite
as vibrant as
Samsungs Galaxy S7,
but its well beyond
having anything to
complain about.
With a Snapdragon 820 processor fed
by a generous 3GB of memory, the Xperia
XZ is smooth and responsive, too, making
web browsing under Android 6.0.1
almost free of stutters. With games, it
outperformed the S7, and like other
Xperia models it also works as a second
screen for Sonys PlayStation 4, if you
have one. A big battery kept our videos
playing for just over 14 and a half hours.
This wasnt as long as the S7 but is better
than many other rival phones. Charging
is through a new USB Type-C port.
As with the Xperia X, Sony has messed
up its potentially excellent 23-megapixel
rear camera with excessive image
processing. Our photos looked great at
rst glance, if a bit under-exposed, with
accurate, subtle colour, even indoors.
But on closer inspection there were
a lot of grainy artefacts and smudged
detail. Still, the 13-megapixel front
camera will take much better-thanaverage seles (if that oats your boat).
The XZs features are completed by a
ngerprint sensor built, in Sonys unique
style, into a side button, with an NFC
chip to use Android Pay at tills.
If the Xperia XZ feels good but not

strikingly special, you might say the same
of the comparably priced Galaxy S7,
which is an excellent phone but lacks the
pizzazz of the pricier S7 Edge. But the S7
does have full waterproong and takes
better photos. Both are now under
pressure from cheaper rivals like the
OnePlus 3 (329 from www.snipca.
com/22092, or available on contract
through O2). Wed expect to see the XZ
drift down below 500, and if so, we
might buy it.
VERDICT: A great phone that just
doesnt quite stand out from the other
great phones you can get for this kind
of money
ALTERNATIVE: Samsung
Galaxy S7 550 With
every feature equalling or
beating rivals, the S7 lacks
nothing except a more
interesting design
SOLID STATE DRIVE 108 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22127
Kingston SSDNow UV400 480GB

Time to ditch your hard drive?
Solid-state drives (SSDs), which store

data on ash memory chips, will never
be as cheap (per GB) as hard drives, but
theyre now cheap enough to be worth
considering. If youre thinking of adding
one to an existing system, they come in a
format that ts both desktop PCs and
laptops (note: many laptops have no room
for an SSD). Standard SSDs come with two
kinds of interface: SATA, used for hard
drives; and the faster M.2 connector, which
gives you the benet of the fastest SSDs.
A budget SSD with

room to spare but
slower than rivals
Kingstons UV400 uses SATA 3.0 and
congures a small part of its capacity
(around 8GB) in a way that boosts write
speeds. And you get 447GB of usable
space. Thats not bad for just over 100.
The normal way to use it would be to
install Windows 10 and all your apps on
this drive, along with any les you use
regularly and/or need to access at top
speed, and keep the rest of your stu
on a larger hard drive.
Not that it matters much, but the
UV400s case looks reassuringly tidy,
SPECIFICATIONS
480GB 2.5in SSD SATA 3.0 7x100x70mm

(HxWxD) Three-year warranty
The Computeractive
Wishlist
Products we would like to see
with a sandblasted metal nish. Its also

available in a bundle (127 from Amazon
www.snipca.com/22128) with a SATA
cable and 3.5in adapter plate for
mounting in a PC, plus a basic USB
enclosure that you can use to connect
the drive to a laptop to transfer data from
your existing drive before installing the
UV400 (in this case, youll be replacing a
drive rather than installing a second one).
In our testing, the drive was quick to
write small les but with larger les it
dropped to around 90Mbit/s, less than a
third of the speed youd expect from a
mid-range SSD. Thats not as bad as it
sounds because the UV400 will still feel
very fast compared to a conventional
hard drive. Samsungs 850 Evo 500GB
(150 from Amazon www.snipca.com/
22129) outperformed this and other
mid-range drives in our tests, writing at
500Mbit/s, and remains our top choice
under 200. However, the UV400
undercuts it by quite a signicant margin.
No.5: AN UPGRADEABLE
ALL IN ONE PC
For as long as there have been PCs,
there have been PCs built into monitors.
Todays slim LCD panels make it
an elegant option. Theres just one
problem: buy one of these and youre
usually limited in the upgrades you can
make later. Compared to a desktop
PC, there just isnt the same scope for
swapping standard components.
You might think thats inevitable
when the system is squeezed into such
a small space, but thats not really true:
a typical 27in display covers a large
area, and considering these machines
arent designed for portability, we dont
need them to be ultra-thin. It really
should be possible to build a fully
capable and upgradable computer in a
decent-looking all-in-one case.
Overheating may be the biggest
obstacle. PCs are still too big and
bulky, to leave enough space for fans
and airow. Maybe its the processor
makers who need to x it for us to have
-p
integrated cool, quiet, future-proof
PCs.
THE CLOSEST THING TO IT
Dell Inspiron 24 5000
800 from Amazon
(www.snipca.com/22135)
NEXT ISSUE
ON SALE
Weds
9 Nov
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2016)

Finally, a great tablett for
under 100?
VERDICT: A good big-brand SSD for a

bit less than rivals, but look elsewhere if
you want top performance
ALTERNATIVE:
ATIVE: Samsung 850 Evo
500GB 150 It may be a couple of
years old,
d, but
ut at
this price its
still excellent
llent
value
Aria Gladiator Core i5

All the PC you need
for 400?
These and much more

Subscribe to Computeractive at
www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
Buy It
Find out what other products we liked.

Buy our new 2015 Back Issue CD:
15 from www.snipca.com/21619
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award

P
DRRIC
OP E
LAPTOP
DESKTOP PC
APPLE IPAD
Asus ZenBook UX305CA
Palicomp AMD Avenger
Apple iPad Air 2
This metal-cased ultrabook looks much

more expensive than it is. Theres no
touchscreen or 36-degree hinge, just
great quality all round and an ultra-sharp
display. The M3 processor is adequate for
most tasks, though not gaming.
AMDs Athlon X4 880K processor

gives this PC solid performance with
money left for GTX 960 graphics and
a very fast 128GB SSD as well as a 1GB
hard drive. Its not the quietest or most
expandable PC, but excellent value.
Getting old, but still wonderfully slim

and powerful. Buy with 64GB (429)
and youll never run out of space. The
Pro models are great with Apples
keyboard and Pencil, but work out
much more expensive.
ALTERNATIVE Dell Inspiron 15 5000

If you need a full-size Windows 10 laptop
with a DVD drive and a desktop PC-level
i5 processor, this is a solid choice. 529
from www.snipca.com/21650
ALTERNATIVE: Dell Inspiron 24 5000

If you prefer your desktop PC in one
neat box, this Intel i5 system has all
the essentials at a reasonable price.
ALTERNATIVE: iPad Mini 2 Slower

than the iPad Mini 4, with no ngerprint
recognition and a less vivid screen, but
an iPad at this price is great value.

Tested: Issue 475

Tested: Issue 479
ANDROID TABLET
APPLE IPHONE
Samsung Galaxy S2 9.7
Apple iPhone SE
P
DRRIC
OP E

Tested: Issue 462
om/21683
Tested: Issue 474
The Sony Xperia Z4 is too expensive

and Googles cheaper Nexus 9 has
been discontinued, leaving the 32GB S2
9.7 as the best mid-sized choice. Its a
serious rival to the iPad Air 2, albeit slower.
It may be Appl
Apples
ple
es budget
bud
udget phone,
phone bu
but
the smaller SE beats most others in the
market with top-end processing power,
a great screen and camera, ngerprint
recognition and Apple Pay. You should
consider paying 439 for the 64GB
model, though.
ALTERNATIVE: Huawei MediaPad M3

8.0 Rivalling Samsungs Galaxy Tab
S2, this compact tablet has a slightly
larger screen and a ngerprint reader.
Its highly capable except when playing
advanced 3D games. 320 from www.
snipca.com/21926
ALTERNATIVE: iPhone 6s A bigger

screen, better camera and 3D Touch
justify the price, but as with the SE the
64GB model (619) is the best choice.
om/21664
Tested: Issue 437
ANDROID PHONE
Samsung Galaxy S7

Tested: Issue 473
Restoring the microSD slot to allow

extra storage (something all Apple
devices still lack) makes this an even
better top-end phone than the S6,
with a fantastic screen and camera
and incredible 18-hour battery life.
ALTERNATIVE: Motorola Moto G4 With
an attractive 5.5in screen, an excellent
13-megapixel camera and decent
performance, the G4 pips Samsungs
Galaxy J5 as a budget option. 142 from
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EBOOK READER
SECURITY SOFTWARE
PHOTO EDITING
Amazon Kindle (2016)
Kaspersky Internet
Security 2017
Adobe Photoshop
Lightroom 6
Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 has won

our past seven antivirus tests. Compatible
with Windows 10, the 2017 edition is
available at an exclusive reader discount
on our Software Store. Go to the link
above for a one-year, one-device licence
or buy a two-year, three-device licence for
just 34.99.
Lightroom is the professionals choice

for managing and tweaking photos,
including raw les from DSLR cameras.
If you need Photoshop for more
advanced editing, get both on the Adobe
CC Photography Plan for 8.57 a month
(www.snipca.com/19283).
Tested: Issue 483
Amazons
ons basic ebook reader is now
good enough to be our rst choice. Its
plasticky, but slim and lightweight, with
a decent 4GB storage and good battery
life. Consider the 110 Paperwhite if you
want backlighting or (for 60 extra) 3G.
ALTERNATIVE Kobo Glo HD
Competing with the Kindle Paperwhite,
Kobos compact model has a clear screen
with controllable lighting. 130 from
19.95 from www.snipca.com/21532

Tested: Issue 437
ALTERNATIVE: Avast Free Antivirus

Almost as good as Kaspersky, but
sometimes blocks legitimate software.
Free from www.snipca.com/16493
Tested: Issue 453
ALTERNATIVE: Xara Photo & Graphic

Designer 365 For all-round design
and drawing plus photo lters, this
aordable app has a lot to oer.
PC MONITOR
ROUTER
NAS
AOC Q2778VQE
Synology RT1900ac
Synology DiskStation
DS215j

Tested: Issue 468

Tested: Issue 474
It comes with no extras, such as

built-in speakers or a USB hub, but
this 2560x1440 panel gives you a full
27in screen with excellent contrast and
colour accuracy at a very reasonable
price. Its a little laggy for gamers, but
theres no ghosting on motion.
If youre looking to upgrade an outdated

router, there are lots of dual-band
802.11ac models to choose from.
This one suits almost all broadband
connections and has plenty of options,
such as sharing a connected printer or
storage.
ALTERNATIVE: Dell UltraSharp U2414H

This 1920x1080, 24in screen has a
stand that can switch to portrait mode.
Colour accuracy is excellent. 193 from
ALTERNATIVE TP-Link Archer C9

Not quite as fast, but this or the D9 (with
ADSL modem built in) is a simple and
capable router with a stylish design.

Tested: Issue 449
This two-drive NAS enclosure has it all

fast performance, easy conguration
and plenty of extra features. Its only
aw is that installation is a little ddly
but if you want quality network storage,
then this is the obvious choice.
ALTERNATIVE: Synology DS414j
A four-drive NAS thats generally fast
and easy to set up and use. 270 from
HOMEPLUGS
WEB DESIGN
COMPETITION
Devolo dLAN 1200

Triple+ Starter Kit
Xara Web Designer

Premium 365
Win 1 of 2
Packed Pixels portable
laptop screens

Tested: Issue 444
Devolos latest HomePlug adapters are

the fastest weve ever seen. Theyre
well designed too, with a passthrough
socket so you can still power another
device and the design should avoid
skirting boards and other obstacles.
ALTERNATIVE: D-Link PowerLine AV2
1000HD Gigabit Starter Kit Fast (speeds
of up to 1000Mbps), much cheaper and
very easy to set up, but the lack of a
passthrough socket is frustrating.
MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER
Canon Pixma MG5750
Tested: Issue 470
You dont get many frills, but this

compact all-in-one printer/scanner
includes all the essentials, like Wi-Fi
and printing both sides of the paper
(duplex), at a reasonable price. Its
fairly quick, running costs are better
than average, and the ve-ink system
ensures photos and black text both
come out looking great.
ALTERNATIVE: Brother MFC-J5320DW
For more business-type tasks, this
all-in-one has automatic paper feed
for the scanner and the ability to print
occasional A3 pages. 80 from
Tested: Issue 453
This visual web-design program makes

creating sites more like laying out a
document than writing HTML code, and
sites can be responsive, meaning they
look right on both big and small screens
without extra work. A basic version is
also available for half the price.
Packed Pixels solves

the problem of small
laptop screens by
providing an extra
high-denition
monitor, which simply clips into place
on the side. Lightweight and powered
by USB, it will appeal to laptop users
who want more screen space to edit
photos, watch videos, play games and
work away from the oce. When you
buy a Packed Pixels screen you also
get a pair of mounting brackets, a
desk stand and connecting cables. To
enter, email your address to cacomp@
dennis.co.uk by midnight 8 November
with pixels in the subject line.
ALTERNATIVE: Incomedia WebSite X5

v12 Evolution It may feel a little basic,
but this straightforward program outputs
ecient HTML code and responsive pages.
Packed Pixels screens are available

for 149 for one screen, 289 for
two, and 569 for four from www.
packedpixels.com. For product news
follow @PackedPixels on Twitter.
SOLID STATE DRIVE
SECURITY CAMERA
Crucial BX100 1TB
Y-cam Evo

Tested: Issue 445
A blindingly fast, high-capacity SSD

at a low
lower
ower
er p
price
rice than ever before. If
youve been put o buying an SSD
because of the cost, then now is
nally the time to take the plunge.
ALTERNATIVE: Samsung 850 Pro
256GB An even faster SSD, but its
much more expensive per gigabyte.

Tested: Issue 483
Smaller and simpler than rivals, this

all-in-one 720p HD Wi-Fi camera is
triggered by motion. Play back or watch
live remotely from your iOS or Android
phone or tablet. A weeks cloud storage
is free, upgradable to 30 days for 3.99
per month.
ALTERNATIVE: Netgear Arlo
Batteries, which last months, make
these cameras (the price is for two)
very practical. Cloud storage beyond
a week costs extra. 280 from www.
snipca.com/21653
LAST CHANCE TO BUY!

Computeractive 2015
Back Issue CD
There are fewer than 100 copies left on
Amazon at www.snipca.com/21619
(or search for computeractive cd)
!
T
U
O
D
L
SO
What your fellow Computeractive
readers say about our Back Issue CD:
This exceeded my expectations.

You tend to forget the amount of
information there is in each issue.
Simply wonderful.
Keith Hollobone
Maureen Jenner
21619
/
m
o
c
.
a
pc
ww.sniat
w
Ankabsolute
bargain
the price.
price
t
Have been using these for some
a
g
n
i
c
e
h
wealt of
years. Great space-savers o
asn.well
asp c These 26 issues contain a wealth
Kee
o
s
g
use
sers
a convenient
comin of storage and information for all computer users
emethod
r
o
m
t
u
and have already solved some
b
accessing
data.
product I have purchased
Excellent product.
all of the 2015 printed editions. I can
now use the disc as a reference
source, in a compact, easily retrieved
form. Wouldnt be without it.
David Nelson
d the
problems I was having. I copied
files to the hard disc of my PC so I
could browse them at leisure
without inserting the CD.
Carl Hughes
Lived up to expectations and as a

new purchaser of the magazine it
gave me access to previous editions.
Invaluable space saver. I have

every issue of this CD back to
Computeractives first appearance
18 years ago and many Windows
systems back, and they all still
produce the information asked for.
Easy to use and saves having to look

back through a pile of back issues.
You can dispose of them as the
search feature is very good.
Margaret Little
Robin Hall
Mr N Tinlin
Workshops & Tips
PU
& LL
OU
Is K
su E
e E
48 P T
7
Edited by Sherwin Coelho
14 pages of easy-to-follow workshopss and expert tips

35 Clean Windows 10
deeper than ever
38 Force-remove files
that wont delete
40 Stop your hard drives

crashing
42 Master Googles new
messaging app
PLUS
43 Readers Tips
44 Phone & Tablet Tips
46 Make Windows Better
47 Make Office Better

48 Secret Tips For...
iOS 10
Clean Windows 10
deeper than ever
What you need: CCleaner; Any version of Windows (XP to 10)
Time required: 40 minutes
Cleaner is our favourite PCoptimisation program and yours

too, it seems. Downloaded over a billion
times since it launched in 2013, its
updated every month and works with
all Windows versions. Its last update (in
September) made it compatible with
Windows 10s Anniversary Update,

so you can now use it to clean your
Windows 10 PC more thoroughly
than ever. Well show you how to
remove junk, delete duplicate les
and uninstall redundant programs
and apps to recover valuable storage.
STEP You can install the latest version of CCleaner (5.22 at
the time of writing) from www.snipca.com/22045. If

you already have the program and have upgraded to
the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you may notice that
CCleaner doesnt work as it should. To x this, you need to
update it to the latest version. You can check your CCleaner
version number here 1 . The program doesnt have an automatic
update option, so you need to download and install the setup
le (of its latest version). To do that, click the New version!
Click here link 2 .
STEP Now scroll to the bottom of the page, click the grey No,
Thanks button (to avoid upgrading to the paid-for

version). Scroll to the bottom of the next page, then
click the green Download button below the Free version. Click
the downloaded setup le to open it, click Yes, Install, Run
CCleaner and close the web page that opens. Conrm that you
now have the latest version of CCleaner 1 . Youll also see your
PCs basic specications (including processor and RAM) 2 .
Workshops
2
3
1
STEP The Cleaner section
1 has two tabs that let you

remove junk from your PC. The Windows tab 2 and
Applications tab 3 contain boxes (some of which are
pre-ticked by default) to clean the items you want. These
include your browsers, download history, cookies and junk
from programs youve downloaded (including the Windows
Store 4 ). Leave the pre-ticked boxes as they are, tick any
other items you want to clean, then click OK 5 .
STEP Next, click Analyze 1 . Youll then see a list of les to
be cleaned along with the amount of space you can

recover by deleting them 2 . Right-click a le, then
click View detailed results 3 to see more information on it.
If you nd a le you want to keep, right-click it, then click
Add to Exclude list. Next, click Run Cleaner 4 , then OK to
delete those les.
1 click Scan for

Issues 2 to nd any faults in your PCs
registry. In the scan results, right-click a
registry item, then click Open in RegEdit to see that
le in your PCs Registry Editor. To x any errors,
click Fix selected issues 3 , click No to conrm you
dont want to back up any registry changes, then
click Fix All Selected Issues 4 .
STEP In the Registry section
1
4
STEP In the Tools section
1 click any program or

app in the list that you no longer want 2 ,
click Uninstall 3 then follow the prompts to
uninstall it. The Startup section 4 has three tabs that
deal with startup programs, scheduled tasks and
context (right-click) menu options. Too many
startups, tasks and options will slow your PC, so
click any item you dont want, then click Disable.
1
2
Clean Windows 10 deeper than ever

1
3
5
STEP Like startup programs with your PC, extensions that
STEP CCleaner lets you nd and delete les that hog a lot of
launch with your browser will slow it down. Click the

Browser Plugins tab 1 , then select your browser to see
a list of startup extensions. Click any you dont want to open
with your browser 2 , then click Disable 3 . This version of
CCleaner is the rst to let you remove Firefox extensions 4 .
If you want to remove that extension from your browser, select
it, then click Delete 5 . For some extensions, youll need to click
OK to conrm their deletion.
space. Click Disk Analyzer 1 , select all your hard drives

in the list, then click Analyze. After the analysis (which
can take up to a minute), youll see a graph with a breakdown of
your used hard-drive space based on le type 2 , with the
largest les listed below 3 . Right-click any le in the list, then
click Open containing folder to see it in Windows Explorer.
Tick the les you no longer want 4 , right-click any of them,
then click Delete Selected Files 5 .
STEP The program also lets you nd and delete
duplicated les. Click Duplicate Finder 1 ,

set your search criteria (name, for example)
using the checkboxes, tick the drives you want to
search, then click Search. After the scan, youll see a
list of multiple les with the same name. Tick to
select the les you want to delete 2 , then click
Delete Selected 3 . You can also delete old system
restore points to recover storage space. To do that,
click System Restore 4 , press Ctrl on your keyboard,
click to select the restore points you dont want,
then click Remove.
2
4
2
3
STEP Now click Options 1 . In the Settings
10
section, you can choose to run CCleaner

when your PC starts 2 and add it to your
recycle bins right-click menu 3 . Ensure
Automatically check for updates to CCleaner 4 is
ticked so you know when theres a new version
(repeat Steps 1 and 2 to update the program). The
Advanced section 5 has options to close the program
after cleaning, to shut down your PC after cleaning,
and a button to restore CCleaner to its default
settings.
Workshops
Force-remove files that wont delete
What you need: Wise Force Deleter; Any Windows version (XP to 10)
t times youll come across les

you just cant delete and
programs that refuse to be
uninstalled. This might be because a
le is password-protected or a
program is still running in the
background. Whatever the reason,

the new free program Wise Force
Deleter could be the solution. It
quickly removes stubborn les and
programs that traditional methods
struggle to shift.
1
1
STEP The traditional method of removing a le is to rst
make sure its closed on your PC, then navigate to its

location and click to select the le (or les) you want to
delete 1 . Now, you can right-click the le(s) and click Delete 2
or simply press the Delete button on your keyboard. Both
options send the le(s) to the Recycle Bin. The deleted le(s) will
still take up space on your hard drive until you empty your
Recycle Bin. A quicker way to permanently delete a le is to
press Shift+Delete after selecting it. This deletes the le(s)
beyond recovery (bypassing the Recycle Bin).
STEP Similarly, to uninstall a program, rst ensure its closed
on your PC, go to your Control Panel, click the program

in the list, then click Uninstall 1 . If you cant uninstall,
the program is probably still running in the background. You
need to stop this background process before you can remove the
program.
STEP To stop a programs background process,
open Windows Task Manager by pressing

Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then clicking Windows
Task Manager. Next, click the Processes tab 1 , click
the Name/Image Name column header 2 (depending
on your version of Windows) to sort all your running
processes, select the programs process that is using
the highest amount of memory 3 , then click End
Task/End Process 4 . Now try uninstalling the
program via the Control Panel and it should
uninstall. If Steps 1 to 3 fail to remove a le or
program, then resort to Wise Force Deleter.
3
2
2
4
STEP To download the free program, go to www.snipca.
STEP To force-delete a stubborn le, drag and drop it into
com/22051 and click the Free Download button 1 .

Open the downloaded setup le 2 , click Run, Yes,
tick to accept the T&Cs, click Next (twice), Install, Finish, then
Yes to launch the program.
Wise Force Deleter. Select the le, click Unlock &

Delete 1 , then Yes 2 . The les status 3 will change
from Ready to Deleted and it will be removed from your PC.
Alternatively, add multiple les you want to delete by clicking
Add le 4 , navigating to a le you want to delete, then clicking
Open. Repeat this to add more les, click Unlock & Delete, and
then Yes to permanently delete them in one go. If you can still
access the le, try restarting your PC, then deleting it using
Wise Force Deleter.
2
STEP To uninstall a stubborn program, you rst
need to navigate to its installation le on

your PC. The easiest way to locate this is to
right-click the programss shortcut on your desktop,
click Properties, then look in the Target eld 1 . This
shows you where the installation le is stored on
your PC (usually in the Program Files or Program
Files (x86) folders in your C Drive). Open that folder
2 , then look for its installation le (it usually looks
similar to the desktop shortcut and its le type will
be Application 3 ).
STEP The process to forcefully uninstall a
2
1
3
program is the same as deleting les - drag

and drop the installation le into Wise
Force Deleter, click Unlock & Delete, then click Yes.
Its status will change to Unlocked & Deleted or
Deleted 1 . Now try launching that program via its
desktop shortcut 2 . Youll see a pop-up message
saying the program is not available. Click Yes 3 to
delete its desktop shortcut. Finally, you should delete
that programs folder to remove unwanted les.
Select its folder (within the Program Files folder on
your C Drive), press Shift+Delete, then follow any
onscreen prompts.
Workshops
Stop your hard drives
crashing
What you need: DiskCheckup; All Windows versions (XP to 10)
ard drives are the engine rooms of

our PCs, but we often neglect them.
DiskCheckup is a free program that gives
you detailed information about your
hard drives. Well show you how it can
help identify faults, run quick health
checks for your drives, and nd and x

errors before they crash your PC. Well
also explain how to set notications
warning you of imminent hard-drive
crashes, so you can take action to
prevent them.
4
2
2
3
STEP To download the program, go to www.snipca.com/21843 and
click the green Download now button on the right. Open the
downloaded setup le, click Run, Yes, then OK, Next, accept the
agreement, then keep clicking Next until you need to click Install. Finally,
click Finish to launch the program. When the program opens, youll see all
your hard drives at the top and six tabs 1 . Select your hard drive 2 to see
information about it in each of the tabs.
1 gives you detailed

information about your hard drive,
including how well its working 2 , its
various partitions 3 , its capacity and its model
number. All hard drives feature a system called
SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology), which lets the drive monitor itself and
provide early warnings of imminent hard-drive
failures. Click the SMART Info tab 4 to see this
information.
STEP The Device Info tab
STEP Move your cursor to the i symbol
1 to see
more info about what each category means.
The RAW Value 2 is a measure provided by
DiskCheckup for each category. The arrow icons 3
tell you whether a higher or lower score is better (all
but Temperature Dierence from 100 are lower).
Any orange category requires your attention (see
Raw Read Error Rate in our screenshot 4 ). The
program predicts when it thinks your hard drive
may crash 5 if the problem is not addressed (TEC
stands for Threshold Exceed Condition). Well show
you how to x your hard drive problems in Step 6.
2
4
5
1
STEP The SMART History tab
lets you
monitor the categories in the SMART
Info tab at more regular intervals. These
appear as dropdown menus 2 . To activate SMART
History, click Conguration 3 , tick Auto-refresh
and n mins 4 , type 60 (or however long in
minutes you want your interval to be) in the
adjacent eld 5 , tick Record SMART attributes
for TEC computation 6 , click Yes to conrm,
then click OK. The program will now log the
performance of your hard drive at the interval
you chose. Unless you suspect your hard drive is
faulty, you should set this to provide updates no
more than once a day.
2
5
4
6
3
STEP DiskCheckup also lets you carry out a
general hard-drive health check. Click the

Disk Self Test tab 1 , select one of two tests
from the dropdown menu Short Test (about 20
minutes) or Extended Test (about 40 minutes) 2 ,
then click Start Test 3 . After the test has nished,
this message 4 means your hard drive is ne and you
can skip to Step 7. If you encountered any problems
in Steps 3 5, then you should x them using
Windows built-in Disk Check Tool. If you dont see
any errors, then skip to Step 7.
1
2
1
2
3
3
5
4
1
STEP Before xing any problems with your hard drive, you
should rst back up your PC (refer to the Back up your

whole PC before upgrading to Windows 10 Workshop
in Issue 480, page 38). After that, open My Computer, rightclick your C Drive, then click Properties. Next, click the Tools
tab 1 , click the Check now button 2 , tick both boxes 3 , then
click Start 4 . The scan cant run while youre using your PC, so
if you prefer click Schedule disk check to schedule it for the
next time you start your PC. The process can take up to an hour.
If the scan shows serious errors, you should consider replacing
your hard drive.
STEP DiskCheckup can also warn you (via a pop-up
notication or email) when your hard drive is about to

crash. Click the Conguration button 1 . To receive a
desktop notication, select Display a message window 2 . To
get an email, select Send e-mail notication 3 , then click
Settings 4 . Youll now need to enter your email address, then
add it to the mailing list. Click OK 5 at the bottom to apply
these changes. If you see either of these notications, repeat
Step 6 to x the problem with your hard drive.
Workshops
Master Googles new
messaging app
What you need: Google Allo; Android phone Android 4.1 or later) or iPhone (iOS 9.1 or later)
Time required: 15 mins
llo is Googles free new messaging app (an

alternative to expensive texting) and has
some great features. For example, you can ask
Google Assistant questions (about news,
weather etc) and receive answers within the
app. Allo oers standard replies that you can
tap to send when chatting to someone and

provides info thats relevant to the conversation
n
youre having (which lms are on locally, say).
).
Were using the Android app (www.snipca.
com/22066) for this Workshop, but the iOS app
pp
(www.snipca.com/22067) works the same.
STEP Open the app, tap
Next, then Allow.

Now enter your
phone number 1 , then tap
Next 2 . The app will verify
your number by texting you
a code and youll need to
1
add a photo of yourself as a
prole picture for your
account. To upload the
photo from your device, tap
the Gallery icon at the
bottom left, select the photo
you want, then tap the tick
icon. Now, enter your name
in the Whats your name?
eld, then tap Next. On the
2
apps main screen, youll see
three options Google
Assistant, start a conversation with one person, or start a group
conversation (with other Allo users).
STEP Tap Google
Assistant. This
displays cards
telling you what sort of
information the app can
provide 1 . Type your request
in the eld below or tap the
mic icon 2 and say your
request (for example,
Whats the weather like
today?, Give me sports
1
news, Restaurants near
me, or How do you say
Hello in Spanish?). Youll
see the results as Google
Now cards in the app, or as
links to relevant online
2
sources you can tap to read.
To text someone, go back 3 ,
tap Send a message, select an Allo contact from the list (or
search for them using the search bar), then start your
conversation.
STEP As you converse, youll see a
list of appropriate standard

replies that you can tap to
send. For example, if your friend asks
What are you doing for dinner?, you
may see the options like No plans yet
and Not sure. You?. Similarly, if the
conversation turns to going to watch
something at the local cinema, Allo
will tell you what lms are playing
near you 1 . You can then choose a
genre you want 2 . The + icon 3
provides options to take a photo, share
photos/videos from your device, and
send your location as a pin on a map.
Well have more on Allos other
features in upcoming issues.
NEXT ISSUE
ON SALE
Weds
9 Nov
Create your own Word tabs

Add your PCs health data to
your desktop
Convert PC videoss for
your tablet
Make your bank details
ls
hack-proof
Subscribe to Computeractive at
getcomputeractive.co.uk
Readers Tips
Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers

Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT

T
Fix the latest Windows 10 Update problem

I recently noticed a buggy
Windows 10 update called
KB3194496. While the
update downloads without
problems, it wouldnt
install properly. It would
start installing as I shut
down my PC, but after a
while Id see a message
saying: Rolling back
updates. When my PC
booted up again, Id see the
message: Windows
Updates failed to install. It
turns out this problem has
aected many Windows 10 PCs, but
there is an easy x.
You need to nd and delete a folder
called XblGameSave on your C Drive,
as well as its corresponding registry
key. Navigate to the following PC location:

C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft.
Select the XblGameSave folder, press
Shift+Delete, then click Yes to conrm
you want to delete it permanently
(see screenshot).
Next, press the Windows
key+R to open the Run box.
Type regedit, then press
Enter to open your PCs
Registry Editor. Now
navigate to the following
key by clicking the
dropdown arrows on the
left: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\
Microsoft\WindowsNT\
CurrentVersion\Schedule\
TaskCache\Tree\Microsoft\
XblGameSave. Select the
XblGameSave key, press Delete, then
click Yes to conrm. After doing this,
restart your PC to install the update
without errors.
Derek Redville
Derek wins a copy of our A-Z Jargon Buster book Buy it on Amazon www.snipca.com/21616
BROWSERS
Set your browsers to open the

last web pages you closed
I usually work with several

browser tabs open at the same
time. Sometimes, however, I close my
browser only to realise there was an
open web page I wanted to visit or that
I forgot to ll out something in one of
the tabs. To make things easier in future,
Ive now set Chrome, Firefox and
Microsoft Edge to launch with the
pages I last closed.
To set this in Chrome, click the three
dots at the top right, click Settings, then
select Continue where you left o (see
screenshot below). In Firefox, click the
three lines at the top right, Options,
then the When Firefox starts dropdown
menu and select Show my windows
and tabs from last time. In Windows 10s
default browser Microsoft Edge, click
the three dots at the top right, click
Settings, then the Open Microsoft Edge
with dropdown menu, then select

Previous pages.
Moira Hall
GOOGLE SHEETS
Add a dropdown menu to a cell
I recently moved from Excel to

Google Sheets, but it took me some
time to work out how to create a cell with
dropdown menus of options you can
click to select quickly. First, go to sheets.
google.com, log in with your Gmail
account, then open the sheet you want to
add the dropdown menu to, or click
Blank to create a new sheet.
Now enter the options for your

dropdown menu in a column (see
column B in our screenshot above). Next,
right-click the cell you want to add the
dropdown menu to (A1 in our screenshot),
then click Data validation at the bottom.
Finally, click the small table in the
Criteria eld (see screenshot), select the

cells in the B column, click OK, then
Save. Youll now see a small dropdown
menu in cell A1. Click it to see the values/
options in your B column as a dropdown
menu that you can click to select.
Don Warwick
EMAIL
Schedule emails in Thunderbird
When support for Windows Live

Mail ended, I switched to Mozilla
Thunderbird (www.snipca.com/22082).
I like the fact you can use extra tools
(Mozilla calls these add-ons) to make it
do useful things. One of the best is Send
Later, which lets you schedule emails to
be sent at a later date and time. I use this
to send birthday wishes in advance.
To install the add-on, click the three
lines at the top right of Thunderbird, then
click Add-ons. Type send later in the
search bar at the top right, then click the
Install button beside that option. Next,
click Restart now to install the extension
and restart Thunderbird. To schedule an
email to be sent later, write it, click File at
the top left, then Send Later. Youll see a
menu with dierent date and time
options. Use the arrows to set the values
you want, then click the Send button.
Chris Turner
Phone and Tablet Tips

ANDROID
Retrieve storage and extend

your phones battery life
Over time youll notice that your

Android phone slows down, you
run out of storage space and your
battery tends to run down quicker.
This is usually because of multiple apps
running in the background consuming
resources. Super Booster (www.snipca.
com/22113) is a free app that lets you
close background apps, uninstall
unwanted ones and prolong your
phones battery life.
After installing, open the app. The

main screen tells you how fast your
device is running (see screenshot below
left). Tap Memory Boost to see a list of
apps running in the background, then tap
the Boost icon at the bottom to close
them. Now return to the main screen,
tap Junk Clean to see the app cache
and downloaded les (that you can
delete to recover valuable storage
space), then tap Remove.
On the main screen, tap App Manager
to see how much space your installed
apps are consuming. To uninstall any
apps you no longer need, tap Super
Uninstaller. Here, youll see your apps
sorted into categories (size, last used,
and so on). Select a category, tick the
apps you want to remove, then tap
Uninstall. You need to tap OK to conrm
the deletion of each app in turn.
Return to the main screen again, tap
Battery Saver, then tap Enable Now.
Here, youll see all the apps that
usually start with your phone
(and then keep running in the
background) and an estimate of
how much time you can extend
your devices battery if you close
them. Tap the Optimize button
to turn on the Battery Saver.
The app also adds a panel to
your notication menu giving
you quick access to your
batterys level, Wi-Fi, and
ashlight. To remove this, tap
the three dots at the top right of
Best New Apps

Opera VPN
Free
Android: www.snipca.com/22124
iOS: www.snipca.com/22125
Following the release of its iOS app earlier
this year, Opera VPN is now available for
Android. You can
virtually browse
from ve countries
(including the
US, Canada and
Germany). All
your activity is
encrypted to
protect you from
hackers, and it
even has a built-in
ad-blocker.
Brilliant things to do on your device

the app, then tap the Notication Toggle
slider to turn it o.
ANDROID, iOS & WINDOWS PHONE
Copy and p
paste text
Its easy to copy

and paste text on
your PC, but the
process is slightly more challenging on a
phone or tablet because they lack a
mouse and keyboard. Well show you
how to copy text from a website in your
browser app and paste this into any email
app. We used Chrome and Gmail in our
example, but these methods apply to any
apps with text.
In iOS and Android, open your
browser app and navigate to the website
you want to copy text from. Next, tap
and hold any word within the section
of text you want to copy until it is
highlighted. Youll see two sliders before
and after the word. Drag the sliders to
select the entire passage of text you want
What you should install this fortnight

Speedify*
Free
Android: www.snipca.com/22114
iOS: www.snipca.com/22115
Your internet speed will slow down when
you move to the limits of your Wi-Fis
range. This app detects poor Wi-Fi signals,
then automatically
switches you to
your mobile data
for a seamless
connection. You
get 1GB of usage
for free, but can
earn more data by
referring others
or shifting to a
paid-for plan.
Singuler:
Duplicate
Removal Tool
Free
Windows Phone:
www.snipca.
com/22116
By default, this
app detects
duplicate les
in the Music,
Pictures and
Videos folder,
but you can add
other locations on your phone to nd and
remove all duplicates in one go. A useful
feature is the ability to preview duplicates,
then select the ones you want to remove.
to copy, then tap the Copy option (see

screenshot below left). Now open the
email app you want to paste this text to,
long-press the exact place where you
want to paste it, then tap Paste in the
menu that appears.
On Windows phones, the process is
slightly dierent. Tap a word to select it in
your browser app, move the sliders to
select the rest of the text, then tap the
small icon at the top to copy it. To paste
your text, open your email app, longpress where you want to paste it, then tap
the clipboard icon that appears.
ANDROID, iOS & WINDOWS PHONES
Take straight
gh photos
It can sometimes
be dicult when
taking a photo to
make sure youve got your angles right.
One feature built into all phones and
tablets is the ability to add a grid (two
vertical and horizontal lines) to the
viewnder to help you shoot straight.
Depending on the phone or tablet youre
using, this feature may not be turned
on by default.
On a Nexus device, open the Camera
app, tap the three lines at the top
left, tap Settings at the bottom, then
tap the Show grid in viewnder
slider to turn it on (see screenshot
below). On an iOS device, open your
Settings app, tap Photos & Camera,
then tap the slider beside Grid to turn it
on. On Windows Phone, open the
Camera app, tap the three dots at the
bottom, Settings, then the Framing
grid dropdown menu and change it to
Rule of thirds.
Note that these methods only work
with the default camera apps for
Android, iOS and Windows phones.
If youre using a third-party camera app
or a non-Nexus Android device (made

by Samsung, Sony or HTC, for example),
the methods will vary slightly. In most
cases, you need to go into the camera
apps settings, then turn on the slider that
says Grid or Rule of Thirds.
scroll down to and tap the app whose

notications you you want to bar from
the lock screen, then tap Notications.
Now untick the Show on Lock Screen
slider to turn it o (see screenshot
below).
iOS
Select the notications

yo
you see on your lock screen
By default, notications (for

example, emails or text
messages) appear on your
lock screen and stay there until you
swipe them away or open the email
or text. This means that anyone who
can get their hands on your locked
device can read your notications by
tapping the Home button (which
turns the screen on).
To protect yourself, open Settings,
Games With Kids
What to play together on your phone and tablet

AGES 0 5
The Very Hungry Caterpillar*
Free www.snipca.com/22117 (Android);

2.49 www.snipca.com/22118 (iOS)
This app has simple mini-games that will
help your toddlers learn about shapes and
colours. Games include matching colours,
arranging shapes by size, and dragging
and dropping shapes to complete a picture.
AGES 6 10
Dan the Man*
Free www.snipca.com/22119 (Android)

Free www.snipca.com/22120 (iOS)
This brilliant retro arcade-style action
game is similar to Super Mario. After
choosing a character your child needs to
complete various levels by jumping over
objects, collecting coins and beating the
baddies. The aim is to complete all the
levels and save a village.
AGES 11 16
FIFA Mobile Football*
Free www.snipca.com/22121 (Android)

Free www.snipca.com/22122 (iOS)
This football game contains realistic
graphics and tournaments from over 30
worldwide leagues. Review each players
stats, choose your team and formation,
and make tactical substitutions. You can
also take part in online tournaments.
*Contains in-app purchases
Make Windows Better
Clever tips for every version
WINDOWS 7, 8, 10
Stop your PC from falling

asleep
Whenever you stop

using your PC, your
screen will automatically
go dark after 15 minutes. Leave it
another 10 minutes and your PC will
switch to Sleep mode. This can be
annoying if youre downloading
something or need to see your PCs
screen. Here, well show you how to
extend these default periods.
First, press the Windows key, type

choose when to turn o, then click the
rst option that appears: Choose when
to turn o the screen (Windows 8 and
10) or Choose when to turn o display
(Windows 7). Using the dropdown
menus, you can now select the
durations of inactivity before your PCs
screen goes dark and before your PC
goes to sleep (see screenshot above).
Click Save changes when youve
nished.
To override these settings and keep
your screen on indenitely, download
the free program Insomnia. Go to www.
techcenter.dk, click the Insomnia.exe
setup le and run it. Now, whenever
you want to keep your PC on (perhaps to
download a large le), right-click the
Insomnia icon in your toolbar, then
click Keep Monitor On.
WINDOWS 7, 8, 10
Launch taskbar items with

a keyboard shortcut
Any open program or

location on your PC
appears as an icon on
your taskbar. Clicking these icons opens
the relevant item, whereas rightclicking the icon displays a list of
options (known as a jump list). For
example, right-clicking Chrome lets
you open the web pages you visit most
frequently, web pages youve recently
closed, or an Incognito window.
WINDOWS 10
Add extensions to Microsoft Edge

One of the best
things about the
Windows 10
Anniversary Update is the
ability to add browser
extensions to the Microsoft
Edge. At the time of writing,
there are 13 extensions, but
new ones are expected to be
added. To see and install
these extensions, open
Microsoft Edge, click the
three dots at the top right,
click Extensions at the
bottom, then click the
Get extensions from the
Store link.
This opens the Extensions
for Microsoft Edge page in
the Windows Store, where youll see
all the available options. Click to select
the one you want, then click the Get
button to install it. Any extensions you
install are turned o by default. To turn
them on, open Edge, click the three
dots at the top right (see screenshot),
click Extensions, select your
downloaded extension, then tap the
Similarly, jump lists for

PC locations reveal what
youve recently visited on
your PC (les, folders and
so on).
A lesser-known taskbar
feature is the ability to
open any of these taskbar
icons using a keyboard
shortcut. Press the
Windows key+1 to open
the program on the far
left of your taskbar
(beside the Start button). To open icons
to the right of this, press the Windows
key+2 or 3 or 4 and so on.
WINDOWS 8, 10
See multiple currency

conversions in one place
XE Currency is one of the best

free currency-converter apps.
Open the Windows Store, search
for XE Currency, install the app, then
click Launch.
The default currency is US dollars, so
slider below it to turn it on. For some

extensions, youll need to click Turn it
on to conrm this.
If youre using an extension like
Pocket or Evernote, then youll be
prompted to log into your account
after turning the extension on. To
access your extensions, click the three
dots at the top left of Edge.
change it to GBP using the dropdown

menu on the left. On the right, youll see
currency conversions for several dierent
currencies. To add another countrys
currency, simply scroll to the right and
select one of the countries (which are
listed alphabetically).
You can also remove a particular
currency-conversion tile or pin it to your
start menu. To do that, right-click the
relevant currency, then select from the
two options at the bottom left (see
screenshot above).
Make Office Better
Expert tips for every program
OUTLOOK
Create templates for different email types

Outlook has a useful tool
that lets you create
templates for specic
types of email, thereby saving
you from having to type similar
text time and time again.
For example, you can
create templates for emails
congratulating people on special
occasions say, birthdays and
anniversaries. Simply create your
template then include a standard
message that you can then
personalise for each recipient.
To create a template, click New
Email at the top left in Outlook,
then enter your subject and

your message text (for example,
a birthday greeting). Next,
click File at the top left of the
message window, click Save As,
name the le, then click the
Save as type dropdown menu
and select Outlook Template
(see screenshot). Finally, select
where you want to save this
template on your PC, then
click Save.
In future, whenever you want
to use a template, simply open it,
type any additional text you want,
then send it.
WORD
Wrap text around pictures
By default, whenever you insert a

picture into a document with
text, that text will only appear
above and below it. However, theres an
easy way to ow your text around the
side of your picture if you prefer.
To insert a picture, click in your
document to select where you want to
add it. Next, click the Insert tab, then
Pictures (in the Illustrations section),
navigate to and select your picture on
your PC, then click Insert.
To wrap text around your picture, click
it, then click the small icon that appears
at its top right (see screenshot below). By
default, youll see the In Line with Text
option selected, but you can select any of
the options in the With Text Wrapping
section. Try each to see which works best
for you. Once youve decided, you can
click and move your picture to reposition
it within your document now all your
text will ow around it.
EXCEL
Automatically
calculate
column totals
Excel has
a useful
formula
that lets you
automatically
calculate the
sum total of cells
within a column.
Whenever you
change any of the
values in the column, the total will
automatically change to reect that.
To create the formula, rst click the
cell where you want to display the total
for all cells in a column (E7, in our
screenshot above). Next, click the
Function eld at the top, then type
=SUM. Select all the cells in the column
whose values you want to include.
The rst and last cell value will
automatically appear in Function eld,
separated by a colon (E1 and
E6 in our example above).
Now type ) (closed bracket) to
complete the formula, then
press Enter to see the total
values of cells in that column
in cell E7. To make sure the
formula works, change any
values within one of the cells
(E1 to E6) in the column. The
number in cell E7 should
automatically change to show
this new total.
ONENOTE
Use keyboard shortcuts

to tag your items
Tags are a useful

way to add context
to items in your
OneNote lists. For example,
you can add tick boxes to
to-do lists, stars to
important items, and
question marks to anything
youre not sure about. If
youre using the OneNote
PC program, highlight the
list of items you want to add tags to and
select the tag you want in the Tags section
of the Home tab. If youre using the
online version of OneNote, youll need to
click the Home tab to see the Tags section.
An easier way to add these tags is to use
keyboard shortcuts. To add tick boxes,
select your items, then press Ctrl+1.
Press it again to add ticks to your boxes.
Similarly, press Ctrl+2 to add star tags to
selected items, and Ctrl+3 to add question
marks. Using these shortcuts, you can
quickly add multiple tags to each item in
your list (see screenshot below).
Secret Tips For
iOS 10
Delete Apples built-in apps
Apples latest mobile operating system

iOS 10 is the rst version to let users
remove most of the built-in apps. In
all, 23 apps can be deleted from your
device (see www.snipca.com/21986
for the full list).
Of these, you should certainly remove
the Home and Watch apps unless you
have smart and household devices
(such as thermostats) or wear an Apple
Watch. To remove an app, press its icon
for a few seconds (until the icon begins
to shake) and a grey cross will appear at
its top left. Tap the cross, then tap
Remove. If you want to restore a deleted
app, open the App Store and nd it
using the search bar.
Delete Apples apps, unlock your

device with a tap, add multiple
languages and congure the lockscreen
Customise your lockscreen
Perhaps the biggest improvement is that

the lockscreen now shows widgets. Tap
the home button when your display is o
and slide your nger across the screen
(from left to right). Widgets are similar to
Live tiles in Windows 8 and 10 Start
screens. So, for example, the news widget
shows the latest headlines from the News
app, and the Calendar widget displays
your upcoming appointments.
To add more widgets, tap the circular
Edit icon (you might be prompted to
enter your passcode). Tap the green +
symbol next to any widget to add it and
youll see the app move into the Right
column section (which means it will
appear on the right of your lockscreen).
To rearrange a widget and shift it left
or right, long-press the three horizontal
lines to the right of it and drag it to where
you want. To delete a widget, tap the red
- symbol, then Remove (see screenshot
above right).
Unlock with a single tap

using Touch ID
For the first time, iOS 10 lets users remove

Apples built-in apps on iPhones and iPads
To accommodate the new customisable

lockscreen (see previous tip) iOS 10 has
removed the traditional swipe method of
unlocking your iPhone or iPad. Instead,
you now have to press the homescreen
Write a text message

iOS 10 lets you add a personal touch to
text messages by scribbling across your
phone or tablets screen with your
nger tip or a pen. To do this, open the
Message app and tap the key with a
squiggle on it (see screenshot, on an
iPhone you will have to hold it in
landscape orientation). This opens a
blank box where you can write your
message. Tap Done when youve
nished.
You can remove mistakes by tapping
Undo, or scroll to the right by tapping
the grey arrow. By default, a message
written in this way will be a black and
white, but you can produce a more
Add widgets to your lockscreen using the green

+ symbol and remove them using the red -
button once to turn the screen on, then

press it again to unlock the device. This
may sound simple enough, but the extra
button press takes some getting used to. If
you have an iPhone 5s (and later) or iPad
Air 2 (or later) and nd this irritating, you
can revert to one-touch unlocking using
Touch ID (Apples ngerprint-sensing
technology). Tap Settings, General, then
Accessibility and move the Rest nger to
open slider to the right. You can now
unlock your device by touching the home
button and keeping your nger on it until
it unlocks.
Set up multilingual typing
If you speak a foreign language or like to

throw the odd foreign word into your
emails and text messages, you probably
get irritated when your iPhone identies
them as incorrect and uses the nearest
English-language equivalent. With iOS 10
you can now tell your device you intend
to use words from multiple languages.
Tap Settings, General, then Dictionary
and select the languages you want to use
(a tick will appear next to them). To
remove a language, simply tap it.
Find the hidden volume controls
colourful message by tapping the heart

icon (above the keyboard). Tap the dot
of colour on the left to change the
colour of your scribbles and tap the
blue up arrow to send the message.
Another change in iOS 10 is to the

Control Centre (this opens when you drag
your nger up from the bottom of the
screen). Unlike in previous iOS versions,
you wont see the volume control and the
move-to-next-track option (if youre
playing music). To access them swipe
your nger across the Control Centre
from right to left.
Next issue Secret Tips For FreeCommander
Whats All the Fuss About...
Kodi
Stream any lm, football match and TV

programme free on any device but is it legal?
What is it?
An open-source media player program

that lets you stream the latest Hollywood
lms, football matches, computer games
and other paid-for content to your PC,
TV, phone and tablet without paying a
penny.
Isnt that illegal?
Its certainly borderline, well say that.

In September, Brian Thompson from
Middlesbrough became the UKs rst
Kodi defendant when he was prosecuted
for selling set-top boxes pre-installed
with Kodi. Thompson, who runs a shop
called Cut Price Tomos TV, is charged
with three oences against the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act.
Thats unlikely. Kodi itself is just a media

player. It started life in 2003 as Xbox
Media Center (XBMC), an Xbox program
that was similar to Windows Media
Center (WMC). Like WMC, Kodi which
now has versions for Windows, Linux,
Android and even Raspberry Pi doesnt
contain any video or music les. It just
provides the controls for playing media,
either from your hard drive or via an
internet stream. So its what you do with
it that counts, legally speaking.
browsers and other large programs,

supports extensions (add-ons) that add
extra features to it.
A quick web search reveals hundreds
of Kodi extensions, from subtitling
tools to retro game collections and
several, such as Exodus, that give you free
access to the latest blockbuster lms, live
sport and presidential debates (if thats
your bag). Brian Thompson had bundled
a similar extension with Kodi in his
set-top boxes. Our sister website Alphr
has a guide to installing Exodus if you
really want to go down that route (www.
snipca.com/ 22007).
How would I use it to watch

paid-for content for free?
Does Kodi approve of these

murky extensions?
Will Kodi be banned?
Youd have to add an extension specially

designed for that purpose. Kodi, like
Kodis volunteer developers seem

mortied by the controversy, and have
gone to great lengths to distance

themselves from add-ons that let users
break copyright rules. If access to certain
content seems too good to be true
you should start asking yourself if this
can still be considered legal, wrote the
team on Kodis Facebook page (www.
facebook.com/XBMC). The Facebook post
added that Kodi would not provide
support of any kind for dubious
extensions.
Is it like BitTorrent?
Only in the sense that you can use it as a

platform for accessing content youd
normally have to pay for. These services
are technically quite dierent. BitTorrent
involves downloading huge media les,
while Kodi is a player. You can use it to
play media les stored on your hard
drive, or to stream video and other
content from the internet. Its also
handy for viewing your photos as
slideshows.
How do I get it?
Brian Thompson is being prosecuted for selling set-top boxes with Kodi pre-installed
Go to https://kodi.tv/download and then

click Installer under the Windows logo.
Its quick and safe to install. Kodi is a
fairly large program (158MB), but there
are no PUPs to opt out of. Theres also
now a Kodi Windows 10 app, currently in
beta. Most extensions are also legal and
safe, but we recommend sticking to
downloading extensions from Kodis own
site (http://addons.kodi.tv) or from the
program window.
When Will Your

No matter how healthy it seems now, your
PC will eventually grind to a halt. Mike Plant
explains how to calculate its life expectancy
and put a few extra miles on its clock
ime and tide wait for no man, they

say, and sadly the same is true of
your PC. After years of use even the
most robust of PCs will start to feel
its age and succumb to errors, freezes and
the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. Each
new setback brings it inexorably closer to
the scrapheap.
WHAT YOU CAN DO

Find out how healthy your PC is
Add years to your computers life
with our quick xes
Test your processor and
memory speed
Check which components are
most likely to fail
Computeractive is always here to show

you how to breathe new life into your PC.
But there comes a time when even our
advice can no longer keep your trusty
PC up and running. Sadly, there will
always come a day when youll have to
pull the plug one last time and think
about a replacement.
But when is the right time to let go?
Perhaps your PC takes an age to load
Windows, or pauses for a long thought
before grudgingly playing that DVD you
would like to watch? But does that mean
its really on its last legs?
Well guide you through the 11 tests
that, when their results are combined,
will tell you whether your PC is still going
strong, or ready to meet its maker (Dell,
HP, Lenovo, or whoever). For example,
Add
MORE
YEARS to
its life
we will show you how to take your

PCs temperature, test its processor
and assess whether its memory is
as good as it once was.
Well also explain what those random
freezes, crashes and error messages
really mean and how you can use them
to identify where your computer is
having problems. And, for each test,
we will suggest the easiest ways you
can improve your PCs performance
levels.
Note your scores as you go and at
the end youll get a good idea of how
long your PC has got left. If it looks like
your machine is on borrowed time,
you should consider buying our
recommended computers (see page 56)
as a replacement.
When Will Your PC Die?
11-STEP
INSIDE YOUR
HEALTH
PC CHECK
age of your
1 The
computer
Why its important The components in

your computer are like its vital organs,
and as they age they become more prone
to breaking down. Exactly when a
component will cease to work is
impossible to say, but age will increase
the likelihood of a fault.
How do you nd out? You probably know
when you bought your PC, but does that
represent its actual age? For example, you
may have installed a new hard drive, some
new memory (RAM) or a new processor.
Does this mean your PC is suddenly a lot
younger? In fact, to get philosophical, is it
the same PC at all (see box below)?
Replacing or upgrading at least two of
the following vital components
processor, hard drive, video card, RAM or
motherboard means you can justiably
revise the age of your PC down. As a rule,
consider your PCs birthday to be
half-way between when you bought your
PC and the date of the earliest upgrade.
Open System Information to find out what processor you have
So if you bought your PC four years ago,

then replaced its hard drive after two
years and added more RAM a year later,
you should count your PC as being three
years old.
Prolong its life This is simple but not
cheap: replace or upgrade a few of your
PCs most easy-to-access components,
such as its hard drive or RAM.
Your PC score:
0-2 years old (3 points)

2-3 years old (2 points)
3-4 years old (1 point)
4+ years old (0 points)
operating system
2 Which
do you use?
Installing new components, such as RAM,
could lower your PCs average age
Why its important What operating system

(OS) you use plays a big part in your
computers best before date. An
ever-increasing number of popular
IS YOUR PC LIKE TRIGGERS BROOM?

Only Fools and Horses
nice-but-dim Trigger
once famously boasted
that hed had his trusty
roadsweepers broom
for 20 years. Though, of
course, hed replaced the
broom head 17 times and its
handle 14. Not to be undone
when asked How can it be the
same broom, then?, he quickly whipped
out an old photo of him with the broom
from 20 years ago: What more proof
do you need? (Watch the

clas
classic scene at www.snipca.
co
com/22098)
The same logic can
be applied to your PC.
If youve replaced its
pr
processor and hard drive,
ad
added more RAM and
upgr
upgraded its video card, then
is iit really
al the same computer
whether or not you have an old picture
of your PC? Send your thoughts to
letters@computeractive.com.
programs, including Microsoft Oce

2016, are no longer compatible with
older operating systems like Windows
Vista and XP. When your software
options start to become restricted like
this it might be time to consider a
new PC (or at least upgrading the
operating system).
How do you nd out? Finding out what
version of Windows you have is a doddle.
Click the Start button and type system
information. Youll see the result at the
top, and which edition (Professional or
Home see screenshot above).
Prolong its life Upgrading to Windows 10
(or at least Windows 7) means your
PC is much more likely to run the
latest software. This wont always be
possible though. Windows 10, for
example, requires a 1GHz (or faster)
processor, 1GB RAM (for 32bit
processors) or 2GB RAM (for 64bit),
and 16GB of free hard-drive space
(20GB for 64bit systems).
To check the speed of your processor
and how much RAM it has, open System
Information again and look for Processor
and Installed Physical Memory in the
Item column. To check how much free
hard-drive space you have, use File
Explorer (Windows Explorer in XP, Vista
and 7). Just right-click the C: drive and
click Properties. Free space will be
highlighted in pink.
Your PC score:
Windows 10 (3 points)
Windows 7, 8.1 (2 points)
Vista (1 point)
XP (0 points)
How fast is
3 your
CPU?
Why its important If your computers

components are its vital organs, then its
central processing unit (CPU) is its brain.
Every task you set your computer will go
through the CPU, so its important the
processor is able to keep pace with the
demands of the latest software, browsers
and operating systems.
How do you nd out? Working out how
fast your processor is from its name
alone is impossible. Processor names
normally comprise a string of words and
numbers that make little sense to anyone
who doesnt actually work at Intel or
AMD. For example, an old PC in the
Computeractive oce goes by the name:
AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 640 Processor,
3000 Mhz 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s).
While all those Mhz (megahertz) and
cores sound impressive, this particular
processor has seen better days.
The best way to test your processor is to
use benchmarking software. This scores
the CPU and lets you see how it measures
up to the thousands of others that have
also been tested. We recommend
PassMarks PerformanceTest. Go to www.
snipca.com/22054 and download the
latest version (PerformanceTest 9 at the
time of writing). Install and open it and
click Continue when prompted to get the
program (PerformanceTest is free to use
for 30 days, which is more than enough
time for what you need to do).
Click Run on the orange CPU Mark
section on the left (see screenshot below)
to start the test (clicking Yes when
The Percentile mark tells you how your PC compares to the thousands that have been tested
(not very well in this case)
prompted). Try not to use your PC while

the process is running. When it nishes
your processor will be given a CPU Mark
(a number in the thousands). Were more
interested in the Percentile score though,
so take a note of that (see screenshot
above). This shows you how your
processor compares with the thousands
of PCs that have been tested using
PerformanceTest worldwide.
Prolong its life Unfortunately, theres no
easy way to give an old processor a new
lease of life. It is possible to overclock a
CPU in some cases to make it perform
above its recommended speed, but wed
Run a processor benchmark test by clicking the CPU Mark Run button. You can also test how
your PC handles graphics by running the 2D Mark and 3D Mark tests
advise against doing this on older

machines. Overclocking can not only
break the processor due to increased
stress, but can cause it to overheat as well
(see test 6). By far the easiest way to get
more processing power is to buy a new
PC (see page 56 for our recommendations).
Your PC score:
60 per cent and above (3 points)

50-60 per cent (2 points)
40-50 per cent (1 point)
30 per cent and below (0 points)
fast is your
4 How
PCs RAM?
Why its important Memory that is

to say RAM, rather than the storage on
your hard drive is another crucial
component in determining the overall
wellbeing of a PC. Its not simply a matter
of adding up the amount of RAM you
have installed though, because how
quickly data can access your computers
memory is just as important.
How do you nd out? Once more we turn
to PerformanceTest 9 (see previous tip).
This time click the Memory Mark Run
button. The test will be carried out in the
background (but try not to use your PC
while it runs) and give you a Percentile
(see screenshot above right) that you
should take a note of.
Prolong its life Extra RAM can be easily
added to your PC. The key to this is
making sure you buy the right type
because the fastest RAM will only work
on the latest motherboards. Use Crucials

If your PCs
RAM is
showing a low
percentage, its
probably time
to upgrade it
Advisor tool (www.snipca.com/21491)

and click the download the scanner
button. After it has downloaded, doubleclick the le and click Run. When the
scan nishes, all available compatible
RAM will be shown on Crucials website.
Memory is easy to install (see Issue 483,
page 51) just be sure to buy the memory
sticks in pairs (so if you want to add 4GB
of RAM, buy two 2GB sticks). Just
remember to check your motherboard to
see if it has free memory slots before you
buy (if it has no spare slots youll need to
completely replace the RAM you have
with higher GB options).
Your PC score:
60 per cent and above (3 points)

50-60 per cent (2 points)
40-50 per cent (1 point)
30 per cent and below (0 points)
long is your PCs

5 How
boot time?
Why its important They say good things

come to those who wait, but try telling
that to someone waiting an age for
Windows to boot up. If this sounds like
you, it might be time to take action. A
long boot time can indicate problems
with your hard drive or CPU, or may
mean that Windows startup process is
clogged with programs all looking to
load as your PC boots.
How do you nd out? Calculating your
PCs boot time isnt quite as simple as
turning it o and on again, because its
dicult to know when the process ends.
Is it when the Windows logo appears? Or
when you log in? Or when the desktop
appears?
BootTimer is a tool that takes the
guesswork out of the equation. Download
it from www.thewindowsclub.com/
windows-boot-timer (or use
www.snipca.com/22065 to start the

download directly). Double-click the
download and click Run to open
BootTimer, then click Yes to reboot your
PC (make sure youve saved any open
documents). Your PC will now restart
(you will have to sign in as usual). Once
the boot process is complete a BootTimer
window will appear showing the exact
time in seconds (see screenshot below).
139 seconds to boot up! We need to reduce

our startup programs
Prolong its life You can speed up your boot

time in a couple of ways. The easiest is to
reduce the startup programs that load
when your PC boots. To do this in Windows
7 and 8.1, click the Start button, type
mscong, press Enter and click the
Startup tab. In Windows 10, click Start,
type task manager and click the Start-up
tab. Untick (right-click and choose
Disable in Windows 10) any programs
you dont need when you rst boot your
PC CCleaner, iTunes, Spotify, PicPick,
Google Photos and Evernote are all
programs that we stopped from loading
during startup on our test PC.
To signicantly reduce boot times you
can move from a traditional hard drive
to a solid state drive (SSD). Follow the
instructions on our sister website Alphr:
Your PC score:
0-50 seconds (3 points)

51-100 seconds (2 points)
101-150 seconds (1 point)
151+ seconds (0 points)
Use SpeedFan to check the running

temperature of your PCs components
hot is
6 How
your PC?
Why its important If your PC is running a

temperature it will be much more prone
to intermittent crashes and freezes. A
high temperature could also damage its
internal components CPU, RAM,
graphics card, hard drive and make
them more likely to fail.
How do you nd out? Taking your PCs
temperature isnt quite as simple as
sticking a thermometer into its USB port.
Instead you should use SpeedFan. To
download it, go to www.snipca.
com/22068 and click the SpeedFan 4.52
link in the Download section.
SpeedFan tells you how hot your PC
is overall, and how hot your CPU is in
particular (which is the most important
result for the purposes of this test).
In general, 60C is the maximum you
ever want your CPU to reach (unless
you play graphically demanding games
and have a PC with a sophisticated
cooling system). 40-50 degrees is a
much safer level.
Prolong its life The best way to cool your
PC is to clean it. Dust and grime can slow
any fans, block air ducts and cause the
temperature to build (see Issue 483, page
53 for our guide on how to clean your
PCs interior). You can also add more
fans to your computer by attaching them
inside the case and plugging the fans
power wire into your motherboard (if
youre unsure how to do this, consult
a technician).
Your PC score:
Up to 40C (3 points)
41-50C (2 points)
51-60C (1 point)
60C+ (0 points)
often does your PC

7 How
unexpectedly restart?
Why its important Weve all suered

that annoying experience typing
happily away or enjoying a good lm,
when suddenly our PC decides to
restart for no good reason. If this is a
regular occurrence (and it isnt caused
by Windows Update), its a sign theres
something rotten in the state of your
computer.
How do you nd out? It will be fairly
obvious. We suggest you spend a week
making a tally of how often your PC
restarts.
Prolong its life Constant restarts can
be caused by loose power cables and
problems with device drivers. Refer to
our Dont pay for PC repairs cover
feature (see Issue 483, page 55) for advice
on how to check your PC for loose
power cables.
How often do you see the

8Blue
Screen of Death?
Why its important BSoD

error messages are caused by
software problems and corrupt les.
If youre regularly seeing these, its a
good indicator that your PC has a
serious fault.
How do you nd out? Once again, try
keeping a tally of BSoD occurrences
over the course of a week. The error
message is at least easy to spot, as it
takes over your entire screen.
Prolong its life The best way to
prevent the BSoD is to nd out what
the error message means. Have a
Cleaning the innards of your PC with compressed
look at our screenshot screenshot
air can stop it overheating and, as a result, from
below: the important bits are those
crashing
highlighted by a red ring. Type these
into Google for information on the
How do you nd out? Keep a tally of how
cause and how to x it. If this doesnt
often your PC freezes through the course
resolve the problem, you could try
of a week. Only count instances where
formatting your PC and reinstalling
the PC freezes for 10 seconds or more,
Windows from scratch. Just make sure
because shorter, harmless freezes are
you back up your important les rst
possible when you open a program or
and make a list of the programs you
your PC completes a background task.
own and use.
Prolong its life Cleaning the dust from
inside your PC (see image above) is a good
way to bring down its temperature. You
Your PC score:
could also consider buying a new
0-1 times in a week (3 points)
graphics card, although its not easy to
know which one will t with your
3-4 times in a week (1 point)
motherboard. Our advice is to ask Nvidia
5+ times in a week (0 points)
or AMD the two biggest manufacturers
of graphics cards. Nvidias support page is
How often does
at www.snipca.com/22109, while AMDs
your PC freeze?
is at www.snipca.com/22110.
Why its important If your PC regularly
locks up meaning the cursor refuses to
Your PC score:
move and you cant do anything (such as
type or open a new window) it could
mean your PC is overheating (graphics
cards are particularly prone to crashing
when they get too hot).
9
Stop Windows from restarting and force it to
generate an error message so you can find
out whats causing random restarts
To check your PC for any driver

problems, click the Start button and type
sysdm.cpl, then click the Advanced tab
and click the Settings button under
Startup and Recovery. Untick the
Automatically restart box and click OK
(see screenshot above). This will prevent
your PC from restarting and cause it to
show a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)
instead. Refer to the following test for
how to use the Blue Screen of Death
error screen to diagnose your PCs
problem.
Your PC score:

The Blue Screen of Death may look scary, but the Technical Information section can help you
diagnose a problem with your PC, including unexpected restarts
10
In Windows 10,
find out if your
PC has a HDD
(hard disk drive)
or SSD (solidstate drive)
by using the
Optimise Drives
tool
Is your hard drive

an HDD or SSD?
Why its important Hard disk drives

(HDDs) have more moving parts than any
other component in your PC and are
therefore more likely to break down than
others. In contrast, solid-state drives
(SSDs) store data in a similar way to USB
sticks and therefore dont have any
moving parts at all. This makes them
much less likely to develop a fault than
traditional hard drives, and they also
transfer data more eciently, making
them faster.
How do you nd out? By far the easiest
way in Windows 8 and 10 is to use the
Optimise Drives tool. Click Start, type
optimise drives and press Enter. Find the
system drive (which will have a Windows
logo next to it see screenshot above
right) and look in the Media type
column to nd out what type of drive
you have. It will either say Hard disk
drive or Solid state drive.
For Windows 7 (and earlier) use the
Device Manager. Click start, type device
manager and press Enter. Next, click the
arrow next to Disk drives. This will show
you the name of the hard drive. Type
this name into Google to nd out what
type of drive you have.
Prolong its life Though its nigh-on
impossible to completely prevent
unexpected mechanical failures in your
hard drive, you can at least take some of
the strain o it and thereby reduce the
risk. Defragging a hard drive will
rearrange the data on it more logically,
thereby reducing the amount of time it
spends looking for les. This will also
speed up the drive itself (note: you dont
need to defrag an SSD).
Windows has a built-in defrag tool.
Click Start, type defrag and press Enter to
open it. Select the system drive (the one
with the Windows logo next to it, usually
the C drive) and click Optimise (in
Windows 8 and 10) or Defragment disk
(in Windows 7). If this doesnt work as
well as youd hoped, try the free program
UltraDefrag (www.snipca.com/19324) .
You can also test your hard drive for
imminent failure. DiskCheckup will
display a message if it nds anything
wrong with your drive (see our
Workshop, page 40). You should back up
any important les with EaseUS Todo
Backup Free (www.snipca.com/21134
see our Workshop, Issue 480, page38).
Your PC score:
Solid-state drive (SSD) (2 points)

Hard disk drive (HDD) (0 points)
USB version does

11 What
your PC have?
Why its important Having the latest

version of USB on your PC will increase
the speed at which data transfers
between your PC and anything connected
to it over a USB connection (such as
external hard drives and USB sticks).
Older versions, such as USB 1.0 or 2.0,
not only slower but also a clear indication
that your PC is getting on a bit. USB Type
-C is the latest version, which is not only
faster but easier to plug in because the
connector can insert into the port either
way (upside down).
How do you nd out? The best way is to
use the Device Manger (click Start, type
device manager and press Enter). Find
the Universal Serial Bus controllers
section and click the arrow next to it
to expand it. Look for any entries that
end in Host Controller. If the name
of the Host Controller contains the
word universal you have USB 1.0 and
if the name says enhanced you have
USB 2.0 (see screenshot below left).
If you have USB 3.0 the name will
feature USB 3.0 (see screenshot below),

and it will contain USB-C if you have
USB Type-C.
In some cases, you can also physically
check which ports you have. USB 3.0
ports are usually blue and are labelled
SS (meaning Super Speed), while USB
Type-C ports have a distinctly at-oval
shape (see image at www.snipca.
com/22105).
Prolong its life Adding newer USB
ports to your PC is one of the more
straightforward upgrades you can carry
out. Buy an expansion card (such as this
one for 15 from Amazon www.snipca.
com/22106) and t it into one of your
PCs spare PCI Express slots. If youre
unsure how to do this follow this
workshop on our sister website Alphr:
Your PC score:
USB-C (3 points)
USB 3.0 (2 points)
USB 2.0 (1 point)
USB 1.0 (0 points)
In Device Manager, USB 2.0

ports are called enhanced
while the faster USB 3.0
version is labelled USB 3.0
WHAT
YOUR
INSIDE
YOUR
PCTEST
SCORE MEANS
Now youve completed our PC-life expectancy test its

time to add up your scores and reach a diagnosis. If
your PC scored less than 20 points you might want to
try some of our Prolong its life tips in areas where
its struggling or buy a new PC (see our
recommendations right).
Congratulations! Your PC is in rude health.
Not only is it probably pretty new, but its
also fast, future-proofed and well-balanced. With just
a little housekeeping such as defragging your hard
drive regularly and keeping to a minimum the
number of programs that load during boot up your
PC should serve you well for years to come.
30+
A NEW PC: OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

Palicomp AMD Avenger
PC type: Desktop
Price: 500 from www.snipca.com/20927
This desktop PC is our current Buy It recommendation
for good reason. Its speedy processor delivers solid
performance and it has an SSD, meaning boot times are
e superquick (certainly enough to sail through our boot-time test). Palicomp
has also managed to keep it relatively cheap for a computer that has
excellent components.
POINTS
20-29 You may not quite have made the top tier, but
POINTS dont worry your PC is still in good nick. By
completing our test you should now know exactly
which areas of your PC need attention and what you
can do to get it into even better shape. Adding more
RAM, and moving from a conventional hard drive to
an SSD are two of the most eective ways to improve
your PCs performance and life span.
10-19 The bad news is your PC is starting to show
POINTS its age and its components are beginning to
creak. The good news is that its not ready for landll
just yet. You might be considering upgrading the PCs
processor, but wed advise against it. Not only is this
an expensive and complicated upgrade (youll
probably have to replace your motherboard as well),
its likely to make little dierence if there are other
culprits slowing its performance. Instead we suggest
you swap your hard drive for an SSD, clean your PC if
its overheating and limit the programs that load at
startup.
Youve probably suspected for some time
that your PC should be put out of it misery
and our test has only conrmed those suspicions.
Upgrading your PC is pretty pointless because youll
spend as much money doing that as you would if you
bought an entirely new PC. Instead, you should think
about managing your PCs decline. So back up your
les in case your PCs ageing components do give out.
Otherwise, manage its resources by reducing the
programs that start up with your PC, limit how many
programs you open at the same time, and start
thinking about buying a replacement.
0-9
POINTS
Acer Asp
Aspire
sp S13 (S5-3714)
PC type:
e: Laptop
Price: 55
550
Revi
Reviewed on page 20, Acers Aspire S13
features all the latest components, including
a USB Type-C port for lightning-fast
connecti
connectivity.
tivi At 550, its a little pricey (see below
for a cheaper alternative), but we think its justied for a fast-performing,
state-of-the-art laptop and a battery that lasts nine hours of continuous
video playback.
Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 14
PC type: Laptop
Price: 159 from www.snipca.com/22123
We reviewed the Cloudbook 14 back in April
(see Issue 474) and nothing has altered our
initial opinion that its a fantastic budget laptop for
less than 200. Bear in mind that a PC at this price comes with
compromises. While its quick enough to handle most tasks, it only has
10GB of storage, meaning youll probably need an external hard drive
(or a decent cloud-storage service) to store all your les.
HOW
TO MOVE
INSIDE
YOURTO
PCA NEW PC FOR FREE
If youre tempted by any of our
recommendations above (or any
other new PC), it will almost
certainly arrive with Windows 10
installed. No problem there, but
moving your les from your old PC
to the new one can take time. Until
August, you could have done this
for free using Laplinks PCmover
Express (Microsofts recommended
tool for the job). It now costs $14.95
(about 12.20).
But PCmover Express only ever
transferred les not programs. The
Professional version does transfer
your programs, but it costs $45

(32, www.snipca.com/22112).
Instead of paying, make a note of
the programs you use most often
on your existing PC and install
them on the new one. To see all
programs on your PC (including
when you installed them) click
Start, type remove a program and
click Add or remove programs in
the results. To move les in bulk,
copy them to a large USB stick,
such as this 128GB model from
Amazon (21, www.snipca.
com/22126).
ON SALE
NEXT ISSUE On sale Wednesday 9 November
Whos hacking your Wi-Fi?
Criminals, scammers, even your neighbours:

stop them abusing your home network
Weds
9 Nov
Plus
Switch your Yahoo account
so you cant be hacked
Install old programs on a

Windows 10 PC
Subscribe to Computeractive at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk

Is it worth the money?

Malwarebytes Premium removes malware like its free sibling,
but offers more tools for scanning your PC. Mike Plant tests them on his PC
Disable Malware
Protection and
Malicious Website
Protection
Malwarebytes
Premium
Format: Windows
Website: www.malwarebytes.com
Price: 19.95
Free trial period: 14 days
riting for the UKs best-selling

computing magazine I have to
shoulder a certain weight of
expectation among my family and friends.
They will often, for example, ask me why
their PC just isnt as fast as it once was.
My typical response is: Have you run a
scan with Malwarebytes? Thankfully,
this usually sorts out their problem.
Thats because Malwarebytes is a
fantastic tool for weeding out any
malware and potentially unwanted
programs (PUPs) that are among the
most common causes of a sluggish PC.
I usually recommend the free version
because it does its job perfectly well, but
there is also a Premium version that surely
provides better protection still, right?
Bells and whistles
Actually, the answer to that question

is an emphatic no. Its hardly in
Malwarebytes interests to make its free
malware scanner less eective than the
paid-for version. If hackers got wind of
any such vulnerability, theyd go all out
to take advantage, and Malwarebytes
reputation (and popularity) would
doubtless suer.
So what are we paying for if
Malwarebytes Premium oers the same

level of threat detection? Well, it improves
the scanners preventative measures and
adds customisation, so you can speed
up scans and arrange them to better t
your schedule.
The trouble is few of these additions
feel necessary. Take the preventative tools,
for example, which provide real-time
protection against malware and malicious
websites to stop them slowing your PC.
They sound great in advertising slogans,
but my antivirus software (Kaspersky
Internet Security 2017 see page 68)
already actively monitors my PC for new
threats, and Id always use that alongside
Malwarebytes (as Malwarebytes itself
recommends). My PC doesnt need any
more background processes, thank you
very much, so in the end I switched o
both Malware Protection and Malicious
Website Protection within Detection
and Prevention settings anyway (see
screenshot above). Im happy to run
Malwarebytes once a week and let my
antivirus handle the rest.
Faster yes, but safer?
Hyper Scan cuts malware-scanning time

from hours to minutes, but doesnt scan
every file
Of more interest is the programs Hyper

Scan mode. This speeds up Malwarebytes
lengthy scans (a full one can take over
two hours) by only targeting active parts
of your PC, such as memory and running
programs. This misses out the vast
majority of photos, documents and
program les youre not currently using.
On our test PC it shortened the scan time
from just over three hours, to just ve and
...Pros Malwarebytes usual watertight security,

scheduled scans, speedy Hyper Scan option
Next issue... Is PhotoSync worth the money?
ANYTHING ELSE
I SHOULD KNOW?
If you buy Malwarebytes Premium, you
should switch on its self-protection
mode, which guards against malware
that disables Malwarebytes scanner.
Click Settings, Advanced Settings and
tick Enable self-protection module.
a half minutes (see screenshot below
left). Its an impressive time-saver, but I
wouldnt want to run this shortened scan
every time for fear of it overlooking a
malicious le that had been cunningly
smuggled in and concealed.
The added scan scheduler might
therefore have come in handy by letting
me run a full scan at a time when I know
Ill be away from my PC (when Im at
work or sleeping at night). Personally, I
dont like leaving my PC on when Im not
around though, so even the scheduler
was of scant use. Besides, running a scan
while Im using my computer doesnt
seem to slow it too much.
SO, IS IT WORTH IT?

No. I cant help thinking Malwarebytes
has felt the need to bulk out the
Premium version by saddling it with
settings and tools that just arent
necessary. The free version of
Malwarebytes will remain one of the
most useful tools on my computer, but I
wont be upgrading any time soon.
...Cons Active protection modes already provided

by antivirus, no essential extras
Are the new

Windows 10
apps any good?
Microsoft is encouraging developers
lopers to turn their
programs into Windows 10 apps.
ps. David Ludlow tests the
first batch and compares them to downloadable software
he biggest problem with

Microsofts Windows Store has
always been its meagre amount
of content, with big-name
programs conspicuously missing. As we
reported in Computeractive (see News,
Issue 485, page 6), Microsoft is hoping to
change all that with the Windows 10
Anniversary Update.
Microsofts new Desktop Bridge app
(see box below) makes it easier for
developers to convert their programs
into Windows Store apps. Microsoft is
hoping this will mean a better-stocked
Store and is promising a better
experience for all (see box on page 59).
Thats the promise, but are Desktop
Bridge apps worth adopting if you
already use traditional downloadable
software? To nd out, weve pitted six of
the rst batch of these new apps against
their desktop counterparts.
Kodi (Free)
Software:
www.kodi.tv
App:
As explained on page
49, Kodi is a media
player that can play
music and video les
on your PC, and stream
content from your
computer to your TV
over your home
Kodis desktop program and app look identical and work the same
network (though you
might need a streaming device such as
same beta. Both looked identical and
an Amazon Fire TV stick to do this). The
were remarkably stable for a beta.
current downloadable program release
However, opting for the Windows Store
is 16.1 (available from www.kodi.tv), but version makes it easier to install
the Windows Store app is a beta version
upgrades because Windows will take
(codenamed Krypton, v17).
care of them automatically (this is true
In order to compare like for like, we
of all apps see box on opposite page).
downloaded the app and program of the One word of advice though if you only
want to play video on your PC and
arent interested in streaming, use VLC
(www.videolan.org) instead (or its
Windows 10 app: www.snipca.com/
Developers can choose how far they
22005).
want to go. They can opt to keep the
features exactly the same or go further
Evernote (Free)
by making them work better with
Software: www.evernote.com
Windows 10s unique tools, such as
App: www.snipca.com/21998
Live Tiles.
Evernote is a note-taking,
Microsofts hope is that increasing
list-making and all-round organisation
numbers of developers will bring their
program that is meant to replace the
programs to the Windows Store. It seems
little notepad you take with you for
to be working already. Since the rst
jotting things down. The Store and
batch of new apps arrived in September
regular download versions of Evernote
TV-streaming program Kodi has also been
are exactly alike and work in the same
converted into an app (see above).
way. Evernote says that the Store
version supports Windows 10s Live
WHAT ARE DESKTOP BRIDGE APPS?

Windows Store apps and downloadable
programs might share the same
name and often similar interfaces, but
underneath the bonnet theyre very
dierent. Its therefore never been easy
to turn a program into a Windows 10
app, which explains why so few have
undergone the conversion.
Microsoft hopes to change that with
the introduction of the Desktop Bridge
tool. With it, software developers can
quickly convert a program into an
app and add it to the Windows Store.
REASONS TO USE
WINDOWS 10 APPS
Safety when buying online
Evernote is meant to support Windows 10

Live Tiles, though this isnt working yet
Tiles and Notications the apps icon

should display any recent notes youve
added, but this isnt working yet. No
matter what tweaks we attempted, the
Start Menu Evernote icon remained
steadfastly non-Live (see screenshot
above).
Nevertheless, in the long run the
Store version still makes more sense
for Evernote users, because it will
eventually support more Windows 10
features, including, we hope, Live
Tiles and better integration with other
apps (such as Mail). Its also worth
mentioning that the free version of
Evernote only syncs across two devices,
so if youre using it on your PC, then you
can only sync that with one phone or
tablet, for example.
Voya Media (Free)
Software: www.voyamedia.com
Voya Media is a free media
player that can handle most types of
video le. When downloading it from
the Windows Store we had to be careful,
because there are two versions: one
free, one paid-for (79p). The paid-for
version adds DVD playback and the
ability to make playlists, but for our
tests we opted for the free version.
The Windows Store app and desktop
The PhotoScape
app (above) is
much easier to
use than the
software version
(right)
program are virtually identical and

handled video in a variety of formats.
However, VLC is once again our
recommendation if youre looking for a
video player.
PhotoScape (Free/23 optional
full version)
Software: www.photoscape.org
PhotoScape is a photo-editing
app thats similar to Paint.net. The
downloadable version (www.photoscape.
org) has an awful, complicated interface
that makes it one to avoid, but the
Windows Store version (PhotoScape X
Pro) has had a massive overhaul
making it much easier to use (see
screenshot above).
Technically, PhotoScape X Pro costs
23, but theres an unlimited trial period
currently available that lets you download
a cutdown version of the Pro app and use
it indenitely (though youll get prompts
to upgrade to the full Pro version). Simply
click the Trial button on the apps
Windows Store entry. But are either of
these Photoscape versions any good?
Theres no harm in trying the X Pro app,
but we think Paint.net (www.getpaint.
net) is a better than both (and also
completely free).
Be aware: there is a paid-for version of Voya Media

in the Windows Store as well as a free option
Ear Trumpet (Free)
Software:
Ear Trumpet is an excellent little
tool that displays a volume control
for each open program or app so
you can adjust the volume levels
independently. The Windows
Store app is by far the best choice
here for its simple installation, which
means you can avoid having to
download the software from the
website alternative GitHub, which
can be overly complicated.
Finding apps is easy in the Windows

Store, and installation even easier.
For paid-for apps, you only give your
credit-card details to Microsoft only
not the apps developer so you know
exactly who youre paying.
Licence key management
All purchases you make in the Windows

Store are linked to your Windows ID, so
you dont have to worry about losing a
licence key. To restore an app, just open
the Windows Store, click your prole
image (top right) and choose Library.
Here, youll see a list of every app
youve installed. Simply select the apps
to reinstall.
Apps update automatically
Managing updates for Windows 10 apps

can be a hassle, but the Windows Store
handles everything for you, keeping you
patched and up to date with the latest
versions. Thats better for security and
saves you time.
AND ONE REASON

NOT TO
Price
An app isnt always cheaper than a

boxed copy of the software. Another
Desktop Bridge app, Magix Movie Edit
Pro Plus, for example, costs 69 in the
Windows Store or 60 if you buy on
Amazon (www.snipca.com/22006)
so shop around rst before installing a
Windows 10 app.
DoubleTwist Sync (Free)
Software: www.doubletwist.com
DoubleTwist Sync is a small
tool that lets you synchronise music,
video and photos between your
Windows Media Player, your iTunes
library, and your Android phone or
tablet.
Of course, you can do this by simply
dragging and dropping les between
your devices, but DoubleTwist makes the
process automatic, so your playlists start
synchronising as soon as you connect a
device. Theres little to choose between
the two versions, but at least the Windows
Store app will keep itself updated, so it
will always work with the latest
smartphones.
What you can

do with the new
Outlook.com
Your Outlook.com account is changing.
Jonathan Parkyn explains what Microsoft
is up to this time and what you need to do now
icrosoft is changing the way

Outlook.com accounts work.
These changes will aect
anyone who uses a Microsoft
email address. These not only include
@outlook.com addresses, but also older
ones ending in @hotmail.com, @msn.
com, @passport.com and @live.com.
Microsofts aim is to bring all accounts
into line with the new, revamped
Outlook.com.
I have Outlook, but do I have

Outlook.com?
Outlook.com is a completely separate

entity to the Outlook program that comes
with some versions of Microsoft Oce.
Because of this, if you use an Outlook.com
account with the Outlook program, you
may need to make some changes, which
well come on to. One change is that
Outlook.com is moving to Microsofts
Oce 365 servers, but this doesnt mean
youll need to pay for an Oce 365
subscription to continue with it. Outlook.
com will continue to be free for current
users and anyone who signs up in future.
When is this happening?
Microsoft rst announced its intention

to upgrade all Outlook.com accounts
to Oce 365 back in May 2015. After a
test period that users could sign up for,
the company started upgrading the
majority of its customers mailboxes in
February this year and Microsoft now
claims to have converted 90 per cent
of accounts.
Microsoft has not set any deadlines for
the completion of the upgrade process.
A recent Windows message suggested the
upgrade process would be completed in
the rst six months of 2017 (www.snipca.
com/22013). However, the company later
claimed that this was sent in error and
that migration would be completed
earlier than that, though no specic
date was given.
How can I tell whether my

account has been migrated?
You should have received an email from

Microsoft before the upgrade was carried
out informing you of the changes being
made, but its quite easy to miss this.
Unmigrated accounts have an Outlook.com header (1), while updated ones are headed Outlook
Mail or Outlook Email (2)
Thankfully, theres an easy way to check.

Open a web browser, go to www.outlook.
com and sign in with your account. Look
in the top-left corner. If the heading
banner says Outlook.com, your account
is still on the old mailbox system (see
screenshot 1 below). If the banner reads
Outlook Mail or Outlook Email (see
screenshot 2 below), your account has
already been migrated to the new system.
Why is Microsoft doing this?
Microsoft wants to bring Outlook.com in

line with the email system it oers in its
Oce 365 for Business service. Running
two entirely separate systems is more
complicated and expensive. Combining
the two saves Microsoft time and money
in the long run. More importantly for
users, the Microsoft Exchange servers
that power the new Outlook.com oer a
number of key benets not previously
available to the service.
What are these benets?
At rst glance, the new Outlook.com

doesnt look radically dierent, but
theres actually quite a lot going on under
the surface. A new Clutter tool, for
example, helps you manage your inbox
by automatically ling messages youre
likely to ignore in a separate folder.
Switch it on by clicking Settings (cog
icon), Options then Mail. Select Clutter
under Automatic processing, tick the
Separate items identied as clutter box,
then click Save. The more you use
Outlook.com, the better Clutter gets at
ltering low-priority emails.
The search tool has also been improved
WINDOWS LIVE MAIL USERS WHAT NOW?
Get add-ins via Outlook.coms Settings (cog

icon) to add more features to your inbox
and now suggests terms and email

addresses as you type, and highlights
keywords in search results. Its also now
possible to share as links les stored in
your OneDrive, so that recipients can
open them and collaborate with you.
New customisation tools let you change
Outlooks theme (click Settings, Change
theme) and its now possible to install
non-Microsoft add-ins, such as Boomerang
(which can send timed emails and track
responses). Click Settings, then Manage
add-ins to get started (see screenshot
above). For a full list of changes and
improvements, visit www.snipca.
com/22012.
Is there anything I need to do?
If you only use Outlook.com in your web

browser, you dont need to worry just
log in as normal.
If you use an email client a program
that lets you send and receive emails
you may need to take some action to take
advantage of the upgrade. Users of Outlook
(the Oce program), for example, should
remove and re-add their Outlook.com
accounts once migration has occurred.
You may already be aware that Microsoft

decided to stop supporting its own
webmail service, Windows Live Mail
(WLM), rather than updating the program
to make it compatible with the new
Outlook.com. Weve been recommending
eM Client (www.emclient.com) as a
free replacement for WLM. The good
news is that eM Client also supports
Microsoft Exchange, so once your
Outlook.com account has been upgraded,
you can add it to eM Client as an Exchange
account. This will provide you with full,
automatic syncing for email, calendar and
contacts, in the same way Windows Live
Mail used to.
Click Tools, then Accounts. If youve
To do this in Outlook 2013 and 2016,

click File, Account Settings, then Account
Settings again. Highlight your Outlook.
com account in the list that appears and
click Remove (you wont lose your emails,
contacts, and so on). To reinstate the
account, click New, enter your name,
Outlook.com address and password, then
click Next. Restart Outlook for the
changes to take eect. Open the Account
Settings window again and youll see
your Outlook.com account has been
listed under Type as Microsoft Exchange.
If you use Windows 10s Mail app,
click the menu button (three horizontal
lines) then Accounts. Click your Outlook.
com account and select Delete account,
then Delete. Next, click the menu button,
Accounts, then Add account. Choose
Outlook.com from the list (see screenshot
below left) and enter your Outlook.com
details. This also prompts your Outlook.
com calendar and contacts to sync
with Windows 10s Calendar and People
apps, meaning any changes made will
apply to both.
What about my tablet or phone?
After the upgrade, delete your account from

Windows 10s Mail app, then add it again
On phones and tablets, Microsoft suggests

using the Outlook app (Android www.
snipca.com/22023; iOS www.snipca.
com/ 22024), which will sync with the
new Outlook.coms calendar and contacts
as well as email but only within the
app itself.
However, one of the biggest benets
of the new Outlook.com is that you can
now manually add your account to your
phone and tablet as an Exchange account,
meaning that everything email,
calendar and contacts will seamlessly
already added your Outlook.com account,

click the bin icon, then Yes to delete it (you
wont lose any information). Next, click
the plus (+) icon to set up your account
again, but dont enter your email address
in the Automatic Setup box. Instead, click
Mail, then Exchange, then Next. Enter
your Outlook.com address under both
Email address and User name, type
your password and click Next. Youll
see a message saying Obtaining server
conguration records dont be surprised
if eM Client appears to get stuck at this
point. For some reason this part of the
process seems to take a while. When its
nished, click Next again, then Finish and
wait for your account to synchronise.
Choose
Exchange and
type outlook.
office365.com
in the Server
field to sync
your upgraded
Outlook.com
account on an
iPhone, iPad or
Android device
sync with your devices default Mail,

Calendar and Contacts apps.
On an iOS device, tap Settings, Mail,
Accounts. If your Outlook account is
already listed, delete it, then tap Add
Account. Tap Exchange, then enter
your email address, password and a
name for the account and tap Next. If
youre prompted for server details, enter
outlook.oce365.com. Choose which
information you want to sync (from Mail,
Contacts, Calendars, Reminders and
Notes) and tap Save.
On an Android device, tap Settings,
Accounts, Add account, then Exchange.
Enter your Outlook.com email address,
then tap Manual Setup. Tap Exchange if
youre asked what type of account youre
setting up. Enter your password, tap Next.
Under Server, enter outlook.oce365.
com and tap Next, select which items you
want to sync (from email, contacts,
calendar, and attachments) and tap
Next, then Next again.
Problems Solved
PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
How can I speed up my old tablet?

My 2012-vintage Nexus tablet
is getting slower. The screen is
less responsive, and often
freezes. Battery life is shorter and it
seems to drain quicker. It is in good
physical condition, and has 24GB of
spare storage. Android is up to date.
Ive tried factory resets with little
improvement. I am wondering if the
culprit is Android, or if the tablet is
coming to the end of its life. Is there
anything I can do?
Barrie Hanson
In Android tablet terms, 2012

years is more or less the
beginning of time. Since then
Android has got more and more
complex, while your devices hardware
remains forever stuck in the past.
Future Android updates might result in
performance improvements, but the
benets are likely to be limited on
ageing hardware.
Reverting to an earlier version of
Android such as 4.4 (KitKat) would
speed things up considerably but the
process is dicult and, if you get it
wrong, your Nexus will be useless.
Moreover, reverting to an older Android
version means recent apps may no
longer work, and youll be exposed to
older security aws. But if youre an
adventurous sort, heres a summary of
what to do but back up rst, and
proceed at your own risk!
First, visit the Google Developer page
at www.snipca.com/21837 to download
the relevant Android version factory
image. Next, download and install
Android Debug Bridge (ADB) from
www.snipca.com/21838, then unzip
your Android factory image into the
adb-tools folder created by ADB.
On your Nexus 7, tap Settings,
then repeatedly tap Build Number
until Developer Options are enabled.
Now tap Developer Options and tick
USB Debugging.
Switch o the tablet and return to
your PC. Press Windows key+E to
How do I search
within a Facebook
group?
Im a member of a number of
Facebook groups relating to
various club memberships. Id
like to be able to search for posts within a
particular group, but I cant seem to do
this. When Im in a group Ive noticed
that its name appears in the search bar at
the top of the Facebook page. When I
click here to search, the groups name is
briey highlighted but, when I start to
type, the name instantly disappears. If I
continue to type my search and hit Enter,
I search the whole of Facebook and
thats not what I want. Surely there has
to be a way to restrict my search to a
particular group?
Rufus Lachance
Use this option in Windows to restore your

connected Android tablet to an earlier version
launch File Explorer (or Windows

Explorer), then navigate to the
adb-tools folder. Hold down Shift,
right-click abd-tools and choose
Open command window here (see
screenshot). Then, on your Nexus, hold
down both the power and volumedown buttons for a few seconds. When
the Start screen appears, connect the
tablet to your PC via its USB cable. In
the Command window on your PC,
type fastboot oem unlock and press
Enter. On the Nexus, use the volume
keys to select Yes then press power to
conrm this unlocks the bootloader.
Back in the Command window, type
fastboot reboot and press Enter.
When your Nexus reboots, select
Recovery Mode and press power to
conrm. Select wipe cache partition
then hit power, then select wipe date/
factory reset and hit power again.
Finally, return to the adb-tools folder in
File Explorer and double-click ashall.bat: your chosen Android factory
image will now be installed on your
Nexus. When it reboots, your Nexus
will have returned to the earlier
Android version and it should feel as
fast as it did on day one.
As for the battery, its just wearing
out. Wed suggest living with this but if
you want to add to the fun, it can be
replaced. The website iFixit has a good
illustrated guide, at www.snipca.
com/21839. Youll be able to buy a new
battery from Amazon.
Theres a dedicated search box

on every Facebook group and
page, but it can be easy to miss
in all the clutter, and it scrolls out of view
when you move down the page. So, just
scroll back to the top of the groups page,
click in the Search this group (or Search
for posts on this Page) box, type your
search and press Enter (see screenshot).
Alternatively, you can use the search
box at the top. When you click the rst
time the groups name will be
highlighted, meaning its selected. If you
type now it will disappear, as youve
experienced. But if you click again to the
right you can type a space, then type your
search query. Now just press Enter.
You can find a special search box for Facebook

groups near the top of group pages
Our experts solve all your tech problems

Email us your problem and well try to help: noproblem@computeractive.co.uk
Is my router password too weak?

I have recently subscribed to Sky
TV and broadband. Now, my
security software sometimes
pops up a message telling me that my
routers password is weak. This isnt a
password that I have set up but the one
supplied by Sky. It was printed on a card
that came with the router, and its just a
mix of eight seemingly random letters.
This card doesnt tell me anything about
the strength of the password, or how to
change it. So, is my password too weak?
And if so, how do I change it?
Russell Snelling
Your security software isnt

referring to the password on the
card, which is actually the
password for the wireless (Wi-Fi) network
that your Sky router creates. For most
domestic purposes, a random eightcharacter password is strong enough. Its
not easy to crack quickly and really the
bigger risk would be leaving that card on
view where any unscrupulous visitor
might see and note it down.
To strengthen your Sky

admin password, go to the
Maintenance section of
Skys Broadband Router
Your router has a separate password

for logging into its administration pages,
and it is this that is too weak. Thats
because the default factory username
is admin and the password is sky.
For obvious reasons, it is sensible to
change these.
To do this, launch a web browser, type
192.168.0.1 into the address bar and press
Enter. Now type the username and
password (admin and sky), then press
Enter. Now click the Maintenance tab,
followed by Set Password, then type the
existing password (sky), followed by the
What is this
ghost drive?
I have a Windows 10
desktop PC. Sometimes
when I boot up I see an
error message saying theres no disk
in drive E, with a prompt to insert
one. I can cancel the message
and carry on. When I open File
Explorer theres no drive E in the
left-hand column but a drive E icon
appears in the devices across the
top bar. I have two third-party
le managers and both list drive E,
though when I select it Im asked
to insert a disk. There are several
memory card-reader slots on the
front of the PC, all empty. I think
the system is remembering an
earlier insertion, but I dont seem
to be able to clear it. Do you have
any ideas what is causing this
drive E discrepancy?
Don Brown
new password, and

then repeat to conrm
(see screenshot).
Remember that the password printed
on the card is the one authorised devices
use to connect to your Wi-Fi network. If
youd like to change this as well then
keep reading. Look for the appropriate
tab, which will be labelled Wireless
settings, Setup or Wireless. Within the
relevant tab, click Change Wireless
Password. Type the new username and
password and press Enter, or click Apply.
The next time you use a device thats
previously connected to your wireless
network, it will prompt you to enter the
new password.
Caption xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx

xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx
A phantom drive
error message (left)
could be caused by
a memory card slot
on a printer, such as
the one below on an
Epson
Youre right, this is probably

due to an earlier insertion. A
program has an unnished
operation it wants to enact on drive E.
First, gure out which slot is drive E.
Insert a compatible memory card into
each slot in turn, and then see if you
can access the card as drive E in File
Explorer. When youve identied it,
keep a blank card at the ready to insert
the next time this message appears.
What happens next will give you big
clue as to what program is responsible.
Finally, check your printer for
memory-card slots (see image right), as
many have them. Its possible that one
of these is the mystery drive E.
Problems Solved
Can I hide W10s
language icon?
I followed some advice
in an earlier issue of
Computeractive to add the
English (United States) language
pack to my Windows 10 PC, because
I very occasionally need to edit
American documents. This worked
as expected but it also put a new
icon on my taskbar. When I click this
icon, I can switch between the two
languages. While thats useful, I
dont need to switch languages very
often so the icon is really just a waste
of space. Because my laptop has
quite a small screen Id like to switch
o this icon, if possible, and nd
some other way to switch between
the languages. Is this possible?
Charles Burgess
Yes, though the option to

disable this particular
taskbar icon is pretty deeply
buried. First, click Start, followed by
the Settings cog, and then click
Personalisation, followed by Taskbar
on the left. Then, on the right, scroll
down to nd and click the Turn
system icons on or o link. Finally,
slide the Input Indicator switch to its
O position (see screenshot 1).
Then, when you next need to
switch languages, click Start,
followed by Settings, then Time &
language, followed by Region &
language. Click the language
pack you want and then click
Set as default (see screenshot 2).
In Settings you can

switch off the taskbar
language icon (left)
and select a default
language pack (below)
66 26 October 8 November
Why wont my PC hibernate properly?

My Windows 7 PC has stopped
hibernating correctly, so when I
restart I sometimes receive the
message that Windows did not shut
down successfully. I have not made any
changes to my setup and run regular
malware checks. The hard drive should
have enough free space to save the
hibernation le. Any suggestions ?
John Hall
If your computer is a laptop then

the battery might be running
out of juice before hibernation
nishes. If youre executing Hibernate
manually, this should happen only
occasionally. However, hibernation can
also happen automatically, at a set battery
level. If your PC is old, the battery might
not have enough power left in it for the
hibernation process to complete properly,
even though it once did.
From Control Panel click Hardware
and Sound, followed by Power Options,
then Change plan settings, followed by
Change advanced power settings. In the
Power Options box, double-click to
expand the Battery category, then either
Increase the Low

In
Lo battery
batt
level
le l to
t give
gi
Hibernate more time to complete
change the Critical battery action to

Shut down (because this takes less time
to complete than Hibernate), or increase
the Low battery level percentage to give
Hibernate more time to complete properly
(see screenshot).
If your computer is a desktop PC, wait
longer before you switch o at the mains:
during hibernation the screen can go blank
a few seconds before the process nishes.
How do I stop this error message?

I sometimes receive a Tablet
Version Mismatch error
message. I had a Wacom tablet
that I was no longer using, so I used
IObit Uninstaller to remove its software,
and then recycled the hardware and
original installation disc. I have switched
Windows 10s Tablet mode on and o,
but to no avail. Is this notication a
leftover from Wacom, or is it to do with
the Windows 10s Tablet mode? Either

way, how do I stop it?
Raymond Thompson
Windows 10s Tablet mode

optimises the operating system
for use with tablets like
Microsofts Surface, rather than
traditional laptops or desktop PCs.
It has nothing to do with your problem.
It seems IOBits removal
of the Wacom driver
software wasnt successful,
leaving remnants. An easy
way to x it is to reinstall
the relevant Wacom driver
(get it from www.snipca.
com/21949), and then
remove it using Wacoms
own uninstaller. Do this
via Control Panel, by
clicking Uninstall a
program under Programs,
then selecting the relevant
Wacom software, clicking
Uninstall
and following the
To remove all traces of Wacoms driver software, use
Wacoms own uninstaller
prompts (see screenshot).
How do I make Play Music display album art?

I use Googles Play Music app on
my Android smartphone. I dont
have any problems with
dragging and dropping MP3s across, or
playing them, but sometimes the album
art wont display. The lack of visuals
makes it harder to navigate around my
music collection. How do I x this?
Bob Caroll
Have you checked to see that the

MP3 album folders that youre
dragging across actually contain
an image of the album art? Typically, you
will be looking for a le named cover.jpg,
but it could be named after the album or
artist. It also needs to be in one of the
formats that Play Music recognises, which
are JPEG (.jpg), GIF (.gif) and PNG (.png).
If you cant nd such a le, a quick
Google search will do the job. Type the
album name, click Search, then click
Images. Click the right image, right-click
the enlarged version, then choose Save
image as (or similar, depending on your
You can force Play Music to immediately index and display newly saved album cover artwork by
clearing data in the apps settings
browser) to save it as cover.jpg. Next,

copy this to the relevant folder on
your phone.
Play Music might not index the le
right away, so the cover art might not
display immediately. To force it, from

the Android home screen tap Settings,
followed by Apps, then Google Play
Music. Now tap Storage followed by
Clear Data and OK (see screenshots).
In Issue 482s Problem Solved

section you told Alicia Gardner
to use the RAW le format to
make sure no quality was lost when
saving digital photos to her cameras
memory card. This intrigued me. I dont
have a digital camera but I do a lot of
photography on my Nexus 6 phone. So,
Im wondering, is there a way to make
my phone store photos in RAW?
Dennis Cook
your own risk, but its not dicult. Tap

Settings, followed by Security. Scroll to
the Device administration section and
slide the Unknown sources switch to the
On position (see screenshot below left),
then tap OK to conrm.
Next, visit the L Camera download page
at www.snipca.com/21842, and tap the
lcamera-debug.apk link under the
Downloads heading in the Latest release
section (see screenshot below right).
When its nished, tap the Open button
at the bottom of the screen, and tap Install
(see screenshot right). Return to Settings
to switch Unknown sources to O.
And thats it L Camera is installed. It
automatically saves photos as an Adobe
Digital Negative (DNG) le, which is a

RAW format. If your image-editing
software wont open these, convert
them using the free UFRaw tool that
we recommended to Alicia Gardner
its free from www.snipca.com/21044.
There are apps in the Google

Play store that allow you to
take and store images in RAW,
though all are paid-for. Camera FV-5,
for example, is a popular option: it costs
2.49 from www.snipca.com/21640. You
could try the free Lite version of the
app rst (www.snipca.com/21641), but
it lacks the option to save RAW les.
Theres also a good free app called
L Camera, but it must be sideloaded on
to your device. This means bypassing
the Google Play store so you do so at
Switch off Unknown sources on your Android

device and download the latest L Camera app
ill ha
Once it is downloaded, you will
have the
option to install L Camera
Can I use RAW

on my Android
phone?
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Problems Solved
Whatever happened to search dog?
I know Im an old git and

probably in a minority of one
but I miss Windows XPs
search dog! Do you remember him?
Ive only recently given up XP because
of security concerns and while my new
Windows 10 laptop looks slick, I dont
nd Cortana search anywhere near as
friendly or useful as that canine. On
my command he would search for
pictures or documents, and even let me
specify the size. Hed do a trick if I told
him to. So what happened to him? And
why does Windows 10s search tool seem
less exible? Can I get the pup back?
Kevin Slater
We remember Rover, as he
was known, although perhaps
not quite with the same
aection as you. We cant say with any
authority why Microsoft sent the
hound to the pound but the company
killed o all its animated characters
including Clippy, the cartoon paperclip
assistant in Oce with Windows 7
In File Explorer you can refine your searches by the size of file that youre looking for
(and Oce 2007). We guess their cutesy

style just fell out of fashion.
We dont see Microsoft bringing back
Rover but we can tell you how to get more
out of Cortana, and searching in Windows
more generally. In Cortana, you can click
the little down arrow at the top right of
the results list to lter your search by one
of several categories, including Music,
Photos and Documents.
For ner ltering, we suggest searching
via File Explorer. Press Windows key+E to
launch it, then click the search location in
the left-hand pane (click This PC if you

want to search everywhere). Then, in
the Rene section of the Search tab, use
the dropdown menus to apply your
lters. To look for les based on their
size, for example, click Size and choose
the relevant lter (see screenshot). You
can also combine lters, so once youve
selected a size you can then open the
Type menu to choose the le type.
Want to know what happened to your
favourite program, website or technology?
Email noproblem@computeractive.co.uk
Why is my fibre internet connection so slow?

I have a problem with the
loading of web pages. Although
Ive got 72Mbps BT Innity, web
pages are taking anything from a few
seconds to half a minute to load. My
browser is Firefox but I get similar results
with Opera or Internet Explorer 11. I have
even tried a clean install. Please help!
David Rolph
Have you tested your download

speed? BT, in common with
many providers, has issued
optimistic claims in its advertising.
Admittedly, its unlikely to be so slow as
to cause websites to take 30 seconds to
load, but visit Broadband Speedcheckers
website at www.broadbandspeedchecker.
co.uk and click Start speed tests. Do this
at dierent times during the day. If the
download speed is far less than you
expect, contact BT to get the line tested.
However, we suspect a dierent cause,
possibly hardware. As this problem
aects not only websites but all your
browsers then its possible your hard
drive is failing. When you surf the web
Launch Error checking

to search for hard-drive
problems that are affecting
your PCs performance
data is pulled from respective cache

les that are stored on the hard drive
these could be sitting on bad or
failing hard-drive sectors. Press
Windows key+E to launch File Explorer
(or Windows Explorer). Right-click the
drive and choose Properties followed by
Tools. Now click the Check button in the
Error checking section (see screenshot
right). If errors are found, Windows will
oer to x them. Let it do so.
If that doesnt x it, download the free
PassMark DiskCheckup tool from www.
snipca.com/21843. Launch DiskCheckup,
select your drive followed by the Desk
Self Test tab, then click Start Test. If
theres a looming hardware failure,
DiskCheckup will let you know.
NEXT ISSUE
Why wont my PC see more
than 4GB of memory?
How do I burn BBC shows
to a disc?
Why does Windows Explorer
keep crashing?
...And many more
ON SALE
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9 Nov
Subscribe to Computeractive
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Fast Fixes
Microsoft Edge
Fix random crashes, change the default search engine,
nd your saved favourites, and restore YouTube audio
Change default search
engine from Bing
Microsofts Windows Apps

troubleshooter. Go to www.
It came as no surprise when
snipca.com/22025 and click
Microsoft made Bing the
Run troubleshooter to
default search engine in
download it, then doubleEdge. More irritating still, is
click the downloaded le
how it made sure Bing is the
(called Appsdiagnostic10.
only search engine listed
diagcab). In the pop-up
should you try to change
window, click Advanced,
Edges default. To get
untick Apply repairs
around this problem,
automatically and click
simply visit the website (in
Next. The troubleshooter
Edge) of the search engine
will scan your PC and list
you want as your default
suggested
repairs if Edge is
Visit the website of any
go to www.google.co.uk for search engine you want to
listed, click Next to x it. If
use in Edge to add it to your any other apps are listed, its
Google, for example. This
default options
adds that search engine to
worth xing those too.
Edges default options.
If Edge wasnt identied as requiring
To change the search engine, click
a repair you can use Windows 10s
More (the three dots at the top right of
System File Checker to x corrupted les.
the browser window), Settings, then
To run it, press the Windows key+X, click
scroll down and click View advanced
Command Prompt (Admin) and click Yes
settings. In the Advanced Settings menu,
when prompted. Type sfc /scannow into
click Change search engine, then the
the Command Prompt window (see
search engine you want to use. Finally,
screenshot below) then press Enter.
click Set as default (see screenshot
This starts the system scan and carries out
above right).
any xes, which took about 40 minutes
on our test PC.
Edge randomly crashing
Because Edge is still relatively new its

still being regularly tweaked by Microsoft.
While these updates are largely benecial,
theres always a risk that some will
introduce corrupted les that can cause
Edge to crash. If you experience this, rst
try to update Windows. Click the Start
button, type check for updates, press
Enter and click Check for updates.
If there are no new updates, or Edge
continues to crash, you should try running
Browsing history not saving
If Edge isnt keeping track of your

browsing history, you need to reset its
History options. Click the Hub icon
(three uneven horizontal lines in the
top right of the browser window),
followed by History (clock icon) then
Clear all history. Make sure that only the
boxes next to Cookies and saved website
data and Cached data and les are
ticked then click Clear.
Type sfc /scannow into the Command Prompt to find to fix corrupted Windows 10 files
Open Task Manager (press Windows

key+X and click Task Manager) and
look for a running process called
Microsoft Edge Content Process. Click
the process then click End Task (see
screenshot below). Close Task Manager,
then close and re-open Edge. Your
browsing history will now be recorded
as usual.
If your browsing history isnt being recorded,

end Microsoft Edge Content Process in Task
Manager
YouTube videos have no audio
This problem is probably caused by a

conict with Flash. To x it, click the
More button (three dots in the top right
of the browsers window) and click
Settings, then View advanced settings.
Slide the Use Adobe Flash Player option
to o. If you subsequently visit a website
that requires Flash, you can always
switch it back on temporarily using
this slider.
Cant see saved favourites
Edge displays your favourites dierently

to Internet Explorer. To see them, click
the Hub button at the top right of the
browser window (three uneven,
horizontal lines), then click the star
icon (Favorites). From here, you can
choose to always show your favourites
below the address bar by clicking
Settings, then moving the Show the
favorites bar slider to the right.
Next issue Fast Fixes for USB ports
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Ink Test
Winner
PGi29
Pixma Pro 1
Originals:
Set of 12
Colours 36ml each
PGi72
Pixma Pro 10
Originals:
Set of 10
Colours 14ml each
CLi42
Pixma Pro 100
No.16
Fountain Pen Inks
Originals:
249.99 No.16 Set of 4
21.99 No.16 Black 5.4ml
No.16 Colours 3.1ml each
No.16XL Set of 4
No.16XL Black 12.9ml
No.16XL Colours 6.5ml each
99.99 Compatibles:
10.99 No.16 Set of 4
No.16 Black 12ml
No.16 Colours 12ml each
Originals:
Set of 8
Colours 13ml each
CLi8
Pixma Pro 9000
Originals:
Set of 8
Colours 14ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 8
Colours 14ml each
PGi9
Pixma Pro 9500
Originals:
Set of 10
Colours 14ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 10
Colours 14ml each
28.99
8.99
6.99
53.99
15.99
12.99
14.99
3.99
3.99
We carry a massive range of papers (sheets & rolls) at competitive

prices. Below are some examples of the selection we stock.
Photo Glossy 160gsm:

6x4 50 sheets +50 FREE
3.99
Photo Satin 200gsm:
6x4 100 sheets +100 FREE 9.99
A4 20 sheets
6.99
Photo Glossy 200gsm:
6x4 100 sheets +100 FREE 9.99
A4 20 sheets
6.99
Premium Pearl 270gsm:
6.99
A4 50 sheets
16.99
Premium Gloss 270gsm:
6x4 50 sheets OFFER
6.99
A3 25 sheets OFFER
15.99
A3+ 25 sheets OFFER
19.99
Smooth Pearl 310gsm:
6x4 100 sheets
17.99
7x5 100 sheets
21.99
A4 25 sheets
16.99
A4 100 sheets
47.99
A4 250 sheets
99.99
A3 25 sheets
31.99
A3+ 25 sheets
43.99
Smooth Gloss 310gsm:
6x4 100 sheets
17.99
7x5 100 sheets
21.99
A4 25 sheets
16.99
A4 100 sheets
47.99
A3 25 sheets
31.99
A3+ 25 sheets
43.99
Premium Matt Duo 200 gsm:
A4 50 sheets
14.99
Heavy Duo Matt 310gsm:
A4 50 sheets
18.99
No.18
83.99 Daisy Inks

10.99 Originals:
No.18 Set of 4
No.18 Black 5.2ml
No.18 Colours 3.3ml each
No.18XL Set of 4
No.18XL Black 11.5ml
83.99 No.18XL Colours 6.6ml each
10.99
Compatibles:
No.18 Set of 4
27.99 No.18 Black 12ml
3.99 No.18 Colours 12ml each
No.24
Elephant Inks
30.99
8.99
7.49
54.99
16.99
12.99
14.99
3.99
3.99
Originals:
107.99 No.24 Set of 6
52.99
10.99 No.24 Colours 4.6ml each
8.99
No.24XL Set of 6
87.99
44.99 No.24XL Colours 8.7ml each 14.99
4.99 Compatibles:
No.24 Set of 6
22.99
More Canon Inks...
No.24 Black 7ml
3.99
Originals:
3.99
PGi520/CLi521 Set of 5 49.99
PGi520 Black 19ml
11.99 No.26
CLi521 Colours 9ml
10.29 Polar Bear Inks
PGi525/CLi526 Set of 5 49.99
PGi525 Black 19ml
11.99 Originals:
35.99
CLi526 Colours 9ml
10.29 No.26 Set of 4
9.99
PGi550/CLi551 Set of 5 43.99 No.26 Black 6.2ml
No.26
Colours 4.5ml each
8.99
PGi550 Black 15ml
10.99
63.99
CLi551 Colours 7ml
8.99 No.26XL Set of 4
No.26XL
Black 12.1ml
16.99
PGi550/CLi551XL Set of 5 59.99 No.26XL Colours 9.7ml each 15.99
PGi550XL Black 22ml
12.99
CLi551XL Colours 11ml 11.99 Compatibles:
14.99
PG540 Black 8ml
12.99 No.26 Set of 4
3.99
PG540XL Black 21ml
19.99 No.26 Black 10ml
No.26
Colours
7ml
each
3.99
CL541 Colour 8ml
16.99
CL541XL Colour 15ml
19.99
PG545XL Black 15ml
15.49 T0481-T0486
CL546XL Colour 13ml
16.99 Seahorse Inks
Compatibles:
Originals:
PGi5 Black 27ml
4.99 Set of 6
89.99
CLi8 Colours 13ml
3.99 Colours 13ml each
18.99
PGi5/CLi8 Set of 5
19.99 Compatibles:
PGi520 Black 19ml
4.99 Set of 6
19.99
CLi521 Colours 9ml
3.99
PGi520/CLi521 Set of 5 19.99
PGi525 Black 19ml
4.99 T0541-T0549
CLi526 Colours 9ml
3.99
PGi525/CLi526 Set of 5 19.99 Frog Inks
PGi550XL Black 25ml
4.99 Originals:
112.99
CLi551XL Colours 12ml
3.99 Set of 8
14.99
PGi550/CLi551XL Set of 5 19.99 Colours 13ml each
BCi6 Colours 15ml
2.99 Compatibles:
PG40 Black 28ml
12.99 Set of 8
27.99
3.99
CL41 Colour 24ml
PG50 Black 28ml
12.99
CL51 Colour 24ml
14.99 T0591-T0599
PG510 Black 11ml
13.99 Lily Inks
CL511 Colour 11ml
15.99
PG512 Black 18ml
13.99 Originals:
102.99
CL513 Colour 15ml
15.99 Set of 8
12.99
PG540XL Black 21ml
CL541XL Colour 15ml
14.99 Compatibles:
27.99
PG545XL Black 15ml
11.99 Set of 8
3.99
PG546XL Black 21ml
Many more in stock!
Photo Papers
More Epson inks >>>
E&EO. Prices may be subject to change, but hopefully not!
PP-201 Plus Glossy II 275gsm:

6x4 50 sheets
9.99
7x5 20 sheets
11.99
A4 20 sheets
11.99
A3 20 sheets
27.99
A3+ 20 sheets
36.99
SG-201 Semi-Gloss 260gsm:
6x4 50 sheets
10.99
A4 20 sheets
11.99
A3 20 sheets
27.99
A3+ 20 sheets
44.99
Smooth Pearl 280gsm:

6x4 100 sheets
12.99
7x5 100 sheets
18.99
A4 50 sheets
18.99
A4 50 sheets
18.99
A3 50 sheets
35.99
A3+ 25 sheets
28.99
Oyster 271gsm:
6x4 100 sheets
12.99
7x5 100 sheets
18.99
A4 50 sheets
18.99
A3 25 sheets
22.99
A3+ 25 sheets
28.99
Gloss 271gsm:
6x4 100 sheets
12.99
7x5 100 sheets
18.99
A4 50 sheets
18.99
A3 25 sheets
22.99
A3+ 25 sheets
28.99
Double Sided Matt 250gsm:
A4 100 sheets
24.99
A3 50 sheets
27.99
Premium Gloss 255gsm:

10.99
7x5 30 sheets
10.99
A4 15 sheets +15 FREE
10.99
A3 20 sheets
38.99
A3+ 20 sheets OFFER
25.99
Ultra Gloss 300gsm:
6x4 50 sheets
13.99
7x5 50 sheets
14.99
A4 15 sheets
15.99
Premium Semi-Gloss 251gsm:
6x4 50 sheets
8.99
A4 20 sheets
15.99
A3 20 sheets
39.99
A3+ 20 sheets OFFER
25.99
Archival Matte 192gsm:
A4 50 sheets
16.99
A3 50 sheets
36.99
A3+ 50 sheets
52.99
Heavyweight Matte 167gsm:
A4 50 sheets
12.99
A3 50 sheets
32.99
A3+ 50 sheets
46.99
More Ink Cartridges...

T0711-T0714
Cheetah Inks
Originals:
Set of 4
Black 7.4ml
Colours 5.5ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 4
Black 7.4ml
Colours 5.5ml each
42.99
10.99
10.99
14.99
3.99
3.99
T0791-T0796
Owl Inks
Originals:
Set of 6
Colours 11.1ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 6
Colours 11.1ml each
88.99
14.99
19.99
3.99
T0801-T0806
Hummingbird Inks
Originals:
Set of 6
Colours 7.4ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 6
Colours 7.4ml each
67.99
11.49
19.99
3.99
T0871-T0879
Flamingo Inks
Originals:
Set of 8
Colours 11.4ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 8
Colours 11.4ml each
76.99
9.99
27.99
3.99
T0961-T0969
Husky Inks
Originals:
Set of 8
Colours 11.4ml each
Compatibles:
Set of 8
Colours 11.4ml each
Many more in stock!
78.99
9.99
27.99
3.99
Originals:
No.300 Black 4ml
12.99
No.300 Colour 4ml
14.99
No.301 Black 3ml
10.99
No.301 Colour 3ml
13.49
No.302 Black 3.5ml
10.99
No.302 Colour 4ml
12.99
No.350 Black 4.5ml
14.99
No.351 Colour 3.5ml
17.99
No.363 Black 6ml
17.99
No.363 C/M/Y/PC/PM each 11.49
No.363 SET OF 6
49.99
No.364 Black 6ml
8.99
No.364 PB/C/M/Y 3ml each 7.99
No.364 SET OF 4
26.99
No.364XL Black 14ml
15.99
No.364XL PB/C/M/Y 6ml each 15.99
No.364XL SET OF 4
59.99
No.920XL SET OF 4
51.99
No.932XL SET OF 4
50.99
No.950XL SET OF 4
79.99
Compatibles:
No.15 Black 46ml
3.99
No.21 Black 10ml
6.99
No.22 Colour 21ml
11.99
No.45 Black 45ml
6.99
No.56 Black 24ml
6.99
No.57 Colour 24ml
11.99
No.62XL Black 12ml
14.99
No.62XL Colour 12ml
15.99
No.78 Colour 36ml
8.99
No.110 Colour 12ml
9.99
No.300XL Black 18ml
12.99
No.300XL Colour 18ml
13.99
No.301XL Black 15ml
12.99
13.99
No.337 Black 21ml
9.99
No.338 Black 21ml
10.99
No.339 Black 34ml
11.99
No.343 Colour 21ml
11.99
No.344 Colour 21ml
12.99
No.350XL Black 30ml
13.99
15.99
No.363 SET OF 6
19.99
No.364 Black 10ml
3.79
3.29
No.364 SET OF 4
12.99
No.364XL Black 18ml
4.99
No.364XL Colours 11ml each 4.29
No.364XL SET OF 4
16.99
Albums & Frames
We now stock a comprehensive range of frames, mounts, albums

and accessories. The full range can be viewed on our website,
with detailed close-up images of each product to help you
choose the perfect way to display your printed photographs.
Below is just a tiny sample of what we offer:
Grace Albums
Available in
Burgundy
or Blue.
Travel
Albums
Emilia Frames
Distressed wood
shabby chic
effect.
Blue or White.
Rio Frames
Handcrafted solid wood with

30mm wide profile, in four colours.
Over a dozen
designs in stock.
Grafton
Albums
Available in
Burgundy
or Blue. Frisco Frames
Simple, basic design
available
in a huge
range of
sizes &
colours.
Baby
Albums
Multiple
different
designs
available.
Memo Style Albums:

Grace 6x4 100 photos
5.99
9.99
14.99
7.99
13.99
Grace A4 100 photos
15.99
Grafton 6x4 200 photos
9.99
Grafton 7x5 200 photos 13.99
Baby 6x4 200 photos
9.99
Travel 6x4 200 photos
8.99
Traditional Style Albums:
Grace 29x32cm 100 pages 14.99
Grafton 29x32cm 100 pgs 14.99
Baby 29x32cm 100 pages 12.99
Accessories:
Photo Corners Pack of 250 2.99
Photo Stickers Pack of 500 1.99
Plastic Bevel, Glass Front:

Frisco 6x4 seven colours
1.99
2.29
2.79
3.49
Frisco 10x8 seven colours 3.79
Frisco 12x8 seven colours 4.59
Frisco A4 seven colours
3.99
Frisco A3 seven colours
8.99
Wood Bevel, Glass Front:
Emilia 6x4 two colours
4.99
5.99
6.99
7.99
8.99
Rio 6x4 four colours
5.99
6.99
7.99
8.99
9.99
USB Pen Drives
8GB: 3.29 16GB: 4.49

32GB: 7.99
Memory
SDHC & SDXC
Sandisk Blue
33X (5MB/s)
8GB
3.49
16GB
4.99
32GB
9.99
Sandisk Ultra
266X (40MB/s)
8GB
5.99
16GB
6.99
32GB
11.99
64GB
21.99
Sandisk Extreme
600X (90MB/s)
16GB
9.99
32GB
14.99
64GB
27.99
Compact Flash
Sandisk Ultra
333X (50MB/s)
8GB
11.99
16GB
15.99
32GB
24.99
Sandisk Extreme
800X (120MB/s)
16GB
26.99
32GB
32.99
64GB
47.99
128GB 94.99
MicroSDHC & SDXC

Sandisk Ultra
320X (48MB/s)
16GB
6.99
32GB
12.99
64GB
24.99
Readers & Cases
Delkin USB2 Card Reader 9.99

Delkin USB3 Card Reader 19.99
Delkin SD Card (x8) Case 6.99
Delkin CF Card (x4) Case 6.99
Many more in stock!
Batteries
BP-511 for Canon
LP-E6 for Canon
LP-E8 for Canon
LP-E12 for Canon
EN-EL3E for Nikon
NB-2L/LH for Canon
NB-6L for Canon
NB-10L for Canon
NP95 for Fuji
NPW126 for Fuji
EN-EL3e for Nikon
EN-EL14 for Nikon
EN-EL15 for Nikon
BLN-1 for Olympus
BLC12 for Panasonic
FW50 for Sony
BX-1 for Sony
AA 1300mAh (4)
AAA 1100mAh (4)
12.99
16.99
12.99
12.99
14.99
9.99
9.99
12.99
9.99
12.99
14.99
19.99
24.99
24.99
23.99
24.99
14.99
3.99
3.99
Filters
Screw-type Filters
46mm UV / Haze
49mm UV / Haze
52mm UV / Haze
55mm UV / Haze
58mm UV / Haze
62mm UV / Haze
67mm UV / Haze
72mm UV / Haze
77mm UV / Haze
4.99
4.99
4.99
5.99
6.99
7.99
8.99
8.99
11.99
Skylight Filters from:
6.99
Circular Polarising Filters from: 14.99
ND4 and ND8 Filters from: 11.99
P-Type Square Filters

49-82mm Adapter Rings
Filter Holder
ND2 Filter
ND2 Grad Filter
ND4 Filter
ND4 Grad Filter
4.99
5.99
12.99
13.99
12.99
13.99
www.premier-ink.co.uk Telephone: 01926 339977 or 0800 1077 211 Premier Ink & Photographic 12 Longfield Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV31 1XB
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Jargon Buster
1080p Of the common types of
HD video, this is the best quality:
1920x1080 pixels.
32bit A measure of how much
data a computer can process at
once. Most older PCs are 32bit.
4K Video with a resolution of at
least 3840x2160 pixels.
5GHz Wireless networks working
at 5GHz have shorter range, but
are less prone to interference.
64bit A technology that processes
information in larger chunks. Most
modern computers are 64bit.
720p A common resolution of HD
video: 1280x720 pixels.
802.11ac A standard for wireless
networks that allows for much
higher transfer speeds than 802.11n.
802.11n A standard for wireless
networks that allows for high
transfer speeds.
Add-in Tools that can be added to
Microsoft Oce software.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line. A technology that
converts a standard phone line into
a broadband internet connection.
Beta A version of software thats
being tested.
Bootloader A program that runs
when a computer starts up and
loads the operating system.
Cache A temporary space for
storing information.
Cloning A backup feature that
makes an exact copy of a drive on
to another drive.
Codec A le that tells a computer
how to record or play a media le.
Cookie A small text le stored on
your computer by a website. Used
to store browsing preferences,
website log-in details and so on.
CPU Central Processing Unit.
Another term for a computer
processor.
Defragment To reorganise the
data stored on a hard drive so les
can be accessed quickly.
DNS Domain Name System.

A technology that associates
computers with their addresses on
the internet.
Extension A program that adds
extra features to your browser.
Factory image The part of
your hard drive containing your
operating system.
Firmware Basic software stored
on a device, such as a music player,
to control its operation.
Flash memory A type of memory
that can retain information without
a power source.
Format To prepare a drive for use.
Gesture Finger movements on a
screen that perform an action.
JPEG A common type of image le.

LCD Liquid-Crystal Display. The
technology used to create almost
all atscreen TVs and monitors.
LED Light-Emitting Diode. An
electronic device that emits light.
Used on most electronic devices.
M.2 A standard specication for
internal PC expansion cards.
Megapixel A measure of the
amount of detail that can be
recorded by a digital image.
PNG Portable Network Graphics. A

format for images that shrinks le
sizes without discarding any data.
Port forwarding Choosing which
computer in your network a router
should connect to.
PowerShell A Windows tool for
automating commands.
PUP Potentially Unwanted
Program. A downloaded program
that may not be desired.
Quad core A computer that has
four processors on a single chip.
MicroSD A small type of memory

card. Can be converted to SD size
using an adapter.
RAM Random-access memory.

The computers working area.
MU MIMO Wi-Fi technology that

increases the number of antennas
that can be used.
RAW A format for digital photos

that stores the image exactly as
the camera captured it.
ON SALE NOW!
The A-Z Jargon
Buster Book
Remote code execution When a

hacker is able to start a program
running on a remote computer.
SATA Serial ATA. An interface for
connecting modern hard drives
and optical discs to a computer.
This A-Z guide contains

over 900 definitions of
computing and tech jargon,
n,
helping you take back
control of your PC.
Sideload To install apps without

using the ocial Android or iOS
stores.
SSD Solid-state drive. Storage
that, unlike a hard drive, uses no
moving parts.
BUY IT AT
GHz Gigahertz. A measure of

how many instructions a chip can
process per second.
NAS Network-attached storage. A

hard drive attached to a network
that can be shared with other PCs.
Gigabit Ethernet A very fast

networking standard that can
transfer data at up to 1,000Mbps.
NFC A technology that allows two

devices to communicate by being
touched together or placed near to
each other.
GIF Graphics Interchange Format.

A type of image le often used on
the web.
Open source Software that can

be modied by anyone.
Graphics card A component in a

computer that produces the image
shown on the monitor.
Overclocking Making a processor

work faster to improve the PCs
performance.
Heatsink A block used to reduce

the heat from a computer chip.
Partition A large hard drive can be

split into two or more partitions.
IP address A set of numbers

used to identify computers and
websites on the internet.
PCI Express x16 A graphics

interface that oers increased
bandwidth.
System restore point The

collection of system les stored
by System Restore on a given date
and time to which Windows can
revert if a problem occurs.
USB 2.0/3.0/3.1 Faster versions
of USB used by devices such as
external hard drives.
USB Type-C A new connector
thats reversible.
Windows ID Login details for
Microsoft accounts made up of
your email address and password.
Write speed How long it takes a
hard drive to save data.
Zero-day aw A previously
unknown software aw that can be
exploited by malware or hackers.
ZIP le A le that contains
compressed documents or les.
The Final Straw

This issue Ken Rigsby wants to press delete on
KEN RIGSBY is
Computeractives Mr Angry
Illogical keyboards
I
ll cut to the chase: whoever designed

my new laptops keyboard is a bozo.
This irksome individual decided itd be
a brilliant wheeze to put Insert right next
to Backspace. Thats a common layout on
desktop keyboards, so Im sure it seemed
logical at the time. However, the cramped
connes of my laptop aord no physical
space between these two keys, meaning
I sometimes hit Insert instead of
Backspace, then end up typing over stu
Ive already written. Genius!
Using this keyboard

was like trying to ride a
clowns bike, pedalling
backwards to go
forwards
But this isnt my new keyboards only

annoyance: the F11 keys secondary
function puts the machine into Airplane
Mode. What does that mean? It means
that when I hold down the Function (Fn)
key and tap F10 to increase volume
(which is the secondary function of F10) I
sometimes miss, accidentally turning o
my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the process.
This shuts o my internet connection
and disconnects my wireless headphones,
causing music to suddenly blare out of
my PCs speakers. And if I dont take care
when correcting my mistake I put my
computer to sleep, because some idiot
decided this should be the secondary
function of nearby F12.
But my new laptops keyboard is hardly
unique. Every keyboard Ive ever used has
exhibited a similar design

stupidity. On one laptop the Page
Up and Page Down buttons were
positioned left and right rather than, you
know, top and bottom. Moreover, the
left and right arrow keys sandwiched
the up and down ones, which were
themselves positioned adjacently left
and right. Using this layout to
navigate a document was like trying
to ride a clowns bike, pedalling
backwards to go forwards and steering
left to turn right.
Now consider the design of PC
keyboards generally: theyre literally
stuck in the past. Look at your
keyboard. Does it have an Alt Gr
key? Thought so. Whats that for
then? You dont know? Thought so
again. I could bore you with the
history of Alt Gr but its pretty
much a legacy key. Today, it has no
real reason to exist. Its appropriately
named, though, because every time
I look at Alt Gr it makes me think:
Grr what a waste of a key.
For curiositys sake, hold down Alt Gr
and press the key that usually sits just to
the left of 1. Youll type the pipe symbol
(|). Thatll be the pipe symbol that sits on
that other key that has barely any
purpose on modern PCs. Hold down
Function/Fn at the same time and the
same key might type a backwards-facing
apostrophe perfect for all those
moments when you need to be
grammatically possessive in reverse.
For even more puzzlement hold down
Shift while pressing the pipe key and
youll type what looks like a Tetris piece
(or a square). Good luck nding a use for
that! Id wager no one really knows why
this key still exists, and no one has had
the common sense to replace it with a
Google or Facebook button.
Keyboards designs neednt be so
terrible. Ive ranted plenty about Apple,
and its Mac keyboards also have plenty of
silly legacy keys. But Apples iOS mobile
operating system sets the standard for

smartphone and tablet keyboards.
Theyre full of simple yet clever ideas that
you use every day. Type a web address,
for example, and notice that Enter becomes
Go. Or open the Mail app and notice how
the comma key is initially replaced by the
@ symbol, because thats what you need
when typing email addresses. Androids
touchscreen keyboard employs many of
the same ideas.
But heres the thing: even touchscreen
keyboards arent as smart as they could
be. Thats because they rely on the
familiar QWERTY layout, which was
invented in 1878 - for typewriters. The
arrangement wasnt designed for ecient
typing but to prevent mechanical jams.
Were all so used to QWERTY that it
seems normal. But really, its the ultimate
stupid keyboard design.
What do you hate about keyboards?
Let us know at letters@computeractive.co.uk
Next issue Ken runs out of battery power
BROADEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE
PROLITE PCAP TOUCH SOLUTIONS

NOW AT YOUR (10) FINGERTIPS
ProLite XUB3490WQSU
34 IPS ultra-wide screen for ultra-engaging gaming experience.
Take your gaming experience to a whole new level with the
ultra-wide ProLite XUB3490WQSU monitor featuring 21:9
viewable area, UWQHD resolution and a height adjustable stand.
www.iiyama.com

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STILL

A new lick of Paint p9

Your friendly guide to tec

From the Editor

doesnt join the bleedin choir invisible.

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