STILL

ONLY SHARE YOUR PHOTOS TURN YOUR LIFE STORY

1.99 EASIER THAN EVER p38 INTO A PODCAST p40
Googles superb new tool
4 JULY 2017
ISSUE 504 21 JUNE

every issue Youll love what it

Learn something new in p35
Kaspersky v Microsoft p8
adds to your PC

p50

File-dependent software
Unexpected duplicates
Start-up hardware items
...WHY YOU MUST UNINSTALL
Pre-loaded programs
Microsofts useful extras
Files that slow Start-up p50
1.99

First WannaCry...
NOW RANSOMWARE SCAMS CAN YOU THE ADVERT?
U SPOT T
TARGET YOU ONLINE p16 Banish snea
eaky
kkyy ads
d from Windows 10
Welcome
EDITORIAL
Group Editor Daniel Booth
Features Editor Mike Plant
Technical Editor Sherwin Coelho
From the Editor
Production Editor Graham Brown Computeractive moved oces recently, so we
Art Editor Katie Peat
Sorry, no technical or buying advice. needed a big clearout. Its astonishing how
ADVERTISING much clutter had grown around my desk. It
Group Ad Manager Charlotte Milligan
Deputy Advertising Manager Alexa Dracos
seemed to have spread like Japanese Knotweed
through a Cotswolds garden. And yet I was still
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION
Subscriptions Rachel Hare nervous about what to throw away. Would I
Marketing Production Manager Gemma Hills
For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493
need that old coee-stained notepad? Whose safe to remove, and what you must keep.
phone number is on that Post-it note? Should I I hope youll nd it useful, but Ill
PRODUCTION
Group Production Manager pack the kitchen sink? understand if the task of cleaning your PC
Stephen Catherall
Production Controller
I know that many of you have similar doubts doesnt rank particularly highly in your lifes
Maisie Harvey when clearing junk from your PC. You realise achievements. You can share these with other
MANAGEMENT how important it is to do, but worry that youll people by turning your life story into a podcast
Managing Director John Garewal
MD of Advertising Julian Lloyd-Evans accidentally uninstall les that are essential to (page 40).
Commercial and Retail Director David Barker how your PC runs. So in this issues Cover Daniel Booth
CFO/COO Brett Reynolds
Chief Executive James Tye Feature (page 50) we explain precisely whats editor@computeractive.co.uk
Company Founder Felix Dennis

BRAND USAGE AND REPRINTS

Companies can obtain a licence to use approved
quotations from articles, the Computeractive p40
logo and Buy It! logo. Reprints of articles are also
available.

Please contact Ryan Chambers for more

information and rates: 0203 890 4027
Email: anj_halai@dennis.co.uk
Requests to use quotations from articles will
p38 p35
need to be approved by the editor. Please send
requests to: editor@computeractive.co.uk

OVERSEAS LICENSING
Computeractive is available for international
licensing. Contact Nicole Adams at nicole_
adams@dennis.co.uk or +44 0203 890 3998

ONWARD RESALE
This publication may not be resold or otherwise
distributed, whether at, below or above face
value. Nor can this publication be advertised for
sale, transfer or distribution.

PERMISSIONS
Material may not be reproduced in any form p50
without the written consent of the publisher.
Please address such requests to John Garewal,
Dennis Publishing, 31-32 Alfred Place,
London, WC1E 7DP

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
p16 p58
Computeractive is published
fortnightly by Dennis Publishing,
31-32 Alfred Place, London, WC1E 7DP.
Company registered in England. Material may
not be reproduced in whole or part without the
consent of the publishers. ISSN 1461-6211 THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS HOW TO USE
SNIPCA URLs
Average sales, Jan-Dec 2016, 83,856
copies per issue. 28 We use snipcas to turn long URLs that
Number of languages
Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited
are hard to type into ones that are
WannaCry ransomware
short and simple. They arent websites
was translated into - p7
themselves, which means they wont
be recognised if you type them into
2,000 500 million Google. Instead, you need to type them
Price of Intels new How many people into your browser address bar, then
Computeractive teraflop processor now use Google press Enter. Doing this will take you to
Printed in the UK
- p22 Photos - p49 the correct website.

21 June 4 July 2017 3

 Contents 21 June 4 July 2017 Issue 504

REMOVE
In this issue CO
FEA VER
TU
P50 RE
50 Remove hidden junk
without killing your PC

HIDDEN JUNK
Our expert guide to removing
unwanted and unnecessary software
safely and completely

57 Meteorology
Help with Hobbies

58 Banish Microsofts adverts

in Windows 10
Stop irritating promotional pop-ups
and oers you can refuse

60 Watch the world from

your PC
How to see real-time events online

Watch the
Hide Microsofts world go round
adverts p58 on your PC p60

In every issue Windows version

therapy p74
6 News 33 Competition
Win MAGIX Vegas Movie
vie
11 Question of Studio software
the Fortnight
How can we detect online 49 Whats All the Fuss
uss
dating scammers? About? Google Lens

12 Letters 64 Problems Solved

14 Consumeractive 70 Reader Support

ed
Your tech problems xed
16 Protect Your Tech
73 Jargon Buster
18 Best Free Software
Z-Cron 5.0 74 The Final Straw
Ken Rigsby cant move for
30 Buy It! versions of Windows

4 21 June 4 July 2017

 Subscribe
cribe
NOW!
W!
See page
ge 62
for our special
sp
subs offer

Palicomp i5 Reviews
Titanium p21
p2
20 Box Cube Essence Quiet GT
Quietly unassuming PC underwhelms
BUY IT!
21 Palicomp i5 Titanium
Mid-table PC upsets the odds

22 Asus VX279Q
A monitor with image problems

23 Nokia 3310
Retro phone has little future

24 Raspberry Pi Zero W
Mini PC goes wireless
Now TV Smart Box
Set top box for alternative viewing

26 Canon Pixma TS8050

Raspberry Pi Zero W p24 Canon Pixma A licence to print better
TS8050
p26 28 LG G6
LG impressive phone stands tall
LGs
D-
D-Link Vigilance DCS-4602EV
Ro
Robust security camera for your home

29 Asus DSL-AC55U
As
Asus router doesnt break speed limits

BUY IT!

THE ADVANCED GUIDE

Workshops & Tips TO WINDOWS 10
14 pages of brilliant workshops and expert tips
ON SALE NOW!
35 Customise Windows 10s 42 Save mobile data on
secret Start menu your iPhone

38 Share photos using 43 Readers Tips

Googles new tool Reach the Control Panel quicker

40 Turn your
y life story
ry 44 Phone and Tablet Tips
into
to a podcast Cast your photos to your TV

46 Make Windows Better

Connect Bluetooth accessories

47 Make Office Better

Quickly insert text you use often

48 Secret Tips For BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON

Magix Music Maker at www.snipca.com/21617

21 June 4 July 2017 5

 News
Now WannaCry can hack W10
(but its actually good news)
T he WannaCry
ransomware
that paralysed tens
of thousands of
computers in May worldwide
can be used to attack
Windows 10, security
researchers have said.
Experts at US company
RiskSense have created a
Windows 10 version of the
security aw called
EternalBlue that WannaCry
exploited in order to better
understand how future attacks
can be prevented.
No Windows 10 computers
were aected by WannaCry
during the attack last month.
Despite initial reports that XP
machines were most at risk,
analysis suggests that 98 per
cent of hacked computers
were running Windows 7.
RiskSenses research is
known as white hat hacking,
in which the security of
software and systems are
View computing history from Bletchley Park
You can get up close to the
worlds oldest working
computer in a new
360-degree tour of the
National Museum of
Computing at Bletchley Park.
The Harwell Dekatron,
better known as WITCH, was
used by the Atomic Energy
Research Establishment in
Harwell, Oxfordshire,
Youll like this
Microsoft has updated its Wordament app
with more games (www.snipca.com/24611)
6 21 June 4 July 2017
tested by experts looking to
nd aws before criminals do.
It has published a report
explaining how WannaCry
can infect Windows 10, but
left out details that would
only be useful to attackers.
Sean Dillon, senior research
analyst at RiskSense, said the
information would help the
security industry develop
new techniques to thwart
ransomware.
His team removed a
backdoor from the aw,
which WannaCry was
using to bypass antivirus
between 1951 and 1957.
Restored in 2012, it is one of
the museums most famous
exhibits.
The top stories in the world of technology
software. Dillon said that
WannaCry doesnt actually
need to use this tactic, and
urged security researchers to
stop wasting time looking for
ways to block it.
Check for updates
To stay safe from WannaCry,
Windows 10 users should
make sure they have installed
Microsofts MS17-010 update,
which was released on 14
March to x EternalBlue.
Updates are applied nds any updates, click them.
automatically by default in
Windows 10, but to double-
Start your tour by visiting
www.snipca.com/24600
this should zoom you towards
the WITCH. From here you
can use your mouse to explore
the museum, clicking dots
and rotating the screen as you
can in Google Street View.
To make it easier to
navigate, click the bottom-left
icon (see screenshot) to see
but not this
Facebook wont give parents access to dead
daughters account (www.snipca.com/24610)
COMMENT
Hat colours matter as much
to hackers as they do to race-
goers on Ladies Day at Royal
Ascot. Black hat hackers are
the bad guys criminals out
to steal and pillage. More
ambiguous are grey hat
hackers, who arent malicious
but may break the law to
uncover security aws. That
leaves the white hat hackers
unsung heroes who help to
keep us all safe. We do our
cap to them.
check click the Start button,
type update, then click
Windows Update settings
from the list of results.
Next click the grey Check
for updates button in the
Update status section. If this
WannaCry scams you need to
avoid turn to page 16
the museum in two views as
a oorplan and a dollhouse.
From these click one of the
circles to go to an exhibit.
Other highlights in the
tour include the Hollerith
Electronic Computer (HEC),
Britains rst mass-produced
business computer, and a
gigantic disk platter from
the 1950s.
WannaCry hackers were
Chinese speaking
Chinese hackers were
behind the WannaCry
ransomware attack that
crippled tens of thousands
of computers around the
world in May,
new evidence suggests.
After examining the
ransom message displayed
by WannaCry, researchers
at US security company
Flashpoint found that the
grammar and punctuation
in the Chinese versions
indicated the writer was
native or at least uent in
the language.
They claim with high
condence that the language
is consistent with that of
Southern China, Hong Kong,
Taiwan or Singapore.
The ransom note was
displayed in 28 dierent
languages, including French,
6,000 drivers use phone despite fines
Nearly 6,000 drivers were
caught using their mobile
phones while driving in the
month after the Government
increased penalties for the
oence.
The gures equate to 200
drivers per day in the 28 days
from 1 March, when the
Department for Transport
(DfT) doubled the penalties to
a 200 ne and six penalty
points. Additionally, motorists
caught using their phone
within two years of getting
their licence can now lose it
entirely.
Transport Secretary Chris
Grayling said at the time that
using a phone at the wheel
is as inexcusable as drink-
driving.
The Press Association used a
Freedom of Information
request to obtain the statistics,
which show police punished
5,977 drivers in March. Just
German and Russian. But
Flashpoint says only the
versions in Chinese and
English were written by
humans, with the others
showing grammatical and
punctuation errors indicating
they had been translated
using Google Translate.
Flashpoint says the reason
the hackers are more likely to
be Chinese than English is
that the English version
contains the ungrammatical
over 2,000 incidents took
place in London.
Drivers reported to the
police included a man using
his phone while driving a
7.5-tonne lorry around a
roundabout in Bournemouth,
and another driving a minibus
with 10 children on board.
Road-safety campaigners
said that the gures show the
tougher laws arent curbing
this behaviour. The charity
Brake, which wants the 200
ne to be signicantly
sentence, But you have
not so enough time.
Some experts had
previously thought
the hackers belonged
to the North Korean
Lazarus Group due to
similarities between
WannaCrys code
and earlier attacks
attributed to them. But
Flashpoints analysis (available
at www.snipca.com/24570)
revealed that the Korean-
language ransom note was a
poorly translated version of
the English text.
WannaCry infected more
than 200,000 computers in
150 countries, taking down
thousands of NHS machines
in the UK. The attack is being
investigated by the UKs
National Crime Agency,
Europol and the FBI.
increased, told the BBC:
Driver distraction is a
growing menace and its
worrying that drivers dont
seem to be getting the
message.
Steve Gooding, director of
motoring research charity the
RAC Foundation, added:
Driving is a safety-critical
activity that requires our full
attention. Hands need to be
on the wheel and eyes looking
out of the windscreen, not
down at the phone screen.
IN BRIEF
MOBILE PHONE CALLS
GOING UNDERGROUND
Commuters
on the London
Underground
may soon be
able to use
their phones to
browse the web
and make calls. Under plans
from the Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan, telecoms
companies will be invited
to bid for the contract to
provide a 4G service. Many
stations currently oer Wi-Fi
on platforms, but this isnt
available on trains.
AMAZON TO SELL
MEDICINE ONLINE
Amazon is
planning
to sell
prescription medicine online,
according to reports. The
company is advertising in
the US for a pharmacies
market general manager
to tap into a market that is
worth an estimated $300bn
a year. It raises the possibility
of a similar venture in the
UK, although the company
would need to register with
the Medicines and Healthcare
Products Regulatory Agency.
Tomorrows
world
Will parachutes soon replace
postmen? Amazon has
recently been granted a
patent in the US for a postage
label that contains a built-in
parachute (pictured), which
would be dropped from a
delivery drone. Sensors
ensure packages come to
rest in the right
place, while
shock absorbers
guarantee a
soft landing.
21 June 4 July 2017 7
 News
Kaspersky takes Microsoft to
court for removing its antivirus
Kaspersky has led a
legal complaint against
Microsoft for abusing its
dominant position by
recommending its
inferior Windows
Defender antivirus.
The Russian company
alleges that Microsoft
removes third-party
antivirus software from
PCs when users upgrade to
Windows 10, pushing them
towards Defender instead.
It has led an anti-
competition lawsuit with the
European Union, claiming
that Microsofts promotion of
Defender uses questionable
methods.
In a scathing blog post
(www.snipca.com/24596)
Kasperskys boss and founder
Eugene Kaspersky lashed out
at Microsoft, accusing it of
deliberately confusing users
by casting doubt on the
eectiveness of running
third-party antivirus.
He criticised Windows for
repeatedly asking users Do
you want to run this
Apple adds drag and drop to iPad
One of the most useful PC
functions drag and drop is
coming to the iPad.
Apple announced this in
early June when launching
iOS 11, the new version of its
operating system for iPads and
iPhones, which is expected to
arrive in September. It means
youll be able to move les,
photos, videos and music
using your ngers..
It should prove
extremely useful
when, for example, e,
dragging and
dropping a photo
into the body of ann
email.
Another PC-style le
8 21 June 4 July 2017
program? when they try to
run antivirus software, and for
showing the warning You
should only run programs that
come from publishers you
trust (see screenshot).
Kaspersky said that these
messages make users feel
they are about to commit a
wrongful action that violates
the default settings from
Microsoft.
He also said its unfair that
for three days after a users
antivirus licence expires,
Kaspersky cant use its
notication system to
encourage them to renew it.
He complained that were
obliged to use Microsofts own
notication system now
called Action Center to
tool coming to iPads is the
Files app, which keeps all
your les in one place,
helping you manage them
more easily. It will show
les stored in your online
services, such as Dropbox
and iCloud Drive, as well
as on your iPad.
Apple claims these tools
will make its devices the
most pow
powerful,
person
personal and
intellig
intelligent theyve
ever bbeen.
The company also
announ
announced two new
iPad PPros, one with a
10.5in screen, the
other wi
with 12.9in.
which many users pay
little attention.
In response
Microsoft said: We are
condent that the
security features of
Windows 10 comply
with competition
laws. But that wont satisfy
Eugene Kaspersky, who says
its plain as day that
Microsoft deliberately impedes
users from making informed
decisions about which
security software to use.
He even claimed that
Microsofts French support
team had told a Kaspersky user
that Windows 10 is
incompatible with third-party
antivirus software.
Kasperskys software,
highly regarded in the
security industry, has won
Computeractives past eight
antivirus group tests. By
contrast, Defender often came
last, including in our most
recent test in January.
But more signicant is the
HomePod (pictured left),
Apples rst smart speaker for
the home and a direct rival to
the Amazon Echo and Google
Home. Like those devices, the
HomePod connects to the web
to answer your spoken
questions and play your music.
Its on sale from December.
IN BRIEF
GOOGLES CHROME TO
BLOCK ADVERTS
Google has conrmed that
its Chrome browser will
start blocking intrusive
adverts from next year. In
a blog post (www.snipca.
com/24565) the company
said it will tackle adverts that
blare music unexpectedly, or
force you to wait ten seconds
before you can see the
content on the page. Google
has launched a service
to help websites identify
adverts that fail to meet its
new standards.
BUDGET ISP TENTEL
GOES BUST
UK broadband provider
TenTel (www.tentel.co.uk)
has gone into administration
and will close at the end
of June, aecting around
10,000 customers who will
be automatically moved to
TalkTalk. The ISP launched
in 2013 and sold cheap deals
that were shorter than the
12-month minimum typically
oered by larger companies.
At the time of writing TenTel
was assisting customers
through online chat (www.
snipca.com/24590) and on
the number 0333 011 2321.
Staordshire University is
oering a degree in eSports,
in which professional
gamers play for big money
in international competitions.
Six students will even be
given a scholarship worth
2,000 to help them fund
a career in gaming. Rather
than studying Shakespeare,
Descartes or Einstein theyll
be playing Super Smash
Bros, featuring characters
called Diddy Kong, Jigglypu
and Mega Man.
Gmail now thwarts 99.9 per cent
of scam emails
Google claims that its Gmail
service now blocks 99.9 per
cent of all phishing attempts it
detects. It says that this is a
huge achievement because
50 to 70 per cent of emails
that Gmail users receive are
spam.
In a blog post announcing
the milestone (www.snipca.
com/24556), the company
says that Gmails detection
rate has been boosted by
machine learning. This is
articial intelligence that
allows software to improve by
itself, without any human
involvement.
Andy Wen, senior product
manager at Googles counter-
abuse technology team, said:
As we nd new patterns, our
models adapt more quickly
than manual systems ever
could, and get better with
time.
He added that Gmail is now
better at spotting polymorphic
malware, which are threats
that constantly change to
bypass antivirus software.
Machine learning also
Pocket-sized Card turns monitors into PCs
A new computer the size of a
credit card will transform
monitors into full-blown PCs.
Intels Compute Card,
small enough to t in your
wallet, comes with the basic
ingredients of a PC a
processor, memory, storage
and Wi-Fi but has been
designed to slot into other
devices to let them work like
a computer.
South Korean company LG
has said it will make monitors
that work with the Compute
Card, meaning you need to
buy only a keyboard and
mouse to use it as a computer.
HP and Lenovo are also said to
be working on compatible
allows Gmail to delay select
messages around 0.05 per
cent in order to perform
more rigorous tests that
determine whether they are
safe. In addition, Gmail will
block attachment le types
that carry a high potential for
security risks, including
JavaScript (see the full list at
www.snipca.com/24557).
Google is also strengthening
its security for companies that
use Gmail. Now, when an
employee tries to send an
email to someone outside the
company, or not in their
contact list, Gmail will ask
products.
Intel says that the
Card can also be slotted into
a smart TV, and into the
companys new docking
system so it could be used
as a desktop computer. In
future, users should be able to
upgrade their computer by
inserting a new, more
them whether they really
want to send it (see
screenshot). Google says this
will stop employees
accidentally sending sensitive
data to the wrong person.
Wen acknowledged that
such warnings become
annoying if they are shown
too often, but said that Gmail
uses contextual intelligence
to determine whether the
recipient is an existing contact
or someone you send emails
to regularly, and therefore
probably safe. This will avoid
displaying warnings
unnecessarily he claimed.
powerful Compute Card.
It comes in four versions, all
with 4GB of memory
and three USB ports.
Two Cards come with
Intel processors from the
latest generation (seventh),
and a 128GB SSD. Less
powerful are the two Cards
with Celeron and Pentium
processors, and 64GB eMMC
storage.
Intel, whose slogan for
the product is transform
everything with one card,
says that it will be on sale in
August. Prices havent been
announced yet. Visit Intels
site for more information:
www.snipca.com/24542.
IN BRIEF
JIHADIST LONDON
WI FI GROUNDS PLANE
A pilot refused to y a plane
after a passenger spotted
that someone on board had
named their Wi-Fi network
Jihadist Cell London 1. The
Thomson ight was due
to y back from Cancun in
Mexico to Gatwick Airport on
Tuesday 23 May, just hours
after the suicide bombing at
Manchester Arena. Police
were called after nobody
admitted to the name. All
passengers were taken o
the ight and own home the
following day.
WANT A UK VISA?
PAY 5.48 PER EMAIL
People applying for a visa
to visit the UK now have to
pay 5.48 for responses
to emails they have
sent to the UK Visas and
Immigration service (UKVI).
The Government, which
has outsourced the service
to a private company, says
the charge will mean UK
taxpayers pay less for the
signicant cost of dealing
with overseas inquiries.
It was previously free to
email UKVI.
BANNED PLUSNET
ADVERTS TOO FAST
Plusnet has
had two
radio adverts
banned
because the terms and
conditions were spoken
too quickly. The Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA)
ruled that they were
misleading because the
conditions had not been
spoken in a clear and
intelligible manner. Both
adverts said prices may
change during the term
of the contract, which the
ASA said was information
customers needed to make
an informed decision.
21 June 4 July 2017 9
 News
Jane Hoskyn puts the boot into tech villains, jargon-spouting companies
and software stued with junk
WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
Junk oender:
Panda Free Antivirus
Theres good and bad things
to say about Panda Free
Antivirus. The good is that it
scores well in independent
antivirus (AV) tests and is named after
pandas. The bad is that its installer is
riddled with so many PUPs - including a
browser hijacker powered by Yahoo -
that it lost my trust long before it had a
chance to prove itself.
Why do the makers of free AV software
force us to choose between safety and a
junk-free PC? Regular readers will know
Ive exposed the PUP tactics of Avast,
McAfee and Ad-Aware in the past all of
whom make free tools that claim to protect
you but are bundled with unwanted extras.
It doesnt even make commercial sense,
because it turns users o and makes
people like me write articles like this.
What are they
talking about?
What they say
Samsung (www.
snipca.com/24601):
Wherein the image photographing
condition comprises an acceleration
value sensed by the first sensor
being equal to or greater than a
predetermined critical velocity and an
angular variation detected from the
angular velocity sensed by the second
sensor being equal to or greater than a
predetermined critical value.
What they mean
Samsungs new smartwatch takes a
photo automatically when you point it at
an object. The patent has only just been
published, so dont hold your breath.
10 21 June 4 July 2017
Panda PUPs
Panda Free Antivirus has a lot going for it.
It scores top marks for malware-detection
in independent tests by AV-Test (www.
snipca.com/24597) and AV-Comparatives
(www.snipca.com/24598), and at around
100MB its nine times smaller than Avast
Free Antivirus. But I cant and wont
recommend any product that tries to
trick Yahoo adware on to your computer.
Before you even get its installer, you
have to negotiate an assault course mined
with upgrade traps. The Free buttons on
Pandas homepage (www.pandasecurity.
com/uk) are free trials for paid-for
products that cost from 20.99 per year.
To nd a genuinely free installer you have
to click Home Users, then Free, then
Download, then No, thank you in an
upgrade pop-up - at which point youre
dumped on to an external Cnet page,
which feels like a punishment.
Janes villain of the fortnight
Mike Collins
Poor Mike. His 17-year-old
cousin Poppy died in the
Manchester bombing, and
he wanted to raise money
for her funeral. So he set up
a page on the charity
website GoFundMe (see
screenshot) and waited for
the cash to ood in from
soft-hearted strangers.
You know whats coming, dont you?
Poppy didnt die. Poppy never existed.
Mike Collins presumably a pseudonym
had stolen a photo of a real girl and
used it to set up the bogus page. The
scam was only exposed when the girl,
Nisa Ayral, spotted her photo. She urged
GoFundMe to remove the page, and
Panda Safe Web is not part of the AV - and its
powered by the dreaded Yahoo
Perhaps this process is designed to
leave you so exhausted you fail to notice
the three little pre-ticked boxes for Panda
Safe Web in the installer. Two and three
(Yahoo and home page) sound dodgy
enough, but the rst one (protection
against malicious websites, see screenshot)
seems useful. It certainly is not. Panda
Safe Web is an extension thats completely
separate from the AV. Even if you manage
to dodge the browser hijacker by
unticking the Yahoo box, youll still install
an unnecessary extension that could
potentially slow down your computer.
according to reports they
didnt act immediately. Its
gone now, but GoFundMe
wouldnt reveal how much
money Mike Collins had
made in the meantime, or
whether hed kept it.
I have real problems with
sites like GoFundMe. Perhaps
its my British aversion to
asking for money, but I nd the trend
unnerving and its wide open to
abuse. By exploiting a terrible tragedy
and preying on peoples goodwill,
Mike Collins has achieved a new low.
Want to nominate a villain of the fortnight?
Email us at editor@computeractive.co.uk
 ?
Question
of the
Fortnight How can we detect online
dating scammers?
New technology could help to catch catfishing fraudsters

I an Doney thought that at

last he had found love. The
51-year-old from Grimsby,
keen to get married and start a
family, befriended a woman
on a website for single people
looking to travel abroad. In
2015 he arranged to meet her
during a trip, but she didnt
turn up. Undeterred, he later
sent her money so she could
travel to the UK, and waited
all day at the airport. Again
she stood him up, claiming
that shed had an accident. Mr
Doney, still thinking she was
genuine, sent her money to
pay for her medical bills.
Sadly, this doesnt have a
happy ending. As his
girlfriend demanded more
money, Mr Doney ran up
considerable debts, even
starving himself to aord the
payments. The pressure began
to tell. First he took an
overdose, then cut his wrists,
before being sectioned under
the Mental Health Act. Finally,
in August 2016, he was found
Since 2013 catfish scams in
the UK have risen by 42 per cent,
hitting a high last year when an
estimated 39m was stolen
hanged at his home. His
suicide note read: Sorry
Ive hurt you all but I cant
see any other way out. No
one can help me now, its my
own fault.
Mr Doney was a victim of a
catshing scam in which networks can be taught to
fraudsters create a fake
identity on dating websites,
and trick people into sending
them money. They prey on the
lonely and gullible, promising
them love but delivering pain
and misery. Mr Doney is just
one of many victims since
2013 the number of catsh
scams in the UK has risen by
42 per cent, hitting a record
high last year when an
estimated 39m was stolen
by fraudsters.
The problem is that dating
websites nd it hard to detect
fake accounts. But new
research shows that social
other and their style of
identify the signs that an
account is bogus. A team of
computer scientists at
Edinburgh University,
working with Lancaster
University, Queen Mary
University, London, and
Kings College, London, have
developed algorithms that
they claim can identify users
who lie about their gender
and age with more than 90
per cent accuracy.
Instead of analysing dating
sites, though, they examined
5,000 proles on the adult-
content site Pornhub. They
chose Pornhub because,
according to Edinburgh
Universitys Dr Walid Magdy,
adult websites are populated
by users who claim to be
other than who they are, so
these are a perfect testing
ground for techniques that
identify catshes. too late for Ian Doney, whose
By studying how men and
women interact with each
time theyll hopefully lead to
writing, the algorithms
suggested that almost 40 per
cent of Pornhubs users lied
THE FACTS
Online dating scams,
known as catshing, have
risen by 42 per cent since
2013
New algorithms claim to tell
with 90 per cent accuracy
whether someone is lying
about their identity online
Catshing is illegal only if
the perpetrator cons the
victim out of money, not if
theyre only after sex
about their age and 25 per
cent lied about their gender.
Dr Magdy said sites could use
the algorithms to build tools
that ag dishonest users and
keep social networks of all
kinds safe.
But more is needed to
protect vulnerable people
from catshing. Pretending to
be someone else becomes
illegal only if you defraud your
victim. Campaigners want a
change in the law so that its a
crime to lie about your
identity in order to solicit sex.
One victim, 44-year-old Anna
Rowe from Canterbury,
launched a petition (www.
snipca.com/24633) after she
was lured into an aair with a
married man. She said: His
behaviour was denitely
premeditated, showing his
intent to use women, yet the
current law will not nd his
actions a criminal oence.
The new algorithms came
suicide shows how devastating
catshing can be. But with
less heartache and suering
for genuine love-seekers like
Ms Rowe.

21 June 4 July 2017 11

 Letters
Dont abuse Amazon
refund loophole
In Issue 503 (News, page 7) you
asked readers whether weve used
Amazons loophole for 10 refunds. I
can conrm that the company oers
refunds for a wide variety of items
(books, DVDs, cables etc). Im slightly
ashamed to admit this because it may
expose me as an Amazon addict, but I
tend to buy something every day from the
site. With so many items turning up on
my doormat, its inevitable that some
wont work - and its these that I claim
refunds for. I would
consider it a real
hassle to have to
package and post them back to Amazon,
so Im glad that the company takes it on
trust that they are broken.
I would strongly urge people not to
abuse this loophole, though. Amazon
may be drowning in money, but it wont
want to be taken for a ride. Im sure it
would close the loophole in a ash if the
trickle of refunds turned into a ood.
Dawn Ashby
Im very nervous about the impact
of Amazons 10 refund loophole.
What happens if customers get so used to
it that they expect other sites, without
Amazons billions, to also provide the
loophole? I run a small business online,
selling car accessories. Theres no way I
could survive if my customers en masse
demanded refunds for small purchases. I
would urge readers to think twice about
using it, and consider how ordinary
businesses may be aected.
Barry Fisher
Virtual reality? Dementia
patients need human
contact too
Im sure that virtual-reality can
bring pleasure and relief to
dementia patients (News, Issue 503, page
7), but I would like to sound a note of
caution. Both my parents succumbed to
this horric disease, and during my time
visiting them in residential homes I saw
many other patients who had been more
or less abandoned by their children. It
was heartbreaking. I got the impression
that their children thought that the care
and entertainment provided by care-
12 21 June 4 July 2017
home workers was enough. My worry is
that some children will be tempted to
stick a virtual-reality headset on their
sick parents, and think that their job is
done. Yes, technology is great, but in my
experience nothing beats face-to-face
contact.
George Stapleton
Nokia phone gives me
all I need
It doesnt surprise me that Nokias
new retro 3310 phone (pictured)
sold out so quickly (News, Issue 503, page
6). Ive tried to get to grips with iPhones,
and other expensive gizmos, but they just
oer me lots of things I dont need. When
Im out and about I have no desire to stare
at my phone constantly ntly
its one of the habitsts
of modern life that I
nd most disagreeable. le.
If I want to go online,, I
wait until I come home me
and use my PC. All I
Can we put drivers in Faraday cages?
I read with
interest your
news story Phone
blocker in cars updates
Faradays 19th-century
cage (Issue 502, page
9). My amusement
turned to absolute amazement when I
checked the date and found that it
wasnt 1 April. How stupid can Nissan
be to think this will really work? If a
driver has that little self-control and
cannot resist his phone, what makes
Nissan think he will put the phone into
the cage in the rst place? After all,
Tell us whats on your mind
Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive
Twitter: @ComputerActive
www.twitter.com/computeractive
need from a phone is something that lets
me send texts and photos, and make
calls. The Nokia seems to t that bill. Im
sure Im not alone.
Joyce Fielding
CA says We agree with Joyce that there
will be many people interested in buying
the new Nokia 3310 because not
everyone needs an expensive iPhone.
However, as we reveal in our review on
page 23, its just not very good. Even at
49.99 it feels like a rip-o, because there
are much cheaper, better basic phones.
Facebook is good for
breaking news
Thomas Stelling is right
to say that people
shouldnt look to Facebook as
a voice of authoritative news (Letters,
Issue 503). Newspapers and TV stations
remain, in my opinion, the most trusted
sources. But Facebook is a good way to
nd out breaking news, because people
often write posts relating to events that
have just happened. The appalling terror
attacks in Manchester and London were
good examples. On both evenings I
checke
checked my Facebook account just before
goin
going to bed, and read peoples
conc
concern and confusion about what
had happened. That prompted me to
turn on the TV, which I watched,
horr
horried, for a couple of hours.
James Mayhew
turkeys dont vote for
Christmas!
Perhaps a better
solution would be to
put the driver into a
Faraday cage! While
this may seem a bit
crazy at rst, modern technology is
moving so fast that it may be possible
to surround the driver with some eld
electromagnetic or otherwise which
would prevent him from getting a
phone signal. And if that doesnt work,
just put him in a real cage!
Barry Gower
Impossible to beat
Islamic State online
I hope this doesnt sound too
pessimistic and doom-laden,
but I dont theres anything we can do
to defeat Islamic State online (Question
of the Fortnight, Issue 503). The
movement is simply too large, and the
barbarity of its members so ingrained, to
be challenged by anti-jihadist adverts
from Western governments. Its an
impossible task.
We have to take a step back and ask not
whether they can be beaten online, but
why their sick ideology exists in the rst
place, and thats a complex question with
no simple answer. I fear it will take decades
for Islamic States hatred of the West to
subside. More moderate generations will
need to oust the extremists. Until that
happens, the terrorists will use the most
modern technology available to spread
their evil propaganda. At the moment
thats the internet. In 20 years, they may
be using something else.
Colin Coyne
My Windows Update
needs unravelling
This morning I have suered
another lengthy update for
Windows 10, culminating in pretty
pictures extolling the wonders of this
new intrusion into my world. Do I want
it? Not really. Can I see any perceivable
benets? Most likely not. Are there
things that have been installed which
interfere with my privacy or negatively
aect my laptops performance? More
than likely. So will I now wait for the
edition of Computeractive which
unravels and explains it all? Sure!
I also run XP on three other machines.
I know where I am on those and, for the
most part, know what I am doing. Call
me a Luddite - ne - but my needs are
simple, like the vast majority of users.
Roger Allingham-Mills
No mobile coverage in
my mobile home
So Mr Rigsby with his caravan
shows us once more that he
lives in the real world (The Final Straw,
Issue 501). Last May we sold our house
and decided to move into a mobile
home while deciding where we
would like to live. Thee site
ut
was in a eld, yes, but
ust
not in the Hebrides, just
alongside an A road in
STAR LETTER
Teach perils of ransomware at school
I would like to thank
Computeractive for
the excellent analysis of the
WannaCry ransomware
attack in Issue 503. It was
reassuring to read an
explanation of what had
happened that wasnt
stued with jargon and
so-called facts.
During the weekend of
the attack I looked in vain
for an intelligent response. News
programmes on TV tried their best, but
they all had the same problem. The
presenters were mostly eloquent, but
lacking in knowledge, and seemingly
proud of their technical ignorance.
They were interviewing security
experts who suered from the usual
problem of experts. They obviously
knew what they were talking about,
but were incapable of articulating it in
the kind of language ordinary people
use. It was almost like they had too
much information in their brains and
their tongues couldnt cope.
I think you were right to predict that
The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
East Anglia. Could we phone estate
agents? No way. My wifes ageing phone
did not know what universe it was in.
I bought a Moto G4 phone with an EE
card. If we stood outside the caravan, we
were just about able to telephone. But get
on the Internet? (Falls on oor laughing).
So I bought a nifty dongle with an EE
SIM. If I carried the laptop to the side of
the main road I could sometimes get a
signal, but the laptop screen remained
unreadable in bright sunlight. Wandered
round camp clutching laptop with eyes
glued to the little light on dongle and
found the signal wob
wobbled very strangely.
Returned to carava
caravan, joined two USB
leads together and, like Mr
Rigsby
Rigsby, climbed on roof,
and ti
tied dongle to TV
aerial
aerial. Great, until rain
fuse
fused the insides of the
do
dongle.
Helpful lady living in
tent while house being
WannaCry will be the
rst of many large attacks
over the next few years. I
know that a lot of people
blame the elderly for
clicking dodgy links in
emails, but I think schools
should do more to educate
children. Theres a lot of
emphasis on warning
kids about the dangers
of social media, but very
little about how to avoid malware. The
next generation needs to be better
informed.
If anything good comes out of the
WannaCry attack, its that the word
ransomware has now entered common
parlance. As a Computeractive
subscriber I rst encountered it several
years ago. But I noticed how many of
my friends who arent heavy computer
users started to ask me whether I
had heard of this thing called
ransomware. Hopefully its no longer
seen as something only tech experts
should be worried about.
Eddie Coburn
built then explained that I
could use the Moto to
create a lovely hotspot. Why had I
not thought of that?
Dan Jones
Designing the Post Offices
first modem
As one of your older readers, my
memories of teleprinters and Telex
are very real (Whatever happened to
Telex?, Issue 502, page 69). Fifty-two
years ago, I think, I designed the rst
modem for the Post Oce, in pre-BT
days. It worked at 600 Baud (bits per
second) at a time when transistors were
rst being recognised as reliable.
I also designed one for the military that
worked at 1500 Baud. I had joined the
Army as a Gunner, but then became a
radar technician. So began a career in
electronics after the war. Thanks for
the memories!
Harold Faulkner
21 June 4 July 2017 13
 Consumeractive
Can I get money for
broadband failure?
On 4 April I decided to change
Q my phone and broadband
service from Plusnet to EE. I was
told the services would be live on 19 April.
Although my EE phone service is working,
its now into the second week of May and
Ive still got no broadband. EE is blaming
BT Wholesale. Can I get compensation?
Steven Asquith
Its not clear whether Steven
A could claim compensation. EE
didnt charge him for cable
broadband, instead giving him 15 to pay
for mobile broadband. But he could argue
this wasnt a satisfactory alternative and
therefore, with the disruption, he should
be entitled to compensation. Proving
nancial loss would help his case.
What is clear is that despite blaming
BT Wholesale, EE breached its contract
with Steven. He was within his rights to
cancel the whole package, paying any
outstanding telephone charges.
However, when we contacted Steven
he said EE told him his broadband is
now live, but hes on holiday so cant
check yet. If he returns home to further
problems, he could ask EE for a deadlock
letter to explain what it has done to
x the problem then send it
to the Communications
Ombudsman (www.snipca.
com/24498).
After three failed repairs, what can I do?
Two years ago I bought a Zanussi
Q freezer from John Lewis. It has
been sent away for repair three
times. At the beginning of May it was
sent for the fourth repair. John Lewis
insisted that I put up with these, but Ive
not heard anything from Zanussi about
when my freezer will be returned.
What can I do?
Arry Tee
If Arry had bought the freezer
A after October 2015, when the
Consumer Rights Act came into
14 21 June 4 July 2017
Can anyone use my Facebook
photos without permission?
Q
I take photos and post
them on my Facebook
page. Recently, Ive had
trouble with people using them
without my permission. So I
told each of them that provided
they sent me a cheque for 7.50,
which Id donate to Diabetes
UK, they could continue to use
them. However, one guy said he
was entitled to use the photos
because Id posted them online,
and then his friend sent a Facebook they wont, then report the matter to
message threatening to sort me out. Facebook youll nd details at www.
What are my rights? snipca.com/24501 (look under the
Edgar Mills Reporting Copyright Infringement on
Facebook section). One way to prevent
These photos are Edgars this from happening in the rst place
A intellectual property. He owns
the copyright, so nobody can
is to tweak the privacy settings for your
photo albums (Facebook explains how
use them without his permission. It at www.snipca.com/24531).
doesnt make a jot of dierence that As for the threats, Edgar has
hes posted them to Facebook, or decided not to pursue the matter.
anywhere else online. While Facebooks Making threats online can be a criminal
terms and conditions do give it a oence harassment or malicious
(broad) licence to use your work, it communications, as explained by the
cant grant this to others. police at www.snipca.com/24502 -
If you nd yourself in a similar so weve advised Edgar to save any
situation you should rst contact the he receives and report them to
person using your photos. In many Facebook (via www.
cases they wont realise they have done snipca.com/24503) and
wrong, and will remove the photos. If his local police force.
force, John Lewis would have had to
refund or replace after the rst failed
repair. But that doesnt mean Arry has to
put up with four repairs. Hes covered by
the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA), which
states that repairs have to be carried out
within a reasonable time and not cause
the customer serious inconvenience.
Given these rules, were surprised that
John Lewis tried to get the freezer
repaired so many times. probably be awarded a partial refund,
Weve contacted both John Lewis and with money taken o to
Zanussi, pointing out that if Arry took his
complaint to the small claims court hed
reect the use hes had
from the freezer.
 Contact us so we can investigate your case
Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk
Please include both your phone number and address.

We sstand up for your legal rights

What can I do about faulty Chinese phone?

On 15 December 2016 I ordered packaging that the phone qualies for it handles the companys custo
customer
Q an Elephone P9000 phone
(pictured) for 188 on Amazon
Outward Processing
ocessing Relief (OPR). If the
seller doesnt,
t, Roger should
service, including returns, refu
and replacements
refunds
replacements. But
Prime. Im having a problem with this claim back thehe money on his contract is stil
still with
phone connecting to 4G and Bluetooth, HMRCs site by completing Elephone, so at sosome point
so I contacted Amazon. They put me in form BOR286286 (www.snipca. he may need to rreturn the
touch with the seller, whos based in com/24504). ). You can get phone to China.
China. I asked for a replacement but more information
mation on Generally, its nnever easy
was refused. reclaiming taxes
axes and duty getting a refund, repair or
Do I have to send it back to China for on the My International replacement from a seller
repair and face import duties if it comes Shopping website:
ebsite: www. based in another country,
back? snipca.com/24505.
/24505. particularly China
China, where
Roger Knight Since rst
st emailing youll nd lots of cheap
us Roger got
ot back in phones and table
tablets. You
No, Roger wont have to pay touch to say that Amazon cant rely on UK or EU
A import duties because repaired
and replaced products are
has refundeded him. He
was in a good d position
laws, so if you en
problems wed
encounter

exempt from these. He also wont have to because Amazonazon acts as advise getting
pay VAT imposed by HMRC. The seller the fulllment
ment agent
agent for in touch with
should make it clear on the return Elephone, which means us for help.

CASE UPDATE CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE

YOU TELL US WHEN COMPANIES GET IT RIGHT
Check your junk folder for
price-rise emails I had an Acer
Companies are required by law to tell customers Iconia tablet,
if their subscription is increasing in price. Many do which I was happy y replaced both very
this by email, which is why you should regularly with. It was my quickly, and at
check your junk mail folder for messages about price rises. It rst Android no point tried to
could explain why youve been hit by an unexpected increase. tablet, having fob me o, which
Its possible that this is why Computeractive reader Sherrell switched from has happened
Sachse thought genealogy site MyHeritage (www.myheritage. an iPad. But after with other tech
com) hadnt contacted her about the automatic renewal of her about four monthss companies. That
subscription. As we reported in Issue 503, she was shocked that the battery started
d was a few months
the price had risen by 60. failing. Then the ago, and the tablet
She assumed shed have to pay it because she was outside charger stopped working.
rkin I ha
has worked
rk ne since.
the 14-day cooling-off period, during which you can cancel a had to dig out my old iPad If you need to get hold of
subscription and claim a refund. It would have been difficult for while I asked Acer to x Acer I would advise trying
her to prove that she hadnt been contacted, so we got in touch it. I was very impressed their live chat service rst.
with MyHeritage on her behalf. Happily it agreed to refund her with their service. They If you have no luck, try
in full, and even added a years free subscription as a goodwill ringing them (see box).
gesture. It said: The last thing we want is unhappy subscribers. Since the problem Ive
CONTACT ACER:
This is excellent customer service from MyHeritage. The become a regular visitor to
company confirmed Support website www. Acers user forums (www.
to us that it does send snipca.com/24534 snipca.com/24537) which
reminder emails about Email www.snipca. are very helpful.
forthcoming renewals com/24535 Jeremy Carter
to give customers Live chat www.snipca. Has a company impressed
enough time cancel. It com/24536 you with its customer
may be lurking unread Phone 0371 760 1000 service? Please let us know:
in Sherrells junk folder. editor@computeractive.co.uk

21 June 4 July 2017 15

 Protect Your Tech
Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR
WannaCry ransomware scams
Whats the threat?
Scammers are exploiting last months
WannaCry ransomware attack by using
fake warnings, websites and apps in
order to con people.
The scams started to appear within a
few days of the catastrophic hack that
paralysed tens of thousands of
computers worldwide, including many
used by the NHS. People have reported
seeing pop-up messages as they browse
the web warning them that they have
been infected by WannaCry. If you ring
the tech-support number provided in
the message, the scammers ask you to
grant them remote access to your
computer, then check whether you
have enough protection on your PC.
After stating condently that youre
at risk, they charge you a hefty amount
to install the free tool Windows
New tools
Heres a truly impressive number:
Google now scans 50 billion apps
every day across users phone and
tablets to keep its Play store free of
malware.
This is performed by
its new Play Protect tool,
which is being added to
any Android device that
has the Google Play
app installed. It runs
continuously in the
background looking for
apps that step out of
line, which is Googles
euphemistic way of saying g shou
apps that steal your
personal data, or infect
your device with annoying ing
adverts.
Youll see it scanning at
16 21 June 4 July 2017
Malicious Software Removal. According
to Action Fraud, the UKs national
reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime,
one victim was tricked into paying 320.
Scammers have also set up bogus
websites, such as http://securityagainst
wannacry.com, containing fake support
phone numbers, and sent emails
purporting to be from BT and Virgin
Media prompting customers to sign in to
receive security upgrades.
In addition, Android users should be
wary of apps that claim to oer protection
from WannaCry. Dozens have been
Google Play Protect
www.snipca.com/24484
the top of your screen when you have
the Google Play app open. It will
hopefully give you the all-clear with a
green shield and the message No
problems found (see screenshot).
Also part of Play Protect is
the Find My Device app,
whic
which is the new name for
Andr
Android Device Manager.
If you lose your phone or
tabl
tablet, you can locate it on a
map online on a computer.
If it
its been stolen, you can
remo
remotely lock it or erase
data from it. Apple users
should use Find My iPhone
inst
instead: www.snipca.
co
com/24506.
spotted in Google Play (see screenshot),
all showing adverts on your phone or
tablet once installed, making their
developers money. Theyre all useless
because WannaCry doesnt target
Android devices.
What you should do?
Always be sceptical of apps, programs,
emails and text messages that oer
simplistic solutions to security scares.
Fraudsters follow in hackers footsteps
by taking advantage of the fear and
uncertainty that surround attacks,
particularly those that make headlines
worldwide.
Importantly, remember that any
genuine error messages and warnings
from Microsoft wont include their
phone number and will never contact
you to oer technical support.
ScamWatch
READERS WARN READERS
Dont click PayPal
locked link
I just received a text message from
07895 647001 telling me that my
PayPal account (linked to my quoted
mobile number) had been locked.
To restore access I was advised to
click this link: http://bit.ly/2qyvt0K.
It was obviously a scam to trap the
unwary (I checked by logging into
my PayPal account, which was of
course functioning normally). It
didnt have the usual spelling or
grammatical errors, so some people
will be fooled. I never click random
bit.ly addresses because you never
know where they will route you to.
Chris Read
Warn your fellow readers about scams at
letters@computeractive.co.uk
 Best Free Software
Jane Hoskyn recommends new programs that wont cost you anything

AUTOMATION TOOL

Z-Cron 5.0
www.z-cron.com
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10

Z-Cron would make a great name for a sci- villain but
actually this free program is more of a virtual servant. Its a
versatile alternative to Windows Task Scheduler, able to carry
around 50 boring and repetitive PC tasks according to your
chosen schedule. For example, you could set it to create a
system restore point once a week, empty the Recycle Bin every
evening and take your PCs temperature every morning. You
can also set a specic task to run automatically when you
launch Z-Cron.
Z-Cron has been around for a few years, but version 5.0 is
the rst new release for Windows 10. It comes with several
new preset actions (Tools), including connecting to a VPN
(and disconnecting), playing a folder of MP3 audio les on a
loop, and creating shadow copies of les and folders. You can
also create your own tasks (CronJobs) from scratch, and add
your own batch les if you want.
The program works well but its interface is not particularly
easy to use. At rst, all you see is an empty list of Planned
Tasks. Those 50 tasks are buried behind a Tools button on the
window that opens when you click Tasks and, oddly, you
have to click a line in the list before you can choose a task to
ll it. I strongly recommend reading the Help le rst. Z-Cron
is straightforward, eventually it just hides it well.
To get it, click Download, then zcron.zip, and then extract
the ZIP. Run the installer (zcron.exe) as administrator. There
are no unwanted extras. After clicking Finish youll see the
message Program start wasnt congured yet!. Click OK to
clear it or set the program to run at startup (see below).

1 The Planned Tasks list is
empty at rst. This is where
all your selected tasks will
appear. To create a new
one, click an empty row in
the list, then click the Task
button.
2 Clicking Task opens the
new Settings Job window.
To congure one of 50
preset tasks, click Tools, then
browse the list. Select one,
then click OK.
3 To tell Z-Cron when to
activate the task and how
often, click Scheduler then
choose time settings. The
Run As Settings tab lets you
set a task for certain users
only.
4 To see and edit all tasks
due to run today, click
Today. To set Z-Cron to run
at startup, click Program,
then Start, and then tick
Run at system startup.

18 21 June 4 July 2017

SYSTEM MONITOR
WHAT SHOULD I DOWNLOAD?
GPU-Z 2.1 We tell you what software to use
www.snipca.com/24567
What you need: Windows XP,
Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10
What should I use to record
my voice in Windows 10?
Your PCs graphics card is
obviously useful for streaming Id like to make voice recordings on my Windows
video and viewing photos, but
its not all about looks. It also
Q 10 computer, using a plug-in microphone. Whats
the best program for doing this?
inuences the speed and Allan Smith
reliability of your entire system.
GPU-Z reveals how well its Windows 10 actually comes with a recorder pre-
working, and can even monitor multiple cards in one PC.
Version 2.1 adds a new Advanced tab with a dropdown menu
A installed. Find Voice Recorder in your Start menu,
or type voice then press Enter. Youll be prompted
that lets you investigate the specications and health of to plug in your microphone if you havent already, or if your
multimedia software, such as DirectX and OpenCL, that may be PC or monitor doesnt have one built in. Click the blue mic
installed as components for your graphics card. button to start recording, then again to stop. Your recording
GPU-Z comes as a portable program le with an installation is saved automatically. The buttons at the bottom of the
option. To get it, click Standard Version in the box on the left, window let you share it, trim it and rename it (its called
click Download, click the UK ag icon and then run the le. Recording by default), and theres a ag icon for quickly
Under Install GPU-Z?, click Yes to install GPU-Z (only do this marking important points. To nd out more about using
on Windows 7, 8.1 or 10), or click No to instantly run the this tool, see Microsofts website: www.snipca.com/24578.
portable version. If youre after something more powerful, try Audacity
(www.audacityteam.org, see screenshot). This free, open-
source program was updated a couple of months ago to in
its own words properly support Windows
10. The new version (2.1.3) adds Timer
Record and Sound Activated Recording
options so you can capture audio after a delay
(handy for settling yourself and clearing your
throat). It also lets you record sound from
your PC, edit and convert imported audio les, and export
in multiple formats. The editing tools are simply amazing,
ranging from basic trimming to special eects and the
ability to layer and mix multiple tracks.
Audacity is safe and quick to install, and also comes as a
portable program if youd prefer to run it without installing.
Click Download, then Windows, and then choose the
installer or zip le link. For help, immerse yourself in the
superb Audacity Wiki (http://wiki.audacityteam.org).
PDF TOOL

PDF Anti-Copy 1.0 Do you need our advice on what software to use?
Just email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk
https://pdfanticopy.com
What you need: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10

Lock down your PDFs so they cant be edited, copied or ON SALE NOW!
converted, using this new tool. As you probably know, PDF is
the best format for letters, invoices, invitations and other ocial The Complete
documents whose recipients may want to print them. Theyre Guide to KODI
guaranteed to look the same on any computer, and when
printed even if they include photos and designs. If you dont
This is a must-have
want your recipient to tweak or copy the document, or convert
manual for anyone who
it to Word or plain text, use this tool to generate a locked copy.
uses the most exciting
Its very easy to do select a PDF, tick Anti-copy, then click
software of 2017
Start Now. The new locked version is saved to the location of
your choice in seconds. Buy it now at
Like GPU-Z, PDF Anti-Copy comes in installable and portable www.snipca.com/24110
versions, both quick to run and junk-free.

21 June 4 July 2017 19

 Reviews
PC 500 from Box www.snipca.com/24540
Box Cube Essence Quiet GT
More features, less noise
How are you nding that new PC?
Oh, its great! Much better perfor
RRRGGHHMMM mance, hang on, let
me just turn this o a minute. Yes, Im
very happy with it except for the noise
Its very easy to nd yourself in this
position when you buy a desktop PC.
Until you get it set up and run some
demanding programs, theres no way
to predict how loud the fans will be in
their quest to prevent the processors
from frying themselves.
An insulated case
keeps it quiet, but its
practical rather than
exceptional
A budget desktop PC with relatively
modest specications isnt likely to be
very loud, but Sutton Coldeld
manufacturer Box is taking no chances
with this model. Its Cooler Master
Silencio 352 chassis has its front and
side panels lined with sound-absorbing
foam, so even when the fans are running
hard, youll barely notice them. Take
o one of the panels, or open the
hinged door at the front,
and youll hear the
dierence this makes.
Even our tough
benchmark tests didnt
break the silence. They did,
however, show up the
limitations of the i3-7100
processor, which comes
from the lower end of Intels
tels
current Kaby Lake range. In
photo- and video-editing
tasks, the Cube Essence
Quiet GT kept up with
other 500 PCs, and wasnt
snt
far behind pricier i5
machines. However, when n A wireless mouse and
20 21 June 4 July 2017
New products tested by our experts
multitasking it dropped well
behind, despite having 8GB of
memory (this comes as a single
module, so you could add another
in the second slot). Even other
i3-7100 PCs are faster, so Box
hasnt optimised the processor.
Still, basic tasks felt ne in
Windows 10, and although you
dont get a dedicated graphics card
at this price, the integrated Intel HD
Graphics 630 managed to run at
least some 3D games smoothly with
quality settings turned down.
An SSD would have helped things
by speeding up reading and writing
of les, but Box has gone for space
rather than speed with a 2TB
conventional hard drive. This meant
booting up and copying les took longer
than wed like. You could add an SSD
keyboard are also supplied, and although
they feel pretty cheap they work well, so
later on the same SATA III interface you wont have to spend extra. Theres
(there are three unused 3.5in bays), but one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports at the
the motherboard has no M.2 slot for front, plus four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0
super-fast drives. Then again, if speed at the back, as well as HDMI, DVI-D and
isnt important to you and you have lots VGA monitor outputs. A USB 3.1 or
of photos, videos and music to store, the Type-C port would have been nice for
large capacity may be a good trade-o. faster external storage.
In fact, Box has worked hard all round
to include practical features that are often SPECIFICATIONS
omitted from desktop PCs. An SD card 3.9GHz Intel i3-7100 dual-core processor 8GB
reader is built in, so you can view photos memory 2GB hard drive DVD-RW drive 5x
USB 2.0 4x USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet HDMI
straight o your digital
st port DVI port VGA port Windows 10 Home
cameras memory card
ca 378x200x453mm (HxWxD) One-year warranty
rather than fang about
ra www.snipca.com/24540
with USB cables, while
wi
theres a DVD writer that
th VERDICT: Disappointing performance
lets you play lms or record
le cost it a fourth star, but practical features
your own to keep or share.
yo means the aptly named Cube Essence
As well as a Gigabit Quiet is still worth considering
Ethernet port to cable to
Et
your broadband router, the
yo
Cu
Cube Essence Quiet also ALTERNATIVE: PC Specialist
co
comes with 802.11n Wi-Fi. Enigma K3 500 Using
Yo
You should add a faster Intels new Optane memory
80
802.11ac adapter if you rely to boost hard-drive speed,
on wireless networking this is a faster i3 PC. Look out
al
all the time. for our review next issue
PC 500 from Palicomp www.snipca.com/24543
Palicomp i5 Titanium
A fast PC without breaking the bank
There are two ways to build an above-
average PC for a given price. One
previously favoured by Crewe-based
manufacturer Palicomp is to buy a relatively
aordable processor from AMD, Intels
distant rival, and overclock it much like
those enthusiasts who install jet engines
on the back of Morris Minors. A while
back (see our review, Issue 479) this
approach produced the excellent AMD
Avenger, a 500 desktop PC with more
than 500 worth of performance levels.
Lightning fast with
tasks and plenty of
expansion options
This time theyve gone the other way.
The i5 Titanium, as the name implies, is
made of titanium. No, wait, thats just
daft marketing speak. It comes in a
standard black plastic case on a steel
chassis. But inside is an Intel Kaby Lake
i5-7400 processor. Its not quite as fast as
the popular i5-7500, but not only did it
stride condently through our photo-
and video-editing tests, its four cores
walked our multitasking benchmark test
too. This makes it considerably quicker
than the i3 processor commonly found in
budget systems. If youd bought the AMD
Avenger, youd be looking enviously at
these results.
Then again, you would have an Nvidia
GTX GeForce 960 graphics card, while
the i5 Titanium has none. That reects
the fact that 500 buys less on the global
parts market than it did a year ago. But if
BUY IT!
you dont play games, that wont bother
you, and if you do, the good news is that
the built-in HD Graphics 630 card
produced even smoother frame rates here
than in other i5-7400 desktop PCs,
making most 3D games easily playable.
Despite the case having only one (fairly
quiet) fan, it never got noticeably hot.
Windows 10 booted quickly from the
250GB SSD, and theres also a 1TB hard
drive. Theres no room for more internal
drives, which is disappointing for a
desktop PC, but the Asus Prime B250M-A
motherboard has two M.2 sockets for fast
SSDs. It also supports Intels new Optane
memory, which uses a small SSD to boost
hard-drive performance. There are four
memory sockets, giving you plenty of
room for upgrading from the supplied
8GB. The USB Type-C port on the back is
only USB 3.0, not the faster 3.1, and
theres only Gigabit Ethernet, not Wi-Fi.
However, an Asus DVD writer drive is
included and theres a free 5.25in front
bay if you wanted to add Blu-ray or a unit
to read memory cards.
SPECIFICATIONS
3GHz i5-7400 quad-core processor 8GB memory
1TB hard drive 24x DVD writer 2x USB 2.0 ports
4x USB 3.0 ports USB 3.0 Type-C port Gigabit
Ethernet port HDMI port DVI port VGA port
Windows 10 358x175x410xmm (HxWxD)
One-year warranty www.snipca.com/24543
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 and Web User 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.
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: If you want a compact PC
with solid processing power and some
upgrade potential, the i5 Titanium is
great value for 500 quid
ALTERNATIVE: Gladiator
Computers Enterprise GT
500 Despite having the
same processor, this wasnt
quite as fast in testing look
out for our review soon
21 June 4 July 2017 21
 Reviews
PC MONITOR 205 from Amazon www.snipca.com/24558
Asus VX279Q
Close, but no LCD star
Our rst thought on unpacking the Asus
VX279Q was drat. Not because we
didnt like the look of it. Quite the
opposite: we liked it so much that we
thought Asus must have sent us the
wrong model. For just over 200, we
didnt expect a screen that almost goes
edge to edge (the bezels are only 8mm
wide) in a slim case with a sleekly
uncluttered back panel. But thats what
you get. The ring-shaped stand oers no
adjustment except a bit of tilt, but still,
this is a piece of hardware youd be very
happy to have on your desk and come
back to every day.
A sleek and
attractive design, but
it crucially fails the
screen test
In fact, its almost a shame to turn it
on. Like the smaller VC239H (see our
review, Issue 490), the VX279Q uses Asus
Eye Care technology, which optionally
reduces the amount of blue light emitted.
Research indicates that sitting in front of
a bluish screen for long periods can aect
your sleep patterns, so this is sensible,
although it wont suit colour-critical jobs
like photo editing. And that goes for the
VX279Q in general, because in our tests it
only covered 88 per cent of the sRGB
colour range.
Thats much better than the pricier and
chunkier AOC I2775PQU (see Issue 503),
which only managed 78 per cent, but as
with that model we found the
VX279Qs backlight wasnt
evenly bright across the
screen. Despite good contrast
and the wide viewing angles
wed expect from a modern
IPS LCD panel, the overall
image quality just wasnt
great. Turning on Asus
VividPixel feature made
it look worse. Full HD
at 27 inches is starting
22 21 June 4 July 2017
to feel a bit coarse in todays ultra-
resolution world, and articial
sharpening just wont cut it anymore.
Touch-sensitive controls make ddling
with the settings harder than it should
be, and theres no USB hub to bring your
PCs ports conveniently to your desktop.
The HDMI input has MHL support for
Android phones and tablets, though
(iPhone and iPad users will need Apples
Lightning Digital AV Adapter), and there
are DisplayPort and VGA ports too, as
well as basic built-in speakers. To keep
down the size of the case, the power
supply has been hived o into a separate
brick, but for something youll leave
permanently plugged in thats no problem.
Theres no denying this is a reasonably
priced monitor, but what matters is the
screen, and its not quite good enough to
get our recommendation. Drat.
SPECIFICATIONS
27in IPS LCD 1920x1080-pixel resolution HDMI
port DisplayPort VGA port 1.5W stereo speakers
442x623x210mm (HxWxD) Three-year warranty
www.snipca.com/24560
VERDICT: This is a better buy than the
AOC I2775PQU, but its stylish design
doesnt outweigh several problems
with image quality
ALTERNATIVE: Philips 276E7QDAB
215 For a tenner more,
this attractive 27in Full
HD screen is similarly
sparse in features but
has a better picture
Do I really need...
Megatasking?
What does it do?
Megatasking was one
of the buzzwordsds
at Taiwans
Computex tech
trade show in
May. It means
multitasking, butt
more so, made possible
by processors with more than
the two, four or eight cores were used
to. AMD showed o 16-core versions
of its Ryzen chips, while Intel went
one better with its 18-core X-Series i9
(pictured).
Why would I want it?
For now, its all aimed at creative jobs
like video editing, 3D animation and
computer-aided design (CAD). In these
elds, software is constantly working on
multiple streams of calculations behind
the scenes to update everything in
response to the user. Whats interesting
is that everyday computing tasks are
getting more like that.
When you ask Microsofts Cortana
or Amazons Alexa a question, for
example, it has to process your speech
and consult multiple data sources.
When you use a program to apply a fun
eect to a video clip, complex maths
makes it look right. When you ick
between browser tabs or apps on your
phone, thats multitasking. The X-Series
oers up to a teraop of processing
power, meaning it can perform a trillion
(one million million) calculations per
second.
Whats the catch?
Price. At the moment, that teraop chip
will cost about 2,000 and thats just
the processor, not the PC powered by
it. But new tech always starts at the
top and then lters down into everyday
products.
So can I do without it?
Today, yes. Tomorrow, not only will it let
you edit your 4K home videos smoothly,
but advanced multi-core processing
power will help computers get much
easier to use.
 zon www.snipca.com/24551
PHONE 50 from Amazon

Nokia 3310
Back to the future

Yes folks, weve nally got ourur hands on

the years most exciting phone!ne! Trouble
is, the year is 2000. The eagerly
rly awaited
homage to the 3310 isnt even made by
Nokia, which sold o its mobile-phone
bile-phone
business years ago, but anotherher Finnish
company, HMD, which will also lso be
releasing several Android smartphones.
artphones.
This, though, most certainly ly isntt a
smartphone. The point is the retro appeal,
but thats been rather compromised
omised by a
radical update. Aside from the he basic
shape, which still feels great, and the tiny
spaced-out buttons, its not much like the
and-white
original, replacing its black-and-white
postage-stamp screen with a larger
hable by
colour display thats still laughable
2017 standards.
web browser, based on Opera, but it Android, so you get a full choice of
barely works. You can play MP3 music apps. Several other basic Nokia models
Its retro appeal les downloaded from your PC, if you are available on UK networks for under
rst add a microSD card (from around 20, with Facebook and Messenger
cant make up for its 5). Pehaps the best feature is the built-in built in.
FM radio, which you can use anywhere At the time of writing, just a week
severe limitations free of charge. But you dont get any after the 3310 went on sale in the UK, it
earphones in the box. had sold out in most places, with
In 2000, most people thought putting Oh, and lets not forget Snake. With Amazon promising more stock on 30
a camera in a phone was silly, including its simple premise you move a dot July. We dont really understand why.
the designers of the 3310. But now it has around, collecting other dots, until The only benet over a smartphone is
one on the back, ready to take grainy you crash into your own tail the game the physical buttons, and theyll be too
2-megapixel photos that you can barely is fondly remembered by Nokia nostalgists. ddly for most people who have trouble
see. The LED ash doubles as a torch. Sadly, this is an overcomplicated update. using a touchscreen. As a piece of
It doesnt shoot video, and theres no More games are available, but at 3 nostalgia, it just isnt familiar enough.
front camera for seles or chat. Talking each theyre hardly cheap and are
of chat, you can text (SMS), but theres extremely basic. SPECIFICATIONS
no Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or The phone itself is temptingly cheap. 2.4in 320x240-pixel screen 2-megapixel rear
camera 16MB storage (mostly taken up by built-in
Telegram, so forget communicating with But Alcatels Pixi 3 3.5 (20 plus 10 software) MicroSD card slot Bluetooth 3.0 2G
anyone under the age of 30. top-up from EE: www.snipca.com/ 116x51x12.8mm (HxWxD) 80g One-year warranty
What does it do? Well, theres a sort of 24554) is much cheaper and runs www.snipca.com/24552

2G OR NOT 2G, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Like the original, the 3310 relies on 2G
wireless communication on the 900
and 1800MHz wavebands. This service
doesnt even exist in some countries,
including the US, which uses dierent
wavelengths for 2G, while others have
phased it out completely or are
planning to do so.
That includes the UK, where 2G was
expected to be already switched o by
now. At the moment its hanging on
in there, but as the devices that use it
get older and the pressure increases
to release bands for more modern
purposes, 2Gs days are without
doubt numbered.
The 3310 doesnt support Wi-Fi at
all, so youll need a mobile signal to
use its very limited web browser, even
at home.
VERDICT: It sets out to remind us how
simple phones used to be, but only
proves that the era of basic phones is
over and isnt coming back
ALTERNATIVE: Nokia
216 29 Available from
Carphone Warehouse, this
has a similar screen and
features, supports Facebook
and is more compact

21 June 4 July 2017 23

 Reviews
MINI PC 9.60 from ModMyPi www.snipca.com/24589
Raspberry Pi Zero W
A Wi-Fi PC for under a tenner
Back in the 1980s, the BBC Micro brought
computers to schools for just a few
hundred pounds. In 2012, the Raspberry
Pi Foundation showed how far tech
had come by launching a computer for
under 20 quid. With the Raspberry Pi
Zero (see our review, Issue 470) they
got it down to less than a ver. Now
heres the happy medium: a Pi Zero
with Wi-Fi, so its all ready to connect
to the internet.
Technically, this is a PC, though it runs
Linux not Windows. This is open source,
so you dont have to pay extra, but you do
need to get hold of the software yourself
and install it on a microSD card, the Pis
SPECIFICATIONS
1GHz Broadcom BCM2835 processor 512MB
memory 802.11n Wi-Fi MicroUSB power connector
USB OTG port Mini HDMI port (1080p Full HD and
audio MicroSD card slot 5x65x30mm (HxWxD)
www.snipca.com/24593
SET TOP TV BOX 43 from Amazon www.snipca.com/24587
Now TV Smart Box
Freeview and more for less
Its all on the internet now, they keep
telling us. Watching TV channels from an
aerial, dish or box is so 20th Century. Yet
most of us still do just that. Could we pay
less and get more with a dierent box?
Digital boxes like Amazons Fire TV
(from 40, see our review, Issue 462)
and Apple TV (from 139, see Issue
463) oer lms and TV shows to rent or
buy, while Android boxes support apps
such as BBC iPlayer and Netix and
media players such as Kodi. The Now
TV box is a bit dierent. As well as
connecting to the internet, like other
boxes, it also connects to your digital-
SPECIFICATIONS
802.11n Wi-Fi 10/100 Ethernet Coaxial aerial
input Ethernet port USB 2.0 port MicroSD slot
HDMI port Plays MP4, AAC, WMA, JPG, PNG, GIF
20.5x165x165mm (HxWxD) One-year warranty
www.snipca.com/24588
24 21 June 4 July 2017
BUY IT!
only standard form of
storage. Alternatively, you can
buy the Pi Zero W in a bundle, such
as Pimoronis Zero W Starter Kit (32
from www.snipca.com/24591), which
comes with a pre-loaded operating
system, cables and headers to attach
accessories to the ddly mini ports and
control pins, as well as an LED strip to
add some visual output. VERDICT: All of these tiny computers
To program the Pi, youll need to are a trade-o between size, price
connect a monitor with a mini HDMI and features, but this is the best
adapter and a keyboard and mouse with compromise yet
a powered USB hub. As a disposably
cheap, low-powered computer, its best
suited to projects sthat make it work with ALTERNATIVE: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
internet-connected sensors, screens and 32 This larger board has
as a more
other interactive gizmos, and if youve nd
powerful processor and
never picked up a soldering iron, nows us
twice the memory, plus
the time to start. Whether youre 8 or 80, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and
the possibilities are unlimited: see www. Bluetooth 4.1
snipca.com/24592 for inspiration.
ready TV aerial to receive
all the Freeview channels.
It doesnt record, but you
can pause a live broadcast for up
to half an hour. BBC iPlayer and
catch-up apps for ITV, Channel 4 and
Channel 5 are included, but theres
no Amazon Prime or Netix. Now is VERDICT: Netix will be a big miss for
owned by Sky, so you can add Sky some, and theres no Amazon, Apple
Cinema for 10 a month, sports from or Google Videos to buy exclusive lms
7, and so on. But unlike with a and TV, but for regular TV this is a pretty
full-blown Sky box, you dont have good choice
to commit long-term.
The box shows digital content at
720p HD, coarser than Full HD. If your ALTERNATIVE: Humax H3 Espresso
Smart TV has Freeview built in, this 80 This box receives Freeview over
box largely pointless. It wont stream the internet, so you dont
t need an aerial.
video from a PC, but can play les It has Netix, but not
from a USB stick or microSD card. But iPlayer, and only a few
it does work very smoothly, with an other services
easy-to-use programme guide.
 DOMAINS | MAIL | HOSTING | eSHOPS | SERVERS

YOUR PERFECT
DOMAIN

.co.uk
1 YEAR FREE *

No matter what your idea may be, register

the perfect domain name before it's gone!
Enter company name
Find a matching domain
Register domain and
get started

*.co.uk domain free for the 1st year, thereafter billed at the regular price.
Offer limited to one domain per customer and is subject to availability. 0333 336 5509 1and1.co.uk
 Reviews
PRINTER 135 from Amazon www.snipca.com/24564
Canon Pixma TS8050
A sharper printer-scanner
Like the TS5050 (see our review, Issue
500), the TS8050 is an all-in-one inkjet
printer/scanner featuring Canons new
streamlined design. This pricier model
has a larger screen, although it mostly
displays the same options with more
white space around them. It also has a
100-sheet paper cassette in addition to
Produces extremely
fine details in photos,
while scanning is
sharp and accurate
the rear feed, which takes the form of a
slot at the back of the top panel with a
vertical prop. The TS5050 advertises this
as holding up to 100 sheets of plain paper,
while the TS8050 quotes 20 sheets of
photo paper, which youre not supposed
to load in the front. Again, both USB and
Wi-Fi are built in, with support for all the
usual systems, and theres an SD card slot
to print directly from digital camera cards.
Unlike its stablemate, the TS8050 can
print both sides of the paper (duplex),
and instead of ve inks it uses six. As well
as a dye-based black for subtler shading
WHAT SHOULD I BUY?
What does my PC need for 4K video editing?
My ve-year-old HP PC has
Q an Intel i3 processor and is
getting a bit slow for my
needs. I want a desktop PC that I can
use for basic editing and viewing of
Panasonic Lumix G 4K video shot at 24
frames per second (fps).
I read the reviews in
every issue, but you
dont always say if the
gaming PCs are suitable
for 4K video.
Michael Green
26 21 June 4 July 2017
in photos, theres a grey ink
lerr shading.
for, well, even subtler
This only works on photo
ts
paper, but the results
impressed us, with
extremely ne detail. l. The
ution is the highest
9600x2400dpi resolution
youll see in a mainstream printer. Note
that these numbers reect the size of ink
dots your image les still only need a
resolution of about 240 pixels per inch to
take advantage of this.
Scanning was also sharp and accurate,
capturing an A4 page at 300dpi in a
quick 14 seconds. Black-and-white
photocopies took 12 seconds, and looked
a bit dark, while colour took twice as
long. Black text prints showed a few
aws, but were printed in a decent 13.3
pages per minute, while colour graphics
on plain paper were very good, although
they could have been a touch bolder.
Print costs work out at about 7.8p per
We solve your buying dilemmas
Any PC with a recent i5 desktop
A processor, such as the Palicomp
i5 Titanium (500, see page 21)
will play 4K video smoothly and should
be ne for basic editing. But whats
basic? You may want to apply colour
correction, transition eects,
and perhaps more demanding
options such as motion
tracking (see screenshot) or
stabilisation. Even a powerful
PC will struggle to render
these as you watch, so you
standard colour page, or 2.7p for black
only, which is above average. If you do
print a lot of full-page high-quality
photos, theyll use a lot more ink than
that. Overall, the TS8050 is an excellent
printer, but not cheap to buy or run.
SPECIFICATIONS
9600x2400dpi maximum print resolution
2400x4800dpi maximum scan resolution
100-sheet front cartridge Rear photo paper tray
USB 2 802.11n Wi-Fi 126x372x315mm (HxWxD)
5.5kg One-year warranty www.snipca.com/24566
VERDICT: Its not the most convenient
for churning out lots of pages, but for
creative home use this is a very good
all-in-one printer
ALTERNATIVE: Canon Pixma MG5750
70 This older ve-ink duplex machine
lacks an SD slot but is still
our all-round value-for-
money favourite
can put up with choppy playback (until
you render the nal version) or wait for
eects to pre-render every time you
make a change. An i7 will speed things
up, as would a graphics card if your
software supports it. Start with the
system requirements for your editing
program. Then use Google to nd
discussions between users on PC specs
that theyve used successfully.
Do you need advice on what you should buy?
Email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk
 DOMAINS | MAIL | HOSTING | eCOMMERCE | SERVERS

NEW!
NEXT LEVEL
HOSTING!
NEW: Full performance scalability! Customise your web projects
performance level yourself, according to your own needs. Easily adjust
your websites performance levels to match increasing trafc from,
for example, newsletters, blogs, adding an online shop or
resource intensive applications.

Next Level Performance

n NEW: 2.5 GB RAM
n NEW: Simple scalability with up to 19 GB RAM
in just a few clicks
n Performance monitoring in the 1&1 Control Panel

n Change your performance level with no downtime

Next Level Speed

n NEW: Faster load times with HTTP/2
n NEW: PHP 7.1 + OPcache
n 1&1 CDN
Starting at

0.99
n 24/7 Support

Next Level Security 4.99 /month*
Excl. 20% VAT
n SSL certicate included
n DDoS protection
n Geo-redundancy

1 TRIAL
TRY FOR
30 DAYS 1 CLICK
UPGRADE OR
DOWNGRADE 1 CALL
SPEAK TO
AN EXPERT

0333 336 5509

*Discount based on 12 month contract for Basic package at 0.99/month, then 4.99/month. Prices exclude 20% VAT. Visit 1and1.co.uk for full product details,
terms and conditions. 1&1 Internet Limited, Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2EX. 1and1.co.uk
 Reviews
PHONE 550 from Amazon www.snipca.com/24631

LG G6
A taller, smarter phone

When Apple launched the iPhone 5,
people worried a screen wider than 3.5in
might be too much. So it was taller, but
remained the same width as its
predecessor, making it just as easy to
grasp. Todays phones tend to be bigger,
but the G6 uses the same trick to remain
usable in one hand. Instead of 16:9
widescreen, its exactly twice as tall as it
is wide. Add very small bezels at the sides
and a bare minimum at the top and
bottom, and you get an enormous 5.7in
screen in a case the same size as the
5.3in G5.
We found it very practical, and the
SPECIFICATIONS
5.7in 2880x1440-pixel screen 13-megapixel dual
rear camera 5-megapixel front camera 32GB
flash storage MicroSD card slot 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.2 3G/4G Android 7.0 Nougat
149x72x7.9mm (HxWxD) 163g One-year warranty
www.snipca.com/24632
HDR IPS LCD display looks fantastic. It
only covers 93 per cent of the sRGB
colour range, but a nice balance of
contrast and brightness make up for it.
The back, in black or silver, is also glass,
with Gorilla technology that makes it
harder to break, (the phone is rated IP68
for high protection from water and dust).
Even so, theres a proper headphone
socket as well as the USB Type-C charging
and data port and a ngerprint reader.
The impressive-looking dual rear camera VERDICT: Already discounted to around
combines regular and wide-angle lenses 550, the G6 is cheaper than the S8
for quality pictures in most situations, as and an excellent all-round phone
well as 4K video and Full HD slow motion.
The processor isnt as powerful as the
Samsung Galaxy S8, and the heaviest 3D ALTERNATIVE: Samsung Galaxy S8
games suered but only slightly. The 650 Prices are wavering, but this
battery only lasted 12 hours 52 minutes in admittedly excellent edge-to-edge
our video-playback test (nearly four hours phone is still too expensive, albeit
shorter than the S8), but fared better in with 64GB
everyday use and charged quickly.

SECURITY CAMERA 146 from Amazon www.snipca.com/24636

D-Link Vigilance DCS-4602EV

A tougher security camera

The Vigilance DCS-4602EV does a similar motion-triggered clips accessible from

job to the Neatgear Arlo (196, see our
review, Issue 454) or Googles Nest Cam
Outdoor (179, Issue 498). You mount it
inside or outside your house, and it
records whatevers going on. While the
other two are slickly packaged consumer
products, the DCS-4602EV is more the
kind of thing bought from a catalogue by
someone who owns a high-viz jacket,
requiring a bit more technical nous to get
it set up.
While consumer security cameras
come integrated with cloud services
that make the live stream or
SPECIFICATIONS
Wired 1080p camera with motion detection
Infra-red LEDs IP66/IK10 rated 10/100 Ethernet
connection Requires 12V external power supply
72x110x110mm (HxWxD) Two-year warranty
www.snipca.com/24635
anywhere, D-Link provides a browser
interface and a D-ViewCam program,
for Windows 10, that manages your
camera(s) and recordings. Its a bit clunky,
and if you want to access the feed from
D-Links mobile app, for example, you
may need to gure out how to enable port
forwarding on your router. But if you
dont mind a bit of tinkering, it means
you dont have to pay for a cloud service
to record from the camera. Googles Nes
Cam might be easier to use, but itll cost
you 80 a year.
The night vision LEDs are eective,
but picture quality generally was only
fair, despite the resolution of up to
Full HD. Motion detection, which can
trigger recording or snapshots, was
exible. It needs a wired connection, and
the required 12V Power over Ethernet
(PoE) adapter costs a few pounds extra,
but its fully waterproof and even
vandal-proof.
VERDICT: This isnt the easiest option
for rst-time security camera users and
picture quality could be better, but its
robust and good value
ALTERNATIVE: Google Nest Cam
Outdoor 179 This is very easysy to
o
set up, but at 80 a year for a
basic recording subscription it
works out expensive

28 21 June 4 July 2017


ROUTER 80 from Currys www.snipca.com/24582
Asus DSL-AC55U
5U
A router for all connections
These days, signing up for super-fast
broadband with one of the major internet et
service providers gets you a decent Wi-Fi
router as part of the deal. If you have an
older model, though, it may be holding
back your connection speeds around the
house. A budget 802.11ac router could be
the cost-eective x you need.
Some routers have no built-in modem,
and must connect to an existing cable
modem or switchable modem/router,
while others support ADSL2+ (for copper er
phone lines) or VDSL2 (for bre). The
Asus DSL-AC55U caters for all these,
which simplies your choice. As youd
expect for the very reasonable price, its
not the worlds most advanced router,
but it has a broad set of features.
Youll appreciate its
versatility, but it runs
in the slow lane
Alongside the WAN (modem) and
ADSL2+/VDSL2 ports, there are four
Gigabit Ethernet sockets for top-speed
wired networking and a single USB 2.0
socket. This can be used to connect and
share storage (albeit at limited speeds) or
a printer across your home network, or to
plug in a 3G/4G pay-as-you-go data
dongle from your mobile-phone network
as a backup if your broadband
connection fails.
Its dicult to miss the routers four
adjustable, removable aerials, which let
you tweak the wireless signal for the best
reception. Blue LEDs along the front
let you know whats going on. The
DSL-AC55U is congured from your PC
through an online interface, which gives
access to a huge array of features. You can
set up one or more guest networks and
apply parental controls to individual
devices that let you block internet access
at specic times of day.
A dual-band 802.11ac model like
this, supporting both 2.4GHz and the
less congested 5GHz, should give you
a step up in speed and reliability from
older 802.11n devices. However, the
DSL-AC55U oers maximum connection
rates of 300Mbps on 2.4GHz and
867Mbps on 5GHz respectively, which is
quite slow for a modern router.
This was borne out in our performance
tests. At close range we got up to
436Mbps, which is good, but 10 metres
away at the back of the house this fell to
22.3Mbps on 5GHz and 25.2Mbps on
2.4GHz. Thats below average, and
signicantly slower than BTs latest
Smart Hub or Virgin Medias Hub 3.0,
across all distances.
VERDICT: Its cheap and versatile, but
the DSL-AC55U wont break any speed
records. It might be worth paying more
for better results
from just
ALTERNATIVE: TP-Link
Archer D9 AC1900 100 00
This ADSL2+ modem
er
router is much faster over
longer distances
Reviews
That was then
This is now!
How technology has changed
Palm Pilot
WHAT WAS IT?
Launched in 1996, the Palm
Pilot was a PDA (personal
digital assistant). Cheaper
and more compact than the
earlier Apple Newton MessagePad,
it was popular enough to inspire a
decade of imitators before the whole
category was overtaken by touchscreen
smartphones.
HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED?
The Pilot 1000 was about the size and
weight of a modern phone, but squarer
and thicker. Its greenish monochrome
LCD screen had 160x160 pixels.
Tapping the screen with your nger
woudnt do anything; it needed a prod
from the small stylus stowed in the
top, which was also used to enter text,
handwritten one character at a time, in
the absence of any kind of a keyboard.
Today, Apple or Android users can
pick from around 2.5 million apps. The
Pilot came with a dozen, and eventually
had over 1,000. With no Wi-Fi, anything
you wanted on your Pilot had to be
synced via cable from your PC. Later,
Palm released an add-on modem
that produced speeds of 14.4Kbps
140 times slower than the slowest
broadband connection today
ON SALE
NEXT ISS
ISSUE Weds
July 5
Fire HD 8
Amazons
budget tablet
gets Alexa,
PC Specialist Enigma K3
80 500 Kaby Lake PC with
an Intel Optane boost
These and much more
Subscribe to Computeractive at
www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
21 June 4 July 2017 29
 Buy It
LAPTOP
Dell Inspiron 15 5000
699 from www.snipca.com/23375
Tested: Issue 459
Now updated with Intels seventh-
ti processors, thi
generation this lapt
laptop ((nott th
the
2-in-1 version) now edges the ZenBook
below and starts at just 449, but
mid-range congurations with SSD and
AMD R7 graphics are the best choice.
ALTERNATIVE: Asus ZenBook UX305CA
If you want something sleeker, this oers
basic performance in a superbly slim
and light metal case. 600 from
www.snipca.com/23376
ANDROID TABLET
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7
600 from www.snipca.com/24140
Tested: Issue 501
Samsungsgss new
w mid-sized tablet
et has a
wonderful HDR screen and comes with
a pen included, unlike Apples iPad Pro.
But its processor isnt the fastest and its
disappointingly expensive, especially
compared to the 339 iPad 9.7in.
ALTERNATIVE: Asus ZenPad 3S 10
This 9.7in tablet is like an Android
version of the iPad Air. It has an eight-
hour battery life and 4GB RAM. 298
from www.snipca.com/22359
30 21 June 4 July 2017
Find out what other products we liked.
Buy our new 2016 Back Issue CD:
15 from www.snipca.com/23209
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
DESKTOP PC
Wired2FireDiabloUltimaV2
804 from www.snipca.com/23767
ed: Issue 497
Tested:
Teaming Intels latest i5 processor with
a Radeon RX 460 graphics card, this
delivers great all-round performance
and adequate gaming, helped by a fast
M.2 SSD plus a generous 2TB hard
drive and 16GB of memory.
ALTERNATIVE: Chillblast Fusion
Hubble For advanced performance, this
overclocked Kaby Lake i5 PC comes
with a GTX 1060 graphics card. 1,000
from www.snipca.com/23380
APPLE iPHONE
Apple iPhone SE
330 from www.snipca.com/21683
Tested: Issue 474
It may be
b Appl
Apples
ple
e budget
bud
ud t phone,
ho 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: 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.
499 from www.snipca.com/20441
APPLE iPAD
Apple iPad 9.7in
339 from www.snipca.com/24079
Tested: Issue 500
The replacement for the iPad Air 2 is
slightly bulkier and has a downgraded
screen but remains the best mid-sized
tablet, with a sensible 32GB of storage.
Youll need the 549 iPad Pro if you
want to use the Pencil stylus (99).
ALTERNATIVE: iPad Mini 4 The smaller
7.9in iPad is excellent, but Apples
decision to sell it only with a huge 128GB
makes it unreasonably expensive. 419
from www.snipca.com/24080
ANDROID PHONE
Motorola Moto G4
139 from www.snipca.com/21685
Tested: Issue 479
With an attractive 5.5in screen, an
excellent 13-megapixel camera, a 13-
hour battery and decent performance,
the G4 is the best budget option.
ALTERNATIVE: Samsung Galaxy S7
Restoring the microSD slot to allow
extra storage makes this an even
better top-end phone than the S6,
with a fantastic screen and camera and
incredible 18-hour battery life. 410
from www.snipca.com/21684
 BUY IT!
Buy It
EBOOK READER SECURITY SOFTWARE PHOTO EDITING

Amazon Kindle (2016) Kaspersky Internet Serif Affinity Photo

60from
57 fromwww.snipca.com/21901
www.snipca.com/21901 Security 2017 49 from www.snipca.com/23739
ed: Issue 483
Tested: 17.99 from www.snipca.com/21532 Tested: Issue 498
Tested: Issue 493

Here: All copy copied

and pasted from issue
489

Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 has won Designed for both full-time professional
Amazons
azons basic ebook reader is now our past eight antivirus tests. Compatible image retouchers and the rest of us
good enough to be our rst choice. Its with Windows 10, the 2017 edition is keen amateurs, this is a beautifully
plasticky, but slim and lightweight, with available at an exclusive reader discount designed and comprehensive program
a decent 4GB storage and good battery on our Software Store. Go to the link for both Windows and Mac users,
life. Consider the 110 Paperwhite if you above for a one-year, one-device licence although so far it performs better on
want backlighting or (for 60 extra) 3G. or buy a two-year, three-device licence for Macs.
just 34.99.
ALTERNATIVE Kobo Aura Glo HDOne ALTERNATIVE: Xara Photo & Graphic
Competing with Amazons
the Kindle Kindle
Paperwhite,
Oasis, ALTERNATIVE: Avast Free Antivirus Designer 365 For all-round design
this
Kobos
premium
compactmodel
modelfrom
hasKobo
a clear
hasscreen
a Almost as good as Kaspersky, but and drawing plus photo lters, this
with
largecontrollable
7.8in screenlighting.
and is comfortable
130 from to sometimes blocks legitimate software. aordable app has a lot to oer.
www.snipca.com/21905
read. 190 from www.snipca.com/22031 Free from www.snipca.com/16493 50 from www.snipca.com/19280

PC MONITOR ROUTER MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER

AOC Q2778VQE Synology RT1900ac Canon Pixma MG5750

209 from www.snipca.com/21902
228 144 from www.snipca.com/21903
134 55 from www.snipca.com/21693
Tested: Issue 468 Tested: Issue 474 Tested: Issue 470

Here: All copy copied

and pasted from issue
489
You dont get many frills, but this
compact all-in-one printer/scanner
includes all the essentials, like Wi-Fi
It comes with no extras, such as If youre looking to upgrade an outdated and printing both sides of the paper
built-in speakers or a USB hub, but
Here: All copy copied
router, there are lots of dual-band (duplex), at a reasonable price. Its
this 2560x1440 panel gives you a full and pasted
802.11ac models to from issue
choose from. This fairly quick, running costs are better
27in screen with excellent contrast and 489
This
one suits
one suits
mostalmost
broadband
all broadband
connections than average, and the ve-ink system
colour accuracy at a very reasonable connections
that dont require
and has
an ADSL
plentymodem
of options,
and ensures photos and black text both
price. Its a little laggy for gamers, but such
has plenty
as sharing
of options,
a connected
such asprinter
sharingora come out looking great.
theres no ghosting on motion. storage.
connected printer or storage.
ALTERNATIVE: Brother MFC-J5320DW
ALTERNATIVE: Dell UltraSharp U2414H ALTERNATIVE TP-Link Archer C9 For more business-type tasks, this
This 1920x1080, 24in screen has a Not quite as fast, but this or the D9 (with all-in-one has automatic paper feed
stand that can switch to portrait mode. ADSL modem built in) is a simple and for the scanner and the ability to print
Colour accuracy is excellent. 195
199 from capable router with a stylish design. occasional A3 pages. 233 from
www.snipca.com/21908 109 from www.snipca.com/21909
100 www.snipca.com/21694

32 21 June 4 July 2017

 BUY IT!

COMPETITION
Win 1 of 5
vie Studio Platinum
MAGIX Vegas Movie
MAGIX has released the most ost
powerful versions ever of its
video-editing software Vegas
egas
Movie Studio. Theres a new w
clutter-free interface that makes
it signicantly easier to use,, and
multicam editing that lets youou
combine up to four cameras as
into one timeline. As well ass the
Platinum version theres a basic
version (39.99) and a Suite te
(119.99). To enter this competition, email your address
to cacomp@dennis.co.uk with vegas in the subject line
by midnight 4 July. Good luck!

You can buy this software from www.magix.com/gb.

Each version
gives you a
30-day free trial.
For more
information on
MAGIX software
follow @MAGIX_
INT on Twitter.

HOMEPLUGS SOLID STATE DRIVE WEB DESIGN

TP-Link AV1200 Powerline Samsung 960 Pro 512GB Xara Web Designer
Wi-Fi Kit WPA8730 295 from www.snipca.com/23389 Premium 365
125 from www.snipca.com/23766 Tested: Issue 491 70 from www.snipca.com/16955
Tested: Issue 495 Tested: Issue 453

HomePlug adapters use your mains
wiring to extend your network where
Wi-Fi wont reach. This kit provides
Wi-Fi at the far end too, so phones and
tablets can connect as well as PCs and
other Ethernet-equipped devices.
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.
22 from www.snipca.com/21691
Made for the fast M.2 interface thats
increasingly common inside PCs, this is
not a cheap option, but if you want an
SSD you want speed, and this has it in
spades. Samsungs 850 Evo (150 for
500GB) is a good budget choice.
ALTERNATIVE: Kingston SSDNow
UV400 480GB Much slower, but still
faster than a hard drive, this gives you
more GB per pound. 129 from
www.snipca.com/22127
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.
ALTERNATIVE: Incomedia WebSite X5
v12 Evolution It may feel a little basic,
but this straightforward program outputs
ecient HTML code and responsive pages.
50 from www.snipca.com/19440

21 June 4 July 2017 33

 2016
Back Issue CD
NOW !
SA LE
ON CON
T
ALLAINS
ISSU 26
M 20ES
FRO
16

Buy it now from Amazon at

www.snipca.com/23209
or search for computeractive cd on Amazon
You can still buy our 2015 CD at www.snipca.com/21619
 PU
& LL

Workshops & Tips

Is K OU
su E
e E
50 P T
4

Edited by Sherwin Coelho

14 pages of workshops, tips, guides, problem

roblem solving
35 Customise Windows 40 Turn your life story PLUS
10s secret Start menu into a podcast 43 Readers Tips 47 Make Office Better
38 Share photos using 42 Save mobile data on 44 Phone & Tablet Tips 48 Secret Tips For...
Googles new tool your iPhone 46 Make Windows Better Magix Music Maker

Customise Windows 10s

secret Start menu
What you need: Win+X Menu Editor; Windows 8.1 or 10
Time required: 25 minutes

W henever you press Windows key+X

or right-click the Start button at
the bottom left of your PC screen, you
open whats known as the Power User
Menu which provides quick access to
several useful options. Microsoft doesnt
make it easy to customise this menu so
we recommend using the brilliant free
program Win+X Menu Editor. It lets you
add programs and other items you use
often, and rearrange and remove
existing menu items.

STEP Win+X Menu Editor downloads

1 as a zipped setup le, so youll
need a le-compression
1
program to open it. We recommend
PeaZip (www.peazip.org). In the
installation wizard choose Standard
Installation 1 (there are no unwanted
extras). After youve nished, download
Win+X Menu Editor by going to www.
snipca.com/24541, then clicking the long
Download link above the Donate button.

3
STEP Go to your Downloads folder 1

2 and launch the WinX Menu

Editor Release setup le 2 ,
1 which will open in PeaZip. Here, click
Extract 3 , then click OK at the bottom
right. After thats done, double-click the
WinXEditor.exe setup le within PeaZip,
4 then click Yes to open the program. The
program doesnt add a desktop shortcut.
If you want one, drag and drop the
WinXEditor app icon 4 from your
2 Downloads folder to your desktop.

21 June 4 July 2017 35

 Workshops
4
2
1
4 1
STEP Now right-click the Start button to reveal your Power
3 User Menu 1 . Youll notice that Win+X Menu Editor
has similar options 2 (though some are named slightly
dierently). In your Power User Menu each section is separated
by a line 3 , while in the Win+X Menu Editor these sections
appear as groups 4 . Well now show you how to use the
program to customise your Power User Menu.
2
1
3
STEP Win+X Menu Editor also lets you add items to the
5 Power User Menu such as programs, settings and
tools you use often. To add a program, such as Chrome,
rst select the group you want to add it to 1 , click the Add a
program dropdown menu 2 , then click Add a program. Now
navigate to and select that programs setup le 3 (in the
Program Files folder in your C Drive), click Open, rename the
option as you want it to appear in your Power User Menu
(optional), then click OK. Repeat this step to add more programs.
36 21 June 4 July 2017
2
STEP To remove an option from your Power User Menu (for
4 example, Event Viewer), click to select it 1 , then click
Remove 2 . Click Restart Explorer 3 after making any
change, then re-open your Power User Menu to see the change
youve made. If it isnt applied immediately, you may need to
restart your PC. Its a good idea to make all your changes
(including those in this Workshop), then click Restart Explorer,
then restart your PC.
3
5
4
2 1
STEP Click Restart Explorer 1 to see your added
6 program(s) 2 in the Power User Menu. The process is
similar to add presets (built-in Windows tools). Select
the group you want to add presets to, click the Add a program
dropdown menu 3 , then move your cursor to Add preset 4 .
Now select one of the seven options 5 , then click Continue.
Click Restart Explorer, then reopen your Power User Menu to
see the option(s) you added.
 Customise Windows 10s secret Start menu

4 3

1 1

2 2

STEP Well now show you how to add options from your
7 Control Panel. Select the group you want to add these
to, click the Add a program dropdown menu again,
then click Add a Control Panel item. In the window that opens,
click the option you want 1 , then click Select 2 . All Control
Panel items 3 adds the Control Panel as an option to the Power
User Menu. Alternatively, type the name of a specic Control
Panel item in the search eld 4 , then click to select it.
STEP You can also add Administrative Tools, including
8 useful options such as Disk Clean-up, Disk
Defragmenter, Windows Firewall, Windows Services,
and Resource Monitor. Click the Add a program dropdown
menu, then click Add an Administrative Tools item. Youll see a
list of 18 options 1 that you can select 2 or search for 3 , then
add (as you did in Step 7).

1 3

5
3

4 1

STEP Like the Power User Menu, the Win+X Menu Editor is
9 divided into three groups. If you want to add another
group to the former, click Create a group 1 . Youll see
Group 4 2 added to the menu. Repeat to add more groups if you
want. Right-click any item in Win+X Menu Editor 3 for options
to rename it and move it. To place it in another group, move
your cursor to Move to group, then select the group 4 . You can
also reorder items using the arrows on the right 5 .
STEP When youre happy with your changes, click Restart
10 Explorer 1 , close Win+X Menu Editor, then open your
Power User Menu to see your customised version 2
(restart your PC if necessary). Make any changes using the above
steps. If you want to undo all your changes, open Win+X Menu
Editor, click the Restore defaults button 3 , click Yes, then click
Restart Explorer.

21 June 4 July 2017 37

 Workshops
Share photos using
Googles new tool
What you need: Any website; Android or iOS device Time required: 20 minutes

G oogle has launched a new

tool called Families that
makes it easier than ever to share
photos, reminders and events
with your loved ones. It lets you
add up to ve contacts to your
Family group. You can then share
items with everyone in your
group with the click of a button.
Well show you how to create
your own group, then share
photos, reminders and events
using Googles Photos, Keep
and Calendar services.

1
4
1

STEP Go to www.google.com/families, log in using your
1 Google account, click Get Started, then click Create
Family Group. Youll see all your Gmail contacts listed.
Click to select up to ve contacts 1 . A dropdown menu 2 will
appear next to any contact with more than one email address.
To add people who are not in your contact list, type their email
address 3 , then click Add recipient. Once youve compiled
your group, click Send 4 .
STEP Group members will receive an email invitation. They
2 need to click Accept Invitation 1 within two weeks of
receipt. After that, they need to click Get Started, Join
Family, then View Family to see all group members. Youll
receive an email conrmation as each person accepts your
invite.

STEP Its easy to manage your group. There are two ways to
3 do this. In Gmail, click your prole icon at the top
right, click My Account, then click the Family group
link in the Account preferences section on the right.
Alternatively, go to www.google.com/families, then click
Manage Group. In both cases, youll see how many more
people you can invite to your group 1 . Here you can also send
invitations 2 , remove any members 3 and delete the entire
group 4 . 3

1
4

38 21 June 4 July 2017

 2

STEP To share things with your group, go to

4 www.google.com/families, then scroll
down to Google Calendar, Google Keep and
Google Photos. To share photos, click the Go button
beside Google Photos 1 . This takes you to the Google
Photos website in your browser (but you can also
use the following features in the Google Photos app).
STEP Move your cursor to the top left of the rst photo, then click to
5 select it. Youll now see tickboxes on your other photos, so click to
select the other ones you want to share 1 (as many as you want),
then click the share icon 2 . In the pop-up menu that appears, youll see a
green Family group icon with a heart at the top left. Click this icon to
share your photos with your group. They can now access your photos and
upload their own to the group.

STEP Well now show you how to create notes that the group can
6 collaborate on. Go to www.google.com/keep (or use the
Google Keep app). Here, name your note 1 , click inside the
Take a note eld, then start typing your note 2 . The Remind me
icon 3 lets you set a reminder (you can choose a time, date and
1
place), while the palette icon 4 lets you add a colour to that note. To 5
share the note with your group, click the Collaborator icon 5 , the
Family group icon, Save, then Done. Members in your group can
now edit this note from their account.
2
4
3

5 STEP To add events to your family group, go to www.google.

3 7 com/calendar (or the Google Calendar app) and click the
Create button at the top right. Here, name your event 1 ,
then ll in the details in the boxes below 2 (place, description,
event colour, notication). Now in the Guests eld, type family,
1 then select the Family (group) option 3 to share your events. You
2 can set group permissions using the tickboxes below 4 . When
youve nished, click Save 5 to share your event invitations.

21 June 4 July 2017 39

 Workshops

Turn your life story

into a podcast
What you need: Android phone or iPhone Time required: 30 minutes

T here are lots of free podcast apps, but

CastBox is our favourite and its now
available on Android for the rst time. It
lets you subscribe to your favourite podcast
channels and download episodes to listen
to oine. Besides that, you can record your
own podcast episodes and upload them to
your own channel. Well show you how to
turn your life story into a podcast, then
share your channel with others. If youd
like to share it with fellow readers, email us
a link and well publish it.

STEP Install and open the app

1 (Android www.snipca.
com/24569; iOS www.
snipca.com/24580). Youll see
several podcast category tiles.
Select at least three based on
your interests 1 , then tap Next 2 .
Youll now see a list of popular
podcast channels based on your
selections. Tap the Save (oppy
disk) icons beside the ones you
want to subscribe to, then tap 1
Done. Youll now see your main
podcast screen with four tabs at
the top.

STEP Well now show you how

2 to record your own
podcast episodes, then
upload these to your own podcast 1
channel. First, tap the Prole 2 3
tab 1 , then the Click Here to Log 1
In link 2 for options to log in via
Google or Facebook. Select the 2
account you want, then log in.
Next, tap the microphone icon 3 ,
then Allow. Youll see a blank
screen with three buttons -
Listen, Record and Save. Tap
File name at the top left to see STEP To record, tap the Record/Pause button 1
options to import audio les
from your devices Audio folder, 3 to start (and pause) the recording, then
narrate the rst episode youve prepared.
Downloads folder or your 3 Tap Listen 2 to play it back. When youre happy with
Google Drive account. it, tap Save 3 . This saves your recording as a draft.
Tap the orange microphone icon and repeat the
process to record the next episode(s). The Drafts
section lists your recorded episodes.

40 21 June 4 July 2017

STEP Well now show you how to create your own channel.
4 Return to the Drafts section, then tap the Upload
button (up arrow) beside the rst episode you want to
upload. Now tap Create a Channel at the bottom. Personalise
your channel by adding a photo from your device 1 , giving your
channel a title 2 and a typing a brief description 3 . Next, tap
the Categories eld 4 then tap to select three categories that
relate to your podcast. Finally, tap the Save icon 5 to create
your channel.
5
1
3 3
4
STEP CastBox oers other great features. The Explore icon 1
6 displays podcast channels by category 2 . Tap one 3 to
read a description, check out its episodes and subscribe
to it. Youll see download icons beside each episode. Tap these to
download episodes to your device. Tap the Search icon 4 to
search for a particular podcast channel or category, then tap the
+ icons beside the channels you want to subscribe to.
4 5
1 1
3 2
STEP Its optional, but we think its a good idea to add a
5 photo 1 , title 2 and description 3 to each episode you
upload. Finally, select your channel name 4 , then tap
the Publish icon 5 to add this episode to your channel. Next, tap
the Upload button beside your second episode and repeat this
step. When you return to your prole tab, youll now see your
channel name. Tap to select it, tap the share icon at the top, then
send the link that appears to whoever you want via email or
social-media apps.
5
1
4
STEP Finally, tap the Subscribe icon 1 to see all the channels
7 youve subscribed to 2 . The View icon 3 lets you see
these as a list or tiles. Tap Download 4 to access
episodes youve downloaded. The app tends to bombard you
with notications about new episodes in your subscribed
channels or new channels you might be interested in. To control
these notications, tap the Prole icon 5 , Settings, Notication
Settings, then switch o the notications you dont want.
4
2
3
21 June 4 July 2017 41
 Workshops
Save mobile data
on your iPhone
What you need: iPhone or iPad Time required: 10 minutes

In Issue 503 (page 40) we

showed you how to keep track
of your mobile-data usage on
your Android phone. If you use
an iPhone or iPad and have a
monthly limit on your mobile
data, then the free app My Data
Manager will help you keep on
top of it. It lets you set your
monthly data limit, then activate
useful notications to ensure you
never exceed it.

STEP Install and open the app (www.snipca.com/24573), STEP Select the mobile-data section, tap the green Add Your
1 tap the box at the bottom to agree to the T&Cs, then
tap Lets get started. Next, tap Later on the rst two 2 Plan button, then tap Set Individual Plan. Here, you
can set your plan type (recurring or pre-paid 1 ), set
screens, tap Yes, alert me! on the Data usage screen, then tap your data-renewal period (options include daily, weekly, or
Allow to conrm that. Finally, tap No thanks on the Help us monthly) 2 , and enter your mobile-data limit 3 in MB or GB 4 .
improve My Data Manager Tap Next 5 then select the
section. The app tells you how day/date on which your
much data youve used 1 using monthly plan restarts (call
2 mobile data 2 and Wi-Fi 3 , your service provider if you
3 and in roaming mode 4 . It also dont know this). Finally, tap
estimates your monthly data Do Later, then Close.
usage 5 based on your current
usage. 1

2 4
1 5 3

4
5

5 STEP Well now show you how to set up alerts to ensure you dont exceed your data

2 3 limit. Tap Settings at the bottom right, My Alarms, then select the Mobile tab 1 .
Here, ensure that the Enable Alarms slider is switched on 2 . Youll see that
several types of alerts are switched on by default 3 . Tap to uncheck the ones you dont
1
want. Finally, tap Set Custom Alarms 4 to create your own alerts for example, when
you near a mobile-data daily limit or use up a certain amount of your overall allowance.
Go back, then tap Done 5 to set these alerts.
3

ON SALE
Weds
NEXT ISSUE July 5

Back up les to a memory card

Stop hackers spying on your family
Turn your phone into a scanner
Record video highlights using Skype
4
Subscribe to Computeractive at getcomputeractive.co.uk

42 21 June 4 July 2017

Readers Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT
T
WINDOWS 10
Access the Control Panel with one click
In Issue 503, you mention that updating
your Windows 10 PC to the Creators
Update makes access to your Control
Panel more dicult. However, thats
not the case with my PC, which has
two versions of the Control Panel only
a click away. To set this up, you need to
add your desktop as a shortcut option
on your taskbar.
Right-click an empty section of
your taskbar, move your cursor to
Toolbars, then click Desktop. This adds
a desktop shortcut to the right of your
taskbar. Click the two arrows next to
Desktop to see a pop-up menu with lots
of useful options, including all the
programs on your desktop. You can
click and drag to reorder these items
however you want.
Ramsey wins a copy of our 2016 Back Issue CD Buy it on Amazon www.snipca.com/23209
YOUTUBE MUSIC
Listen to music from YouTube
videos wherever you are
I liked your Workshop on
downloading YouTube videos to
watch oine using the free app Hyper
for YouTube (Issue 503, page 42). While
you mainly covered the option to
download videos oine, the app also
lets you download just audio from any
YouTube video, which being a big
music fan Ive taken advantage of.
To do that, open a music video of your
choice in Hyper, click the three dots at
the bottom right, click Download, then
click the Audio option (see screenshot
below). Your downloaded audio les are
stored in the Hyper subfolder within your
Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers
Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk
Here, youll also see two Control Panel
options (see screenshot). Move your
cursor to the option with the arrow to
access several Control Panel sections
(Appearance and Personalisation, Ease
of Access and so on). The other Control
PCs default Music folder. I tend to copy
these les to my phone or tablet to listen
to them oine whenever I like.
Dave Robertson
FACEBOOK
Turn o annoying Facebook
event notications
I live in a busy part of London,
where events are taking place all
the time, especially now that summers
here. Recently, Ive been inundated by a
lot of Facebook notications telling me
that friends of mine are attending an
event near you even when Ive
expressed no interest in the event at all.
Thankfully, I have found a way to turn o
these annoying notications. You can do
this via your PCs browser or via the
Facebook app on your phone or tablet.
On your PC, click the Notications
globe icon at the top right of your
Facebook page, scroll to the most recent
Panel option opens the Windows 7
version, where you can view items by
category, Large icons or Small icons
using the dropdown menu at the top
right.
Ramsey Dugdale
of these notications, click the three dots,
then click Turn o notications about
friends attending events near you (see
screenshot below left). On your phone or
tablet, open the Facebook app, scroll to
the notication, long-press it, then tap to
select the above option.
Jenny Myers
FITNESS TRACKER
Use Fitbits brilliant features
After my last medical check-up, the
doctor recommended I take long
walks everyday. Upon hearing this, my
son bought me a Fitbit tness tracker
(www.tbit.com/uk). It looks sleek on
my wrist and tells the time, so I dont
wear a watch anymore. Apart from this,
the tracker tells me how many steps Ive
walked and gently vibrates when I
complete 10,000 steps in a day.
The feature that most impressed me,
however, is that you can set it to vibrate
whenever someone calls or messages you
on your phone, and even set it to vibrate
when you set an alarm. Its very useful for
someone like me who wears a hearing aid
and often misses calls and alarms. You
can activate these by tapping Notications
and Silent Alarm in the free Fitbit
Android, iOS or Windows 10 app.
Alex Carlisle
21 June 4 July 2017 43
 Phone and Tablet Tips Brilliant things to do on your device

ANDROID & iOS screenshot below left). Now tap Google

Play your photos as a
slideshow on your TV
If you use Googles
Chromecast dongle
(www.snipca.com/24630),
theres an easy way to play photos from
your Google Photos albums (in random
order) as a slideshow on your TV.
To do this, switch on your TV to the
input you use for your Chromecast using
your remote control (youll see a default
Google image on your TV screen). Next,
open the Google Home app formerly
called Chromecast on your phone or
tablet (Android www.snipca.com/24612;
iOS www.snipca.com/24613), tap the
three lines at the top left, then tap Devices.
Youll see your Chromecast name and
PIN code. Tap the three dots at the top
right, then tap Backdrop settings (see
Photos, then switch on the slider at the
top. Youll see all your photo albums
listed with tick boxes beside them. Tick
the albums containing images you want
to display on your TV. Images from those
albums will now play in random order on
your TV screen.
ANDROID & iOS
Stop unwanted newsletters
and keep
ep track of travel plans
Email Fast & Secure
was previously only
available on iOS but is
now launched on Android. Whats more, mark them as important (see screenshot
it has some great features. As well as above). These emails are then assigned to
letting you unsubscribe from newsletters the relevant tabs.
quickly, it gives you easy access to your The Travel category contains any ight,
travel bookings you have stored and lets train or coach bookings youve made via
you track your Amazon orders. email with all the relevant information
Install and open the app (Android (departure time, arrival time, booking
www.snipca.com/24614; iOS www. reference and seat number). The Packages
snipca.com/24615), swipe across the category lets you track any outstanding
introductory screens, log into your email email orders youre expecting (such
account (the app supports Gmail, Yahoo, as Amazon deliveries) or any parcels
Microsoft and all IMAP accounts), then youve sent.
tap To Inbox at the top right. The app
automatically organises your emails into iOS
handy categories. Tap the three lines at Make your iPhone or iPad
the top left (menu icon), then look at the easier to use
Assistant section to see these categories There are several ways you can
Subscriptions, Travel, Packages, Bills & make your iPhone or iPad easier
Receipts and Entertainment. to use, such as making the text on
Tap Subscriptions to see emails youve your screen larger and darker. You can
subscribed to. Here, tap the X icon to also add a permanent onscreen button
unsubscribe from any or the star icon to that gives you easy access to the main

Best New Apps What you should install this fortnight

Skype Path Guide Filmr*

Free Free Free
Android: www.snipca.com/24616 Android: www.snipca.com/24617 iOS: www.snipca.com/24618
Microsoft has given its Android Skype app This app (also from Microsoft) lets you create Filmr makes video editing easy. Select
a complete makeover and added improved indoor navigation paths. It traces where as many photos or videos as you want.
messaging you walk and These appear on
tools. The automatically a vertical editing
best of these creates step-by- ow. Tap and
is Highlights, step directions drag to reorder
which lets you that you can them and move
capture photos share with others. their sliders to
and videos then Shop owners, for trim les. Tap
personalise example, can use and hold a video
them with text it to create a path le for options
and drawings. for customers to to duplicate or
Well show you nd their store delete it.
how to use this from the entrance *Contains in-app
in our next issue. of a shopping mall. purchases

44 21 June 4 July 2017

sections of your device. Well show you
how to do both.
Open Settings, tap General, then
Accessibility. Here, tap Larger Text, then
move the slider to the right to increase
the size of your onscreen text. Tap the
Bold Text slider to bold up text, making
it easier to read.
Next, tap AssistiveTouch, then switch
on the AssistiveTouch slider. This displays
a white button that stays on your screen
permanently tap and drag to reposition
this wherever you want. Tap the button
to access various sections of your device,
including the Notication Centre, Control
Centre and Home (see screenshot below).
Tap Device to see options to lock your
screen, rotate it, change the volume or
take a screenshot. You can also use
AssistiveTouch if your devices Home or
volume buttons stop working.
iOS
Locate friends and family
Using Apples Find My Friends
app, you can locate friends or
family members on your iPhone
and iPad and also share your location
with them.
To set this up, open the preinstalled
Find My Friends app, tap All Friends at
the top left, then tap Add. Now enter the
email addresses of those you want to track,
then tap Send. They will receive a location-
tracking request that they need to agree
to. Once theve granted permission, youll
both be able to see each others precise
location on a map by opening the Find
My Friends app or by going to iCloud.com
and logging in with your Apple ID. To
stop sharing your location, open the app,
tap Me, switch o the Share My Location
slider, then tap Done.
WINDOWS PHONE
Read ebooks in Microsoft Edge
In Issue 502 (page 45), we
explained how to update your
phone to the Windows 10 Mobile
Creators Update. One of the updates new
features is the option to read ebooks in
Microsoft Edge. You can download free
titles by going to www.gutenberg.org in
Microsoft Edge, tapping an ebook, then
tapping its EPUB link.
Swipe right to turn pages. Tap any
page to see a list of options at the top and
a scroll bar at the bottom. You can also
move the bar to scroll through the pages.
Tap the three lines at the top to display
the books table of contents and tap any
chapter to go to it.
The search icon lets you nd any word
or phrase within that page. Tap the Aa
icon (see screenshot right) to change your
display settings. To hear text on that page
(and any following pages) dictated out
loud, tap the speaker icon. To bookmark
the page youre on tap the icon at the top
right these then are accessible in the
bookmarks section at the top left.
Games With Kids
What to play together on your phone and tablet
AGES 0 5
Little Fire Station*
Free www.snipca.com/24621 (Android)
Free www.snipca.com/24622 (iOS)
The games in this app will keep your
toddler entertained and teach them how
a re station works. Our favourites involve
rescuing a cat from a tree, putting out a
house re and identifying objects found in
a re station.
AGES 6 10
Jump Cube*
Free www.snipca.com/24625 (Android)
Free www.snipca.com/24626 (iOS)
This simple game can be both very
addictive and very frustrating. You need to
guide your character along a path of tiles
of two dierent colours, tapping the left of
your screen to reach one colour and the
right to reach the other.
AGES 11 16
Monument Valley 2
4.99 www.snipca.com/24627 (iOS)
Monument Valley is a beautifully designed
puzzle game where you help the character
Ro reach a specic point in each scene
by tapping and moving her architectural
surroundings. In this sequel Ro is joined by
her child in a series of new puzzles
and landscapes.
*Contains in-app purchases
21 June 4 July 2017 45
 Make Windows Better
WINDOWS 10
Find out how long your
journey will take
Cortana can now tell you how
long itll take you to get home or
to work. It does this by determining
the fastest route based on the trac at the
current time. You rst need to add your
home and/or oce address to your PC. To
do this, open the default Maps app, then
click the star icon at the top right to see
the Home and Work tabs (see screenshot
below). Select the one you want, enter
your postcode, then select the correct
autosuggest option.
From now on, simply click your search
bar at any time and Cortana should
display the journey time to get home or to
work, with a rating for trac congestion
(Heavy, Moderate or Low). If you dont
see this, click the speaker icon to activate
Cortana and ask How long will it take me
to get home/to work?. Next, click the
map tile to get directions to your location
using the Maps app.
WINDOWS 10
Upload all your tracks to
Groove Music
Microsoft has updated its Groove
Music app to automatically
import any music stored within
the Music folder on your PC. Therefore,
you should consider moving your music
collection to this folder. However, if you
prefer having your music les stored
46 21 June 4 July 2017
Expert tips for every program
WINDOWS 7, 8, 10
Connect a Bluetooth keyboard or
mouse to your PC
If you have a
Bluetooth
keyboard or
mouse, its easy to connect them
to your Windows PC. You rst
need to turn on the Bluetooth on
both your PC and the device
youre connecting to. On the
keyboard or mouse, you should
nd a button you can switch on.
Refer to the devices manual if you
dont see this.
To switch on Bluetooth in Windows onscreen instructions to pair them.
7 and 8.1, open the Start menu, The process is easier in Windows 10.
right-click Computer, click Properties, Go to Settings, click Devices, then
then Device Manager at the top left. At switch on the Bluetooth slider (see
the top, youll see a Bluetooth screenshot). Next, click Add Bluetooth
dropdown menu. Click this, right-click or other device at the top and select
the option below it, then click Enable. Bluetooth. Once your PC detects your
To connect your PC to your Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, click to select it,
keyboard or mouse, open your Start click Pair, then follow any onscreen
menu, click Devices and Printers, Add instructions to complete pairing. From
a device, then wait for it to detect your now on, your PC should automatically
Bluetooth device. Next, select the recognise your device whenever the
device, click Next and follow any two are within range.
across multiple PC folders, then well
show you how to add these folders to
the app.
Open Groove Music, then click the
My music section on the left to see all
music les stored in your Music folder.
Next, click the cog icon at the bottom
left, then click the Choose where we
look for music link in the Music on
this PC section (see screenshot below
left). Youll see your Music folder
selected. To add another folder, click
the + icon, navigate to the folder
want, click Add this folder to Music,
then click Done.
The app will begin importing your
music from that folder. Repeat this open your Command Prompt, press the
process if you have tracks stored in Windows key, type cmd, then press Enter.
other folders on your PC. Now type tree, then press Enter.
Youll see a tree dropdown menu of
WINDOWS 7, 8, 10 your entire C Drive (see screenshot above).
See all the folders and Lines connecting to the C Drive indicate
subfolders on your C Drive folders, with further lines connecting to
Theres a simple their subfolders. Its a good idea to copy,
Command Prompt trick paste and save this information to a
that lets you display all Notepad le or Word document so you
the folders and subfolders on your PCs can see the contents of your C Drive
C Drive as a tree dropdown menu. To whenever you want.
Make Office Better
WORD
Save oft-used text to insert when needed
If theres a block of text that
you tend to type often in
documents (for example, your
home or email address, or a specic
quote), theres an easy way to save it
in Word, so that you can quickly insert
it when you need to. The feature is
called AutoText.
First, type the text you want to
save, format it however you like,
then select it. Next, click the Insert
tab, then the Quick Parts dropdown
menu in the Text section at the top
right (see screenshot), move your
cursor to AutoText, then click Save
Selection to AutoText Gallery.
OUTLOOK.COM
Never miss your favourite
teams matches
Outlook.com has a useful feature
called Bing calendars that lets
you keep track of your favourite
sports teams. To use it, go to www.
outlook.com and log in using your
Microsoft account. Next, click the small
calendar icon at the bottom left to access
your Outlook calendar. To add sporting
events to it, click Interesting calendars
at the top. Youll see a Bing calendars
panel on the right with several options,
including Sports and TV. Select Sports for
a list of 11 to choose from.
Now, simply select the sports and teams
you follow to add their xtures to your
calendar. For example, to get reminders
when your favourite Premier League
team is playing, select Soccer, England,
Expert tips for every program
In the pop-up window that appears
(see screenshot), name your text, ensure
the Gallery dropdown menu is set to
AutoText and the Category dropdown
menu is set to General. Type a text
description in the relevant eld
(optional), then click OK. Repeat this
process for other passages of text you
want to save.
From now on, whenever you want to
add your saved text, click the insertion
point in your document, then click the
Quick Parts dropdown menu and move
your cursor to AutoText. Youll see all
your saved passages of text listed. Simply
click the one you want to add.
English Premier League, then the
club you follow. To follow the England
cricket team, select Cricket, Countries,
then England. You can also follow cricket
teams playing in the County Championship
(see screenshot below left).
Youll now see all your teams xtures
have been added to your calendar, and
youll receive a notication before each
match is about to begin.
POWERPOINT
Record your own narration
If one of your PowerPoint slides
contains a lot of information, it
might be a good idea to add an
audio commentary to explain it.
To do this, open your presentation,
then go to the slide in question. Click the
Insert tab, the Audio dropdown menu at
the top right, then click Record Audio. In
the pop-up window that appears, name
the recording, then click the red circular
(Record) icon and dictate your audio
track. Click the Stop icon when youve
nished.
Next, click the blue Play icon to hear
your recording. If you dont like it, click
the Record icon again to re-record. When
youre happy, click OK. Youll now see a
small speaker icon on your slide. Click
and drag to reposition this wherever you
want. Moving your cursor to this icon
displays a play icon with options to fast
forward/rewind and change volume (see
screenshot below left).
EXCEL
Get rid of unwanted rows
and columns quicker
Theres an easy way to highlight
and delete all data in a particular
row or column in Excel using
keyboard shortcuts. To highlight a row,
click any cell within it, then press
Shift+spacebar. You can now delete all
data in that row by pressing the Delete
key, or copy and paste it to another row.
Similarly, to highlight a column, click
any cell within the column, then press
Ctrl+spacebar.
Deleting data in a column or row will
leave you with blank cells. A better
option is to delete the entire row or
column itself. Theres a keyboard shortcut
for that, too. To delete a row, select any of
its cells, then press Ctrl+9. Similarly, to
delete an entire column, select any of its
cells, then press Ctrl+0.
21 June 4 July 2017 47
 Secret Tips For

Magix Music Maker

Add eects to your recorded music, connect instruments to your PC,
use a virtual amp and x distorted recordings
Add eects to your
musical compositions
Magixs free music-production program
Music Maker (www.magix.com/gb/
music-maker) is a great virtual studio
that lets you record and mix your own
music on your PC. One of its best features
is the ability to add eects like reverb,
echo and distortion so you can give your
compositions a more professional feel.
To try these eects, rst select the bars
within your composition that you want
to add eects to (click the rst bar, then
hold the Ctrl key down and click the last
bar). Next, click the Inspector tab (see
screenshot below) above the piano keys
to see a list of eects, such as Compressor
and 10-band equalizer. Click an eect,
then adjust the knobs or drag the white
circle to change its intensity (see screenshot
below). Play your track as you do this to
Add effects to your music using Music Makers Inspector control opening bar and then,
Connect a real instrument to your PC
While you can import tracks into
Music Maker, play pre-recorded loops
and record your own tunes using the
programs virtual keyboard, youll want
to connect real instruments to your PC
if you want a more authentic sound.
You can do this in a couple of ways.
The easiest and cheapest way is to use a
USB-to-audio jack k cable.
o
There are plenty to
choose from on
Amazon (such as
the one pictured,
13 from Amazon: n:
hear how your music changes
with each tweak. The only
eect that is controlled
dierently is the 10-band
equalizer. It splits your track
into 10 frequency bands and
lets you adjust each one
separately. For more info, click
10-band equalizer, then the
question-mark icon to the
right of Graphic equalizer. Lower a distorted sections volume to reduce pops and
crackles on your recording
Identify and x
distorted sections
If you hear pops and crackles when you
play back your composition, you can use
Music Makers Peak Meter to reveal the
problem bars. Click View, Video
monitor, Show video monitor, then
click the Peak Meter tab. Play your track
and youll see a visual representation of it.
Look out for any
red graphics at the high
decibel (dB) range these
indicate heavy distortion.
To x distortion you
need to lower the
aected sections volume.
To select the entire
distorted section, click its
www.snipca.com/24525), but such
cables do add latency a split-second
delay between playing a note and
hearing it through your PC speakers/
headphones. If removing this latency is
essential consider buying a USB Midi
box like the M-Audio Midisport (44
from Amazon: www.sn
www.snipca.com/
24526). This lets y
you connect
multiple ins
nstr
instruments and
microphoho
microphones to your PC
andd re
removes the
pr
problem of
la
latency.
with the Control key held down, click its
end bar. The section youve selected will
be highlighted orange. Right-click it, then
click Volume, Set volume and choose
any of the negative dB Set volume to
options (see screenshot above).
Experiment with the volume settings
until you reduce the levels from red to
orange in the Peak Meter when you play
it back. If youre unsure where to start,
you could try the Automatic volume
reduction option right-click the
selection, then click Volume to see it.
Play through a virtual amp
If you have a USB-to-audio jack cable (see
box) you can connect your electric guitar
(and other analogue instruments) to your
PC and use it as an amp. You can then use
Music Makers virtual amp (Vandal) to
tweak your instruments output.
To access the Vandal amp, click Eects
(in the bar at the top), Audio, Audio
Eects, then Vandal SE. Anyone who has
ever used a physical amp will recognise
the gain, voicing and equalization knobs
that let you change the sound. To apply
preset eects such as 60s Twang and
Blues Solo click Programs at the top of
Vandals window, then select a preset.
Refer to Music Makers manual
If you get stuck, you can access Music
Makers manual by clicking Help,
Documentation, then Table of contents.
Click the search tab to search for specic
words.

48 21 June 4 July 2017 Next issue Secret Tips For Copy and paste
Whats All the Fuss About...
Google Lens
Your phones camera can now search the web as well
What is it?
A clever new technology that integrates
your phones camera with Googles
search engine. Your camera will
recognise whats being shown on the
screen, then automatically search for
information about it online. The results
will appear in a box on screen. If it
works as well as Google claims, itll be
the best use of augmented reality yet.
Whats augmented reality?
It places a computer-generated image
on top of whats being shown on a
phones screen, merging the real-world
environment with a digital one. It was
the technology behind the Pokmon Go
game, which became hugely popular
last summer. In it, players collect digital
characters hiding in real locations. These
type of games are all a bit gimmicky,
unlike the benets of Google Lens.
Can you give me some
examples?
Yes. Point your camera at a ower, and
it will tell you what species it is (Milk
and Wine Lily in the image above
right). Point it at a restaurant, and it will
search for reviews and opening times.
Eat out while on holiday abroad and it
will translate foreign-language menus.
If youre at a zoo, Google Lens might
identify not only the type of animal, but
Google Lens signs into your Wi-Fi by reading
your routers settings sticker
also the species, and show facts about it
on screen. It can even log your phone
into your Wi-Fi by reading the setting
sticker on your router (see image
below left).
How does it work?
By using what so many technologies
now depend on: articial intelligence.
Google claims that its algorithms have
learned how to recognise objects in a
photo better than humans can. The
companys boss Sundar Pichai dipped
into his Big Book of Jargon to call Lens
an inection point with vision. He
then gushed: The fact computers can
understand images and videos has
profound implications for our core
mission.
What is Googles core mission?
Ocially, its to organize the worlds
information and make it universally
accessible and useful. Unocially, its
to make enough money to send Croesus
mad with envy.
How will it make money?
Advertising. With Google, it always
comes back to advertising. In an
interview with Campaign website, Ray
Dollete, a director at marketing rm
Phenomenon, revealed the kind of
personal data companies could get from
Google Lens: The simple act of taking a
photo of a boarding pass could tell you a
lot about a person: their travel plans,
lifestyle, airline preference, seating
preference. This would be priceless for
companies wanting to target their
adverts to individuals.
Hasnt Google released similar
things before?
Yes you may be thinking of Word
Lens, which is part of the Google
Translate app. It can translate words in
photos in 37 languages. Or perhaps you
mean the dreadfully named Google
Goggles, which recognises landmarks,
paintings and barcodes to give you more
information about them. It seems that
both will be superseded by Google Lens.
When will it be available?
Not sure yet, but wed be surprised if
it doesnt arrive by the end of the year.
What we do know is that it will appear
rst as part of Google Photos, now
used by 500 million people, and
Google Assistant, which lets you
perform tasks such as sending
messages and searching the web by
speaking into your phone. Soon we
could all be looking at the world
through a dierent Lens.
21 June 4 July 2017 49
 REMOVE
HIDDEN JUNK
Your PC will be riddled with programs that
look like junk, but should you install
them? Jonathan Parkyn explains how
to separate the junk from the essential
programs you must keep
T
here are few certainties in
life beyond death and taxes?
But another thing were pretty
sure of is that every single one
of our readers PCs is unique. No two
will have the same make, model,
processor, amount of RAM, graphics card,
hard drive or operating system. And, of
course, no two will have exactly the
WHAT YOULL LEARN
The pros and cons of the best
uninstallers and which is best for you
Which programs, apps and browser
extensions you should uninstall now
What you must do before you delete
anything from your PCs registry
How to remove stubborn les that
refuse to be deleted
Which startup items you can remove,
and which you should keep
50 21 June 4 July 2017
same programs, apps and browser
extensions installed.
Consider your own PC. Some of its
software will have been pre-installed
by your PCs manufacturer all these
programs are often referred to as
bloatware. Microsoft will have embedded
its own products into Windows as
part of its relentless quest to force us to
use its own apps and services. Then
theres the software you installed
yourself either intentionally or not
(yes, were talking about all those
hideous PUPs, browser hijackers and
unwanted extras that get smuggled in
whenever you try to install a program
you do want).
You can get an overview of the
programs and apps installed on your PC
by checking Windows list. Click the Start
button, type add remove, then press
Enter. From here you can remove any
listed program or app, but we wouldnt
recommend it. Some of these might
be integral to the functioning of your
computer, and removing them may
have a serious impact. Other programs
for example, browser extensions
wont be listed at all. Your rst step,
therefore, is to produce a denitive list
of everything thats squirrelled away
on your PC, before working out whats
safe to remove.
In this feature well show you how to
do exactly that. Well explain which
dedicated uninstallation programs are
best for rooting out hidden programs,
apps and browser extensions. More
importantly, well help you make an
informed decision on which programs
you should keep, and which you can
safely delete.
Finally, well explain how to scour your
registry for program leftovers and how to
remove those stubborn we shall not be
moved programs.

WHATS THE BEST UNINSTALLER?
Before you uninstall anything from
your PC, youll need to make sure you
have the best tool for the job. Here are
our top picks.
GOLD
Wise Program Uninstaller 2.01
www.snipca.com/24368
Whats great
Wise Program Uninstaller is a lightweight
tool thats simple to use and eective at
what it does. Run it and it will quickly
provide a list of software installed on
your PC. Click an item for the option to
carry out a Safe Uninstall (the standard
method) or a Forced Uninstall (for
persistent programs that refuse to
budge). After every uninstallation, Wise
Program Uninstaller carries out a deep
scan for leftover les and registry entries
and lets you remove these, too (see
screenshot below). This proved to be
better than the other uninstallers at
ferreting out residual junk.
Windows 10s built-in apps can be
uninstalled too, and you can choose to
list apps and programs together or
separately (click the icons in the top-right
corner). You can also eject troublesome
Windows Updates and theres a Custom
Uninstall option for persistent programs
that wont respond to the Safe or Forced
methods.
Could do better
It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that
Wise Program Uninstaller is on the plain
side. Were not expecting pretty colours
and ashy icons, but a bit of a rethink in
Wise Program Uninstaller does a deep scan to search for leftover registry entries
Remove Hidden Junk Without Killing Your PC
the design department
wouldnt go amiss.
The lack of tools to
manage your startup
items and remove
browser extensions is
also a bit disappointing,
though you can easily
use Windows Task
Manager and your
browsers own
extension manager
instead (see page 53).
Verdict
Its no oil painting,
but Wise Program CCleaner speedily loads its list of removable programs
Uninstaller is easy to use
and was also the most thorough program les, x registry problems, scan for
uninstaller we tested. duplicates and more.
SILVER Could do better
CCleaner 5.30 Free As an all-in-one junk-busting suite of
www.snipca.com/24366 tools, CCleaner is great, but as an
Whats great uninstaller, its a little lacking in features.
Youll nd CCleaners uninstaller listed Crucially, theres no deep-cleaning
under Uninstall in the Tools menu, option when removing programs, which
alongside a startup manager (Startup) meant that, in our tests, CCleaner
and a tool for removing browser removed fewer leftover les than Wise
extensions and tools (Browser Plugins). Program Uninstaller. Theres also no
CCleaner loads its list of removable option to uninstall programs in bulk
programs much quicker than Windows youll need to remove them one at a
built-in uninstaller does and lets you time and no tool to force-uninstall
remove Windows 10s built-in apps as stubborn programs.
well as desktop programs and tools (see
screenshot above). Verdict
Of course, uninstalling programs is CCleaner is a great all-rounder, and still
just one of the many things CCleaner essential for removing junk, but there are
can do. It can also purge your PC of junk better dedicated uninstallers available.
HOW WE TESTED
We judged the uninstallers by
ease of use and features oered,
but we also tested each one to see
how eective it was at removing
stubborn software and leftover
les. We pitted each uninstaller
against several notoriously hard-
to-remove programs and some
tools performed better than
others. IObit Uninstaller, for
example, had problems removing
the infamous Ask toolbar when
using standard uninstall methods
(we had to resort to a Powerful
Scan removal), while Wise Program
Uninstaller got rid of it without
batting an eyelid.
21 June 4 July 2017 51
 BRONZE
IObit Uninstaller 6.3 Free
www.snipca.com/24365
Whats great
IObit Uninstallers relative lack of features
is actually one of its selling points. Its
lightweight and less complicated to use
than many of its rivals. Choose your
category Programs, Toolbars & Plug-ins
or Windows Apps from the left-hand
pane, then select what you want to
remove and click the bin icon. For
bulk removal, tick all the items you
want to remove, then click Uninstall
(see screenshot right).
You can ditch Windows 10 apps and
easily remove problematic Windows
Updates, too. The browser extensions
uninstaller (under Toolbars & Plug-ins)
now works for Edge.
Could do better
IObit Uninstaller doesnt try to install any
unwanted software on to your PC, but
during setup we had to click No thanks
to sidestep the free gift of a Windows
Tweak ebook, which was annoying. More
importantly, IObit Uninstaller spotted
fewer leftover les and registry entries
than Wise Program Uninstaller. And
were not certain why some of IObit
Uninstallers best features its Cleanup
Residual (which deletes les in Windows
archive of security xes) and Force
UNINSTALL OR NOT?
Programs you can safely
uninstall
Software you can safely uninstall from
your computer falls into three main
categories: programs you dont use
any more, pre-installed junk you dont
need and Windows 10 apps you have
no use for.
Open your uninstaller tool of choice
and cast your eye down the list of
programs. If there are any programs here
you dont recognise or no longer use,
then its fairly safe to assume you wont
miss them most can be reinstalled if
necessary, anyway.
Programs and apps that came
pre-installed with your PC are often
mostly surplus to requirements
unnecessary media players, short trial
versions of paid-for security suites and so
on. These can usually be removed
without worry and are often available to
download from your manufacturers
support website, should you need them.
Its safe to remove apps youve installed
52 21 June 4 July 2017
Uninstall tools, for example are tucked
away in a separate Tools menu, rather
than being listed on the left with the others.
Verdict
Easy to use but not as eective as some
of its rivals.
AND THE REST
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that
Revo Uninstaller (www.revouninstaller.
com), the program we recommended as
our favourite free uninstaller in Issue
500s Cover Feature, didnt make the top
three. In this test, Revo nished a close
fourth. We still recommend it, but under
closer scrutiny we found that some of its
best features (leftover scanning and
forced uninstall, for example) werent
included in the free version. We also
from the Windows Store, too. These can
be easily downloaded again by opening
the Windows Store app, clicking your
user icon, then selecting My Library. Click
Show all to reveal all the apps youve
previously installed, then click the
download icon for any you want back.
As a general rule, always create a
system restore point before uninstalling
any programs most dedicated
uninstaller tools will prompt you to do so.
That way you can always roll back and
restore the program if you need to.
Programs you should keep
Before uninstalling any paid-for
programs you own, check you have the
original CD or installation le if the
program was downloaded and the
product key, if the program needs one to
be activated. This is usually provided with
the disc or, for downloads, it may have
been emailed to you. If youve lost these,
you can use Belarc Advisor (www.snipca.
com/24384) to view (and print) product
IObit Uninstaller
makes it easy to
select and remove
programs, toolbars
and Windows 10
Apps
tested PC Decrapier (www.snipca.com/
24408), which provides recommendations
from other users to help you decide what
to uninstall, and BC Uninstaller (www.
snipca.com/24409), which specialises in
bulk removal.
Or, if youd rather not install any tools
at all (youre presumably in the business
of uninstalling after all), then you could
consider sticking with Windows built-in
uninstaller. It has zero frills or features
beyond the standard removal of programs
and apps. If youve upgraded to the latest
Windows 10 version (Aprils Creators
Update), youll nd that the default
uninstaller is now in the Apps & features
tool (found under Start, Settings, Apps),
where desktop programs and Windows
Store apps are all lumped together in a
big, searchable list.
keys for programs currently installed
theyre listed under Software licenses in
the report Belarc produces after scanning
your PC (see screenshot above right).
Without the original CD or product code,
you might never be able to reinstall the
software without paying for it again.
Most types of les such as JPEG
images, MP3 audio les and Word
documents can be opened in a variety
of programs. But some les can only be
opened in the program you created them
in. Some genealogy programs, for
example, store data in GEDCOM (.ged)
les, which you may no longer be able to
open if you uninstall the program itself.
In some cases, you may be able to
export the les to a dierent format from
within the program or convert them using
an online tool, like Zamzar (www.snipca.
com/24386). But this can sometimes have
unforeseen consequences, such as
document-formatting errors, so check
your les before you dump the original
program.

Use Belarc Advisor to recover lost product keys before you uninstall
paid-for programs
Some uninstaller tools let you remove
the pre-loaded apps that come with
Windows 10, but wed suggest that its
worth leaving most of these in place,
because they dont take up much space
and have little impact on your PCs
performance. Removing certain apps can
also have a knock-on eect on others. For
example, the Mail, Calendar and People
apps are all closely connected and
uninstalling one can cause problems with
the others, so its best to leave these as
they are. And under no circumstances
should you uninstall the Windows Store
app doing so will prevent you from
downloading apps. Reinstalling the Store
app is tricky, too, and may require
reinstalling Windows 10 itself.
Startup items you can
safely remove
A great many of the programs your PC
launches at startup can be disabled,
though you may want to keep the
associated program installed if you still
use it. Apples iTunesHelper is a typical
oender theres no need for this to run
at startup, even if you use iTunes to
manage your music collection.
IObit Uninstaller has a startup
manager built in click the Tools icon
You can disable a programs startup items in
Task Manager without uninstalling it
Remove Hidden Junk Without Killing Your PC
To remove toolbars like AOLs, open Windows 10s Apps & features
section
and select Startup. Here, you can either
click Enabled in the Status & Operation
column to stop the program launching
when you boot, or click the bin icon to
uninstall the associated program.
You can also disable or enable startup
items using Windows 10s built-in Task
Manager (see screenshot below left). To
access it, right-click the taskbar, select Task
Manager, then click the Start-up tab. To
access the same in Windows 7, click Start,
type mscong, then press Enter and click
the Startup tab.
Startup items you
must keep
Any startup items relating to your
security software should be left enabled
and installed switching these o could
leave your PC unprotected against
malware and hackers.
Do you use online storage? OneDrive,
Dropbox and others run at startup to sync
les and keep your storage up to date, so
you should leave the service enabled in
your startup items.
Startup items that relate to hardware
audio devices or your mouse/trackpad,
for example should be left enabled,
otherwise your devices may not work
properly. Similarly, anything relating to
your graphics card (Nvidia or AMD), an
SSD or your PCs processor (Intel or
AMD), should also be left alone, because
removing these can aect stability and
performance. If you encounter a problem
after youve disabled a startup item, xing
it is usually just a case of re-enabling it
again.
Its also technically possible to disable
Windows services background
operations that run automatically when
you start your PC. However, wed strongly
advise against doing so, because
accidentally disabling the wrong service
could cause your PC to crash, freeze or
otherwise misbehave.
Which tools are safe to uninstall
from your browser?
Toolbars are menu bars that appear in
addition to your browsers standard
toolbar. Yahoo, Bing, Ask, AOL and
Google are among the most common.
They usually contain a search box and
some extra tools or shortcuts. Most
toolbars are unnecessary and all can be
removed safely.
Open Windows Apps & features
setting (Windows 10, see screenshot
above) or Add or remove programs
control panel (Windows 7), or use your
dedicated uninstaller tool. The toolbar
should be listed among the other
software installed on your PC. If it isnt,
the toolbar could be malware, so scan
your PC with your security program.
Extensions are mini-tools that add
extra functions to your browser, such as
blocking adverts, but having too many
running can slow down your browsing.
None are essential, so we recommend
keeping only the ones you use often
enabled. Disable those you use
infrequently, and uninstall those you
never use. Extensions are usually disabled
or removed via your browsers own
settings, though many uninstaller
programs, including IObit Uninstaller
and CCleaner, have a specialised tool for
removing browser extensions. IObit
Uninstaller, for example, lists these in its
(confusingly named) Toolbars and
Plug-ins section.
Should I uninstall plug-ins?
There was a time when plug-ins were
essential for playing certain online
content, such as lms, or running certain
types of code Java, Flash and Silverlight
are the most well-known. These days,
though, plug-ins are far less necessary
than they once were, thanks to newer
web technologies (such as HTML5) and
the fact that modern browsers are
21 June 4 July 2017 53
 Computeractive
Bookstore
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO
GOOGLES HIDDEN TOOLS
NEW! In the new and updated Denitive Guide
to Google Hidden Tools, the experts at
Computeractive lift the lid on Googles most
popular services to reveal more than 390 ways
to make them even more ecient, useful and
ta
tailored to your needs. These include clever new
add-ons for Chrome, smart hacks for YouTube,
and the best things you can do in Google Maps,
Drive, Gmail and more. Its an essential guide
to unlocking the hundreds of secret settings,
options and tools that Google oers. Youll learn
ti
tips and tricks that you can use every day online.

BUY IT NOW FROM

AMAZON
at www.snipca.com/22784

THE ADVANCED GUIDE TO THE A-Z JARGON COMPUTERACTIVE

WINDOWS 10 BUSTER BOOK PLUS 20
2016 BACK ISSUE CD

This 196-page This A-Z guide This easy-

guide is packed
with expert
advice in plain
English, to help
you unlock
every hidden tool. Youll learn
how to customise Windows
10 so it works how you want
it to, and how to reverse
settings that Microsoft keeps
changing. Its also the ideal
troubleshooting guide, with
xes for every problem.
contains over
900 denitions
of computing
and tech jargon,
helping you
take back control of your PC.
It tells you in plain English
what so-called experts say
in gobbledygook. Keep it next
to your computer and youll
never again be bamboozled,
befuddled or bemused by
technical twaddle.
to-use
CD-ROM
contains all
26 issues of
2016, giving
you one-click access
to thousands of tips,
workshops, reviews, free
programs, superb apps and
problems solved. It has a
searchable index, which
makes it easy for you to nd
what you want to read.

BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON
at www.snipca.com/21617 at www.snipca.com/21616 at www.snipca.com/23209

Most browsers now block Flash, but usually
notify you when it is detected
capable of handling most types of online
content on their own. Plug-ins can also
be a security risk older versions of both
Java and Flash have been vulnerable to
zero-day attacks.
If youre worried, you could uninstall
Java, Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft
Silverlight from you PC. If they are
installed, youll nd them listed alongside
all your other programs in your chosen
uninstaller tool. If you do remove them,
though, be aware that some online
content may no longer work. Many
websites havent been updated to use the
latest technologies and still rely on
plug-ins.
Most modern browsers, including
Firefox, Edge and Chrome, now block
Flash by default (see screenshot above),
so you could leave it installed and only
enable it when you need to your
browser should automatically prompt
you when Flash content is detected.
Is it safe to remove items from
your PCs registry?
The Windows registry is a le that
contains all the information and
conguration options for your entire
computer. It can be used as a powerful
tool to unlock hidden features or change
DELETE FILES THAT REFUSE TO GO
How to force stubborn
programs to uninstall
There are several reasons why a program
might refuse to uninstall. If a le is in use,
for example, you might see an error
message while uninstalling. Perhaps the
programs installation has become
corrupted, or it could be part of a larger
suite of tools that was left behind when
the rest of the software was removed.
You can try uninstalling stubborn
programs while in Safe Mode as an
administrator. To start Windows 10 in
Safe Mode, click Start, then click the
power icon. Hold down the Shift key and
Remove Hidden Junk Without Killing Your PC
secret settings, but we denitely dont
recommend manually deleting or
changing anything if you can help it
even the smallest slip-up could have
drastic consequences for your system.
We occasionally suggest registry tweaks
and hacks in Computeractive, but
whenever we do, we always make it
clear that youll need to back up rst
(by creating a system restore point) and
follow our instructions to the letter.
Annoyingly, programs you install all
add to the registry, and often remain
there, even after youve uninstalled the
program itself. Many uninstaller tools
perform an optional deep clean to look
for redundant registry entries and other
les left behind see page 56 for more.
Some tools, including CCleaner,
oer the option to scan for and
automatically clear up any registry
clutter they nd (see screenshot above).
As long as you back up your registry
rst, its unlikely that running a unlikely to x any pre-existing PC
clean-up of this type would ever cause
irreparable damage to your computer.
Its usually not
worth cleaning
your Windows
registry but
if you do, use
CCleaners
Registry Cleaner
GET A SECOND OPINION
Establishing whether a program is
worth keeping is often harder than it
might seem. You may have dozens of
tools installed that youve never used
or dont even recognise, but how do
you know whether to ditch them or
not? Researching the programs online
will help. But you could also try using
a free tool called Should I Remove It
(SIRT, www.snipca.com/24392). SIRT
scans your computer and lists all your
programs with crowdsourced ratings
and rankings. This wont necessarily
provide a denitive answer to whether
the tool is worth leaving installed, but it
can help you form an opinion.
However, we would argue that the
benets are rarely worth the risk.
De-cluttering your registry in this way is
problems or provide much of a tangible
performance boost.
Force stubborn
programs off
your PC with
Wise Program
Uninstaller
21 June 4 July 2017 55
 Remove Hidden Junk Without Killing Your PC
click Restart. From the blue Choose an
option screen, click Troubleshoot,
Advanced options, Startup Settings,
then Restart. Press 5 or F5 to launch
Windows in Safe Mode. In Windows 7,
click Start, type mscong, then press
Enter. Click the Boot tab, check the Safe
boot box, then click OK, Restart. Once
Windows has loaded, right-click the
icon for your uninstaller tool and select
Run as administrator, then try to
uninstall the program again.
Many of the uninstaller tools
mentioned on pages 51-52 include an
option to force a program to uninstall,
which you can also try. In Wise Program
Uninstaller, for example, click the
program you want to remove, select
Forced Uninstall (see screenshot on page
55), click Yes, then click Remove.
Some programs and toolbars that
refuse to be uninstalled may be malware,
so its worth running a full scan on your
PC to see if your antivirus picks up
anything nasty. Try running a security
scan in Safe Mode, too.
Restore your PC to before you
installed the program
Another way to get rid of stubborn
programs is to use System Restore. Click
Start, type system restore, press Enter,
then click System Restore. Check Choose have one). However, bear in
a dierent restore point, click Next, then
tick the Show more restore points box
(see screenshot below) and look for a
restore point created before the program
If you cant uninstall a program, restore your PC to a time
before it was installed to remove it
NEXT ISSUE On sale Wednesday 5 July
GOOGLES MISSING MANUAL
Expert instructions for secret tools in
Search, Gmail, Chrome, Maps & more
Subscribe to Computeractive at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
56 21 June 4 July 2017
IS IT SAFE TO REMOVE DUPLICATE FILES?
Its easy to end up with a hard drive full of
duplicate les photos, documents and
so on. You can remove these using tool
built into uninstallers.
In CCleaner, for example, click Tools,
then Duplicate Finder to run a scan.
There are also several free duplicate
nders available, such as Duplicate
Files Finder (www.snipca.com/24418).
However, deleting duplicate les can
be risky, whether you do so manually,
or use an automatic tool. You might
accidentally delete important system les,
you want to remove was
installed. Click this, then click
Scan for aected programs
youll see a list of other programs
that will be removed or restored
as a result of restoring your PC to
this point. Make a note of these
so that you can reinstall or
remove as required once the
restore process is complete.
As a last resort, you could
consider restoring from a system
image backup made before the
program was installed (if you Good uninstaller tools, like Wise Program Uninstaller,
also clean up leftover files after removing a program
mind that doing this will also
return all your les to the state
they were when you made the backup.
One way around this would be to make a
separate backup of your les
as they currently are, then
restore these after you restore
your system image, but the
process is a hassle and best
avoided, if possible.
What if a program I
uninstall leaves les
behind?
Sadly, far too many programs
leave clutter in their wake
when you uninstall them.
Most of this is harmless, but
its messy and takes up space. point before any uninstallation.
for example, or backup copies of your
personal les.
No matter how you discover duplicates
we suggest you take great care when
removing them. Never remove anything
you dont recognise and consider moving
any duplicate images, documents and so
on to an external drive rather than deleting
them altogether. This will free up space
on your PCs main hard drive, but provide
you with a backup of your suspected
duplicates, should you ever discover that
youve removed something important.
What you shouldnt do is manually delete
les and folders you nd in your Program
Files, Program Data or Windows folders.
Randomly removing les here can cause
other programs and possibly even
Windows itself to become unstable.
Many dedicated uninstaller tools
will prompt you to perform a deep clean
after you carry out any standard
installation, and some appear to work
better than others. IObit Uninstallers
Powerful scan, for example, often missed
registry entries and residual les that
Wise Program Uninstaller was able to
uncover (see screenshot above). Its safe
to carry out a deep clean but, as ever, we
recommend creating a system restore
ON SALE
Weds
5 July
Plus Change the settings that
keep your PC slow
Can you really make
money using Bing & Edge?
Help With Hobbies
Meteorology
Theres so much more to the weather than what the
weatherman says. Mike Plant explains how to keep
an eye on the sky without leaving your house
Turn your phone into a
barometer
If you have a smartphone its probably
tted with a barometer. It helps to correct
inaccuracies in your phones GPS tracking
when youre at any kind of altitude. Most
people dont make use of the barometer
itself because they dont know its there,
but by installing the right app you can
use your phone to monitor atmospheric
pressure.
Android users should try Barometer
Reborn (www.snipca.com/24637) or mu
Tick these boxes to see atmospheric pressure
trends on the mu Barometer Android app
SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Coin collecting
As a keen coin collector, I was eager to
see what programs you might suggest
for cataloguing a collection (Issue 501,
page 57). As it turns out you
recommended OpenNumismat, a
program Id dabbled with in the past
myself. As good as it is, I wanted to
suggest another program: Excel. I
customised a spreadsheet to make it
perfect for my collection and can even
paste images of each coin into it. Even
better, as its an Excel spreadsheet, I can
open it on my friends PCs without any
trouble. Sometimes the easiest
solutions really are the best.
Douglas Cook
Send your own tips covering any of
our past Help With Hobbies pages to
editor@computeractive.co.uk
Barometer (also known as Barometer:
www.snipca.com/24638), while iOS
users should install Barometer &
Altimeter (www.snipca.com/24639).
Dont be disappointed if the apps dont
show you too much information at rst
they can take about three hours before
they display pressure charts and other
data (this will all happen in the bakground
so you can continue using your phone as
normal). To access charts and trends in
mu Barometer, for example, tap the Settings
icon (the cog at the bottom left), then tick
Show pressure graph and Show You can also add overlays of cloud cover,
Altimeter Indicator (see screenshot left).
Record rainfall in an app
Tracking how much rain falls on your
garden or allotment can help if you grow
fruit and vegetables. Free Android app,
Rainlogger (www.snipca.com/ 24640),
lets you keep track of multiple rain
gauges (like this one available for 6 from
Amazon: www.snipca.com/24647) that
you place across your garden. You need to
check on each rain gauge at roughly the
same time each day.
First install the app, choose a unit of
measure, then tap the + icon to start
adding your rain gauges. Add a name (for
example, allotment), then enter the size
of your rain gauge (250mm, for example).
As you place your rain gauge, tap Get
current GPS to add your gauges exact
location. Tap Save, then tap the name of
the gauge to open it.
When the calendar screen opens, tap
the relevant date, use the slider to record
the amount of rainfall and add any notes
in the More information section. To see
graphs of your recorded rainfall, tap the
Settings icon (the three horizontal lines at
the top left), then Charts. iOS users can
use the similar Rain Log app (www.
snipca.com/24644, $2.99 around 2.30).
Where the wind blows
Windys website (www.snipca.com/
24607) and app (Android: www.snipca.
com/24619, iOS: www.snipca.com/
24620) lets you keep track of wind
Click this to access Windys hidden settings
menu to see more information
strength and direction across the world.
temperature, rainfall and so on using the
icons on the right. For even more control,
click the three vertical dots (see
screenshot above) to see a series of sliders
that will let you tweak it.
Scientic cloud gazing
If you want to categorise passing clouds a
little more scientically than the usual
that one looks like a dog, then the
International Cloud Atlas the ocial
site of the World Meteorological
Organization is well worth a visit
(www.wmocloudatlas.org). It has pages
of information on clouds, but if youre
only after the basics youll nd photos of
the recognised cloud types at www.
snipca.com/24603, and youll nd a ow
chart designed to help you correctly
identify any cloud thats overhead at
www.snipca.com/24602.
Where is it snowing now?
We might be in the midst of a British
summer, but its still snowing somewhere.
Snow-Forecast.coms maps (www.snipca.
com/24609) let you see where it will
snow in the next week. Snowfall is
indicated by colour gradients, starting
with green (1-10cm) and progressing
through orange, cyan, purple, yellow and
red (150-250cm). Click any map to
enlarge it. Some maps are covered by live
camera feeds. To see if any are available,
click the Webcams link at the bottom of
each map, then click the icons that
appear on the map to see footage.
21 June 4 July 2017 57
 BANISH
Microsofts
adverts from
Windows 10
Windows 10 is rife with adverts, suggestions and nags intent on selling you
Microsoft products. Mike Plant explains what you need to do to switch them off
Y
oull recognise the screenshot
below as Windows 10s Start
menu. To be exact, its the
untouched, mint condition Start
menu that greets you when you reset
Windows 10 using the Reset this PC tool
(see Issue 498, page 58, for more on that).
Now take a closer look: how many
adverts can you see? Well give you a clue,
there are more adverts than you have
ngers on one hand no make that two
hands we counted 13 in total.
And thats just the tip of the iceberg.
Microsoft subjects you to all kinds of
promotional material as you use
Windows 10. Keep reading and well tell
you how to stop all of Windows 10s
adverts starting with those in the
Start menu.
The Start menu comes riddled with adverts that look like
standard tiles
58 21 June 4 July 2017
Disable every Start
menu advert
Look at the screenshot below left and
youll see the Start menu is indeed a rife
with sponsored content. Weve ringed
two obvious examples the advert for the
game Dead Rising 4 available on the
Microsoft Store app and the orange Get
Oce tile just above it but others are
more subtle.
The Skype Preview app, for example,
isnt the full Skype app (which you can
get from www.snipca.com/24539).
Instead its a beta version thats not fully
developed. The ve games in the Play
section (after the Solitaire app) arent Stopping app suggestions reduces the
apps you have installed on your PC, but number of adverts and tidies your Start menu
adverts that take you to the Windows 10
Store if you click them. could be any app) is dierent again.
The Phototastic tile (to the Right-click the tile, click More, then
left of Get Oce) also directs Turn Live Tile o.
you to the Store, as does the
Keeper Password Manager tile Remove suggested
(the padlock at the bottom Start menu apps
right of the Explore section) Another irritating intervention on your
and the Facebook, Twitter and Start menu are app suggestions, which
MSN News tiles. appear in the Suggested section of your
Fortunately, getting rid of Start menu (see screenshot above). The
tiles that take you to the way to stop these nuisances is to hide the
Windows Store is pretty Suggested section entirely.
straightforward. Right-click To do that, right-click the suggested
each in turn and select Unpin app in the list, click Turn o all
from Start. The Skype Preview suggestions, then in the window that
app is a little dierent. For this appears, switch o the Occasionally
you need to right-click it, click show suggestions in Start slider.
Uninstall, then Uninstall again.
Removing the advert from Avoid lock screen adverts
the Windows Store app (Dead Theres a good chance that the last time
Rising 4 in our example, but it you logged on to your PC you saw an

Disable Windows spotlight to stop adverts on
your lock screen for Microsoft products
advert. They sit on the Windows 10 lock
screen and try to og you Microsofts
apps and programs (see screenshot
above). However, some adverts completely
takeover the lock screen. The most famous
example was an advert for a Tomb Raider
computer game that took you directly to
its listing on the Windows Store.
To block these adverts, you need to
change your lock-screen type from
Windows spotlight to Picture. To do
this, click Start, Settings, Personalization,
Lock screen (on the left), then select
Picture from the Background dropdown
menu. Choose an image (click Browse to
select one of your own), then move the
Get fun facts... slider to O.
If you want to continue using
Windows spotlight, you can control the
image shown while on the lock screen.
Simply click the Like what you see? link
in the top-right corner, then Not a fan.
This wont prevent adverts from appearing,
but will let you dismiss them when they do.
Tame taskbar pop-ups
Keen to increase the take-up rate of its
Edge browser, Microsoft bombards you
with pop-ups on the taskbar urging you
to give it a go. If youre tired of seeing
Learn more with Microsoft Edge
notications, for example, you can
stop them.
Stop Microsoft promoting its Edge browser and
other features by turning these sliders off
BLOCK NEW FILE EXPLORER ADVERTS
With its recent Windows 10 Creators
Update (see our Cover Feature in Issue
501), Microsoft managed to smuggle in a
new advertising method buried within
File Explorer.
These adverts only appear from time
to time, but when they do they typically
take up the top third of the File Explorer
window. So far theyve been used to steer
people towards OneDrive (Microsofts
Click Start, Settings, System,
Notications & actions, scroll down
to the Notications section, then switch
o the Get tips, tricks and suggestions
as you use Windows slider (see
screenshot below left). While youre
here, you should also switch o the
slider immediately beneath it to stop
Microsoft bombarding you with
messages about Windows latest features
whenever theres an update.
Stop seeing Oce365 oers
Besides slapping a Get Oce tile on
your Start menu, Microsoft also nags
you with pop-ups that try to sell its
Oce365 subscription package. One way
to stop these is to delete the Get Oce
app altogether. Open the Start menu,
right-click the app, click Uninstall, then
Uninstall again.
However, Get Oce can reappear
following major Windows updates
(such as the Anniversary and Creators
Updates). Therefore, instead of
uninstalling the app entirely, you can
simply banish its nags. To do that, click
Start, Settings, then Notications &
actions. Scroll down to the Get
notications from these senders section
and switch o the Get Oce slider.
If you dont see the Get Oce slider,
it means youve uninstalled the app
already or the app hasnt yet nagged
you with any oers. If the latter is
the case, when the Oce365
pop-ups appear go through the
instructions above.
Banish OneDrive nags
Should you ever ll the free 5GB
space you get with your OneDrive
account, youll soon start seeing
pop-ups advising you to buy extra
space. To stop these notications,
click Start, Settings, System,
Notications & actions, then scroll
down to the Get notications from
online storage service), but theres nothing
to stop Microsoft using the space to sell
just about anything.
To stop these adverts, open File
Explorer, click View, Options, Change
folder and search options, the View tab,
then scroll down through the Advanced
settings and untick the Show sync
provider notications box. Click Apply to
save your changes.
Even Windows Ink displays suggested apps
but you can turn them off
these senders section and switch o the
slider next to OneDrive.
Silence Cortana
Left unchecked, Microsofts digital
personal assistant Cortana is likely to pipe
up with suggestions and Microsoft oers
known as Taskbar tidbits. To disable
these you need to delve into Cortanas
settings. Click the Cortana search bar (its
usually just to right of the Start menu
button), the Settings (cog) icon, then
switch o the Taskbar tidbits slider.
Stop Windows Ink suggestions
Microsofts stylus-supporting tool
Windows Ink might be more suited to use
on a tablet or touchscreen PC, but you
can still use it to draw and jot down notes
on a non-touchscreen PC. To open it,
right-click the taskbar, click Show
Windows Ink Workspace button, then
click the button that appears in the
notications area. Annoyingly, this also
launches adverts for suggested apps (see
screenshot above). To stop seeing these,
click Start, Settings, Devices, Pen &
Windows Ink, then switch o the Show
recommended app suggestions slider.
21 June 4 July 2017 59
 Watch
the world
from your PC
From planes to trains, and eagles to sharks,
the web can be used to track just about
anything in real time. Mike Plant reveals
the best websites and apps to watch
the world go by
A
t the very moment we write
this a great white shark is
patrolling the waters just a few
miles o the coast of Brenton-
on-Sea, South Africa; the International
Space Station (ISS) is directly above the
North Atlantic Ocean (at 6.523, -12.789
to be exact); an East Midlands Train
(registration C81986) has just left
Derby bound for Crewe; and a bald
eagle is having a rest in the Plum Tree
Island National Wildlife Refuge in
Virginia, USA.
How do we know? Because weve
found apps and websites that turn
complex satellite and tracking data into
real-time maps that we can watch on
our PC, tablet and mobile phone
whenever we want. Read on to nd out
how you can track all of the above and
plenty more besides.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
Ocearch shark tracker
www.ocearch.org
Find out if it really is safe to go back in
the water by keeping tabs on sharks
Thankfully for us, at least Carl the great
white shark doesnt leave US waters
60 21 June 4 July 2017
around the world.
Ocearchs website shows a
map of the world with
tracked sharks represented
by a dot (see screenshot
below left). The red dots
indicate sharks that have
recently been tracked,
while the blue dots are
those that havent been
seen for 30 days because
the shark hasnt come near
the surface. Click a dot,
then click Shark prole to Keep tabs on bird migration
patterns using the Animal
nd out the species and Tracker app
gender of the shark, and to
see any available photos. You can also
click the View track button to see an
overlay of the sharks movements on
the map.
WWF polar bear map
www.snipca.com/24563
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) uses
data from radio collars tted to female
polar bears to map their locations
(apparently the collars wont t on males
as their necks are broader than their
heads). Click any of the polar bear icons
on the map to get more information
about that bear, including images and
details of any cubs it has.
Animal Tracker
www.orn.mpg.de/animal_tracker
Ideal for ornithologists, Animal Tracker
lets you follow the migratory routes of
birds around the world, including bald
eagles, black vultures and ospreys (there
are even a couple of ying fox bats
thrown in for good
measure). Download the
Animal Tracker app
(Android or iOS). Once
done, youll see the world
map with numbered icons
on it. Tap any icon to zoom
in and see the individual
birds, then tap one to see
its information and
movement data (see
screenshot). You can also
tap the star icon to mark
it as a favourite so you can
nd it more quickly
next time.
PLANES, TRAINS,
AUTOMOBILES AND SHIPS
Flightradar24
www.ightradar24.com
Flightradar24 lets you identify any
plane ying overhead, or see the air
trac across the entire world. Just go
to the website to see a map displaying
thousands of moving plane icons each
one representing a real aircraft. Click an
aircraft to see its designation, destination,
speed and more youll also see a blue
line indicating its ight path so far. Click
the + and - signs on the right, or use
the scroll wheel on your mouse, to zoom
in and out. You can subscribe for $9.99 a
year (around 7.70) for even more plane
information and to remove the adverts.
There are also Android (www.snipca.
com/24583) and iOS (www.snipca.
com/24584) apps that let you access
the same information on your tablet
and phone.
Raildar
www.raildar.co.uk/radar.html
By plotting live data from the UKs
various train operators on a map, Raildar
pinpoints the exact location of the
locomotives across the countrys rail
network. You wont quite see the trains
move in real-time as with Flightradar24;
instead the map refreshes every few
seconds. Each train is colour coded
according to its operator. Click one to
see its timetable information.
Click any train on Raildar to see its timetable
and news of delays
Tube Map Live
www.snipca.com/24553
For those interested in the London
Underground, the Tube Map Live app for
iOS is a must (sadly the app, or an
equivalent, isnt available on Android). It
shows trains as they move in real-time
and also displays a live ticker-tape feed of
the current status of each line. Pinch the
screen to zoom in and out and tap any
line shown on the ticker tape to hide the
trains on that particular line.
Trac England
www.tracengland.com
You wont see individual cars, but Trac
England does show you a live map of
trac ow across the UKs major roads
based on information provided by
sensors on the roads. Green means the
trac is owing freely, while yellow, red
and black (in order of decreasing trac
ow) indicate slow-moving trac and
jams. A road that displays a chequered
pattern is currently closed.
Vessel Finder
www.vesselnder.com
The nautical equivalent of Flightradar24,
Vessel Finder shows the location of
ships across the seven seas. Zoom out
to see global sea trac and click
individual ships to see information
including a photo, the ships
designation and details of where its
going. You can also get a free Vessel
Finder app for Android (www.snipca.
com/24586) and iOS (www.snipca.
com/24585).
OUTER SPACE
ISS Tracker
www.isstracker.com
Until we started watching the
International Space Station orbit the
earth we hadnt fully appreciated just
how quickly its moving around
17,000mph. ISS Tracker overlays a live
feed of the ISSs location, showing where
on Earth its passing over. You can tweak
the horizon line, the orbital path and the
units (Imperial or Metric) using the tick
boxes at the bottom of the map (see
screenshot below).
ISS Tracker gives a good sense of just how
quickly the space station is moving
The Sky Live
www.snipca.com/24548
This online planetarium shows an
interactive map of space that lets you
monitor planets, asteroids, comets and
space probes. Use your mouse to rotate
the view and zoom in and out using the
slider at the top-right (or the mouse
wheel). To nd a particular type of space
object, click it in the bar along the top
(Comets for example), then click or
search for the objects name. Click the
High Precision Live Sky Chart link (see
screenshot below) to see information of
that objects present, past and future
journey through space.
Earth lets you see overlays
Once you have chosen a space object to keep
an eye on, click this to see its exact location
TRACK YOURSELF
To save yourself
having to text the
person youre on
the way to meet
that youre nearly
there, you can let
them track your
location via Google
Maps instead.
Open Google Maps
on your tablet or
phone, tap the
three horizontal
lines to the left of the search bar, then
tap Share location. Click the contact
icon (top-right see screenshot), then
choose an amount of time you want to
share your location with this person.
Next, tap Select people, select the
relevant contact(s), then tap Share. The
recipient will receive an email with a
link that opens Google Maps with your
location shown in real time.
WEATHER SYSTEMS
Earth weather map
www.snipca.com/24555
Called simply earth, this planet-wide
view displays weather systems, ocean-
surface temperature, ocean waves and
pollution levels. Click and drag the earth
to spin it and use the mouse wheel to
zoom in and out. Click earth at the
bottom-left to change the info displayed.
For example, click Ocean (to the left of
Mode), then Waves (see screenshot
below) to see an overlay of average wave
speed and direction.
rl of weather, ocean
temperature, waves and pollution
UK rainfall
www.snipca.com/24547
The MET Oces UK rainfall radar map
shows rain across the country. Blue areas
indicate light showers, with green,
yellow, orange, red, purple and white
indicating ever heavier rainfall. Click the
play button at the maps base to watch
the last few hours of rain.
See Help with Hobbies, page 57, for more
meteorological tips
21 June 4 July 2017 61
 Problems Solved
PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Can I still use
dial-up internet?
Were retiring to a green and
Q pleasant part of this country.
Broadband is coming to our
remote region but not until the end of
the year. Obviously, I need a way to
connect in the meantime. I thought a
mobile broadband dongle might do but
scouting trips suggest that the signal is
patchy so theres no guarantee well
get a connection that way. It occurred
to me that I still have my old 56Kbps
modem somewhere, last used over a
decade ago. Would it be possible to use
this for a basic online connection?
Would it work with my Windows 10
PC? If so, how would I go about it?
Whatever happened to the dial-up
panel in Windows? I really dont know
where to begin, or even if its
worthwhile but I only need an email
link, so perhaps dial-up would do?
Pat Fuller
Yes, its possible. A 56Kbps
A connection would be painfully
slow but it would suce for
email.
We cant say for certain whether or
not your current modem would work
with your Windows 10 PC. If the
modem is on an expansion card and
you have a desktop PC, open up your
PC, plug the modem into a spare PCI
slot and see what happens. Windows 10
has a load of basic drivers built in, but
its also good at downloading the latest
versions of software where available.
The same is true for an external
modem that connects via USB, so if
thats what your modem is then plug it
in and see what happens. If youve
retained the modems original driver
disc and Windows prompts you for it,
then pop it in and hope for the best.
If your PC wont recognise or work
with the old modem then modern
replacements are reasonably aordable
(such as this 11 model from Amazon
www.snipca.com/24338).
64 21 June 4 July 2017
currently have two PC mice a wireless
Set up a dial-up connection in Windows 10
via the Network & Internet setting
Once you have the modem installed
then youll need to set up a dial-up
connection. Once upon a time this
would have involved a monthly
subscription to an ISP. But today, and
for your purposes, a pay-as-you-go
service such as Freeola (www.freeola.
com) will do the job it charges 2p per
minute for access.
In Windows 10, click Start followed
by the settings cog, then Network &
Internet followed by Dial-up. Next,
click Set up a new connection (see
screenshot), Connect to the Internet,
then Next. Now click Dial-up and then
ll in the form with the connection
details (for Freeola, this means typing
0845 123 2035 in the Dial-up phone
number box and then anything in the
User name and Password boxes). Tick
Remember this password, then click
Create followed by Close.
When youre ready to connect, return
to the Dial-up screen in Network &
internet, click Dial-up Connection
followed by Connect, then Dial.
Finally, wait for those familiar
dial-up screeches and perhaps
prepare to emit some yourself when
youre reminded just how slow this
form of internet is!
Can I use a mouse
with my tablet?
My laptop is out of action so Im
Q having to use an ancient
(second-generation) Nexus 7
tablet. Control is either via very amateur
nger tapping at the on-screen keyboard
together with an unresponsive stylus, or
a Bluetooth keyboard in use for the rst
time. My productivity is currently
severely curtailed, and I really miss not
being able to use a mouse. Is there any
way to use a mouse with my tablet? I
Logitech and very old wired Dell.
David Bensley
You can, and its really easy. All
A you need is whats known as a
USB OTG (on-the-go) cable,
which can be bought very cheaply (99p
from Amazon, for example, from www.
snipca.com/24404, pictured below). Pop
the small (male) end of this into your
Nexus 7 and then slot your mouses
standard USB connector into the OTG
cables (female) socket. No further setup
is required. A mouse pointer should
appear on your tablets screen in just a
few seconds.
Incidentally, were assuming that the
wireless mouse has its own USB wireless-
transmitter dongle. This should work just
as well when plugged into the OTG cable.
However, be warned that your Nexus will
have to power the wireless connection
and this will cause the battery to drain
much quicker whenever youre using the
mouse.
Connect a USB OTG cable like this to control
your tablet using a mouse
Our experts solve all your tech problems
Email us your problem and well try to help: noproblem@computeractive.co.uk

Can I add my Wi-Fi card to my laptops

white list?
I bought an 802.11ac
Q wireless router, and
wanted to update my
HP laptop to make full use of
802.11acs faster speeds. I bought a
replacement Wi-Fi card, which I
tted without problems. However,
when I powered up I got an error
message. This is apparently down to
the BIOS having a white list that
wont allow such upgrades. Is this
correct? If so, am I stuck with the
old card, or is there a way to get around
the white list? The new network card is
an Intel Wireless-AC 7260 (pictured).
Mark Brittain level white lists, though they very rarely
Youre not going to like our
A answer but youve almost
certainly wasted your money.
For better or worse the white list is real, international and local regulations. So,
and implemented by HP at the rmware
level to prevent the installation of parts
not considered to be ocially compatible. necessary legal permissions to use a
The white list applies only to certain
components, but sadly for you this
Make sure you can upgrade your laptops Wi-Fi
card before trying to fit a replacement
includes the Wi-Fi card.
HP is not alone in applying rmware-
aect the most commonly upgraded parts
(meaning the hard drive and memory).
But a Wi-Fi card is a radio transmitter
and HP must adhere to all sorts of
even though its relatively easy to replace
the physical component, getting the
particular part in a particular territory is
a whole dierent ball game.
The only way to get around this
would be to replace the BIOS with a
hacked version that removes the
built-in white list. While this is not
impossible it can be very dicult, and
is also fraught with risk. Getting it
wrong could render your laptop
permanently useless.
In the rst instance wed suggest
checking your laptops manual for a list
of supported (white listed) components.
If that list happens to include an 802.11ac
Wi-Fi card then youre in luck you can
buy and t that part. If you dont have the
manual, you should be able to download
it from www.hp.com.
The only alternative is to ash the
BIOS with a hacked version. For security
reasons alone we wouldnt recommend
this but if youre determined to proceed
visit the forums at www.bios-mods.com.
Search for your exact laptop model and
BIOS version and see what the
community has to say.

Why does Windows break my touchpad?

I have this strange problem.
Q When I switch on my
Windows laptop the built-in
touchpad works right up until I actually
access Windows. What I mean is that
on the Windows login screen I can
move my nger across the touchpad
and the cursor will move, as expected.
However, when Windows properly
launches thats it no more touchpad
control! Its driving me potty. Any
ideas?
Jonathan Willis
Your laptop relies on a basic,
A default driver right up until
Windows has nished
launching. At that point, the touchpads
driver should take over, enabling any
additional features that it might have
such as smartphone-style multitouch
gestures or swipes to scroll through
documents.
The fact that your
touchpad is working
right up until Windows
takes over means that
for whatever reason the
devices own driver has
been disabled. We cant
say how or why this
happened but its easy
enough to switch it
back on.
Click Start, then the
settings cog, then click
Devices followed by
Touchpad. Next, in the
right-hand pane under Re-enable your failed touchpads driver in Mouse Properties
Related settings click
Additional settings. In the Mouse (there should be only one), then click
Properties box that appears, select the Enable (see screenshot) followed by OK.
Device Settings tab, make sure the Your touchpad should work right
touchpad is selected under Devices away but, if not, a restart should x it.

21 June 4 July 2017 65

 Problems Solved
How do I ditch
Windows 10
Photos?
I have been a subscriber to
Q Computeractive for many
years and always found it
very useful. I now need your help
with a specic problem. I am not
happy with the Windows 10 Photos
app, and want instead to be able to
access each photo for editing or
repair using another image-editing
program that I have always used. Can
you please tell me how to do this? At
one time it was easy, but since
Windows 10 everything seems more
dicult to nd.
Paul Bentley
You didnt tell us which
A program you want to use,
but can you rst check its
denitely installed. If not, do so and,
if prompted, allow it to manage all
the le types its able to handle or
at least JPEG, which is the le format
used by most digital photos. Once
thats done, simply double-clicking a
photo le in File Explorer will launch
your preferred image-editing tool.
If this doesnt work, or you had
the other tool installed before
upgrading from Windows 7 or 8.1 to
Windows 10, then you need to tell
the operating system to use that tool
instead of the Photos app. First, press
Windows key+E to launch File
Explorer, then right-click a photo
le, point to Open with, then click
Choose another app.
Next, under the Other options
heading (see screenshot), scroll
through the list of programs to nd
the one you want, click to select, tick
the Always use this box to open
[.jpg] les, then click OK.
Right-click
a photo file,
then click
Choose
another
app for
options to
edit your
image
66 21 June 4 July 2017
Can I speed up random-text creation?
Ive been dabbling with
Q document design using Word
2013. For layout purposes, I
sometimes need to create placeholder
text columns that I ll with dummy
(random) Lorem Ipsum text (see
screenshot below) from the website
www.lipsum.com. This website is very
useful because it generates an exact
number of paragraphs, and I then cut
and paste the results into Word. However,
I wonder if theres a way to automate this
process. Is a macro the answer?
Carl Holland
Lorem Ipsum text is useful as a placeholder
when laying out documents
Do I need all these Nvidia updates?
I recently installed an Nvidia
Q GeForce GT 740 graphics card.
Because of the regularity of
its driver updates I have disabled the
automatic driver update option in
GeForce Experience. The updates all
seem to be associated with optimising it
for the latest video games and are usually
hundreds of megabytes in size. Video
games will never feature on my PC,
although I like to dabble with video
editing. Do I really need these regular
driver updates?
John Reynolds
Uninstall GeForce Experience in Apps & features to stop unnecessary
updates
You dont need a macro. Word
A 2013 actually has its own Lorem
Ipsum text generator, which is
accessed at any time simply by typing
=lorem() within the document and then
pressing Enter. That will create ve
paragraphs of random text. If you want to
specify a specic number, type a number
in the brackets, such as =lorem(7). You
can even specify how many sentences
there are in each paragraph. Typing
=lorem(7,2) (see screenshot below), for
instance, will give you seven paragraphs
of two sentences in length.
Adding numbers to this formula gives you a
specific quantity of Lorem Ipsum paragraphs
Its always sensible to have
A the latest drivers installed.
However, GeForce Experience
itself is really all about ensuring your
system is optimised for specic games.
If youre not playing these games then
these drivers and settings are unlikely
to be of any benet to you so no, you
dont need them.
In fact, you dont need GeForce
Experience either. Its not itself a driver,
but a companion app that both keeps
the cards driver up to date and optimises
the settings for a wide variety of popular
games. If you dont
use anything that it
oers then feel free
to uninstall it.
In Windows 10,
rst click Start,
the settings cog,
followed by Apps.
Now scroll through
the list of installed
apps to nd then
click GeForce
Experience. Finally,
click Uninstall twice
(see screenshot).
Can I dial with voice commands alone?
I have a hands-free device
Q clipped to my cars sun visor
for receiving calls. However, I
cannot make a call without going to
Contacts on my Nexus 5 phone, so cannot
make calls on the move. Could you advise
me whether there is an app that would
dial entries in the Contacts app by using
voice commands? It would have to work
oine as I dont have data as part of my
contract.
John Miller
Your phone can already do this.
A If you have Android 6.0.1
installed, which is the latest and
last edition available for the Nexus 5, then
it should be enabled by default.
The Nexus 5s voice commands are
truly hands-free, so you can dial without
taking even a nger o the wheel. This
makes it legal to use, but not necessarily
safe. Visit Gov.UKs website (www.snipca.
com/24568) to review the law and
government advice on using a mobile
phone when driving.
To use it, say OK Google followed by
Call and then the name of the relevant
contact OK Google call John Smith,
for example. No internet connection is
required for using basic commands
like this. If it doesnt work, rst check
that your phone is up to date. From the
home screen tap Settings, then swipe up
and tap About phone right at the
bottom. Now tap System updates and, if
an update is available, tap Download
followed by Restart & Install. You might
need to repeat this several times to bring Enable voice dialling on your phone by
your phone right up to date. switching this setting on
If voice dialling still doesnt work,
check that the feature is enabled. Return Now tap Ok Google detection [sic],
to Settings but this time tap Language & and slide the From any screen and
input followed by Google voice typing. switch to the On position.

Why am I upside down in Skype?

Why am I upside down when
Q making video calls with Skype?
Several people have tried to
help me correct this, but to no avail.
Can you help?
Julie Bird
This will be because of an
A option in your webcams
driver. These often include a
setting to ip or mirror the image,
because the screens of many laptops
can now be rotated through 180 degrees.
In Skype, click Tools followed by
Options. Now, in the left-hand pane,
click Video settings and then, in the
right-hand pane, click Webcam
settings. The settings panel will depend
on your laptops webcam, but youre
probably looking for a tickbox labelled
Flip: either tick or clear it, as appropriate.
If you cant nd such an option then
you can install a virtual webcam driver
to give you the options you need, and
many more besides. Grab and install the
free version of ManyCam from www.
manycam.com. Wed suggest clearing
the tick from the Add MyStartShield
extension to Google Chrome box when
prompted, because you dont want
or need it.
In ManyCam, select the Video tab
then, under the Flip & Rotate
heading near the bottom, click Flip
vertically. Now switch back to the
Video settings pane in Skype,
open the dropdown menu next to
Select webcam and choose
ManyCam Virtual Webcam.

In ManyCams virtual webcam driver click Flip vertically then select ManyCam in Skypes Video settings

21 June 4 July 2017 67

 Reader Offer

OFFER OF THE FORTNIGHT

Kaspersky Internet
AVG Premium
Security 2017 - on sale now
Security 2014
Were delighted to announce that we are now selling
Kasperskys new 2017 antivirus software - at special
discounts for Computeractive readers

WHATS NEW IN KASPERSKY 2017:

Block junk when installing
software
Stop pop-up adverts appearing
Check for software updates
Use a VPN for public Wi-Fi
hotspots
PLUS: Full support for Windows 10

SINCE WINDOWS 10 LAUNCHED 13,213 COMPUTERACTIVE

READERS HAVE BOUGHT KASPERSKY SOFTWARE
FROM OUR SOFTWARE STORE

One PC for one year NOW ONLY 17.99*

Normally 34.99
Buy it on our Software Store at www.snipca.com/21532

Three PCs for two years NOW ONLY 34.99

Normally 79.99
Buy it on our Software Store at www.snipca.com/21533
* while stocks last

WINNER OF THE PAST EIGHT COMPUTERACTIVE

ANTIVIRUS TESTS

?
? Whats the difference between...
megabits and megabytes?
I switched to Virgin
Q broadband for its 300Mbps
speed. In my chats with Virgin
its sta kept saying megabits per
second, when I always thought it was
megabytes per second. It was then
that I realised I dont actually know the
dierence! I was too embarrassed to
ask Virgin, so will you help me out?
Ive see both megabits and megabytes
mentioned in your magazine.
Sid Haslam
These two terms sound very
A similar but theyre
fundamentally dierent units,
and by an order of magnitude.
Theres history behind why megabits
per second (or Mbps) became the
preferred measurement for broadband
speeds. In the online worlds earliest
days connections were measured in
bits per second (bps), meaning
literally the number of individual bits
of computer data that could be
What are all these thumbs.bd and desktop.ini files?
I am using Windows 10 and Ive
Q recently noticed some small les
appearing in various places
usually called thumbs.bd or desktop.ini.
It seems the les can be deleted without
causing problems, but why have they
suddenly appeared? What are they
for? Can they be stopped?
John Castree
These les are completely
A normal and youll nd
them all over your hard
drive, but only if youve enabled an
option to show system les. Our
guess is that you did that recently,
perhaps in response to some
unrelated advice weve oered.
Theyre created automatically by
Windows, both to save time and to
remember settings. Thumbs.db will
be created in any folder that
contains images and in which youve
viewed those images as thumbnails.
Its a cache le used by Windows to Select this option in the Folder Options settings to
speed up subsequent display of hide thumbnail and desktop information files
Problems Solved
transported across a
line each second. Later,
as speeds improved,
this became thousands
of bits (kilobits) per
second and then
millions megabits.
However, an
individual bit isnt
much use to humans:
its either a one or a Eight megabits are equal to one megabyte
zero. A group of eight
of those ones and zeros represents a
byte. A byte can be used to store an
individual character, such as a letter of
the alphabet. A kilobyte is a thousand
bytes (actually 1,024, but lets keep it
simple), and a megabyte just over a
million of them.
Like most of the industry we use Mbps technologies are all too easily confused,
to denote megabits per second, and
MB/s for megabytes per second. The
latter is generally used when referring to
memory or drive-transfer speeds, as these
devices work much quicker than
those thumbnails. Desktop.ini, on the
other hand, stores specic information
about a folder, such as how and where its
displayed when you open it.
No harm will come of deleting these
les but the operation of the related
broadband. Modern broadband speeds
are actually fast enough to be usefully
measured in MB/s a 300Mbps
connection is 37.5MB/s, for example
but thats just not the convention.
This question is a ne example of
how easily some terminologies and
so weve decided to make a regular
feature of it in Problems Solved.
Want to know the dierence between
technical terms? Email us at noproblem@
computeractive.co.uk.
folders might slow down slightly. Theyll
also be recreated regularly, so its a bit
pointless. There is a registry hack to
prevent the creation of thumbs.db, but
its better to hide system les unless or
until you need to deal with them.
In any folder window, select the View
tab, click Options, then Change folder
and search options. Now, in the Folder
Options box, select the View tab and,
under Advanced settings, choose Dont
show hidden les, folders, or drives (see
screenshot), then click OK.
ON SALE
NEXT ISSUE Weds
July 5
How do I remove words
from Outlook.coms dictionary?
Why is Outlook slowing down
my PC?
Whats wrong with my System
Restore?
...And many more
Subscribe to Computeractive
at getcomputeractive.co.uk
21 June 4 July 2017 69
 Problems Solved

Reader Support
Having a problem with our recommended software or expert tips?
Email editor@computeractive.co.uk and well do our best to help
Can an old Chromecast
cast my desktop?
option to Run as Administrator doesnt
appear. Any suggestions? A The rst thing to ensure when
setting up Mouse without Borders

Q In Issue 503 (page 27), you describe

how to use a Chromecast to use a TV
as a monitor, but I have a rst-generation
Chromecast and the method doesnt
work. Am I correct in assuming that
only the new Chromecast (www.snipca.
com/24595) can stream my PCs desktop
to the TV?
Ron Duncan
Dave Pearce
A We didnt encounter any problems
when installing StExBar, but it
sounds like your PC is struggling to gain
access to its registry, which is necessary
if its to install new programs. Because
the Run as Administrator option isnt
working for you, try logging on to your
PCs Administrator account directly.
(MWB) is that both of your PCs are
connected to the same network. Once
done, open MWB on both PCs. If this
was the rst time you were opening it
you would see the prompt we referred to.
However, because youve already been
trying to use it, were going to assume
that it now opens to its main window
(the one with three tabs at the top
Machine Setup, Other Options and

A The original Chromecast should be

able to cast your PCs desktop in
the same way as the second-generation
version. First, plug your Chromecast into
your TV as normal, then use your TV
remote to select it from your TVs input
options. Next, open Chrome, click the
menu icon (the three vertical dots at the
top right), then click Cast. When the Cast
to box opens, look for the small arrow
just to the right of the Cast to header,
click it, then click Cast desktop (see
screenshot below). Now click the name
of your Chromecast in the box. Click Yes
if a Google Cast Screen Sharing Request
pop-up message appears. Your PCs
desktop should now appear on your TV
screen.
The first-
generation
Chromecast can
cast your PCs
desktop to your
TV but you must
make sure you
select the correct
source
Why wont StExBar install?
Q I tried to install StExBar while
following your Workshop in Issue
503 (page 38), but I keep seeing a
pop-up message that says The system
administrator has set policies to prevent
this installation. Ive seen this message
before and the usual solution is to right-
click the installer, then click Run as
Administrator. This time, however, the
To do this, right-click the Start button,
then click Windows PowerShell (Admin).
Note, if your PC hasnt updated to the
IP Mappings).
In this window (on both PCs), click
Go through the setup experience at the
Creators Update yet, youll need to select bottom right, then click Yes. This will
Command Prompt (Admin) instead. Either make the Lets get started screen appear,
way, next type net user administrator / just as it would have done the rst time
active:yes in the PowerShell box (or copy you opened MWB.
the text from www.pastebin.com/ Its important you set up each PC in
raw/1NPpy9jx), then press Enter. Now turn. So go rst to the PC you consider
restart your PC. On the login screen, your main computer (well refer to this as
select the new Administrator account, PC 1), then click No on the Lets get
which wont require a password. started screen. Youll see an Almost
Try installing the program again. Once done message, and under that youll see
its installed, restart your PC again and a security code and your PCs name (see
log in using your own account, from where PC 1 screenshot below left).
you should be able to access StExBar. Now go to your second computer (PC 2)
and click Yes. Youll now see a screen
Is Mouse without Borders with two empty elds Security code
broken? and Other computers name. Enter the
Q I was eager to try the Mouse without
Borders tool covered in Issue 501
(page 58). I tried to set it up for two PCs,
code and the name of your main
computer into these elds exactly as they
appear on PC 1s screen (it is case
but I didnt see the No prompt you sensitive see PC 2 screenshot below).
referred to when setting it up, meaning I Click Link (beneath the two elds) and
couldnt get a security code. you should be able to control both PCs
Robert Brody with one mouse.
PC 1 PC 2
Enter the security
code and PC name
exactly as they
appear so that
Mouse without
Borders can connect
your PCs

70 21 June 4 July 2017

 Lowering the cost of printing...
We are a small, family owned and run company, specialising in photographic
consumables and proud winners of multiple Good Service Awards.
We are located in Leamington Spa, in the heart of Warwickshire.
If youre passing, please pop into our shop and meet Cooper our office dog!

01926 339977 www.premier-ink.co.uk

Ink Cartridges Photo Papers Albums & Frames

We carry one of the largest ranges of printer ink cartridges We carry a massive range of papers (sheets & rolls) at competitive We now stock a comprehensive range of frames, mounts, albums
in the UK, with cartridges in stock for practically every inkjet prices. Below are some examples of the selection we stock. and accessories. The full range can be viewed on our website,
printer. We always stock Original cartridges, which are made with detailed close-up images of each product to help you
by your printer manufacturer, and in many cases we also choose the perfect way to display your printed photographs.
offer Compatible cartridges, which are usually made by a UK Below is just a tiny sample of what we offer:
company called Jet Tec. Using Jet Tec Compatibles is a way Photo Glossy 160gsm: Smooth Pearl 280gsm:
of saving money, without compromising on the quality of Grace Albums Emilia Frames
6x4 50 sheets +50 FREE 3.99 6x4 100 sheets 12.99 Distressed wood
your prints. Available in
Photo Satin 200gsm: 7x5 100 sheets 18.99 Burgundy shabby chic
Here are the results Jet Tecs colours were superb, with 6x4 100 sheets +100 FREE 9.99 A4 50 sheets 18.99 or Blue. effect.
A4 50 sheets 18.99 Blue or White.
from two independent single greys and blacks very close to A4 20 sheets 6.99
Photo Glossy 200gsm: A3 50 sheets 35.99
ink tests that agree... Epson... so Jet Tec wins! A3+ 25 sheets 28.99
6x4 100 sheets +100 FREE 9.99 Travel
- Total Digital Photography Magazine Albums Rio Frames
A4 20 sheets 6.99 Oyster 271gsm:
6x4 100 sheets 12.99 Over a dozen Handcrafted solid wood with
What were looking at here is not Premium Pearl 270gsm: designs in stock. 30mm wide profile, in four colours.
6x4 50 sheets +50 FREE 6.99 7x5 100 sheets 18.99
only the best choice of ink for the A4 50 sheets 18.99
R300 printer, but also the best choice A4 50 sheets 16.99
A3 25 sheets 22.99
Ink Test of ink in this group test, period.
Theres just no getting away from the
Premium Gloss 270gsm:
6x4 50 sheets OFFER 6.99
A3+ 25 sheets 28.99 Grafton
Winner superb combination of performance A3 25 sheets OFFER 15.99 Gloss 271gsm:
6x4 100 sheets 12.99
Albums
Available in
and pricing. A3+ 25 sheets OFFER 19.99 Burgundy
7x5 100 sheets 18.99
- Computer Upgrade Magazine Smooth Pearl 310gsm: A4 50 sheets 18.99 or Blue. Frisco Frames
6x4 100 sheets 17.99 A3 25 sheets 22.99 Simple, basic design
7x5 100 sheets 21.99 available
A3+ 25 sheets 28.99 in a huge
A4 25 sheets 16.99
A4 100 sheets 47.99 Double Sided Matt 250gsm: Baby range of
A4 250 sheets 99.99 A4 100 sheets 24.99 Albums sizes &
A3 50 sheets 27.99 Multiple colours.
PGi29 No.16 A3 25 sheets 31.99 different
Pixma Pro 1 Fountain Pen Inks A3+ 25 sheets 43.99 designs
Originals: Originals: Smooth Gloss 310gsm: available.
6x4 100 sheets 17.99 Plastic Bevel, Glass Front:
Set of 12 249.99 No.16 Set of 4 28.99 7x5 100 sheets 21.99 Premium Gloss 255gsm: Frisco 6x4 seven colours 1.99
Colours 36ml each 21.99 No.16 Black 5.4ml 8.99 Memo Style Albums: Frisco 7x5 seven colours 2.29
A4 25 sheets 16.99 6x4 40 sheets +40 FREE 10.99 Grace 6x4 100 photos 5.99
No.16 Colours 3.1ml each 6.99 A4 100 sheets 47.99 7x5 30 sheets 10.99 Frisco 8x6 seven colours 2.79
PGi72 No.16XL Set of 4 53.99 A3 25 sheets 31.99 A4 15 sheets +15 FREE 10.99
Grace 6x4 200 photos 9.99 Frisco 9x6 seven colours 3.49
Pixma Pro 10 No.16XL Black 12.9ml 15.99 Grace 6x4 300 photos 14.99 Frisco 10x8 seven colours 3.79
A3+ 25 sheets 43.99 A3 20 sheets 38.99 Grace 7x5 100 photos 7.99
Originals: No.16XL Colours 6.5ml each 12.99 Premium Matt Duo 200 gsm: A3+ 20 sheets OFFER 25.99 Frisco 12x8 seven colours 4.59
Grace 7x5 200 photos 13.99 Frisco A4 seven colours 3.99
Set of 10 99.99 Compatibles: A4 50 sheets 14.99 Ultra Gloss 300gsm: Grace A4 100 photos 15.99
Colours 14ml each 10.99 No.16 Set of 4 14.99 6x4 50 sheets 13.99 Frisco A3 seven colours 8.99
Heavy Duo Matt 310gsm: Grafton 6x4 200 photos 9.99 Wood Bevel, Glass Front:
No.16 Black 12ml 3.99 A4 50 sheets 18.99 7x5 50 sheets 14.99 Grafton 7x5 200 photos 13.99
CLi42 No.16 Colours 12ml each 3.99 A4 15 sheets 15.99 Baby 6x4 200 photos 9.99
Emilia 6x4 two colours 4.99
Emilia 7x5 two colours 5.99
Pixma Pro 100 Premium Semi-Gloss 251gsm: Travel 6x4 200 photos 8.99
Originals: No.18 6x4 50 sheets 8.99 Traditional Style Albums:
Emilia 8x6 two colours 6.99
Emilia 10x8 two colours 7.99
Set of 8 83.99 Daisy Inks PP-201 Plus Glossy II 275gsm:
A4 20 sheets 15.99 Grace 29x32cm 100 pages 14.99 Emilia 12x8 two colours 8.99
Colours 13ml each 10.99 Originals: A3 20 sheets 39.99 Grafton 29x32cm 100 pgs 14.99
6x4 50 sheets 9.99 A3+ 20 sheets OFFER 25.99 Rio 6x4 four colours 5.99
No.18 Set of 4 30.99 7x5 20 sheets 11.99 Baby 29x32cm 100 pages 12.99 Rio 7x5 four colours 6.99
CLi8 No.18 Black 5.2ml 8.99 A4 20 sheets 11.99 Archival Matte 192gsm: Accessories: Rio 8x6 four colours 7.99
Pixma Pro 9000 No.18 Colours 3.3ml each 7.49 A3 20 sheets 27.99 A4 50 sheets 16.99 Photo Corners Pack of 250 2.99 Rio 10x8 four colours 8.99
No.18XL Set of 4 54.99 A3+ 20 sheets 36.99 A3 50 sheets 36.99 Photo Stickers Pack of 500 1.99 Rio 12x8 four colours 9.99
Originals: No.18XL Black 11.5ml 16.99 A3+ 50 sheets 52.99
Set of 8 83.99 No.18XL Colours 6.6ml each 12.99 SG-201 Semi-Gloss 260gsm:
Colours 14ml each 10.99 6x4 50 sheets 10.99 Heavyweight Matte 167gsm:
Compatibles: A4 20 sheets 11.99 A4 50 sheets 12.99
Compatibles: No.18 Set of 4 14.99 A3 50 sheets 32.99
Set of 8 27.99 No.18 Black 12ml A3 20 sheets 27.99
3.99 A3+ 20 sheets 44.99 A3+ 50 sheets 46.99
Colours 14ml each 3.99 No.18 Colours 12ml each 3.99
PGi9 No.24 USB Pen Drives
Pixma Pro 9500
Originals:
Elephant Inks More Ink Cartridges... 8GB: 3.29 16GB: 4.49
Originals:
Set of 10 107.99 No.24 Set of 6 52.99 32GB: 7.99
Colours 14ml each 10.99 No.24 Colours 4.6ml each 8.99
Compatibles: No.24XL Set of 6 87.99
Set of 10 44.99 No.24XL Colours 8.7ml each 14.99 T0711-T0714 Originals:
Colours 14ml each 4.99 Compatibles:
No.24 Set of 6 22.99
Cheetah Inks
Originals:
No.300 Black 4ml
No.300 Colour 4ml
12.99
14.99 Memory Batteries
More Canon Inks... No.301 Black 3ml 10.99
No.24 Black 7ml 3.99 Set of 4 42.99 No.301 Colour 3ml 13.49 SDHC & SDXC BP-511 for Canon 12.99
Originals: No.24 Colours 7ml each 3.99 Black 7.4ml 10.99 No.302 Black 3.5ml 10.99 Sandisk Blue LP-E6 for Canon 16.99
PGi520/CLi521 Set of 5 49.99 Colours 5.5ml each 10.99 No.302 Colour 4ml 12.99 33X (5MB/s) LP-E8 for Canon 12.99
PGi520 Black 19ml 11.99 No.26 Compatibles: No.350 Black 4.5ml 14.99 8GB 3.49 LP-E12 for Canon 12.99
CLi521 Colours 9ml 10.29 Polar Bear Inks Set of 4 14.99 No.351 Colour 3.5ml 17.99 16GB 4.99 EN-EL3E for Nikon 14.99
PGi525/CLi526 Set of 5 49.99 Black 7.4ml 3.99 No.363 Black 6ml 17.99 32GB 9.99
PGi525 Black 19ml 11.99 Originals: NB-2L/LH for Canon 9.99
Colours 5.5ml each 3.99 No.363 C/M/Y/PC/PM each 11.49 NB-6L for Canon 9.99
CLi526 Colours 9ml 10.29 No.26 Set of 4 35.99
No.363 SET OF 6 49.99
Sandisk Ultra
PGi550/CLi551 Set of 5 43.99 No.26 Black 6.2ml 9.99
T0791-T0796 No.364 Black 6ml 8.99
266X (40MB/s) NB-10L for Canon 12.99
PGi550 Black 15ml 10.99 No.26 Colours 4.5ml each 8.99 8GB 5.99 NP95 for Fuji 9.99
Owl Inks No.364 PB/C/M/Y 3ml each 7.99
CLi551 Colours 7ml 8.99 No.26XL Set of 4 63.99
No.364 SET OF 4 26.99
16GB 6.99 NPW126 for Fuji 12.99
No.26XL Black 12.1ml 16.99
PGi550/CLi551XL Set of 5 59.99 No.26XL Colours 9.7ml each 15.99 Originals: 32GB 11.99
No.364XL Black 14ml 15.99 64GB 21.99 EN-EL3e for Nikon 14.99
PGi550XL Black 22ml 12.99 Set of 6 88.99 No.364XL PB/C/M/Y 6ml each 15.99 EN-EL14 for Nikon 19.99
CLi551XL Colours 11ml 11.99 Compatibles: Colours 11.1ml each 14.99 No.364XL SET OF 4 59.99 Sandisk Extreme
PG540 Black 8ml 12.99 No.26 Set of 4 14.99 EN-EL15 for Nikon 24.99
Compatibles: No.920XL SET OF 4 51.99 600X (90MB/s)
PG540XL Black 21ml 19.99 No.26 Black 10ml 3.99
Set of 6 19.99 BLN-1 for Olympus 24.99
No.26 Colours 7ml each 3.99 No.932XL SET OF 4 50.99 16GB 9.99 BLC12 for Panasonic 23.99
CL541 Colour 8ml 16.99 Colours 11.1ml each 3.99 No.950XL SET OF 4 79.99 32GB 14.99
CL541XL Colour 15ml 19.99 64GB 27.99 FW50 for Sony 24.99
PG545XL Black 15ml 15.49 T0481-T0486 T0801-T0806 Compatibles: BX-1 for Sony 14.99
CL546XL Colour 13ml 16.99 Seahorse Inks No.15 Black 46ml 3.99 AA 1300mAh (4) 3.99
Hummingbird Inks No.21 Black 10ml 6.99 Compact Flash
Compatibles: Originals: Originals: No.22 Colour 21ml 11.99 Sandisk Ultra AAA 1100mAh (4) 3.99
PGi5 Black 27ml 4.99 Set of 6 89.99 Set of 6 67.99 No.45 Black 45ml 6.99 333X (50MB/s)
CLi8 Colours 13ml 3.99 Colours 13ml each 18.99 Colours 7.4ml each 11.49 No.56 Black 24ml 6.99 8GB 11.99
PGi5/CLi8 Set of 5
PGi520 Black 19ml
CLi521 Colours 9ml
19.99 Compatibles:
4.99 Set of 6
3.99 Colours 13ml each
19.99
Compatibles:
Set of 6 19.99
No.57 Colour 24ml
No.62XL Black 12ml
11.99
14.99
16GB
32GB
15.99
24.99
Filters
3.99 Colours 7.4ml each 3.99 No.62XL Colour 12ml 15.99 Screw-type Filters
PGi520/CLi521 Set of 5 19.99 No.78 Colour 36ml 8.99 Sandisk Extreme
PGi525 Black 19ml 4.99 T0541-T0549 800X (120MB/s) 46mm UV / Haze 4.99
CLi526 Colours 9ml 3.99 T0871-T0879 No.110 Colour 12ml 9.99 16GB 26.99 49mm UV / Haze 4.99
PGi525/CLi526 Set of 5 19.99 Frog Inks
No.300XL Black 18ml 12.99
Flamingo Inks No.300XL Colour 18ml 13.99
32GB 32.99 52mm UV / Haze 4.99
PGi550XL Black 25ml 4.99 Originals: Originals: 64GB 47.99 55mm UV / Haze 5.99
No.301XL Black 15ml 12.99 58mm UV / Haze 6.99
CLi551XL Colours 12ml 3.99 Set of 8 112.99 Set of 8 76.99 No.301XL Colour 18ml 13.99
128GB 94.99
PGi550/CLi551XL Set of 5 19.99 Colours 13ml each 14.99 Colours 11.4ml each 9.99 No.337 Black 21ml 9.99
62mm UV / Haze 7.99
BCi6 Colours 15ml 2.99 Compatibles: Compatibles: No.338 Black 21ml 10.99 MicroSDHC & SDXC 67mm UV / Haze 8.99
PG40 Black 28ml 12.99 Set of 8 27.99 Set of 8 27.99 Sandisk Ultra 72mm UV / Haze 8.99
No.339 Black 34ml 11.99 77mm UV / Haze 11.99
CL41 Colour 24ml 16.99 Colours 13ml each 3.99 Colours 11.4ml each 3.99 No.343 Colour 21ml 11.99 320X (48MB/s)
PG50 Black 28ml 12.99 16GB 6.99 Skylight Filters from: 6.99
No.344 Colour 21ml 12.99
CL51 Colour 24ml 14.99 T0591-T0599 T0961-T0969 No.350XL Black 30ml 13.99 32GB 12.99 Circular Polarising Filters from: 14.99
PG510 Black 11ml 13.99 Lily Inks 64GB 24.99 ND4 and ND8 Filters from: 11.99
CL511 Colour 11ml 15.99 Husky Inks No.351XL Colour 20ml 15.99
No.363 SET OF 6 19.99 P-Type Square Filters
PG512 Black 18ml 13.99 Originals: Originals:
CL513 Colour 15ml 15.99 Set of 8 102.99 Set of 8 78.99 No.364 Black 10ml 3.79 Readers & Cases 49-82mm Adapter Rings 4.99
No.364 Colours 5ml each 3.29 Delkin USB2 Card Reader 9.99
PG540XL Black 21ml 13.99 Colours 13ml each 12.99 Colours 11.4ml each 9.99
No.364 SET OF 4 12.99
Filter Holder 5.99
CL541XL Colour 15ml 14.99 Compatibles: Compatibles: Delkin USB3 Card Reader 19.99 ND2 Filter 12.99
No.364XL Black 18ml 4.99 Delkin SD Card (x8) Case 6.99 ND2 Grad Filter 13.99
PG545XL Black 15ml 11.99 Set of 8 27.99 Set of 8 27.99 No.364XL Colours 11ml each 4.29
PG546XL Black 21ml 12.99 Colours 13ml each 3.99 Colours 11.4ml each 3.99 Delkin CF Card (x4) Case 6.99 ND4 Filter 12.99
No.364XL SET OF 4 16.99 ND4 Grad Filter 13.99
Many more in stock! More Epson inks >>> Many more in stock! Many more in stock!

E&EO. Prices may be subject to change, but hopefully not! www.premier-ink.co.uk Telephone: 01926 339977 or 0800 1077 211 Premier Ink & Photographic 12 Longfield Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV31 1XB
 Broadband Deals
Call FREE on 0800 542 4709 to switch your broadband today
Monthly Contract Broadband First-year
Provider Package Name Allowance Cost*
Price Length Speed
CHEAPEST
28.99 12 17Mbps
1 Sky: Broadband (18.99 for months max speed unlimited 227.88
12 months)

2 TalkTalk: Broadband
25.50
(20.00 for
12
months
17Mbps
max speed

unlimited 240.00
12 months)

28.50 18 17Mbps
3 EE: Broadband (21.00 for months max speed unlimited 252.00
18 months) *

40.00 12 100Mbps
4 Virgin: Broadband (32.00 for
12 months)
months max speed unlimited
*
384.00

Terms & Conditions apply - see ISP sites for details

* Fair-usage or restriction policy applies.
Broadband Genies helpline
Data supplied by www.broadbandgenie.co.uk. Correct as of 06/06/2017 is powered by Simplify
Digital, the Ofcom-
accredited switching service

In the next issue of our sister title

Web User...
YOUR HACK-PROOF GUIDE TO ENCRYPTION
How to keep all your les 100-per-cent private

UPDATE SOFTWARE FASTER

Dont use dangerous, out-of-date programs

SHARE FILES WITHOUT EMAIL

Fastest way to send videos and photos
PLUS
500 PC GROUP TEST
Speedy computers that wont
break the bank

NEW!

Buy the Web User 2016

Next issue on sale Weds 28 June
Back Issue CD on Amazon at Subscribe to Web User at http://subscribe.webuser.co.uk
72 5 - 18 August 2015
www.snipca.com/23280
Jargon Buster
3G/4G A set of technologies that
delivers faster mobile broadband.
4K Video with a resolution of at
least 3840x2160 pixels.
720p A resolution of high-
denition video: 1280x720 pixels.
802.11ac A standard for wireless
networks that allows for higher
transfer speeds than 802.11n.
802.11n A standard for wireless
networks that allows for high
transfer speeds.
ADSL2 A newer, faster type of
ADSL broadband.
Benchmarking Comparing
software and products with an
accepted standard.
Beta A version of software thats
being tested.
BIOS Basic Input-Output System.
Essential software that connects a
PCs vital components.
Blue light Light given o by PC
and phone screens.
Browser hijackers Programs that
change your default browser, its
homepage and search engine.
Cache A temporary space for
storing information.
Cast To send content from your
PC, tablet or phone to a TV.
Crowdsourcing Obtaining ideas,
information or money from a large
group of people, usually online.
DirectX A Microsoft technology
required to run many games in
Windows.
DisplayPort A new socket for
connecting monitors thats still
relatively rare.
Driver A le that tells Windows how
to work with a connected device.
Dual band A mobile phone that
can work at two radio frequencies.
DVI Digital Visual Interface. A type
of display connector.
EPUB A le format used by many
popular ebook readers.
Bust more jargon in our A-Z book: www.snipca.com/21616
eMMC Flash storage commonly
found in cheap laptops and tablets.
Its slower than a solid-state drive.
Expansion card A card that can
be tted inside a desktop PC to
add extra functions or sockets.
Extension A program that adds
extra features to your browser.
Firmware Basic software stored
on a device, such as a music player,
to control its operation.
Frame rate The number of still
images, or frames, shown per
second to create a moving image.
GHz Gigahertz. A measure of
how many instructions a chip can
process per second.
Gigabit Ethernet A very fast
networking standard that can
transfer data at up to 1,000Mbps.
Graphics card A component in a
computer that produces the image
shown on the monitor.
HDMI High-denition media
interface. A type of connection that
transmits high-denition video and
audio signals.
Hotspot A public area covered by
a Wi-Fi network that allows you to
access the internet.
HTML Hypertext Markup
Language. The language used to
write most web pages.
IMAP Internet Message Access
Protocol. A method for email that
lets the user manage messages
stored on a remote server.
IP68 International Protection
marking. IP68 means a device is
resistant to dust, dirt and sand, and
can be placed underwater for 30
minutes at depths of up to 1.5m.
IPS A screen technology. Monitors
that use it have wider viewing
angles and better, more accurate-
looking colours.
JPEG Joint Photograph Experts
Group. A common type of image
le created by digital cameras.
LCD Liquid crystal display. The
technology used to create almost
all atscreen monitors.
LED Light-Emitting Diode. An
electronic device that emits light.
Used on almost all electronic
devices, and to provide the
backlight for some LCDs.
Loops A set musical pattern that
repeats itself.
M.2 A standard specication for
internal PC expansion cards and
connectors.
Macro An automated series of
commands or options that can be
run at any time.
Megapixel A measure of the
amount of detail that can be
recorded by a digital image. A one-
megapixel image is made up of a
million dots (pixels).
MHL Mobile high-denition link. A
technology that lets you connect a
smartphone or tablet to a TV.
MicroSD card A small type of
memory card. Can be converted to
SD size using an adapter.
Mini HDMI Downsized version of
the HDMI cable and connector to
accommodate smaller devices.
Modem A device that allows two
computers to communicate via a
phone line.
MP3 Audio le format.
Open source Software that can
be modied by anyone, rather
than just by the employees of the
company that created it.
Overclocking Making a
processor work faster to improve
performance at the cost of
requiring more power.
PCI slot Peripheral Component
Interconnect. A high-performance
expansion slot for desktop PCs.
Phishing A form of internet
fraud that tries to trick you into
revealing personal details.
Plug-in A small program that
adds extra features to software or
to your web browser.
Product key A unique serial
number that must be typed in by
the user before a program will
launch for the rst time.
PUP Potentially unwanted
program. A program that may
not be desired, despite the user
consenting to it being downloaded.
Roaming charge Fee incurred for
using your phone to receive data
via overseas mobile networks.
SATA III The latest and fastest
version of the SATA interface
for connecting internal storage
devices to a computer.
SD card Secure Digital card. A
popular type of memory card.
Shadow copy The most recent
version of a le as saved by
Windows.
SIM Subscriber Identity Module.
The smart card used by all digital
mobile phones.
sRGB A standard RGB colour
space for use on monitors,
printers and the internet.
SSD Solid-state drive. Storage
that, unlike a hard drive, uses no
moving parts.
System restore point Collection
of system les stored by System
Restore on a given date and time
to which Windows can revert.
USB 2.0/3.0 Faster successors to
USB that are used by devices such
as external hard drives.
USB Type-C A new connector
thats reversible, letting you plug it
in upside down.
VDSL2 Very-high-bit-rate digital
subscriber line 2. Broadband data
tansmission technology capable
of upload and download rates in
excess of 100Mbit/s.
VGA Video Graphics Array. A
standard socket for connecting a
monitor to a computer.
VPN Virtual private network. A
technology for keeping all internet
communication safe and private.
Wi-Fi card A card inserted into
a laptop that makes it work over
Wi-Fi.
Zero-day attack A malware or
security exploit that depends on a
previously unknown software aw.
21 June 4 July 2017 73
 The Final Straw
This issue Ken Rigsby is being swamped by
Windows overload
D
id you hear that theres a new
version of Windows 10 on the way?
Its called Windows 10 S. Microsoft
hasnt revealed if the S stands for
anything in particular but the company
boasts that its streamlined for security
and superior performance. Much of the
marketing is aimed at students, and it
will also come pre-installed on the new
Microsoft Surface laptop.
So, streamlined, secure, superior,
students, Surface. With all that alliteration
I imagine Microsofts marketing folks
looked at each other, shrugged, and quickly
agreed just to stick an S on the end.
A key selling point is that if you use
Windows 10 S then your only source for
new apps will be the Windows Store. You
wont be able to buy or install anything
from anywhere else. Youll also have to
use Microsofts Edge browser, as thats
the default no change will be
countenanced. If you want to Google the
web then youll have to, er, use Bing.
Dont like it? Well, you could always
upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for a few
quid, because Microsoft is oering that as
an option to disgruntled Windows 10 S
buyers. The Pro edition has a few features
that youll probably never use, but at least
you can install whatever programs you
want, such as Chrome. And actually
Google the web using Google.
74 21 June 4 July 2017
Alternatively, forget S and Pro and just
go for Windows 10 Home. Its better than
S, but a bit worse than Pro. But, if youre
buying pre-installed, make sure your PC
manufacturer hasnt installed Windows
10 Home N, because thats a bit worse
than Windows 10 Home (but still a bit
better than Windows 10 S). Or Windows
10 Pro N for that matter, which is a bit
worse than Windows 10 Pro but a bit
better than Windows 10 Home and Home
N. You cant buy an N edition separately
but theres a chance youll end up with it
when you buy a new PC. Whats the N
Henry Ford said car
buyers could have any
colour, as long as its
black Microsoft could
take inspiration
from that
Next issue Ken spreads the message about annoying email inboxes
KEN RIGSBY is
Computeractives Mr Angry
stand for? I imagine Microsofts miserable
marketing folks also had no idea, henceN.
Clear so far? Great! Of course if youre
an enterprising sort and setting up in
business then perhaps Windows 10
Enterprise has caught your eye. Sadly,
thats probably not for you, because its
aimed at companies that want to manage
their own IT aairs. For the same reasons,
you can also write o Windows 10 Mobile
Enterprise and Windows 10 LTSB. Thats
short for Long Term Servicing Branch, in
case you were wondering.
Oh, did I mention Windows 10 Mobile
(without the Enterprise)? Its the
Windows version you need if you want to
use Windows on a tablet or smartphone,
if you can actually nd such a device.
Except in enterprise, where you need
Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise.
Were not done yet. Theres also
Windows 10 IoT for the Internet of
Things, which means a version for any
device that might conceivably connect to
the internet. But make sure you get the
right version of Windows 10 IoT because
theres Windows 10 IoT Core, Windows 10
IoT Enterprise and Windows 10 IoT
Mobile Enterprise. Oh, theres also
Windows 10 IoT Core Pro, which is like
Windows 10 IoT Core but presumably
more professional.
Dont worry, were nearly at the end.
But I must also mention Windows 10
Education! That version obviously has
echoes of Windows 10 S but, for some
reason, no Cortana. So thats a bonus.
Henry Ford once famously said that
customers could have any colour car they
wanted, as long as it was black. Microsoft
could take inspiration from that, scrap
the countless versions and consolidate
them into a single version for everyone
Windows 10 Black. Mind you, considering
Microsofts track record, itd probably
turn out being the Blue Screen edition.
Do Windows versions confuse you?
Let us know at letters@computeractive.co.uk