Table of contents for 690 in Computeractive

Phone companies will soon have to block spam calls that come from abroad but use a UK phone number, Ofcom has said. It wants to crack down on number ‘spoofing’, in which scammers use fake ‘Caller ID’ numbers to pretend to be calling from a legitimate organisation or business. People are more likely to answer a call if they think it’s from someone they trust. The regulator said that evidence shows blocking spoofed numbers will have a “significant impact” on protecting the public from scams. BT already uses a system to block calls and prevents up to one million potential scams a day. Ofcom said its rules don’t require phone companies to block calls from abroad with +447 numbers, to ensure genuine calls from roaming UK callers get through. It…

For the first time ever less than half of UK households have phone landlines, according to Ofcom’s 2024 technology tracker report. It shows that only 47 per cent of homes now have landlines, down from 54 per cent in 2023. In 2020, the figure was 77 per cent, while a decade ago it was 84 per cent. The report also shows a huge difference in phone ownership across age ranges. Eighty per cent of over-65s have a landline, compared with just 16 per cent of under-25s. Landlines have fallen out of fashion over the past 25 years as more people switch to using mobile phones and online video chats. In January 2027, the old copper phone network will be switched off, forcing people to use digital services over the internet.…

There appear to be two ways Microsoft could prevent the global IT meltdown that happened on Friday 19 July from recurring. One is to force all companies to run Windows 3.1 or 95, as Southwest Airlines in the US still does. While other airlines cancelled flights, it carried on because the software it was using was so old that the dodgy update didn’t affect it. That’s obviously a mad, bad and dangerous idea and certainly not a serious one. Microsoft’s more sensible solution is to prevent security companies from accessing Windows’ kernel. This is the ‘brain’ of the operating system that makes sure your hardware and software work together without problems. “Microsoft blamed EU regulation, though it resisted the temptation to say ‘We told you so’” Microsoft tried to block…

There’s nothing flashy about the MSI Prestige 14 AI Evo. It’s been built for Windows work rather than gaming, and is slightly chunkier than our current favourite laptop, the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus (£749 from www.snipca.com/51167 – see page 30), with an extra millimetre in thickness, another 9mm in height (when open), and weighing an additional 100g. “A chunky laptop for Windows work with a long battery life and an array of connections” The increase in height is down to the shape of its 14in screen, which opts for the taller 16:10 aspect ratio that’s more suitable for working on documents, rather than the Inspiron’s 16:9 ratio, which is better for watching widescreen movies and playing games. The Prestige’s 14in screen has a lower resolution – 1900x1200 pixels compared with…

If you’ve bought a lightweight laptop in recent years you might find that it doesn’t have as many ports as you’d like. If so, you should consider a dock that plugs into a USB-C port on your machine and provides a wider range of connections. Ugreen’s Revodok Pro 313 isn’t cheap but it offers a lot for the price, with no less than 13 ports, slots and sockets dotted around its edges. If you make use of them all, it works out at £10 per connection, which seems like money well spent if you tend to attach a lot of devices to your laptop. For that you get two USB-C ports (one is capable of delivering 85W of power to another device), two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort (for connecting…

Smart TVs are becoming increasingly affordable, while simultaneously raising our expectations on picture quality and range of streaming services. However, one area that often remains a letdown is their sound quality. Happily, there are plenty of options available for improving audio on lower-price TVs without breaking the bank. “Good-value speaker combination that boosts the audio of budget TVs” US manufacturer Ultimea’s Nova S50 is pitched as a budget TV speaker combination that can offer ‘cinematic’ audio. And this ultra-slim soundbar and subwoofer certainly packs a punch given its small size and will dramatically improve your TV’s audio output. No matter which connection option you decide to use (and there are plenty), setup is very straightforward. We simply plugged the power cable into the subwoofer, then used its audio cable to…

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to survive without a smartphone. You now need one for everything from parking your car to verifying your identity, plus all the other benefits such as shopping, banking, entertainment, photography, navigation and of course communication. This requirement to have a smartphone leads to many of us becoming trapped by lengthy contracts with mobile networks, which charge you large amounts for using their services and owning the latest device. Sometimes they even maintain those prices after you’ve paid off the cost of the phone. Last December, a lawsuit was filed against the main four UK networks – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – claiming they’d knowingly overcharged customers once their contracts ended (www.snipca.com/51523). Thankfully, you’re no longer obliged to pay a steep monthly fee just to make…

PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT Do I need to change all my passwords after a data breach? Q I received an email from Have I Been Pwned? telling me that my email address had been found in the Telegram Combolists data breach (see www.snipca.com/51410). The compromised data apparently includes email addresses, passwords and usernames, so it seems serious. Changing all the account passwords linked to my email address is no small task. My Norton Password Manager claims it can do this automatically but it rarely works, so I’d have to do it manually. Is there an easier option, such as a password manager that can perform this task? While checking, I realised I have lots of accounts I haven’t used for ages which still hold information about me. Is there an…

Back in the 1980s, my Dad brought home a device he’d clearly bought from a bloke in the pub – a keyring that beeped when he whistled, so he could quickly locate his keys. His pride in this state-of-the-art gadget soon dissipated when my brothers and I kept deliberately setting the thing off every time he left the room, and the beeping nuisance was consigned to the junk drawer. I was reminded of the whistling key finder when I read that Google is expanding its Find My Device network to include Bluetooth trackers you can attach to your keys, bag, wallet and other valuables (www.snipca.com/51462). This is supposed to locate items even when they’re outside your phone’s Bluetooth range, but the network is still rolling out in the UK and…

The makers of popular advert-blocker uBlock Origin have told users to switch to the Lite version after Google said the full version of the extension would stop working in Chrome soon. Raymond Hill, uBlock’s lead developer, was responding to Google warning that the extension “may soon no longer be supported because it doesn’t follow best practices for Chrome extensions” (1 in our screenshot). Below the message, which appears on the Chrome Web Store page for UBlock Origin (www.snipca.com/51605), Google suggests four alternative ad-blockers, one of which is the Lite version 2. You can download it from www.snipca.com/51604. Hill said the reason the full version of uBlock Origin will stop working is because it’s not compatible with Google’s new Manifest V3 standard for extensions, which it introduced with Chrome 127 in…

Search Hearth Tax records Under the Hearth Tax – sometimes called chimney money – introduced by Charles II in 1662, UK citizens had to pay two shillings for every hearth in their home if their rent was more than 20 shillings a year. Payments were collected by the parish constable at Michaelmas (29 September) and on Lady Day (25 March), with only paupers and a few select groups exempt. From 1664, everyone who had more than two hearths had to pay the tax. It was repealed in 1689. For family historians, the hearth tax assessments are the nearest thing to a mini 17th-century census. As well as the name of the householder, they record the number of hearths (or stoves and ovens) in the home, providing a good indication of…

The switches used in mechanical keyboards tend to be taller than those on regular (membrane) alternatives. This makes them significantly thicker, meaning they often require a wrist rest or similar to raise your hands and ensure a comfortable typing position. To counter this, the Logitech G515 Lightspeed TKL uses mechanical switches with a lower profile, meaning the keyboard lies flatter on your desk. The key caps are also flatter than most, and look more like the low square keys you typically find on a laptop, while still retaining that satisfying mechanical response. The keyboard is just 22mm thick from the bottom edge of the case to the top of the keycaps. It can be used wirelessly, either by Bluetooth or with the supplied 2.4GHz USB dongle. Alternatively, you can connect…

LAPTOP Dell Inspiron 14 Plus £1,099 from www.snipca.com/50079 Tested Issue 683 This laptop has the same processor (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H) as our previous favourite (Acer Swift Go 4), but manages to squeeze more speed out of it. It also comes with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD and a 14in 2240x1400-pixel screen. Excellent value overall. ALTERNATIVE Acer Swift Go 14 Still a fast and powerful laptop, with a great 14in screen. £999 from www.snipca.com/49733 ANDROID TABLET Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 £799 from www.snipca.com/50039 Tested Issue 667 With a much brighter screen than our previous favourite – the Galaxy Tab S8 – this is perfect for watching TV. It also has a faster processor, so tasks feel smoother, even with several windows open. £799 will get you the 128GB version. If…

Affinity Photo is a powerful tool for editing and enhancing your photos, and thanks to the release of a new extended trial version you can use its professional-level tools for free for six months – making it a great free alternative to Adobe Photoshop. In this Workshop, we’ve showcased a selection of Affinity Photo’s best toolsthat you won’t find in free image editors. Download your copy from www.snipca.com/51592 – you’ll need to create a free Affinity account (email and password). Choose the MSIX (x64) link, then follow the prompts to install and activate the trial. You can keep all your photos after the trial ends, with no restrictions. 1 STEP We’ll begin with Affinity’s straighten tool. Open your image in the program and click the Crop button 1 on the…

Use Microsoft Forms' excellent new tools Back in Issue 675, we revealed how you can use Microsoft Forms to send a survey to your club members. Since then, Microsoft has added several features that make Forms an even better tool for getting feedback, as we’ll explain. Pre-select common answers If you want to make things easier for club members when responding, you can now provide forms with some answers pre-selected. These are useful when you know most members will provide the same answer. They can still change the answer if they want to, but most will simply leave it as you’ve selected. First, sign into your Microsoft account at https://forms.office.com. Open your finished form, then click the top-right ‘…’ button, followed by ‘Get Pre-filled URL’. Next, switch on ‘Enable pre-filled…

Downloading an unofficial build In June this year, details of a special ‘Government Edition’ of Windows 11 were posted online (www.snipca.com/51534, pictured below). This was claimed to be a cut-down version of the operating system without any of Microsoft’s built-in apps, telemetry or hardware restrictions – and was allegedly designed for use by government agencies. A streamlined Windows 11 that uses less RAM and doesn’t spy on you certainly sounds appealing, but the Government Edition had nothing to do with Microsoft. According to one tech expert, it was actually a fake, “poorly-made hack job” that “mashed together files sourced from Windows Update servers” (www.snipca.com/51536). This pirated version was never made publicly available, but users who managed to download its ISO file via a torrent found it used an unofficial (ie,…

Can I download drivers for old printers? Q In Issue 686 (page 67) you advised Tim Bull to install HP’s Universal Printer Driver package to get his 20-year-old HP LaserJet printer working. My question is – do I download first then connect the printer? Or do I connect the printer, turn it on, and then download? John C Kent A We don’t have an equivalent HP printer to check, but going by HP’s own documentation (www.snipca.com/51085), it seems that the correct installation procedure can vary depending on which printer you’re using, the connection method and more. Make sure you read the instructions carefully before you proceed. For most USB printers, the first thing to do is to download the Universal Printer Driver (UPD) from the link we provided (www.snipca.com/50440), double-click…

Amazon has redesigned Prime Video to make it easier to see what’s included in your package, and what you have to pay extra for. The main change sees the navigation bar move from running down the left side to along the top. Clicking the new Prime section at the top of the screen (see screenshot right) shows content available at no additional cost. This appears alongside sections for Home, Movies, TV Shows, Sports and Live TV. Within the Movies and the TV Shows sections Amazon has added ‘Made for You’ collections which use AI to recommend shows you might like based on what you’ve watched before. Amazon says this will “simplify things by grouping titles tailored to your interests”. There are also sections for channels that you subscribe to within…

YouTube viewers who use advert blockers are seeing 20 seconds of black screens rather than adverts, as the site continues its crackdown on such tools. The black screens appear because YouTube is testing a system of inserting ads directly into videos. Advert blockers find it harder to block these, and resort to showing a black screen instead (pictured). Several users on Reddit reported the change (www.snipca.com/51511), though some said watching a black screen was preferable to adverts. Others said they could avoid the black screen by watching videos when signed out of their account. It appears to be more common if you’re using the uBlock Origin (https://ublockorigin.com) adblocker, which is one of Computeractive’s favourites. Injecting videos with adverts is YouTube’s latest tactic in its “global effort” to prevent people using…

Three men have been arrested for selling Fire TV Sticks that had been illegally hacked to let viewers watch paid-for content such as films and sport for free. The arrests, in Nottingham, Stockton-on-Tees and Widnes, are part of a growing police crackdown across the UK on illegal streaming. The operation saw authorities target 40 groups involved in hacking and distributing TV sticks. All were served cease-and-desist notices by the police and Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT). Experts are now examining hacked sticks and other TV devices seized from the addresses. All three men have since been released while police continue to investigate. FACT boss Kieron Sharp said: “This was a planned disruptive exercise for the month of July, so it’s still ongoing. We see substantial benefits from these types of…

World is too reliant on technology The IT crash that afflicted the world on 19 July is a worrying sign of how reliant we’ve become on technology. What terrifies me is that the problems were caused by a mere faulty update. Imagine how much more devastating it would have been if it had been a cyber-attack. Hostile nations don’t care how much chaos they cause. Authorities should assume the worst and start preparing now. The next IT meltdown could be truly catastrophic. Nigel Vincent Let’s not return to the Dark Ages Computer failures are frustrating and disruptive, but we shouldn’t overreact to the problems by ranting against technology and wishing for a return to the Dark Ages. Given modern society’s dependence on computers, it feels miraculous that nothing like the…

This is the latest in an impressive series of SER mini PCs from Beelink. The most recent we tested was the SER6 Pro (£649 from www.snipca.com/46416, reviewed in Issue 661), which had an older-generation AMD Ryzen 7 7753HS processor, alongside 32GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD. We awarded the SER6 Pro five stars and it remains one of our favourite mini PCs. “A robust design with improved cooling, but it’s hard to upgrade and can’t be mounted” The SER8 boosts the specification, with a more recent AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS chip and a 1TB SSD, though it keeps the same 32GB of RAM. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that upgrade comes with a £200 price increase. For that you get a much sturdier case, with the upper section made from a robust…

The V3 is a very different proposition to the mini PCs we’re used to seeing from the Chinese manufacturer Minisforum. Instead of a small case that has to be plugged into a monitor, this is essentially a Windows tablet that you can use as a laptop if you connect the included keyboard cover. This sits over the 14in screen, protecting it from damage when you’re carrying it around, but otherwise acts as a standard keyboard and prop for the screen (see main image). “A versatile device that’s better than most tablets but lags behind rival laptops” The V3 is built around an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor, along with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. These components ensure an impressive performance level for a tablet. However, it’s outpaced by…

The HP 925 Ergonomic Vertical Mouse aims to improve your experience by turning conventional mouse design on its side. It’s narrow at the top, wide at the bottom, has a curved back to support your palm and a ledge for your thumb along its bottom-left edge, which accommodates a side button. It means your hand is oriented vertically, as if you’re holding a cup, rather than resting horizontally, parallel to your desktop. The two main buttons and scroll wheel sit on the right side, while the three secondary buttons are located on the left. This vertical orientation takes some getting used to, and only works at all if you’re right-handed. However, once you’ve adjusted to the design, it’s very comfortable to use. It’s a hefty device, though, so is best…

What is it? Apple’s first ever online map, arriving nearly 12 years after it launched as an app on iPads and iPhones. It’s still in beta, so might be rough around the edges, but it’s available for everyone to try. Well, almost everyone. Who’s left out? Firefox users – it’s not available on Mozilla’s browser. Also, you won’t be able to access it online on Android devices, nor – surprisingly – on an iPhone. But it works fine on your PC in Brave, Chrome, Edge, Opera and Vivaldi, as well as on your iPad in Safari. Visit https://beta.maps.apple.com, then click ‘Search’ at the top left and type a destination. Alternatively, browse and zoom using your mouse. Is it similar to the iOS version? It looks similar, certainly, but it lacks…

In June, US firm ForecastWatch (https://forecastwatch.com) named Microsoft Start’s weather forecasts as the most accurate in the world. That’s some accolade, beating the likes of the BBC, Met Office and The Weather Channel, but you might be wondering what exactly is Microsoft Start. Microsoft launched it in 2021 (www.snipca.com/51547) as a “personalised news feed”, but it’s grown since then to become the best free app you’re (probably) not using, with enough tools to shame a Swiss army knife. Download it for Android (www.snipca.com/51505) or iPhone/iPad (www.snipca.com/51504), then log in using your Microsoft account. All your interests, any reward points you earn, and your interactions with Copilot will be synchronised across your devices. We agree with ForeastWatch’s assessment that Start’s weather info is great. Here, we’ll reveal the app’s best lesser-known…