Table of contents for 487 in Computeractive

It took me a long time to accept that my previous computer – an XP machine – was ready to be shut down for the final time. I carried on using it for much longer than I should have, and was rightly mocked by my brother, who did his best John Cleese impersonation: “This PC is no more! It has ceased to be! If you hadn’t nailed it to the desk it’d be pushing up the daisies”. The thing is, I knew I could have added years to its life had I performed essential health checks. You can avoid feeling a similar sense of regret by taking the 11-step test in our Cover Feature. It’ll make sure your PC doesn’t join the bleedin’ choir invisible. By the way, thanks…

In Issue 486 (News, page 9), you told us how you managed to get £10 off your broadband bill by haggling with Virgin. That’s an impressive result – the Computeractive office is obviously staffed by expert hagglers. Please allow me to pass on some tips based on my experience of negotiating with Virgin. It happened back in 2013. I knew I had to cut my living costs because I was heading for retirement, so I phoned Virgin more in hope than expectation. I wasn’t very confident the first time, and I think the salesperson detected this. He offered me a puny £2 reduction every month, so I said ‘no thanks’. I waited a week and took some advice from a friend, who said that when haggling you should make your…

BROWSER Firefox 49 www.snipca.com/21911 What you need: Windows 7, 8/8.1 or 10 The new version of Mozilla’s open-source browser impressed us with its security features (see Protect Your Tech, Issue 486). But that’s not the only reason Firefox 49 is worth a look, especially if you find web articles hard to read in some browsers. Reader View, an optional setting that strips away clutter and makes web pages much easier to read, has been part of Firefox since last year. However, it used to be tucked away behind an assault course of configuration settings with catchy names like ‘reader. parse-on-load. enabled’. Now, it’s an icon on the address bar above any text-heavy page. Click it to automatically reload the article on a clean white background, like the BBC News page…

SMART-HOME SPEAKER ❘ £150 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22047 In science fiction, the best artificial intelligences (AI) are disembodied voices that you can hold a conversation with. Deep Thought in The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Samantha (played by Scarlett Johansson) in Her. HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Alright, (spoiler alert!) maybe HAL isn’t the ideal example. But there’s something appealing about getting a computer to do things for you simply by asking. We already have Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google’s… well, whatever the voice thing in Google Now is called. Google’s newly announced Pixel phones have an even smarter AI, known as Google Assistant. Eventually, it’ll become clever enough to give itself a name. But Amazon’s AI is called Alexa, and she lives inside the Echo, a Pringles-tube-sized…

PHONE ❘ £540 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22085 Bear with us here, because this gets confusing. The last high-end smartphone we saw from Sony, the Xperia X (see Issue 478, page 22), was a quality product but lacked exciting innovations. We weren’t the only ones to feel that way, and Sony seems to have got the message: while the pound has fallen since the summer, making many phones more expensive, the suggested retail price of the Xperia X has been reduced from £459 to £399. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have told phone networks or shops, which are currently charging anything from £439 to £500 for it. As if that wasn’t odd enough, Sony also launched a very similar phone with a faster processor, the Xperia X Performance, at the same time. This…

What you need: CCleaner; Any version of Windows (XP to 10) Time required: 40 minutes CCleaner is our favourite PCoptimisation program – and yours too, it seems. Downloaded over a billion times since it launched in 2013, it’s updated every month and works with all Windows versions. Its last update (in September) made it compatible with Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, so you can now use it to clean your Windows 10 PC more thoroughly than ever. We’ll show you how to remove junk, delete duplicate files and uninstall redundant programs and apps to recover valuable storage. STEP 1 You can install the latest version of CCleaner (5.22 – at the time of writing) from www.snipca.com/22045. If you already have the program and have upgraded to the Windows 10 Anniversary…

What you need: Google Allo; Android phone Android 4.1 or later) or iPhone (iOS 9.1 or later) Time required: 15 mins Allo is Google’s free new messaging app (an alternative to expensive texting) and has some great features. For example, you can ask Google Assistant questions (about news, weather etc) and receive answers within the app. Allo offers standard replies that you can tap to send when chatting to someone and provides info that’s relevant to the conversation you’re having (which films are on locally, say). We’re using the Android app (www.snipca.com/22066) for this Workshop, but the iOS app (www.snipca.com/22067) works the same. STEP 1 Open the app, tap Next, then Allow. Now enter your phone number 1 , then tap Next 2 . The app will verify your…

Opera VPN Free Android: www.snipca.com/22124 iOS: www.snipca.com/22125 Following the release of its iOS app earlier this year, Opera VPN is now available for Android. You can ‘virtually’ browse from five countries (including the US, Canada and Germany). All your activity is encrypted to protect you from hackers, and it even has a built-in ad-blocker. Speedify* Free Android: www.snipca.com/22114 iOS: www.snipca.com/22115 Your internet speed will slow down when you move to the limits of your Wi-Fi’s range. This app detects poor Wi-Fi signals, then automatically switches you to your mobile data for a seamless connection. You get 1GB of usage for free, but can earn more data by referring others or shifting to a paid-for plan. Singuler: Duplicate Removal Tool Free Windows Phone: www.snipca.com/22116 By default, this app detects duplicate files…

Expert tips for every program OUTLOOK Create templates for different email types Outlook has a useful tool that lets you create templates for specific types of email, thereby saving you from having to type similar text time and time again. For example, you can create templates for emails congratulating people on special occasions – say, birthdays and anniversaries. Simply create your template then include a standard message that you can then personalise for each recipient. To create a template, click New Email at the top left in Outlook, then enter your subject and your message text (for example, a birthday greeting). Next, click File at the top left of the message window, click Save As, name the file, then click the ‘Save as type’ dropdown menu and select Outlook…

Microsoft is changing the way Outlook.com accounts work. These changes will affect anyone who uses a Microsoft email address. These not only include @outlook.com addresses, but also older ones ending in @hotmail.com, @msn.com, @passport.com and @live.com. Microsoft’s aim is to bring all accounts into line with the new, revamped Outlook.com. I have Outlook, but do I have Outlook.com Outlook.com is a completely separate entity to the Outlook program that comes with some versions of Microsoft Office. Because of this, if you use an Outlook.com account with the Outlook program, you may need to make some changes, which we’ll come on to. One change is that Outlook.com is moving to Microsoft’s Office 365 servers, but this doesn’t mean you’ll need to pay for an Office 365 subscription to continue with it.…

Change default search engine from Bing It came as no surprise when Microsoft made Bing the default search engine in Edge. More irritating still, is how it made sure Bing is the only search engine listed should you try to change Edge’s default. To get around this problem, simply visit the website (in Edge) of the search engine you want as your default – go to www.google.co.uk for Google, for example. This adds that search engine to Edge’s default options. To change the search engine, click More (the three dots at the top right of the browser window), Settings, then scroll down and click ‘View advanced settings’. In the Advanced Settings menu, click ‘Change search engine’, then the search engine you want to use. Finally, click ‘Set as default’ (see…

I’ll cut to the chase: whoever designed my new laptop’s keyboard is a bozo. This irksome individual decided it’d be a brilliant wheeze to put Insert right next to Backspace. That’s a common layout on desktop keyboards, so I’m sure it seemed logical at the time. However, the cramped confines of my laptop afford no physical space between these two keys, meaning I sometimes hit Insert instead of Backspace, then end up typing over stuff I’ve already written. Genius! “Using this keyboard was like trying to ride a clown’s bike, pedalling backwards to go forwards” But this isn’t my new keyboard’s only annoyance: the F11 key’s secondary function puts the machine into Airplane Mode. What does that mean? It means that when I hold down the Function (Fn) key and…

Tell us what’s on your mind Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive Virgin’s £25 ‘loyalty bonus’ after haggle After reading the News article on haggling to avoid Virgin Media’s price rise (Issue 486, page 9), I rang the 0800 customer service number. After a discussion to confirm that my current package was best suited to my requirements, I was offered a reduction from the proposed £69.47 per month to £53 for the first six months of a 12-month contract, followed by six months at £63. I was then offered a better deal - £51 for the first six months of an 18-month contract, followed by the same £63 for the remaining 12 months. Since I have been a satisfied Virgin Media customer for about 15 years, I told the…

Logitech C920 HD Pro £60 from Amazon www.snipca.com/21697 Logitech’s C920 is about the best webcam you can get. It doesn’t rotate (pan), but can be tilted up or down. Its built-in stereo microphone sounds far better than its rivals. Autofocus and exposure are reliable, and unlike some ‘Full HD’ webcams it can actually manage 1080p at a full 30 frames per second. Note that Microsoft’s Anniversary Update completely broke the way Windows 10 worked with many webcams, including this one. The problems have been fixed in later updates. Logitech C525 HD £42 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22042 It’s only 720p, but this is a versatile camera that’s highly adjustable, with full 36-degree rotation, and it folds flat to carry. As well as auto-focusing accurately, it adjusts the image automatically to compensate for…

What you need: Wise Force Deleter; Any Windows version (XP to 10) Time required: 25 minutes At times you’ll come across files you just can’t delete and programs that refuse to be uninstalled. This might be because a file is password-protected or a program is still running in the background. Whatever the reason, the new free program Wise Force Deleter could be the solution. It quickly removes stubborn files and programs that traditional methods struggle to shift. STEP 1 The traditional method of removing a file is to first make sure it’s closed on your PC, then navigate to its location and click to select the file (or files) you want to delete 1 . Now, you can right-click the file(s) and click Delete 2 or simply press the…

AGES 0-5 The Very Hungry Caterpillar* Free www.snipca.com/22117 (Android); £2.49 www.snipca.com/22118 (iOS) This app has simple mini-games that will help your toddlers learn about shapes and colours. Games include matching colours, arranging shapes by size, and dragging and dropping shapes to complete a picture. AGES 6-10 Dan the Man* Free www.snipca.com/22119 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/22120 (iOS) This brilliant retro arcade-style action game is similar to Super Mario. After choosing a character your child needs to complete various levels by jumping over objects, collecting coins and beating the baddies. The aim is to complete all the levels and save a village. AGES 11-16 FIFA Mobile Football* Free www.snipca.com/22121 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/22122 (iOS) This football game contains realistic graphics and tournaments from over 30 worldwide leagues. Review each player’s stats, choose your team…

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

Malwarebytes Premium Format: Windows Website: www.malwarebytes.com Price: £19.95 Free trial period: 14 days Writing for the UK’s best-selling computing magazine I have to shoulder a certain weight of expectation among my family and friends. They will often, for example, ask me why their PC just isn’t as fast as it once was. My typical response is: “Have you run a scan with Malwarebytes?” Thankfully, this usually sorts out their problem. That’s because Malwarebytes is a fantastic tool for weeding out any malware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) that are among the most common causes of a sluggish PC. I usually recommend the free version because it does its job perfectly well, but there is also a Premium version that surely provides better protection still, right? Bells and whistles Actually, the…

WARNING: JUNK AHEAD Junk offender: McAfee WebAdvisor What’s McAfee been up to lately? Hard at work improving its antivirus (AV) suite, McAfee Internet Security? Trouncing criminal masterminds? No, it’s been electing US comedian Amy Schumer the internet’s most dangerous celebrity (www.snipca.com/22073) in a survey to promote its browser extension, WebAdvisor (www.snipca.com/22069). The extension, formerly called SiteAdvisor, is supposed to block malicious downloads of the kind that use poor Amy as bait. But I’ve found it far more trouble than it’s worth. In its 10 years as SiteAdvisor, McAfee’s tool got a reputation for blocking safe sites and dramatically slowing your browser. I couldn’t tell you if WebAdvisor is still guilty of this, because it infuriated me so much I uninstalled it within minutes. WebAdvisor attaches itself to your default browser…

We often hear these days that the large tech companies exploit the loyalty of their customers. So it’s extremely pleasing to read that HP has decided to lift its ban on people using cartridges made by other companies (News, Issue 486, page 8). I think it shows that there’s still a place for ‘people power’ even in this age of multi-billion-dollar companies that seem to make huge profits just so they can derive pleasure in dodging tax. As the owner of an HP printer I emailed the company several times, urging them to change their mind. Several people I know did likewise. And we weren’t the only ones – there was a huge backlash against HP in forums across the web. If there hadn’t been such a negative reaction, do…

EBOOK READER ❘ £190 from Kobo www.snipca.com/22031 By now, everyone knows an ebook reader is a paperback-sized electronic gadget that shows books one page at a time. Hold on, though: paperback-sized? The average ebook reader screen is quite a lot smaller than the average paperback. That means either smaller print or turning pages more often. Kobo says users asked them for a bigger reader – and here it is. The 7.8in screen almost matches an iPad Mini, making Amazon’s 6in Kindle Paperwhite feel tiny. Like the smaller Kobo Glo (see our review, Issue 452), it’s also very sharp (with 300 pixels per inch) and has Kobo’s rendering options, which let you adjust how bold and crisp the text looks, as well as the font size and type. “A big ebook…

A good, but hardly spectacular, budget phone PHONE ❘ £110 from Amazon www.snipca.com/22080 This low-cost phone looks quite similar to LG’s flagship G4, with its oddly shaped face, reminiscent of those ‘personal digital assistant’ (PDA) gadgets we had before smartphones, and the distinctive segmented camera cutout on the back. It also supposedly has a curved screen, but the curve is so subtle you might not notice. The rear panel is definitely bent, rising from a normal phone thickness at the edge to ‘9.95mm’ in the middle (come on LG – just call it a centimetre and have done with it). Despite all this room, the designers still couldn’t quite make the headphone jack fit, so it cuts awkwardly into the chamfer on the top edge. “The battery lasted an excellent…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2015 Back Issue CD: £15 fromwww.snipca.com/21619 LAPTOP Asus ZenBook UX305CA £560 from www.snipca.com/21900 Tested: Issue 475 This metal-cased ‘ultrabook’ looks much more expensive than it is. There’s no touchscreen or 36-degree hinge, just great quality all round and an ultra-sharp display. The M3 processor is adequate for most tasks, though not gaming. ALTERNATIVE Dell Inspiron 15 5000 If you need a full-size Windows 10 laptop with a DVD drive and a desktop PC-level i5 processor, this is a solid choice. £529 from www.snipca.com/21650 DESKTOP PC Palicomp AMD Avenger £500 from www.snipca.com/20927 Tested: Issue 479 AMD’s Athlon X4 880K processor gives this PC solid performance with money left for GTX 960 graphics and a very fast 128GB SSD as well as a 1GB…

What you need: DiskCheckup; All Windows versions (XP to 10) Time required: 45 minutes Hard drives are the engine rooms of our PCs, but we often neglect them. DiskCheckup is a free program that gives you detailed information about your hard drives. We’ll show you how it can help identify faults, run quick health checks for your drives, and find and fix errors before they crash your PC. We’ll also explain how to set notifications warning you of imminent hard-drive crashes, so you can take action to prevent them. STEP 1 To download the program, go to www.snipca.com/21843 and click the green ‘Download now’ button on the right. Open the downloaded setup file, click Run, Yes, then OK, Next, accept the agreement, then keep clicking Next until you need…

ANDROID Retrieve storage and extend your phone’s battery life Over time you’ll notice that your Android phone slows down, you run out of storage space and your battery tends to run down quicker. This is usually because of multiple apps running in the background consuming resources. Super Booster (www.snipca.com/22113) is a free app that lets you close background apps, uninstall unwanted ones and prolong your phone’s battery life. After installing, open the app. The main screen tells you how fast your device is running (see screenshot below left). Tap Memory Boost to see a list of apps running in the background, then tap the Boost icon at the bottom to close them. Now return to the main screen, tap Junk Clean to see the app cache and downloaded files (that…

WINDOWS 7, 8, 10 Stop your PC from falling asleep Whenever you stop using your PC, your screen will automatically go dark after 15 minutes. Leave it another 10 minutes and your PC will switch to Sleep mode. This can be annoying if you’re downloading something or need to see your PC’s screen. Here, we’ll show you how to extend these default periods. First, press the Windows key, type choose when to turn off, then click the first option that appears: ‘Choose when to turn off the screen’ (Windows 8 and 10) or ‘Choose when to turn off display’ (Windows 7). Using the dropdown menus, you can now select the durations of inactivity before your PC’s screen goes dark and before your PC goes to sleep (see screenshot above). Click…

The biggest problem with Microsoft’s Windows Store has always been its meagre amount of content, with big-name programs conspicuously missing. As we reported in Computeractive (see News, Issue 485, page 6), Microsoft is hoping to change all that with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Microsoft’s new Desktop Bridge app (see box below) makes it easier for developers to convert their programs into Windows Store apps. Microsoft is hoping this will mean a better-stocked Store and is promising a better experience for all (see box on page 59). That’s the promise, but are Desktop Bridge apps worth adopting if you already use traditional downloadable software? To find out, we’ve pitted six of the first batch of these new apps against their desktop counterparts. Kodi (Free) Software: www.kodi.tv App: www.snipca.com/22003 As explained on…

How can I speed up my old tablet? Q My 2012-vintage Nexus tablet is getting slower. The screen is less responsive, and often freezes. Battery life is shorter and it seems to drain quicker. It is in good physical condition, and has 24GB of spare storage. Android is up to date. I’ve tried factory resets with little improvement. I am wondering if the culprit is Android, or if the tablet is coming to the end of its life. Is there anything I can do? Barrie Hanson A In Android tablet terms, 2012 years is more or less the beginning of time. Since then Android has got more and more complex, while your device’s hardware remains forever stuck in the past. Future Android updates might result in performance improvements, but the…

1080p Of the common types of HD video, this is the best quality: 1920x1080 pixels. 32bit A measure of how much data a computer can process at once. Most older PCs are 32bit. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. 5GHz Wireless networks working at 5GHz have shorter range, but are less prone to interference. 64bit A technology that processes information in larger chunks. Most modern computers are 64bit. 720p A common resolution of HD video: 1280x720 pixels. 802.11ac A standard for wireless networks that allows for much higher transfer speeds than 802.11n. 802.11n A standard for wireless networks that allows for high transfer speeds. Add-in Tools that can be added to Microsoft Office software. ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A technology that converts a standard phone…