Table of contents for May 2016 in Windows Help & Advice

The latest bit of tech to set the office buzzing this month is HoloLens – Microsoft’s virtual reality headset. We’re really excited to see how Microsoft are going to use it to redefine the way we interact with our PCs. It’s due to be released pretty soon and you can find out more about it on page 11 this issue. Back in the real world, we’ve got a great feature to help you clean up your PC, so it’s as snappy as the day you got it. If you’re in need of a speed boost then turn to page 14 now. Elsewhere, we take a look at the latest laptops from Lenovo and Dell in our Upgrade section, as well as round up six of the best steaming speaker systems.…

Help! I’m in my fifth bathroom and I can’t get a Wi-Fi signal! Obviously, we sympathise. Getting your home’s wireless network up and running is always a nightmare. Routers are fine when you’re within spitting distance of them, but as soon as you go into the next room a hotspot has become a notspot. The only solution, until now, has been to buy a Wi-Fi repeater. So what can I do? Buy some Eeros! Just one will connect to your broadband modem and act like a wireless router. But the real magic comes when you set up more Eeros around your home. They daisy-chain together via powerline networking, giving you Wi-Fi coverage in the most far-flung nooks and crannies of your giant home. But won’t I have to constantly disconnect…

Rather than coming home after a hard day’s work and flicking on the TV, your living room will turn into a cinema auditorium, displaying a film in 3D. When you’ve watched the film, your coffee table will transform into a battleground, with tiny platoons running around your coffee cup. Once the war is won, you’ll be able to video call your friend via Skype – their face projected into mid-air in front of you – to boast of your victory. This is the future of entertainment as envisioned by Microsoft, and it’s dependent on the HoloLens. This headset works a little like a virtual reality headset, with screens for each of your eyes, and head-tracking chips to translate your movements into the virtual world. What makes HoloLens unique is it…

EATING PLENTY OF CARROTS… … has been established as a way to boost your night vision. But Cat’s latest smartphone allows you to see in the dark without having to munch a pile of root veg. The S60 includes a FLIR thermal camera, which picks up the heat signatures of objects. In addition, it is waterproof to 5m, and will withstand drops onto concrete. 16 The number of bodyguards protecting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s house. They work in shifts to ensure the family always feel safe. In addition, the sovereign of social media is rumoured to have spent $30 million buying up all the properties around his $10-million California home. 10 GIGABITS PER SECOND … is the countrywide broadband speed the UK government should aim to achieve by 2030, according…

Whether you’re stuck for inspiration or want to become a master of your Windows computer, our Explore section is the place to come. Each month we pack it with tutorials covering a range of subjects suitable for all levels of expertise. This issue we offer several ways to get organised including sorting and cataloguing your photos, ensuring your files are always backed up, and we show you how to remove pre-installed apps. There’s never been a better time to see how your PC can make your life easier!…

Your guide Ian Evenden says… “Did you know you can use Apple’s cloud software with your Windows PC, and easily transfer files and photos from your iPhone? We show you how!” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Most iPhone users will have been nagged into setting up an iCloud account during the set-up process. As Apple’s cloud storage service, iCloud is often looked on as a rival to Dropbox or Google Drive, but it actually functions differently from both of those systems. Many Apple apps, such as Pages or Numbers, can store their documents in iCloud by default. This is no use to a Windows user, as those apps won’t run on your PC, but…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “My Family Tree is a great tool for building and managing your family tree. Find out how” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 History can be boring without context, and what better context could there be than to place your ancestors at the heart of it? Genealogy is an exciting way to learn about where you came from and reconnect with your family. Family history software is plentiful, but most packages cost money. If you’re dipping your toe into the genealogical waters, then My Family Tree is one of the best free tools you’ll find for recording and managing your family’s rich history. The program offers all the core tools…

Your guide Dan Grabham says… “Learn all about the Action Center – it’s your one stop shop for all system messages, warnings and updates within Windows 7” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Action Center is a feature in Windows 7 that brings together various warnings and pop-up messages and makes them easy to understand and act on. Action Center checks many security and maintenance-related items on your PC, helping you keep it in good order. When I upgraded my PC to Windows 7, Action Center told me about several applications that I needed to upgrade to keep my system secure. It’s extremely useful! Action Center monitors your PC, and when something important changes –…

TIME TAKEN 10 minutes When you install Windows 10, a number of default settings are enabled that gives Microsoft data on how you use your PC. While there is nothing particularly sinister at play here, some cynics might say this is the price we pay for getting a free update. However, it’s easy to change the settings so you can only share the information that you want to – and if you don’t want to share anything, we’ll show you the changes you need to make. It doesn’t take long to tweak Windows 10’s privacy settings, and once you’re done, you can enjoy the new operating system without any worry. GENERAL PRIVACY Click here to see general privacy settings. From here you can change how Windows 10 tracks you for…

You can trust our reviews Our reviewers are 100 per cent independent, with years of experience in the world of computing. Our rigorous testing procedures mean that only genuine, high-quality products are awarded high star ratings. If you see an item of hardware bearing a high score, you can be confident that it is an excellent product. We choose the best products Thousands of new PC products are released every year and choosing between them can be an impossible task. Our experts select only the best hardware and software to feature in this magazine. Even better, our star rating system makes it simple to find the best products, giving you a fast, trustworthy guide. How we review Our expert reviewers guarantee to test every piece of hardware rigorously and thoroughly,…

The internet is a great source for news stories. Most news sites are constantly updated, and it’s easy to search for trends and breaking stories – but there can be a lot of flotsam to sift through if you’re not interested in particular topics. Here we’ll show you how to customise your online news experience so you only see stories that you find engaging. While Twitter may be famous for photos of celebrities’ dinners, the social media site makes a great news source. Visit twitter.com and sign up for an account, then search for subjects that interest you, such as ‘celebrity gossip’,or ‘Gloucester news’ will throw up lots of news posts, and, more importantly, Twitter accounts related to a particular topic. Click on the account, then ‘Follow’, and Twitter will…

Insert, Delete, Home and End Just above the cursor keys on a standard keyboard sits a little island of mysterious and oft-overlooked keys. You’ll also find them on laptop keyboards, but they may be amalgamated with other keys, in which case you have to press the [FN] key to use them. The [Insert] key turns overtyping on or off in certain programs, such as Word, which means text you type will overwrite anything ahead of it. [Delete] removes anything in front of it, unlike [Backspace], which deletes anything behind it. [Home] takes you to the start of a line in a document, or the top of a web page, and [End] takes you to the end or bottom. [Page Up] and [Page Down] are self-explanatory. Take it to the Taskbar…

1 Which piece of tech recently collided with a bus? A. A Johnny Cab B. A drone C. A self-driving car 2 Which game can you use instrument-shaped controllers to play along to music? A. Plectrum Spectrum B. Plastic Guitar Star C. Rock Band 3 What is the USP of Samsung’s Galaxy Edge smartphones? A. They’re endorsed by U2 B. Cats can use them C. The screen curves around the edges of the phone 4 In addition to ‘Like’ what is also a reaction on Facebook? A. Anger B. Massive intolerance C. Burp 5 What is the name of Microsoft’s exclusive racing game series? A. Forza B. Gran Turismo C. Micro Machines 6 Car manufacturer Volvo has unveiled a prototype of a self-emptying what? A. Toilet B. Bin C. Lorry…

1 Scan for problems Open SlimCleaner Free (slimwareutilities.com). Review the ‘Windows’, ‘Applications’, ‘Browsers’ and ‘Advanced’ tabs in the ‘Cleaner’ section for files and settings to clean – the app has pre-selected items, but they need review. 2 Be selective Go through ‘Applications’ – we recommend unticking any you use regularly with settings you rely on. If you’re feeling brave, check ‘Advanced’ for settings to add – roll your mouse over the ‘i’ to find out more about each. 3 Analyze and review Click the ‘Analyze’ button and wait for the scan to finish. When it has, carefully review each entry – double-click to see exactly what files will get cleared. If you find something you’d rather keep, right-click it and choose ‘Ignore’. 4 Clean the files Keep working through the…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Discover new…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Bring order to your chaotic photo collection with Adobe’s free image-cataloguing tool, Bridge” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 These days, it doesn’t take very long to accumulate photos and other images across multiple drives. And getting them organised is no easy task. But, luckily Adobe has come to the rescue. The company known best for its powerful (and pricey) Photoshop product has quietly made its tool for organising and cataloguing your images free to use. The program in question is Adobe Bridge, and it’s packed with handy features and time-saving tools to bring order to your photo collection. Read on to discover how to organise your photos into collections.…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Take regular backups of your entire hard drive with Macrium Reflect Free to avoid disaster” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Drive images are an essential part of your backup plan because they take an exact copy of your entire hard drive – the problem with the Windows Backup tool is that each drive image it takes is a completely new copy of your drive, taking time to complete and eating up precious hard-drive space in the process. Macrium Reflect Free offers a number of advantages over Windows Backup, most notably support for differential backups. These only record the changes made since the last full backup was taken, which not…

Your guide Cat Ellis says… “Make Skype even better with Pamela's powerful recording tools for capturing calls and video” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Skype is an amazing tool, but it's missing a few features – most significantly the ability to record your conversations and video chats. Call recording can be enormously useful for video conferencing, seminars and interviews – any situation where you need to keep a note of what's being said, but want to listen and participate rather than keep your head down and scribble in a notepad. In the UK, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) permits you to record your own communications provided that the recording is for your…

The fake tech support scam is very simple, and tends to hoodwink people who aren’t particularly experienced with computers. If you’ve ever spent unhappy hours trying to get through to tech or telecom firms’ technical support helplines, you’ll know that the idea that they’d have staff automatically monitoring people’s computers to spot and fix problems is pretty funny. Unfortunately the outcome for the people who get conned isn’t funny at all. The person calling you is working to a script, and that script has three sections. First of all, the person will show you the evidence of the infection that’s apparently on your PC. That’s often achieved by getting you to press Windows and [R] to bring up Windows’ Run dialog box, and then typing in ‘eventvwr.exe’. That’s Windows’ Event…

In each issue of Windows Help & Advice we show you how to get to grips with Windows 10, and master the basics. This issue we’re looking to keep you safe online. To start with, we’ll explore the privacy settings built into Windows 10, and show you all the things you need to know to instantly make your PC more secure. After that, we’ll take a look at the new Edge browser that comes with Windows 10, so you can be safe in the knowledge you’re surfing the net using a trustworthy system.…

TIME TAKEN 30 minutes Edge has a number of new features, but while it’s designed differently from other browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, the basic user interface doesn’t stray hugely from accepted browser wisdom in terms of where the controls are. Seasoned Internet Explorer users will also notice the Favourites/History and Download sidebar is familiar, though now with the addition of the Reading List. We assume Microsoft thinks the formula works and it wants to ensure users migrating from IE can take to Edge immediately. As before, you can pin this sidebar so it’s always there, should you so wish. STANDARD CONTROLS Many of Edge’s controls will be familiar, with the forward/back/refresh panel standard from other browsers. The security padlock is also in the same place as…

“MQA is set to revolutionise the high-resolution audio world, opening it up to all levels of listener” KEY FEATURES Pioneer XDP-100R Android OS 5.1.1 (Lollipop) Playable audible format XDSD / DSF / DSD-IFF / FLAC / ALAC /WAV / AIFF / Ogg-Vorbis / MP3 / AAC / MQA (Update) Supported Video Format H.263 / H.264 AVC / H.265 HEVC /MPEG-4 SP / VP8 / VP9 Supported Image Format JPEG / GIF / PNG / BMP / WebP Connectivity 3.5 mm, 3 pole headphone output (Line out mode), Micro USB/OTG output £500 | $700 www.pioneer.eu The Pioneer XDP-100R is set to be one of the first players to take advantage of the new Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) file format set to launch later this year. MQA is the technology that aims…

Google’s news aggregator (news.google.com) does a great job of rounding up the hot topics of the day, and sorting them by subject or location. Using the search bar will present you with news results related to a particular topic, and you can even set up email alerts for whenever a chosen subject hits the headlines. It doesn’t have to be ‘news’ in any traditional sense, too – it could simply be the release of a new album, or an eagerly awaited gadget.…

upvoted.com Reddit has fast become one of the most comprehensive – and controversial – sites on the internet. It covers a potentially unlimited amount of topics, from international politics, to views from toilets around the world. And, thanks to Reddit’s voting system, the most useful and entertaining posts usually float to the top. If there’s a problem with Reddit, it’s that it’s a little too comprehensive for its own good. You can lose hours, if not days, browsing posts on the site, especially when you find a subject that really interests you. This is where Upvoted comes in – it rounds up Reddit’s best content, and displays it in a blog-like fashion. It’s great if you want to experience Reddit without getting drawn into its addictive format – or if…

If your PC has been struggling to perform of late, following the tips in this feature will have a positive effect on performance. It’s amazing how responsive a defragged drive can become, or how nippy Windows feels when the list of programs starting up with it is cut back. Even just cleaning out key areas of your hard drive can make things feel fresher and faster. And while it’s true many of the system tweaks we’ve mentioned may not make a noticeable difference when performed in isolation, add them together and the improvements become easier to spot. But, if we’re honest, there’s no substitute for selected hardware upgrades – try doubling the amount of memory in your computer, for example, or investigate the new breed of super-speedy SSD drives if…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Find out how to copy, rename and better organise your phone’s photos in Windows 10” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 According to Microsoft’s advice, the Photos app is the best way to get photos from your phone onto your PC. But if you simply fire up the app expecting to see your photos appear as if by magic you’ll be sorely disappointed. But don’t worry, because we’ve got everything you need to transfer photos from your phone and properly organised on your PC. We’ll show you how to automatically sync photos from your phone using one of three cloud storage methods, then reveal how to link those folders in…

Your guide Cat Ellis says… “Don’t wait until your laptop or tablet goes missing – install Prey now and you’ll always have an eye on it” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Lightweight laptops, tablets and convertible devices such as Microsoft Surface make it easy to carry the power of a full-size PC wherever you go. But this convenience comes with a risk – every time you take your Windows 10 device outside, there’s a chance that it could be lost or stolen. All it takes is one distraction, and your device (and all your data) could vanish. Windows 10 for mobile devices includes a handy new security feature that lets you track your missing…

Your guide Nick Odantzis says… “Windows 10 comes with a bunch of app suggestions that you don’t really need – so here’s how to get rid of them” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Microsoft did a wonderful thing when it made Windows 10 available to everyone for free (provided you were upgrading from a machine with Windows 7 or 8). But, as the old saying goes, ‘nothing in life is free’, and with this gratis version of the OS you get a few little ‘extras’ included, but you might not necessarily welcome those additions. For example, there are a variety of pre-installed app suggestions nestled within the Start menu, including Get Office and Candy…

Your guide Nicholas Odantzis says… “Give a sluggish Windows 8.1 PC a boost of performance with these top tips that will keep it feeling like new” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 After a while older versions of Windows can start to lose their sprightliness if you don’t take proper care of your computer. And Windows 8.1 is no exception. But, don’t worry, there’s still plenty you can do. Maintenance is the key here – to stop your machine from slowing down there are a variety of steps you must take, from cleaning out your bloated hard drive to disabling startup programs that prevent Windows from loading quickly. These are the more obvious things, but…

If you read the music or film industry trade press, piracy is still rampant. “Why else would no one be buying music anymore?” they ask, as they thumb open Spotify on their phone. However, what of the pirate sites themselves? How easy is it to get a pirated game these days? Really rather easy. The big obstacles to piracy aren’t getting the product or getting past copy protection; most big PC games are cracked and uploaded fairly quickly still, and a quick Google normally throws up a few thousand hits. No, the obstacles are often technical; you have to jump through many hoops to install the title, which might leave your computer open to worms or viruses. Often, there’s a virus in a pirated file, just as a bonus –…

“If your PC is completely locked Microsoft Defender Offline is the tool you need” February 2016, in the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles, staff suddenly found themselves unable to access their computers, which meant they couldn’t access their patients’ records, carry out x-ray or CT scans or access pharmacy records or lab results. Hackers had sneaked malicious software onto their systems, locked up their computers and demanded money to unlock them again. The hospital paid the ransom of $17,000. New wave Ransomware is a relatively new phenomenon. In January 2013, there had been 100,000 recorded cases of ransomware attacks, but by the end of the year the number had reached 600,000. And it’s not just big organisations that get targeted. Individuals find themselves locked out of their PCs…

The new Start menu is clearly one of the best things about Windows 10, and it’s highly customisable. Here we’ll show you how to make it your own by resizing one of the coloured tiles and deciding whether to make it a ‘live’ tile or not. A live tile will constantly update with new information, whether that’s showing you photos or news from the web, which some people find annoying. Luckily, it’s easy to turn on or off!…

’Innovation’ is a word you hear a lot in the world of tech. And this issue, we review some potentially boundary-pushing gadgets. Over on page 92, the Pioneer XDP-100R promises to be a music-lover’s dream as one of the first portable music players to support the new high-res audio format MQA. And on page 86, the Yoga 260 comes with a modern twist. Whether these gadgets will truly set the world alight remains to be seen, but if you need something that’s tried and tested, check out the Chuwi – a great tablet option at a decent price, while the Dell XPS 12 has a keyboard that won’t let you down.…