10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS

Page created by Ricky Casey
 
CONTINUE READING
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
10 vital steps to stop it wrecking your PC      (surprise, surprise!)

        Workshop p35
                                                                          017
                                                                         20
                                                  ISSUE 514 ❘ 8 – 21 NOV

                                                                every issue
                                         Learn something new in
                        r stalking p74
These Boots were made fo

                                                                                £1.99
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
Welcome
EDITORIAL
Group Editor Daniel Booth
Features Editor Mike Plant
Technical Editor Sherwin Coelho
                                                       From the Editor
Production Editor Graham Brown                         My lasting memory of my first day as
Art Editor Katie Peat
Sorry, no technical or buying advice.                  Computeractive editor was how many emails I
ADVERTISING                                            received from readers. Some were requests for
Advertising Director Charlotte Milligan
Advertising Manager Alexa Dracos
                                                       technical help, others made thoughtful
                                                       comments on the magazine, but most of them
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION
Subscriptions Rachel Hare                              contained ingenious tech tips. From the start I
Marketing Production Manager Gemma Hills
For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493
                                                       learnt that our readers are just as keen to share   topics covered, but also the clarity with which
                                                       their computing knowledge as they are to            you explained the tips (our plain-English ethos
PRODUCTION
Group Production Manager                               boost their own. Indeed, many readers have          must be rubbing off!).
Stephen Catherall
Production Controller
                                                       told me that they love being the recognised           Those we couldn’t fit on the seven pages of
Sophie Griffin                                           ‘PC expert’ among their family and friends.         this Cover Feature we’ll save for the normal
MANAGEMENT                                               So it wasn’t surprising that hundreds of you      ‘Readers’ Tips’ section over the next few
Managing Director John Garewal
MD of Advertising Julian Lloyd-Evans                   emailed me when I mentioned recently we             months. Thanks to everyone who emailed.
Commercial and Retail Director David Barker            were planning a special issue of readers’ tips.     Daniel Booth
CFO/COO Brett Reynolds
Chief Executive James Tye                              I was impressed not only by the breadth of          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
logo and Buy It! logo. Reprints of articles are also
available.
                                                                     p35
Please contact Ryan Chambers for more
information and rates: 0203 890 4027                                                                                                     p38
Email: anj_halai@dennis.co.uk
Requests to use quotations from articles will
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                    p50
sale, transfer or distribution.

PERMISSIONS
Material may not be reproduced in any form
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
                                                                                                                                        p58
judgments are based on equipment available
to Computeractive at the time of review.
Computeractive takes no responsibility for the
content of external websites whose addresses
are published in the magazine.

         A DENNIS PUBLICATION
         Computeractive is published fortnightly
         by Dennis Publishing, 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.                                £150                 N E W!
                                                                                                                  We use snipcas to turn long URLs that
                                                         Price of Amazon’s
                                                                                                                  are hard to type into ones that are
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited                    superb new Fire HD
                                                                                                                  short and simple. They aren’t websites
                                                         10 tablet - p20
                                                                                                                  themselves, which means they won’t
                                                                                                                  be recognised if you type them into
                                                         37,000                     4.50                          Google. Instead, you need to type them
                                                         People who downloaded      New version of the            into your browser address bar, then
                 Computeractive                          fake Adblock Plus          excellent photo software      press Enter. Doing this will take you to
                 Printed in the UK
                                                         extension - p16            IrfanView - p18               the correct website.

                                                                                                                                       8 – 21 November 2017 3
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
Contents                                                           8 – 21 November 2017 • Issue 514

                                                                                       ‘          CO
                                                                                                 FEA VER
          In this issue…                                                                            TU

                                                 Readers Tips
                                                                                                   P50 RE

  50     Readers’ Tips special
         Some of the best advice we
  get comes from you. So we asked

                                                 SPECIAL
   Computeractive readers to share
   their tech tips on everything from PC
   programs to internet browsing and
   maintaining your hardware

                                                 ISSUE
  58        Best free programs
            enhanced
   Extras! Extras! Read all about it! Make
   the most of your favourite programs
   with our recommended plug-ins,
   add-ons and extensions
                                                       34 real-life tips that these readers love
                                                              and will work for YOU too

     Addedd value
              lue to
     your progr
          programs
             grams
     p58

                                                                Why the NHS caught a hacking cough p11

                   In every issue…                              Are retailers tailing you? p74

   6 News                           33 Competition
                                    Win MAGIX Movie Edit Pro
   11 Question of                   Plus software
   the Fortnight
   Why did the NHS fail to          49 What’s All the Fuss
                                                       uss
   cope with WannaCry?              About? Teachable Machine
                                                        chine

   12 Letters                       64 Problems Solved

   14 Consumeractive                71 Reader Support
                                    Your tech problems fixed
                                                         ed
   16 Protect Your Tech
                                    73 Jargon Buster
   18 Best Free Software
   IrfanView 4.50                   74 The Final Straw
                                    Ken Rigsby discovers
   30 Buy It!                       trouble in stores

4 8 – 21 November 2017
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
Subscribe
                                                                                      ib
                                                                                       be
                                                                                   NOW!
                                                                                     W!!
                                                                                   See page 62 2
                                                                                            ecia
                                                                                              ial
                                                                                  for our special
                                                                                            er
                                                                                    subs offer

Amazon Fire HD 10                                                                  Reviews
p20
                                                                       20 Amazon Fire HD 10
                                                                       The latest Fire tablet reignites interest

                                                                       21 Acer Swift 7
                                                                       Acer’s new laptop is a golden
                                                                       opportunity

                                                                       22 Brother MFC-J6930DW
                                                                       This printer does everything you need
                                                                       – in its own good time

                                                                       23 HP Spectre x2
                                                                       Windows laptop-tablet hybrid tries to
                                                                       do too much with too little

                                                                       26 Nokia 8
                                                                       Impressive, top-of-the-range phone
                                                                       provides a smart choice
Brother MFC-J6930DW               Nokia 8 p26
                                                                       28 Google Home Mini
p22                                                                    Google’s Assistant just got smaller
                                                                       and smarter

                                                                       29 Vodafone Smart E8
                                                                       A budget phone with basic instincts

                                                        BUY IT!
                                                        ★★★★★

                                                                         THE ADVANCED GUIDE
Workshops & Tips                                                           TO WINDOWS 10
14 pages of brilliant workshops and expert tips
                                                                         ON SALE NOW!
35 Fix problems with the        42 Master Microsoft’s Edge
new Windows Update              browser on your phone

38 Turn your PC into free       44 Phone and Tablet Tips
home CCTV                       Share your location as you move in
                                real time
40 Use Microsoft’s superb
new video editor                46 Make Windows Better
                                Take a screenshot of your lock
                                screen

                                47 Make Office Better
                                Identify matching Excel data quickly

                                48 Secret Tips For…
                                Plex                                     BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON
                                                                             at www.snipca.com/21617

                                                                                            8 – 21 November 2017 5
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
News                                                                    The top stories in the world of technology

   Facebook: ‘We don’t listen to
   your conversations’
  S    ocial-media giant
       Facebook has once again
   denied it listens to users’
                                                                            people’s interests and other
                                                                            profile information – not
                                                                              what you’re talking out loud
                                                                                                                COMMENT
                                                                                                               It says a lot about public
   conversations in order to                                                   about”.
                                                                                                               mistrust of Facebook that
   show relevant adverts.                                                         However, it did confirm
                                                                                                               rumours like this won’t
      Many users have                                                           that it accesses your phone
                                                                                                               go away. But the risk of
   reported seeing adverts                                                      or tablet’s microphone if
                                                                                                               exposure means they’re
   related to recent real-life                                                 you give its app permission
                                                                                                               unlikely to be true. Not
   conversations, suspecting they                                            to do so, and if you regularly
                                                                                                               even a company as huge as
   were triggered by Facebook                                               use a feature that requires
                                                                                                               Facebook would be able to
   listening to them through the                                            audio. These include a tool
                                                                                                               survive such a global scandal.
   microphone on their                 Facebook might be listening to       in the US that listens to
                                                                                                               But like all tech giants they’ll
   computer, phone or tablet.          them.                                background music or films so
                                                                                                               never stop inventing new
      But in a message on Twitter         One person, Kelley, wrote:        you can add what you are
                                                                                                               ways to take (and sell)
   Rob Goldman, the company’s          “I have been talking about           listening to or watching to
                                                                                                               your personal data. Learn
   vice-president of ads, wrote:       getting a cat. I didn’t post         your status update.
                                                                                                               how to protect yourself in
   “We don’t – and have never          about it anywhere but I did
                                                                                                               next issue’s Cover Feature:
   - used your microphone for          start seeing ads for cat food”.      Coincidence?
                                                                                                               ‘What Google, Facebook and
   ads. Just not true”.                   Another, Tori Hoover, wrote:      Psychology could play a part
                                                                                                               Amazon Know About You’ –
      He was responding to a           “A co-worker got an ad saying        in the perceived connection
                                                                                                               on sale Weds 22 November.
   tweet by PJ Vogt, who presents      ‘so you popped the question!’        between conversations and
   the technology podcast Reply        minutes after he proposed,           adverts. Many studies have
   All (https://gimletmedia.com/       before he told anyone it had         shown that people are more        possibly in response to a
   reply-all): “Call us if you         happened”.                           likely to see and remember        search on Google, but were
   believe that Facebook uses             Facebook knocked back             something if they have been       noticed only after a related
   your mic to spy on you for          similar accusations in 2016,         recently talking or thinking      conversation.
   ad reasons”.                        saying in a statement online         about it.                           Coincidence may be
      Vogt received many replies       (www.snipca.com/26066):                 So it may be that the          another factor, as suggested
   from people who think               “We show ads based on                adverts appeared before,          last year by mathematics
                                                                                                              Professor David Hand from
     …BUT IPHONE CAN TAKE SECRET PHOTOS                                                                       Imperial College London.
                                                                                                              He told the BBC, which
     A Google employee has             expression, and stream live          themselves by buying              was investigating whether
     exposed a security flaw in         online what is being recorded.       a webcam cover                    phones were listening to
     iOS that lets some apps take         The device would give no          (such as these on Amazon          conversations, that people
     secret photos and videos of       indication that it’s being used,     www.snipca.com/26068), or         are “evolutionarily trained to
     the owner. Felix Krause said      leaving its owner unaware of         revoking apps’ access to the      seek explanations”.
     hackers could use an iOS          any intrusion.                       camera, though this would           He added: “This apparent
     privacy setting to take control      Krause revealed the flaw           make it generally harder to       coincidence occurs and we
     of apps that are allowed to       in his blog (www.snipca.             take photos and videos.           think there must be
     use the device’s camera. They     com 26067), saying he has              Krause added that the           explanation, it can’t be
     could even run facial-detection   contacted Apple about it.            research isn’t connected with     chance. But there are so many
     tools to read the owner’s         He said users could protect          his job at Google.                opportunities for that
                                                                                                              coincidence to occur”.

          You’ll like this…                                                     … but not this
          Phones may soon have a flexible screen                                 Artificial Intelligence can now fool CAPTCHA
     that doesn’t crack (www.snipca.com/26064)                              codes online (www.snipca.com/26065)

6 8 – 21 November 2017
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
Explore Saturn’s moons in                                                                                IN BRIEF

Google’s Solar System tour                                                                               WEBSITES PLEDGE
                                                                                                         TO REMOVE TERROR
                                                                                                         CONTENT
You can explore the moons of                                                                             Tech giants – including
Jupiter and Saturn, as well as                                                                           Facebook, Twitter and
the planets Mercury, Venus                                                                               Google – have vowed to do
and Mars, in a collection of                                                                             more to remove terrorist
stunning new images on                                                                                   content online following a
Google Maps.                                                                                             meeting with the G7 nations
  The images of Saturn’s                                                                                 on the Italian island of Ischia.
moons were taken by the                                                                                  Officials said the aim was
Cassini probe, which launched                                                                            to take down extremist
in 1997 and spent 13 years                                                                               content within two hours of
orbiting the planet before                                                                               it being posted. This was the
crashing into its atmosphere      Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth-          pictured below left is looking     time limit recommended by
in September. During its          largest moon, where Cassini         at Earth from the Cupola, a        Theresa May in September,
mission, run by Nasa, the         discovered water beneath            small module that lets             when she urged tech
European Space Agency and         the crust. Just as spectacular      astronauts watch operations        companies to go “further
the Italian Space Agency, it      are the images of Titan,            that take place outside the ISS,   and faster” to tackle hateful
captured over 500,000 images,     Saturn’s largest moon (see          like the approach of vehicles.     propaganda online.
which have now been stitched      main screenshot), home to              Explore the images by
together by scientists.           methane lakes beneath the           visiting www.snipca.com/           BT SLASHES LANDLINE
  Highlights include the icy      thick clouds. In total there        26013 then clicking a location     RENTAL BILLS
                                  are 12 new worlds to explore,       on the left. Zoom in and out       One million BT customers
                                  including the dwarf planets         using the bottom-right plus        will pay less for their landline
                                  Pluto and Ceres.                    and minus buttons, or by           bills after the company
                                    Google has also added             scrolling your mouse wheel.        bowed to pressure from
                                  images from the International       You can rotate the image by        Ofcom. The regulator has
                                  Space Station (ISS), giving you     clicking it then moving your       been concerned about a lack
                                  an astronaut’s view of the          mouse. Read more on Google’s       of competition in the landline
                                  Solar System. The view              blog: www.snipca.com/26011.        market. The price cut – from
                                                                                                         £18.99 a month to £11.99 – is
                                                                                                         for customers who get only
Microsoft exposes Chrome flaw in                                                                         their landline from BT, not a
                                                                                                         ‘bundled’ package including
tit-for-tat war with Google                                                                              TV and broadband. It starts
                                                                                                         in April 2018.
Microsoft has slammed Google      fixing the full version of
for not immediately fixing a       Chrome, which it failed to do
security flaw in its Chrome
browser, in the latest clash
                                  for almost a month. Microsoft
                                  said this gave hackers “more                                           Tomorrow’s
between the two tech rivals.
   In a blog post (www.snipca.
                                  than enough time” to exploit it.
                                    The company’s comments                                                           world
com/26009) Microsoft says         come after heavy criticism                                             A recent league table on
it found a flaw in Chrome,         this year from Google’s Project                                        worldwide broadband speeds
and notified Google on 14          Zero team, which has accused                                           saw the UK in 31st place,
September, receiving a            Microsoft of leaving flaws           company hasn’t fixed it within      below countries like Latvia,
‘bounty’ payment of $15,837       unfixed even after being told        90 days of being notified.          Thailand and Bulgaria. So
(£12,000). Google fixed it         about them.                           In its report, Microsoft         we stand to benefit greatly
within a week in the beta           Most recently Google              said that its strategy differs      from research conducted at
version of Chrome, which          criticised Microsoft for fixing      from Google’s, and urged           University College London
Microsoft acknowledged was        flaws in Windows 10, but not 7       companies to use the principle     on a broadband system that
“impressive”.                     and 8.1, creating a “false sense    of ‘Coordinated Vulnerability      can hit speeds of 10Gbps
   But Microsoft criticised       of security for users of the        Disclosure’, in which before       (10,000Mbps). It works by
Google for publishing details     older systems” (see ‘Question       going public the ‘finder’ of        shrinking the broadband
of the fix on GitHub (https://     of the Fortnight’, Issue 513).      the flaw lets the affected           receivers connecting ISPs
github.com) – where software        Google’s policy, strongly         company fully test “updates,       with customers. Read more
developers release source         criticised by Microsoft, is to go   workarounds, or other              at: www.snipca.com/26051.
code for others to use – before   public with a security flaw if a     corrective measures”.

                                                                                                                   8 – 21 November 2017 7
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
News
     IN BRIEF                         eBay removes cheap cartridges
    CCLEANER ADDS
    AUTO UPDATE TOOL                  after Epson pressure
    CCleaner has added an
    Emergency Updater to its          Printer manufacturer Epson         stated that items would  d be
    free version, following a         has been criticised for asking     removed only after a court
                                                                                                  ourt
    major hack in September. The      eBay to take down cartridges       order, but has removed
    tool will “force a software       made by other manufacturers        printer cartridges solelyy
    update” in a “worst-case          and sold by retailers.             on Epson’s “say-so”,
    scenario” – for example,             These third-party cartridges    without any legal basis.s.
    should another hack leave         are compatible with Epson’s          ORG added that it was
    users vulnerable. Previously,     printers and usually cheaper       “concerning” that Epsonson
    only the paid-for version         than those sold by the             acted against retailers selling
    of CCleaner was updated           company. But it claims that        the cartridges before
    automatically. To get this new    they violate eBay’s VeRO           contacting the manufacturers
                                                                                                 acturers
    version (5.36) click ‘Check for   (Verified Rights Owner)             who made them.
    updates’ at the bottom right      Programme, which lets firms           Many companies selling ling
    of CCleaner. Read more at         report items that infringe their   cartridges are small
    www.snipca.com/26050.             intellectual property, such as     businesses that buy items
                                                                                                 ems in     cartridges will “damage
                                      trademarks.                        bulk in order to sell them         small businesses like mine
    HOTEL BOOKING                        Epson’s specific claim is        cheaply. Preventing this           without any real evidence
    SITES INVESTIGATED                about abuse of its patents,        “would be extremely bad for        that anything wrong has
    Hotel-booking sites such as       which applies only in the EU,      consumers”, ORG said.              been done”.
    Expedia and Booking.com           leaving US customers still able      Adrian Meakin, owner of             Epson responded by saying
    are to be investigated over       to buy the cartridges.             Ink Squid (https://theink          it deals with cases in an
    concerns they mislead                EBay agreed to remove the       squid.com), which sells            “even-handed” way. The
    customers. The Competition        listings, angering Open Rights     cartridges for Epson printers,     company’s PR Manager
    and Markets Authority will        Group (ORG), which campaigns       accused the company of             Leonie Toal added that
    examine whether sites             for privacy and free speech        bullying competitors with          while Epson welcomes
    prioritise hotels they get a      online. It said eBay previously    eBay’s help. He said removing      “legitimate competition”,
    commission from. It will                                                                                it objects to “companies
    also look into claims sites         EPSON CARTRIDGES EBAY REMOVED                                       and individuals that simply
    pressurise customers by                                                                                 copy the technologies that we
                                        • T16 XL    • T24 XL     • T27 XL     • T33 XL     • T0797 XL       have developed and own”,
    giving a “false impression of
                                        • T18 XL    • T26 XL     • T29 XL     • T0715 XL   • T0807 XL       claiming it is damaging to
    room availability”.
                                                                                                            “loyal customers”.

   Monitor young offenders’ online threats
   Young offenders should have         assaults, while others saw
   their social-media profiles         victims blackmailed using
   monitored to prevent crime,        indecent images they were                                              Have we had a chilling
   a probation watchdog report        pressured to upload. Rival                                             foretaste of how World
   has said. It warned that some      gangs regularly threaten each                                          War Three might start?
   of the vilest crimes, including    other in videos online.                                                A Palestinian construction
   sexual offences, are planned          Offenders often use codes                                             worker in Israel was
   online in ways that were           when chatting online,              dealing with young offenders         arrested after his message
   “inconceivable” a few years ago.   including NIFOC (‘nude in          need help to “catch up” with        ‘yusbihuhum’ (‘Good
      After examining 115 cases,      front of the computer’) and        this change of tactics.             morning’ in Arabic) was
   HM Inspectorate of Probation       POS (‘parents over shoulder’).       The UK has 152 Youth              automatically translated
   found that a quarter of the          Dame Glenys Stacey, the          Offending Teams, supervising         by Facebook into ‘attack
   crimes were “directly related”     chief inspector of probation,      about 19,000 youngsters aged        them’ in Hebrew and ‘hurt
   to the perpetrator’s use of        said: “This is new behaviour.      10 to 18. The Youth Justice         them’ in English. The man
   social-media sites. Its report     Many of these young people         Board said it had published         was later released without
   said crimes were now “planned      shun Facebook and other            new guidance on tackling            charge and Facebook
   in bedrooms rather than on         common applications, in            the problem of social media         apologised, saying mistakes
   street corners”.                   favour of lesser known and,        and would “carefully consider       like this “happen from
      In some cases arguments         therefore, more private media”.    the recommendations within          time to time”.
   online escalated into physical       She added that teams             the report”.

8 8 – 21 November 2017
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
Mobile networks ‘rip you off’ after                                                                     IN BRIEF

your contract ends                                                                                      IRAN BLAMED FOR
                                                                                                        HACKING MPs’ EMAILS
                                                                                                        Iran has been blamed for
Vodafone, EE and Three have        monthly bills for                                                    the hack on Parliament in
been accused of ripping off         customers who stay on                                                June that accessed 90 email
customers by continuing to         their contract to reflect                                             accounts, including 30 used
charge them for phones even        the fact they have paid                                              by MPs. An unpublished
after the cost has been paid off.   for the phone.                                                       intelligence report seen by
   Research from Citizens             It also said networks                                             The Times points the finger
Advice found that customers        should tell customers                                                at the Iranian Revolutionary
who don’t sign up to a new         when they have paid                                                  Guard, set up in 1979 to
contract are paying an average     for their phone, an                                                  defend Iran against foreign
£22 extra a month. People          appeal backed by the              that “wherever possible” it        interference. The attack,
aged over 65 were the most         Government. Minister for          gives customers nearing            previously attributed to
likely to be hit, with 23 per      Digital Matt Hancock said:        the end of their contract          Russia and North Korea,
cent staying on their contract     “It’s only right that mobile      several options, including a       is believed to be Iran’s
after the fixed period ends.        customers should be notified       SIM-only plan.                     first significant act of
   Gillian Guy, chief executive    when they have paid off the          Three said it makes the          cyberwarfare against Britain.
of Citizens Advice, said: “The     price of their handset, and       contract’s end-date “very
cost of handsets are hidden        that their future bills should    clear” when customers sign         CHROME WARNING
within some mobile-phone           reflect this”.                     up, while EE claimed that          INCREASES HTTPS SITES
contracts giving phone                Guy added that providers       separating the phone and           Browsing online is becoming
providers a way to exploit         should make it easier for         tariff costs sometimes results      safer according to Google,
their customer”.                   customers to compare prices       in customers paying more.          which says the number
   The majority of those whose     by stating the cost of the          Customers can ask for            of websites using HTTPS
contract includes the cost of      phone separately from the         compensation only if it wasn’t     encryption has risen sharply.
the phone pay it off over two       tariff cost (data and minutes).    made clear in their contract       The company said on its
years. Citizens Advice called         All three networks defended    that they would continue paying    Transparency Report site
on phone providers to reduce       their policies. Vodafone said     the same price when it ends.       (www.snipca.com/26030)
                                                                                                        that 66 per cent of all web
                                                                                                        traffic on Chrome is protected
Shop online? You may have to enter code                                                                 by HTTPS, up from 50 per
                                                                                                        cent a year ago. Google
to fight fraud                                                                                          claims that this rise is partly
                                                                                                        down to its decision last year
You may have to wait for a text                                                                         to mark non-HTTPS sites as
message before confirming                                                                                “non secure”.
an online purchase under
Government proposals to                                                                                 REMOVE GAMBLING
combat fraud. The message                                                                               GAMES AIMED AT KIDS
would contain a code that                                                                               Gambling websites have
you’d enter online at the                                                                               been ordered to take down
checkout stage.                                                                                         adverts for casino games
   The technique, known as                                                                              targeted at children. In an
two-step verification, is           Rudd said she was “excited”       Secretary Philip Rutnam said       open letter to gambling firms,
already used by companies          by the plan. She told the         that a new set of security         the group of regulators,
like Google, Facebook and          Home Affairs select committee      measures need to replace chip      which includes the Gambling
Apple to give you a second         that it “could be a real win in   and PIN. The Government has        Commission and the
layer of protection when you       terms of protecting people”.      been criticised for not doing      Committee of Advertising
sign in. You can add additional       Another idea being             enough to fight the dramatic        Practice, said websites would
phone numbers in case the          considered is the introduction    rise in online fraud, which        face “sanctions” if they
first device is lost or stolen.     of credit and debit cards that    costs Britons over £10bn a year.   continued to post adverts
   Home Office ministers             contain a unique code on the         Earlier this year Sir Amyas     aimed at under-18s. Games
said the move could help to        signature strip that changes      Morse, head of the National        such as “Fluffy Favourites”
prevent thieves from using         every hour. This would replace    Audit Office, said the crime         and “Pirate Princess” feature
stolen credit-card details, a      the current three-digit CVV       had been “overlooked by            “brightly coloured cartoon
crime that affects a million        code. Mastercard is working on    Government, law enforcement        characters” designed to “lure
people every year.                 the early stages of the scheme.   and industry”, and demanded        children into gambling”.
   Home Secretary Amber               Home Office Permanent            an urgent response.

                                                                                                                 8 – 21 November 2017 9
10 VITAL STEPS TO STOP IT WRECKING YOUR PC (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) WORKSHOP P35 - N EVERY ISSUE - MYSUBS
News

   Darien Graham-Smith puts the boot into tech villains,
   jargon-spouting companies and software stuffed with junk

   WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
   Junk offender: Free                                                                              Chromium’), replete with extensions, and
   YouTube Downloader                                                                              that you commit to do all your online
   I could waste hours (and                                                                        searches through Yahoo rather than
   frequently have) on YouTube. There are                                                          Google (in my case).
   literally billions of videos to discover and                                                       On the third page you’re invited to
   enjoy, from amusing shorts to fascinating                                                       install a video tool called GOM Player,
   documentaries. Unfortunately, it’s not                                                          which, should you accept said invite, will
   great for keeping you chuckling/absorbed                                                        be set as your default player for video
   on long journeys, because it requires a                                                         files. If you’re happily using Windows
   constant internet connection.                                                                   Media Player or VLC, for example, this
      Thankfully, there are tools that can ride                                                    change will annoy the heck out of you.
   to the rescue. One of the most popular is                                                          The moral, as usual, is to pay close
   Free YouTube Downloader (www.snipca.           Untick the box on this page to avoid having to   attention when installing free software.
                                                  browse Yahoo-style
   com/26052), a no-nonsense little program                                                        In this case, all of the ‘I agree’ boxes are
   that can copy any YouTube video to your        you through three pages of agreements,           sneakily pre-ticked, so it’s easy to breezily
   PC for your offline pleasure. Strictly           but only the first one actually has anything      click through the installation and end up
   speaking, you’re not supposed to do this,      to do with the downloader itself. The            with a browser and media player you
   but no one’s going to haul you over the        second is innocently titled ‘Search Offer’.       didn’t want and don’t like. So give Free
   coals for downloading the odd (perhaps         It’s only once you plough through seven          YouTube Downloader a miss. If you want
   very odd) video for personal use.              lines of small print that you realise you’re     to watch videos offline, use a free
      There is, however, a darker side to         actually agreeing to install a whole new         web-based download service such as
   YouTube Downloader. The installer walks        web browser (the ‘Yahoo powered                  y2mate (http://y2mate.com) instead.

     What are they                                  Darien’s Villains of the Fortnight
     talking about?                                 Amazon & eBay
     What they say                                  I love to shop online, and I’m always
     Google designer Ivy Ross                       eager to save money. So it came as a
     (www.snipca.com/26053):      ):                punch in the solar plexus to find
     “The mission was to create                     some of my favourite shopping sites
     a design language that                         are complicit in some very dodgy
     reflects something that we believe             business. A parliamentary report has
     is very Google and really sets the tone        found that foreign traders are selling
     and develops a unique point of view -          goods on marketplace sites like                may have been cheated out of as much
     we want to be cohesive as a family of          Amazon and eBay without the required           as £1.5bn. Think how many nurses
     products and do what’s best for each           VAT being added. That means they               and teachers that would pay for.
     product, never sacrificing the individual      can offer low prices up front – but as            Amazon and eBay claim to have
     form and function of a singular                taxpayers we all end up paying                 cracked down on fraud, but you can’t
     product.”                                      ultimately.                                    leave a fox in charge of the chicken
                                                       And it’s not just the small-time crooks     coop. It’s time for big online
     What they mean                                 who profit from this little scam. Amazon        marketplaces to clean up their act.
     Google wants its products to have a            and eBay get commission on every sale,
     recognisable style, but ease-of-use is         raking in billions. MPs estimate that               Want to nominate a villain of the fortnight?
     its priority.                                  our communities and public services                 Email us at editor@computeractive.co.uk

10 8 – 21 November 2017
You can also read