WE’VE STOPPED FREE BUS TRAVEL?

USING CHROME NOPE – IT’S A SCAM BEST NEW

 But Facebook WON’T take it down p11
This NEW browser is better p38 WINDOWS
ISSUE 709 ❘ 7 – 20 MAY
2025
TOOL FOR
YEARS!
We use it
to make
every PC
every issue task FASTER
e – p8 Learn something new in
ChatGPT won’t thank you for being nic p60

BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
We’ve waited years for
tools that actually work
– and here they are! p50
!
 Block on Android phones
 Block on iPhones
 Block on landlines
 Block on your network
 Block on WhatsApp
Block spam messages too!

PLUS £30 IS YOUR ‘NEW’ DEVICE

ACTUALLY SECOND-HAND?
FOR
BUY THIS BARGAIN 256GB

USB DRIVE (we did!) p26 Look for these hidden telltale signs p62
WELCOME
EDITORIAL
Content Director Marc Chacksfield
Group Editor Daniel Booth
From the Editor
Deputy Editor Robert Irvine
Production Editor Graham Brown I don’t think I’m especially rude (and that for years were utterly useless have
Art Editor Katie Peat anyone who disagrees can get stuffed). suddenly become effective. They work
Contributors Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Dinah Greek, Richard
Holt, Jonathan Parkyn, Nik Rawlinson, Andy Shaw But I’ve learned over the years to instantly across all devices and services too, as
ADVERTISING
hang up on callers who introduce Robert Irvine explains in his excellent
Advertising Manager Alexandra Thomas themselves with “Hello Daniel, how are Cover Feature, though you need to learn
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION you doing today?”. It means one of two which settings to activate.
Subscriptions Sheri Taubes things: they want to sell me something Robert does such a good job that he
PRODUCTION I almost certainly don’t want, or trick me almost puts Daisy to shame. She’s the AI
Head of Production Stephen Catherall into revealing that my password is pensioner O2 uses to confuse and frustrate
Senior Production Manager Lawrence Brookes
‘pa$$w0rd’ (it isn’t by the way). scammers. If you want a chuckle, listen to
INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION
But these calls have dried up in the past her waffle on at www.snipca.com/54671.
Computeractive is available for licensing and syndication.
To find out more contact us at [email protected] or few months. I’ve almost begun to miss Daniel Booth
view our available content at www.futurecontenthub.com. them. It’s clear the spam-blocking tools [email protected]
Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw

ONWARD RESALE
This publication may not be resold or otherwise p11
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THIS ISSUE IN NUMBERS HOW TO USE
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Samsung DVDs and games Libib that are hard to type into ones that
Galaxy A56, lets you catalogue - p74 are short and simple. They aren’t
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Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 3

 Contents
7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

6 News Microsoft fixes Outlook bug that

slows down PCs

10 Question of the Fortnight

Will Yahoo or OpenAI buy Google Chrome?

11 Protect Your Tech

‘Free bus travel’ Facebook scams

12 Letters Why Windows 11’s design is better FOR SALE

CHROME
than Windows 10

14 Consumeractive Can I refuse delivery of

laptop that took ages to repair? (ONE CAREFUL OWNER)
p10
16 Grow Your Family Tree
Search freemason membership registers Chrome buyers report

18 Best Free Software

Photo Variants 1.5 CyberPowerPC Infinity
Z890 Air
21 Named & Shamed Never search for
‘Photo Recovery & File Recovery’ p22

Reviews
22 CyberPowerPC Infinity Z890 Air
Gaming PC makes powerful case

23 PCSpecialist 16 Fusion VI
Classy laptop shows its true colours

24 Lenovo Idea Tab Pro

Larger tablet makes big impressions

25 Samsung Galaxy A56

Latest Galaxy phone is a star turn Samsung
Galaxy A56
26 PNY Elite-X Fit pxx
Portable USB drive goes a long way p25

28 1More SonoFlow Pro HG51

Headphones that are quietly confident
Tribit Stormbox Lava
Bluetooth speaker makes some noise

29 Onyx Boox Palma 2

Small ebook reader has a way with words

30 Buy It/Competition Win a Majority Little

Shelford Portable Bluetooth DAB+ radio

4 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 SAVE
Subscribe now! 35%
See page 58 for our special subs offer

Workshops & Tips How your

phone is
made to
35 
How to… Use your smartphone to
measure
help with DIY
p35
38 
Master your tabs with
Zen Browser

40 R
 eaders’ Tips Set tasks for right and
middle clicks in GIMP

42 Browser Tips Add page-sharing

options to your Chrome toolbar

44 Phone and Tablet Tips Delete your

backed-up photos from Google Photos

46 Make Windows Better Pause Task

BLOCK ALL
Manager with a single key press
CO
FEATVER
47 Make Office Better Calculate UR
compound interest of your savings P50 E

48 In the Club
Schedule posts on Facebook SPAM CALLS
We’ve waited years for
49 What’s All the Fuss About? tools that actually work
Windows ‘inetpub’ folder – and here they are!
 Block on Android phones
50 COVER FEATURE  Block on iPhones
Block all spam calls  Block on landlines
The best ways to block nuisance calls and  Block on your network
messages from spammers and scammers  Block on WhatsApp
Block spam messages too!
60 Why you must use Command Palette
How PowerToys’ brilliant new tool lets you
perform almost any task on your PC

62 Has your ‘new’ device been Has your ‘new’

used before?
How to tell whether the tech you’ve just
bought is actually new or second-hand
device been used
64 Problems Solved before?
How do I back up my music device?

71 Reader Support
Why can’t I reinstall classic Outlook?

72 Jargon Buster
p62
74 Easy When You Know How
Robert Irvine catalogues his book collection Second gear

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 5

 News The top stories in the world of technology

Microsoft fixes Outlook bug

that slows down computers
M
icrosoft will soon Microsoft’s forums (www.
update the classic snipca.com/54667) since
version of Outlook to last November.
fix a bug that uses too much Some said that typing in
of your computer’s processing Outlook increased their
power, making it work slowly. processor (CPU) activity from
Users have complained one to up to 50 per cent – as
about the problem on measured by Task Manager.
Potential solutions such as
WHAT WE THINK disabling Outlook’s add-ins
or features like spellcheck
What a mess Microsoft has didn’t work. It appeared to
made of Outlook in the past affect Outlook in both
few years. First it released Windows 10 and 11.
a terrible new version that Microsoft acknowledged
made many users want to the problem in early April,
stick with the classic (and confirming it affected version
better) edition. Then it broke 2406 of Outlook (build 17726.
the option that actually 20126), released in June 2024. and that will receive the fix in people use. Both Current
lets you switch back (see A few weeks later it said early May, updating Outlook editions will be updated to
page 71). Microsoft says it’ll the Microsoft Word Team to build 18822.15000. build 18827.20000, and all
support the classic version had fixed the bug and would The next channel is Current three versions will be updated
until “at least 2029” (www. release it in updates during (Preview), which is more to 2505.
snipca.com/50756), but it’s May. stable than Beta. It will receive To check which channel
acting like it can’t wait to be Which update you get the fix in mid-May, updating you’re on, open Outlook then
rid of this pesky tool. This depends on which update Outlook to build 18827.20000. click File, Account, and look
latest fix has taken too long channel you use for Outlook. The final update, due in late under Product Information.
to arrive – it must act faster These channels determine May, is for the Current edition The version and build number
next time. how soon you get updates. of Outlook, which is fully up will be listed next to About
The earliest channel is Beta, to date and the tool most Outlook (see screenshot).

Netflix adds dialogue-only subtitles to shows

N etflix is adding an option
to see subtitles for
do this depends on the device
you’re watching Netflix on
You, but Netflix
says it will be 2
dialogue only, removing – see www.snipca.com/54669 eventually added 1
audio descriptions such as for instructions. to all its original
‘phone ringing’ and ‘dramatic Now choose ‘English shows, and in
music plays’. (Original)’ ( 1 in our screenshot) all languages it
This reduces the amount followed by English 2 . To keep supports.
of words on screen, showing audio descriptions choose However, Netflix 3
only what’s been spoken and ‘English (CC)’ 3 . didn’t say whether
nothing else. At the moment it’s available it will be added to shows and content available on the
To turn it on, first open the only on the fifth and final films it doesn’t make, which is service. Read more at www.
settings for subtitles. How you series of psychological thriller between 30 to 40 per cent of snipca.com/54662.

You’ll like this… but not this…

The UK will be first European country to ban Marks & Spencer has been hit by a major
SIM farms (www.snipca.com/54670) cyberattack (www.snipca.com/54660)

6 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Roku’s new small TV sticks IN BRIEF

won’t block other ports CREATE AI VIDEOS

USING ADOBE FIREFLY
Adobe has revamped its

R oku has announced its

smallest ever streaming
sticks, and adds a voice-
image-creating AI tool Firefly
(www.snipca.com/54653)
to generate faster and more
controlled remote to the accurate images. It also
cheapest model for the first now lets you create images
time. using AI models from other
The new Roku Streaming companies, including Google
Stick (£29.99) has HD streaming and OpenAI, while its video-
up to 1080p, while the Roku generation tool is now out
Streaming Stick Plus (£39.99) of beta. Firefly offers an
increases this to 4K (2160p). unspecified number of free
These are the same creations every day. To use
resolutions as the two models more you need to pay from
they are replacing – the Roku £9.98 a month. Read more at
Express and Roku Express 4K. It means they should plug and control volume. www.snipca.com/54652.
The cheaper of the new into your TV’s HDMI port Also for the first time,
sticks has dual-band Wi-Fi 5 without blocking other ports both sticks can be powered by DON’T BUY THESE
(802.11ac), while the Plus (pictured) or having to rest your TV’s USB port, so you ‘ENERGY-SAVING’ PLUGS
supports the more advanced on another surface. shouldn’t need another power Consumer group Which? has
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), which Weighing just 26 grams cable hanging down. warned that illegal ‘energy-
is faster on busy networks each, Roku hopes the sticks Roku will continue to sell saving’ plugs are still being
and reaches further. Again, will prove popular with the Streaming Stick 4K, sold on Amazon, eBay and
these are the same as the holidaymakers this summer which adds Dolby Vision. Temu despite being recalled
previous models. who want to take their TV It costs £39 from www.snipca. by the Government in 2022.
The major difference in the services with them. com/54651. The devices falsely claim to
new models is their size, which With the voice remote The sticks will be released cut your bills by “stabilising”
Roku claims are 35-per-cent control, available on both in June. Visit Roku’s site for voltage and “balancing”
smaller than rival sticks, such models, you can play shows, more information: www. electric current. In reality
as the Amazon Fire TV Stick. launch streaming services snipca.com/54649. they do nothing and often
fail basic electrical safety
standards. For details visit
New YouTube design gets thumbs down www.snipca.com/54658.

Y ouTube is rolling out a

new design for watching
videos on computers, as it
TOMORROW’S
WORLD

marks 20 years since launch. This is Tiangong Ultra, the

Some users on Reddit took first robot to finish the
screenshots of the new look, Beijing half marathon in
Credit: D-Meme-D/Reddit

showing bigger play/pause April. Twenty-one humanoid

and ‘next’ buttons ( 1 in our 1 robots took part – alongside
screenshot). 12,000 actual humans –
There are also buttons for 2 3 though only six finished, and
the video’s timestamp and none wore fancy dress. Its
chapters 2 , while the volume time was a decent two hours,
button has been moved to 40 minutes – watch at www.
the right 3 . YouTube this summer, The first YouTube video snipca.com/54643.
Most Reddit users said they including Multiview for was uploaded by co-founder
don’t like the new design watching several non-sports Jawed Karim on 23 April 2005.
(www.snipca.com/54654), videos at the same time. It was an 18-second clip of
with some complaining that Also new are Ask Music, Karim at San Diego Zoo
you can no longer change letting you build your own (www.snipca.com/54656)
volume by hovering your “personalised radio station” and has been watched over
cursor over it, or by using the on the Android/iOS app, 357 million times.
arrow keys on your keyboard. and 4x playback speed for Over 20 million videos are
The new design is one of Premium subscribers (see now uploaded to YouTube
several changes coming to www.snipca.com/54644). every day.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 7

 News
IN BRIEF Being nice to ChatGPT costs
VIRGIN MEDIA O2 AXES
3G IN FOUR MORE TOWNS
OpenAI “millions of dollars”
Virgin Media O2 has
announced it will switch off
its 3G network in Guildford,
P eople saying please
2
and thank you when
using AI chatbot ChatGPT 1
Norwich and Telford on 16 ( 1 in our screenshot) is
July, with Torquay following costing OpenAI millions
on 4 August. It follows a of dollars, says the
“successful” trial in the city company’s boss.
of Durham in April. The Sam Altman was
company plans to switch responding on X to the
off 3G across the whole of question: “I wonder how
the UK by the end of 2025. much money OpenAI — you never know” (www. requires vast computing
Read more at www.snipca. has lost in electricity costs snipca.com/54637). power to process, so the
com/54628. from people saying ‘please’ Altman’s response was longer the question, the
and ‘thank you’ to their probably tongue in cheek, but more energy is needed. Some
NEARLY 60 CHROME models”. it’s still an indication of how estimates put the cost at over
ADD-ONS ARE MALWARE He replied: “Tens of expensive it is to run AI chatbots. $20m a month (about £15m).
Nearly 60 Chrome millions of dollars well spent Each question asked Being polite to chatbots
extensions have been trains them to give you more
detected that spy on your helpful answers, some AI
USE NEW & IMPROVED CHATGPT
online activity. Most are experts claim.
‘hidden’ extensions available ChatGPT has launched at www.snipca.com/54639). Kurtis Beavers, a design
as direct downloads from improved large language Both have been added director for Microsoft Copilot,
URLs rather than from the models (LLMs) for both its automatically, without you said using basic etiquette
Chrome Web Store. They free and paid-for versions. needing to do anything. “not only ensures you get
were discovered by US The o4-mini LLM has replaced There’s also a new Library the same graciousness in
security firm Secure Annex, GPT-3.5 as the new free of images ChatGPT has return, but it also improves
which said they had been default, while o3 is new for created for you ( 2 in our the AI’s responsiveness and
downloaded by over 6 million paid-for accounts (read more screenshot). performance” (www.snipca.
people. Read more at com/54638).
www.snipca.com/54631
and see them listed on a
spreadsheet at www.snipca.
com/54630.
AI scammers use Quick
Assist to access your PC
THE WORLD’S
GONE MAD!

This is Computeractive editor

M icrosoft has warned
about a new type of
tech-support scam where
complete control over
your computer.
It’s thought to be the
1
Daniel Booth as ChatGPT fraudsters use the Quick first time scammers are
sees him. It’s proof we’ve Assist tool to offer help. exploiting Quick Assist,
fallen for the latest AI fad – Built into Windows, having previously used
creating self-portraits in the Quick Assist lets you connect third-party software like
Japanese ‘chibi’ style of big remotely to another computer TeamViewer and AnyDesk.
heads, huge eyes and small to give or receive help. To combat the threat
bodies. In the scam cybercriminals Microsoft will now show
Some contact you by phone or email warnings when someone
3
people posing as support staff from a uses Quick Assist to
are even major tech company, such as connect to your computer
2
selling Google or Microsoft. ( 1 in our screenshot). You
theirs for They then persuade you to need to tick a box 2 , then
up to £50 give them access via Quick click Allow 3 . It added that AI is “making
online. Assist to fix what they claim is It’s one of nine new scams it easier and cheaper to
Any an urgent problem. But rather identified by Microsoft in generate believable content
takers? than helping you they install which criminals use AI (see for cyberattacks at an
malware that gives them www.snipca.com/54640). increasingly rapid rate”.

8 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Google to turn off .co.uk search IN BRIEF
address BUY NEW RASPBERRY PI
USB-C CHARGER

G oogle is ditching all

1
country-specific domain
names for its search home
Raspberry Pi has released
its own 45-watt USB-C
charger (pictured below),
page. It means if you type priced $15 – about £11.20.
www.google.co.uk into your It already sells 15.3W and
browser bar you’ll soon be 27W chargers, but said
redirected to www.google.com 3 there was demand for a
( 1 in our screenshot). higher-powered model that
These web addresses are could charge more devices.
called country code top-level 2 Read more at www.snipca.
domain names (ccTLD). com/54592 and buy it from
The change will apply for www.snipca.com/54591.
all country-specific codes country-specific URL to see no longer needed. The
from www.google.co.ac for results related to it. It forced change will “be rolled out
Ascension Island to www. users to dig into Google’s gradually over the coming
google.co.zw for Zimbabwe. settings to set a country for months”, and as part of the
It follows Google’s decision search results. process Google might ask you
in 2017 to base your search To do this, click Settings to log into your account and
results on your physical at the bottom right of www. re-enter some of your search
location, not the URL you google.com 2 , then ‘Search preferences.
typed. This meant if you settings’ 3 followed by ‘Other The company added that
typed www.google.co.uk in settings’ at the top right. “while this update will change
Australia, you’d get local Now click ‘Language and what people see in their
results for Australia not region’, select ‘Results region’, browser address bar, it won’t
the UK. then choose a country and affect the way Search works” BT HIKES COST OF
Google said this would click Confirm. (see www.snipca.com/54595). SOCIAL TARIFFS
produce results you’d be more Google says this BT has increased the price
Is Google still your favourite
interested in, but it frustrated “improvement” means search engine? Let us know: of its broadband deals for
many people who typed a country-specific domains are [email protected] people on benefits (called
social tariffs) by £1 a month.
Its zero income plan goes
Vodafone & Three ‘planning to launch up to £16, while Fibre

TV service’
Essentials rises to £21 and
£24 for 36Mbps and 67Mbps
respectively. The deals are

V odafone and Three are

planning to launch a
TV service following the
27m customers.
However, combined
it will have a
also open to EE and Plusnet
customers. Apply at www.
snipca.com/54590.
approval in December of broadband market
their £15bn merger. share of only six per FREELY ADDS 16 NEW
Company sources told the cent. Growing this is TV CHANNELS
Telegraph that the move likely to require a TV Freely is adding 16 new TV
would help the company service that keeps channels later this year,
attract more broadband customers locked into including The Chase and
customers, as it takes on a bundled package. Saturday Night, Every Night,
market leader BT. Vodafone refused to both of which are already
It’s thought the service elaborate on the rumours, over the next 10 years. available on ITVX. Three
will offer live TV as well telling the Telegraph it’s They will also have to of the new channels come
as streaming services such “too early to comment on cap some mobile prices from Channel 4, including
as Netflix and Amazon the company’s plans for the next three years 4Homes, and eight from
Prime Video. post-merger”. and keep offering fixed Channel 5, including The
The merger, expected to To secure merger contracts to mobile virtual Yorkshire Vet. See all the
be finalised by June, will approval the companies network operators (MVNOs) channels listed at www.
create the UK’s biggest committed to investing £11 so they’re not squeezed out snipca.com/54593.
mobile network, with around billion in 5G infrastructure of the market.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 9

 Questionof
Question ofthe
theFortnight
Fortnight
Will Yahoo or OpenAI buy
Google Chrome?
Only one could seriously snap up the world’s biggest browser

G
oogle might soon be
forced to host the THE FACTS
web’s biggest ever
jumble sale. The Department • Both OpenAI and Yahoo
of Justice (DoJ) in the US have expressed interest in
thinks the tech giant has a buying Google Chrome
monopoly in online search, • It follows a ruling from the
and has ordered it to sell US Department of Justice to
Chrome – and possibly other break up Google, claiming
assets – to boost competition. it has too much power in
Chrome has a market share
of around 67 per cent (and
FOR SALE online search
• Google has appealed the
four billion users), with
Apple’s Safari way behind
on 21 per cent. This helps
CHROME ruling, insists Chrome isn’t
for sale and wants judges to
throw out the case
Google drive users to its search (ONE CAREFUL OWNER)
engine, which accounts for
almost 89 per cent of online December to take its valuation
searches, ahead of Microsoft’s to $9bn. But it would still be a
Bing, Russian search stretch for the company to
engine Yandex, Yahoo and Search General Manager, told search engine (www. break the bank on Chrome.
DuckDuckGo. the hearing that Yahoo had perplexity.ai) has impressed That leaves OpenAI, which
many users (including us), is on a different level with a
and in April it launched a valuation of $300bn. It would
OpenAI would have to do more Windows program that gives need to do more than raid
than raid petty cash, but buying you answers directly on
your desktop.
petty cash, but buying
Chrome is easily affordable.
Chrome is easily affordable Shevelenko said he thinks
Perplexity could buy Chrome,
It’s already rumoured to be
building its own social-media
though he expressed concerns network. Adding a browser
Potential buyers are been developing a “prototype” about forcing Google to sell it to its fast-growing empire
circling. ​At a hearing in browser since last summer, to a rival AI firm that wouldn’t makes perfect sense.
Washington DC Nick Turley, and that it would take another develop it properly or keep it But bosses at other tech
head of ChatGPT at OpenAI, six to nine months to finish. open source. giants will be thinking the
said his company would be He added that Yahoo wants But despite Yahoo and same. Apple and Microsoft
interested in buying Chrome. to build a browser because Perplexity’s interest, neither already have Edge and Safari,
He added it would allow about 60 per cent of search would be likely to afford but Amazon and Meta (which
OpenAI to “offer a really queries come from them – Chrome. Estimates of the owns Facebook) would love to
incredible experience” and often directly through the browser’s value vary from get their hands on a browser,
“introduce users to what an address bar. Launching their $20bn to $50bn (£15bn to even if it is second-hand.
AI-first [browser] looks like”. own browser would be one £37.5bn). Although Yahoo’s Of course, all this assumes
But Turley also pointed out way for Yahoo to increase its parent company Apollo Asset Google will be forced to sell its
that “many other parties” search share, but Provost said Management doesn’t publish browser. Its lawyers might still
would be keen to buy Chrome. buying Chrome would be its earnings, it’s probably a persuade judges that fears
This was demonstrated within much quicker. fraction of Chrome’s worth – over its search dominance are
48 hours of his comments, as Perplexity is also building a and far from its $125bn peak unfounded. But if it fails, we’ll
both Yahoo and AI search browser, called Comet, Chief back in 2000. see an almighty scramble to
engine Perplexity expressed Business Officer Dmitry Perplexity has a brighter give Chrome a new home.
interest. Shevelenko told the hearing. future than Yahoo, having And many will say it’s not
Brian Provost, Yahoo’s The company’s AI-powered raised $500m of funding in before time.

10 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Protect your tech
Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR...

‘Free bus travel’ Facebook scams

What’s the threat? Margate, Nottingham and Stoke.
There’s been a rise in scammers The adverts have an email
advertising “smart cards” on address, a Brazilian phone number 2
Facebook that provide free bus and positive comments, often from
travel for towns across the UK. They French-sounding names. If you
typically claim to be posted by a click the link to get the card, you’re
company that has the town in its taken to a survey where you’re 3
name, and show photos of a local asked to fill in your details.
bus and the card itself.
One of the most recent scams is How can you stay safe?
for an Arriva card providing six First, make a mental note that these
months of free bus travel ( 1 in scams aren’t likely to go away soon.
our screenshot) in Darlington. It’s As The Northern Echo reports 1
posted under the name ‘Darlington (www.snipca.com/54577), they’ve
Public Transport’ 2 and claims it been reported to Facebook but the
marks Arriva’s 90th anniversary 3 . company hasn’t removed them
Arriva was founded in 1938 so will because they don’t break its
celebrate its 90th birthday soon, advertising standards.

Credit The Northern Echo

but the offer is fake. Arriva does sell smart cards (see
Another recent scam promoted www.snipca.com/54580) but has
500 bus cards for “unlimited travel” said it will never advertise them on
in Blackpool, while we’ve also seen social media, while Stagecoach has
adverts for Bedford, Brighton, also warned about the scams
Cambridge, Cardiff, Ipswich, (www.snipca.com/54573).

New tools Tor’s Connection Assist

for Android
ScamWatch
Readers warn readers

1 2 Boots make up and

The Tor Browser is one of the most
sunscreen
effective ways to access blocked
In the past week I’ve seen two scams
websites, but Tor itself can be blocked
claiming to represent offers from Boots.
by certain networks, firewalls or your
The first on Facebook claimed that
internet provider. It tries to get around
Boots offers “mystery boxes”
this by using hidden bridge relays that
containing leftover cosmetics worth
connect users to the Tor network, but
£3. The post had a photo of a receipt
even these can be blocked.
from Boots that looked genuine. All
Tor aimed to fix this in 2022 by adding
you needed to do was complete a “quick
the feature Connection Assist, which
3-question survey”. As a 76-year-old
automatically tries to find bridges. The
bearded bloke, I was hardly going to
tool worked straight away for Linux,
be tempted, but my wife might’ve
macOS and Windows, and the new
been. The other scam arrived in an
version 14.5 of Tor adds it to Android.
email promoting a “Nivea sunscreen
When it can’t connect directly it will
pack”. Again you’re asked to answer a
tell you so, then ask you to tap ‘Try a country or region”.
survey. With summer almost here, I
bridge’ (see screenshot 1 ). Enable For more information read Tor’s
expect to see that email again.
‘Always connect automatically’ on blog: www.snipca.com/54614. You
David Greenidge
the next screen 2 and it will always can download the Tor app for Android
look for a bridge that is “most likely phones and tablets from www.snipca. Warn your fellow readers about scams
to unblock the internet in your com/54616. at [email protected]

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 11

 Letters
Tell us what’s on your mind

Most Brits would use passkeys in my favourite browser

support Government Firefox because it’s so erratic.
against Apple I’ve often read that the public weren’t
Well done Apple and ready for passkeys, but this implies the
other privacy campaigners public is somehow to blame for being
for forcing the legal case against slow on the uptake. I think it’s truer to
the Government to be heard say that the tech industry wasn’t ready
in public (Issue 708, page 7). for passkeys. They released them with
I have no idea whether the much hype before checking they actually
Government’s request to be worked properly.
given access to Apple’s encrypted Jim Underwood
files is reasonable or justified, but
it’s significant enough to be open I’m leaving eBay because
to public scrutiny. crystal-clear as you’ll find in the pages of of its courier changes
The Government might even come to Computeractive! I’m glad you highlighted eBay’s
be thankful for the ruling because what’s Oliver Murray decision to force sellers to use
revealed in the case might actually only approved couriers because I don’t
support their position, especially if the Overhyped passkeys released think it’s had enough attention in the
scale of the threat posed to the public is before working properly media (Issue 708, page 9). I retired
revealed. I suspect most Brits would be I don’t blame Gordon Shackleton during Covid and started to sell my
prepared to sacrifice full encryption if it for giving up on passkeys (Letters, vast collection of vintage postcards,
gave police more powers to tackle Issue 708). I’ve had similar mishaps, cigarette cards and football programmes.
terrorism or child abusers. which have left me locked out of many I had over 10,000 items, and I’ve
Ray Dixon of my accounts. Another problem with managed to sell almost half.
passkeys is how varied and inconsistent I’ve now got about 500 items for sale,
ChatGPT couldn’t help me they are. Using them across different and many of them will fetch over £10,
with simple Excel task services feels unfamiliar. meaning I’ll have to use a courier. It’s a
I was as disturbed as Ralph This fails the key test when encouraging kick in the teeth for loyal customers.
Johnson when I read that ChatGPT the public to adopt a new technology: it I’ll probably remove them and sell them
accused a man of murdering his children must work the same whatever service at local fairs and markets instead. It’s
(Star Letter, Issue 708). It’s a moment to you’re using. People just don’t have the more sociable anyway, and will get me
pause and ask whether we really want to technical dexterity to cope, let alone the out of the house.
be governed by AI in the future. I’ve patience. Brian Scott
found ChatGPT helpful when writing In my year of using passkeys I’ve
formal letters to my bank, solicitor and noticed that logging into PayPal using a
insurance companies. But it’s still Windows passkey is different from
riddled with inaccuracies. logging into the site on my Apple iPhone.
As an experiment I asked it how to Why is this? It baffled me at first, and it
perform a specific (but relatively simple) still feels clunky. I’ve given up trying to
task in Excel. It gave me several steps that
I followed and soon realised were wrong.
What’s the Issue…?
?
I explined this to it, and it apologised and
gave me more instructions. These too
were wrong, and it apologised again. This When did you explain how to CA SAYS It’s called
happened several times. It only takes one use a mobile connection for Start. See Issue 690,
negative experience like this to put you your home network rather than page 62.
off trusting it as a reliable tool. It certainly broadband?
has never given me instructions as Joanna Fyson I’ve just bought the Manhattan
T4-R TV recorder. Didn’t you
Computeractive is a member
CA SAYS In Issue 680, page 60. mention it in a feature last year?
of the IPSO (Independent Press Bill Hughton
Standards Organisation) which
regulates the UK print and digital I dimly recall a feature about a
news industry. We abide by the CA SAYS Yes, in Issue 693’s ‘Record
Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding Microsoft phone app that
the highest standards of journalism. If you think that sounded extremely useful. I think it and save TV shows’ feature, page 62.
we have not met those standards and want to make a
complaint, please contact [email protected] was called something like Go or Start. Read it and the features above on our
If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would Is that right? 2024 Back Issue USB Stick: www.
like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code,
contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk
James Sitton snipca.com/53180.

12 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive
@ComputerActive
www.x.com/ComputerActive

Will Amazon dodge law STAR LETTER

on fake reviews?
The legislation banning fake
reviews may be a small step in the
right direction, but I doubt it will work
Why Windows 11’s design is
(Issue 707, page 14) – just as having your better than Windows 10
number on the Telephone Preference
Service (TPS, www.tpsonline.org.uk) fails Issue 708’s Cover decluttered Start menu,
dismally (see page 51). After 25 years on Feature (pictured) the rounded corners on
the TPS I still get a spam call most days. gave some excellent windows and the subtle
Legislation gives the appearance of the reasons why Windows 11 is transparent effects. You
Government taking action, but it’s only better than Windows 10. I often hear people say that
effective if it’s actively and aggressively upgraded a year ago to a something is easy to use
policed, with offenders penalised at a custom-built Palicomp PC ‘once you get the hang of
level that will make them stop. and the operating system it’. With Windows 11
Will businesses like Amazon be runs smoothly on it. I use there’s nothing to get the
required to ensure their listings don’t many of the tools and apps hang of – it just works
include fake reviews or do they have you mentioned. seamlessly!
some kind of way around the legislation? But you didn’t pay You really appreciate
Some company reviews on Trustpilot enough attention to how much better these differences on a monitor with
are very suspicious, with almost half of designed Windows 11 is. Without this, a high resolution. I recently spent a
them five-star ratings and half one star, it wouldn’t matter how useful the new week working on a Windows 10 laptop
with little in between. The negative tools are. Just think back to Windows and it felt distinctly old-fashioned by
reviews are often from people who have 8.1. That could have had the best comparison. It wasn’t bad as such,
posted reviews before, usually to say the features the world had ever seen, but but it was like driving a Nineties
company is a scam. They all get the same no one was ever going to use them Ford Escort after years enjoying the
standard response from the company. because the design was so horrible. luxury of a Tesla.
The positive ones are from people who’d You don’t notice these design I’m glad Windows 11’s market share
never posted a review before. It’s hard to improvements at first, which is how it is about to overtake Windows 10.
know which are genuine. should be. The best design always Hopefully, as more people use it word
William Roberts makes a virtue of simplicity and will spread that it’s easier to
doesn’t want to be noticed. But after a use than its predecessor.
CA SAYS We understand William’s while you start to appreciate the Martin Howard
scepticism. Companies will always look
for legal loopholes, and current schemes The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
like the Telephone Preference Service
aren’t as effective as they should be. But
the new law banning fake reviews is the for me because I’ve just put in a bid for a CA SAYS Edward’s right that video file
strongest step yet. Crucially, it makes new flat. Should I succeed, I’ll be living sizes can vary significantly, depending on
companies responsible for stopping fake elsewhere while repairs and redecoration factors like resolution, frame rate and
reviews appearing on their site – even are carried out. A video doorbell would file-compression methods. Most video
when they’re posted by third-party sellers. allow me to respond to visitors and to doorbells, including the Eufy E340,
That means Amazon can no longer shrug speak to my builders. record in 2K resolution and use efficient
their shoulders and blame others. However, there was one thing that your compression formats like H.264 or H.265
The fines are now big enough to act as feature seemed to skirt around. It was to reduce file sizes.
an incentive – up to 10 per cent of a good at telling us the amount of storage a The Eufy E340 stores its clips in short
company’s global turnover, which in device had or how much you had to pay bursts, typically 20 to 30 seconds, and
Amazon’s case would be around $50bn to store it online, but gave no indication overwrites the oldest ones when the 8GB
(£37bn). But what will really focus minds of how many files this storage would hold. internal storage is full. Eufy says this is
is the £300,000 personal fines that Some video files can be huge, sufficient for up to 60 days of recordings,
company directors face if they’re found depending on the format they’re assuming an average of 30 videos per day,
to have played a role in breaching the generated in, as I found with my Nextbase each lasting 20 seconds. This equates to
rules. We won’t know if the law has dashcam. After an accident the file was approximately 1,800 clips, with each clip
made a difference for some time, but too large to be emailed to my insurers. being around 2 to 4MB. However, this can
we’re optimistic. The Eufy E340 doorbell (www.snipca. vary based on activity levels. If you live on
com/54301) that won your Gold Award a busy street or receive frequent deliveries,
Don’t forget file size of may have 8GB of storage, but if each clip the storage may fill up more quickly.
doorbell videos is several gigabytes you’re going to run If you missed Issue 707’s Cover Feature
Issue 707’s Cover Feature on video out of storage space in no time. on video doorbells, you can buy a back
doorbells came at a very good time Edward Baines issue from www.snipca.com/54582.

Views expressed don’t necessarily reflect those of Computeractive Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 13
 Consumeractive
We stand up for your legal rights

Can I refuse delivery LEAD Can I cancel

of laptop that took CASE if Virgin won’t
speak to me?
ages to repair? I want to talk to Virgin Media

Last November, I bought an

Q about renewing my broadband,
TV and landline subscription,
Q Honor MagicBook X 16 laptop
(pictured). It became faulty in
but they won’t talk to me because I don’t
have a mobile phone. Can I cancel without
December and none of Honor’s suggested a fee because I’ve not been able to speak
fixes worked. I sent it back under to them?
warranty for a repair, but when it came Jacki Fleming
back to me the screen was damaged.
I asked for a replacement, which Honor In theory yes, but we’re confused
refused. The company’s now trying to
return the original laptop after an alleged
A as to why Virgin Media claims
Jacki needs a mobile phone to
second repair. But I’ve since had to buy Honor because of how long it has talk to its customer team. You can get
another laptop because it’s taken so long. taken to repair the laptop for a second through to them by phoning 150 from a
Can I refuse delivery? time. The law doesn’t give a specific Virgin Media landline phone, or 0345 454
Paul Vismeg timeline, but 30 days is usually 1111 from any other phone.
considered sufficient – waiting four Legally, companies don’t have to provide
Honor’s level of service has months certainly isn’t. Even if the a contact number, but most companies do,
A been unacceptable, so we think
Paul would be allowed to refuse
laptop eventually arrives repaired,
Paul could argue he’s been seriously
particularly mobile and broadband
providers. But what they can’t do is insist
delivery of the laptop. However, the inconvenienced, citing Section 24 of customers use a mobile phone instead of
situation is less clearcut than it would the Consumer Rights Act 2015. a landline. If they did this and made it
have been had he returned it under If he does accept delivery, he can hard for you to renew, you’d be able to
the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) rather still reject the laptop for a full refund cancel without an early-termination fee.
than Honor’s warranty. The CRA gives and Honor will have to pay to have it We expect this case is a breakdown in
retailers one chance only to repair or returned. We’ve asked Honor to accept communication, so we’ll phone Virgin
replace a product, while warranties can that he has this right and requested it to check. If it has increased Jacki’s fee in
give companies multiple attempts to gives him a full refund. If Honor refuses, the meantime, we’ll ask the company to
fix a problem. Paul may have to take the company to the give her the option of cancelling without
But we think Paul has a case against small claims court. paying a fee.
CASE ONGOING CASE ONGOING

CASE UPDATE

MacKiev refunds reader for missing Family Tree Maker 24

We’re happy to say that 12 months for FTM directly through its support page
MacKiev has refunded John 2024. The company has (www.snipca.com/54557).
Axford after it failed to send missed many deadlines The company has some offices
him the 2024 upgrade of over the past year and in the Ukraine capital of Kyiv,
genealogy software Family Tree Maker there’s still no firm news though its headquarters are in
(FTM) – see Issue 707. He had pre-ordered on when or even if it Boston, USA. Although it hasn’t
it last October for £39.95 and was told the will be released. blamed the invasion by Russia for
final version would be ready by the end of Some readers have tried to get their the delay to FTM, it seems likely to have had
2024, but it still hasn’t been released. money back through the payment platform a major impact. We’ve asked the company to
Other MacKiev customers haven’t been FastSpring (https://fastspring.com), but clarify the situation, because at the moment
so lucky. We’ve received several emails MacKiev didn’t give it authority to give its website just says FTM 2024 is “arriving
from readers who have been waiting over refunds. Instead you should contact MacKiev soon” (www.snipca.com/54556, pictured).

14 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Contact us so we can investigate your case
Email: [email protected]
Please include your name, phone number and address.

Do we have a case against abusive Evri driver?

We’ve brought a the sender. My emails to won’t be happy that their sales are being
Q complaint against an
Evri delivery driver
Evri’s CEO are being ignored.
What should we do now?
disrupted by a rogue delivery driver.
Next, he should fill in Evri’s complaint
who, shortly before Christmas, Robert Pearce form (www.snipca.com/54552). We’d like
refused to wait for us to answer to think this wouldn’t be ignored in the
the door. My wife’s in a This is a nasty case, way his emails to the CEO have been.
wheelchair, but despite this the
driver threw the parcel over the
A but Robert does have
options. He can’t
It’s a serious matter because Evri
could find itself guilty of disability
back fence, refused to pick it seek a refund from Evri discrimination under the Equality Act
up, and proceeded to give her because he has no contract 2010 (www.snipca.com/54553). We’ll
loads of abuse. This driver is with the company. Instead, explain this to Evri, who may need to
now refusing to deliver to us, he should contact the sellers contact Robert in order to identify the
and is instead returning our parcels to of the items to explain the problem. They driver.
CASE ONGOING

Can Argos couldn’t connect it to

the record player.
his record player. This is
because customers are
refuse a return However, when I
returned it to an Argos
allowed to examine goods
bought online and reject them
because I’ve store the next day, I was within 14 days, faulty or not.

opened the box?

refused a refund because What you aren’t allowed to
I’d opened the box. Can that be right? do is actually use the goods. Argos might
Alan Hodson argue that connecting the speaker to a
I bought a Sony record player counts as using, but we
Q PS-LX310BT No it’s not. The Sonos Era 100 think it’s an acceptable examination. It
Bluetooth
Record Player at
A is compatible with Alan’s
record player, as confirmed
would have a stronger case if Alan had
used the speaker for a couple of days
Christmas. Because its by many articles explaining how to before deciding he no longer wanted it.
speaker isn’t very connect them. This suggests the Thankfully, Alan managed to return
good I decided to buy a speaker is faulty and therefore Alan the speaker at another Argos store, but
standalone Sonos Era 100 is due a full refund. we’re going to talk to the company
speaker (pictured) from He could also have sought a refund anyway to ask why different stores give
the Argos website, but I even if the speaker had connected to different advice.
CASE CLOSED

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

Currys’ Swedish store fixed problem with UK printer

I moved to Sweden owns Elgiganten AB (Sweden). repair, again with a cost. Some time later I
six years ago, and There’s an Elgiganten store in was told my repaired printer was ready to
recently – while Kalmar, some 35 miles from collect, but when I opened the box I saw that
visiting my daughter where I live. it was brand new! There was no fee to pay,
in Carlisle, Cumbria – I bought I took the printer to the and it works fantastically well.
an HP Smart Tank printer from Elgiganten store in Kalmar, and Bernard Nicholson
Currys. However, when we was told there may be a charge for
unboxed it back home in Sweden a repair. Later I was told it may have to Contact
week later it wouldn’t work. be returned to the original manufacturer for Currys
I couldn’t return to Carlisle to claim a
refund, but discovered that Currys owns
Has a company impressed you with its • Online www.snipca.com/54558
customer service? Please let us know: • Phone 0344 561 0000
Elkjop Nordic AS (Norway), which in turn [email protected]

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 15

 Grow Your
Family Tree
If your ancestor was a tradesman belonging to a masonic
lodge, follow Richard Holt’s advice to…
Search freemason membership registers
F
reemasonry began in medieval 1 Search Lane’s
Masonic
times as part of the traditions of the
Records to
stonemasons who built our great find when
churches and cathedrals. They would lodges were
use hand grips, signs and words to 2 constituted
and their
identify themselves as qualified tradesmen. 4 location
There has been a Masonic Grand Lodge in
England since 1717, which merged with a 3
rival Grand Lodge to form the United
Grand Lodge of England in 1813. Masonic
lodges were required to return annual Browse Ancestry’s lodge search results for a ‘Charles E.’ or ‘Charles
lists of members to the Grand Lodge from membership registers Edwin Skull’ – three for Wycombe Lodge
1768. These returns were used to compile Ancestry subscribers can search (number 1501) and two for Sheraton
the membership registers described below. membership registers held by the Museum Lodge (number 3019).
If you get stuck or want more resources of Freemasonry (www.snipca.com/54621). One entry said he joined Wycombe
visit the Museum of Freemasonry: www. Most are for lodges in England, though Lodge on 28 November 1889 aged 39 (see
snipca.com/54623. you’ll also find some in Wales, Northern screenshot left). Subsequent registers for
Ireland, Canada, Australia, India and Wycombe Lodge record his membership
South Africa. They tell you the member’s up until 1921, when this collection stops.
number, date of joining, the lodge’s Another entry shows he joined Sheraton
location and how long they were a Lodge in London on 30 November 1903.
member – as well as personal details such
as age, address and occupation. Ancestry Search Lane’s Masonic
also has records for Irish freemasons Records and freemason
(1733-1923) at www.snipca.com/54622. magazines
I searched for Charles Edwin Skull, If you find your ancestor’s lodge in
who was a prominent chair manufacturer Ancestry’s registers, use its number to
in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. search Lane’s Masonic Records (www.
The 1881 census tells us that Charles snipca.com/54625). Compiled by
Ancestry’s freemasons records show that
Charles Edwin Skull joined Wycombe Lodge employed 50 people, some of whom may accountant John Lane in 1894, this was
in November 1889, aged 39 have been my ancestors. There were five the first definitive list of English lodges
from 1717 on. I searched for Wycombe

Your Genealogy Problems Solved

Lodge (number 1501 – 1 in our screenshot
above) and discovered it was constituted
in 1874 2 , initially meeting at Wycombe
I know one of my ancestors, named set (www.snipca.com/54581), which is Town Hall and from 1888 at the Lodge
George Smith, was sent to Canada in free. We found 106 George Smiths, 11 of Rooms on Amersham Hill 3 . The page
the 1890s in the ‘British Home Children’ which traveled to Canada in the 1890s. contains links to both on Google Maps 4 .
scheme. But that’s all I know about him. The records also show which children’s Also try searching magazines aimed at
It was probably a common name, but is home they came from (for example, freemasons at (https://masonicperiodicals.
there anyway of narrowing my search? Barnado’s), the ship’s name and the org). Click a publication and view PDFs,
Liam Smith Canadian province it arrived at. This might or click Advanced Search at the top right
give you enough info to find your ancestor. and type a search term, such as a name.
You should try searching for him on I didn’t locate Charles E Skull using his
Have a genealogy question for Richard?
Findmypast’s ‘Canada, Home Children Email [email protected] with name as a keyword, but I did find
Immigration Records Index, 1869-1930’ ‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line. references to his lodges by searching for
‘Wycombe’ and ‘Sheraton’.

16 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709 Next issue: Search WW2 Prisoner of War cards
 Best Free Software
Robert Irvine recommends new programs that won’t cost you a thing
IMAGE EDITOR

Photo Variants 1.5

www.snipca.com/54636
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11

When we recommended GIMP 3.0 (www.gimp.org) on ‘Enhanced (Toning)’ to your photos with
this page in Issue 707, we warned that the image editor’s a single click. You can then switch between
many advanced tools can make it seem daunting. Photo them before deciding which variant to work with.
Variants offers many of the same features but in a much Some edits and enhancements are performed
friendlier interface that doesn’t require you to read a instantly to the current image, while others open a
manual to get started. preview window, showing ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions.
Quietly launched at the end of last year by a Canadian This lets you adjust the strength of the effect to get the
developer, then updated in April with new tools and filters, precise result you want.
Photo Variants has clearly had a lot of thought put into its You can use tools such as Retouch, Heal and Clone to
design. A toolbar across the top of the main window gives remove blemishes and other unwanted elements, and a
you easy access to essential editing options, while further variety of filters to transform your photos into works of art.
tools are available in a panel on the right – all in logically Photo Variants helpfully records a history of all the edits you
organised menus. make, so you can revert to previous versions.
Even working with layers, which can be confusing in many The program’s biggest quirk is that it saves images in
image editors, is straightforward and lets you experiment its own PVAR format, to preserve “all layers, variants and
with different elements without affecting the original picture. project settings”. To save in a standard image format such
Additionally, the Variants feature that gives the program as PNG, JPEG or TIF, choose ‘Export As…’ rather than
its name applies presets such as Increased Contrast and ‘Save As…’ in the File menu.

1
3
2

1 The main toolbar gives you 2 Choose an option in the 3 Photo Variants makes 4 Click the ‘Add Variants using
access to standard editing Filters menu and Photo working with layers more Presets’ button to choose
tools such as select, crop Variants will open a preview straightforward than programs which variants to apply to
and text. You can also use window showing the original like GIMP and Paint.NET. Use your photo. Options include
various shapes and brushes, image and how it will look the Layers tab to add layers Increased Brightness,
and remove imperfections after applying the filter. Use to an image, so you can Gray-scale and Sepia. These
and unwanted objects from the slider and other settings experiment with different will be added to the Variants
photos using the Retouch, to adjust the filter, then click OK elements and adjust their tab where you can try them
Heal and Clone tools. to apply and save. opacity accordingly. with a single click.

18 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

SOFTWARE UPDATER
SHOULD I PAY FOR…?
Patch My PC Home Choose the right version of software
Updater 5.1.3
www.snipca.com/54620 Files Inspector Pro
What you need: Windows 10 or 11 www.snipca.com/54635
Price: £12.60 Free trial: N/A
This brilliant free software What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11
updater has been updated
itself with several new Files Inspector is like a cross between drive-space-analysis
features and improvements. tools such as WizTree (www.snipca.com/53811) and the
The most notable is the Storage manager in the Windows Settings app. It displays
addition of category filters the current storage usage of each drive on your PC,
to the My Apps and App including external and network drives, and reveals how
Library tabs. Previously, much space is being consumed by different data types.
you needed to scroll through long alphabetical lists to see For example, click ‘Applications and Games’ (see
which programs were installed on your PC and which were screenshot) to list all the software installed on your PC and
available to install from Patch My PC’s catalogue of supported its size. You can sort the list to show the largest, newest or
software. You can now simply apply the filters in the dropdown least-used items first, uninstall unwanted programs with a
menu (see screenshot) to view only apps in specific categories. couple of clicks and remove leftover traces.
These include ‘File Management & Backup’, ‘Imaging &
Graphics’ and ‘Utilities & System Tools’. Patch My PC now lets
you export a list of programs from one PC and import them
on another for one-click installation – go to Settings, then
‘Templates & Settings’ to access these options. Also, the
program detects installed software much faster than before.

VIDEO CONVERTER

Any Video Converter

Free 9.1
www.snipca.com/54627 The Pictures, Video and Music options show you the
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11, or macOS biggest folders containing media files, and let you delete the
biggest space hogs within them. The paid-for Pro version
Our favourite offers the useful option to compress images without losing
free program for quality, so you can reclaim storage without removing them.
converting videos However, this only works with JPEG files.
has added yet more Other Pro-only features include updating programs to
handy options to its the latest versions when available and tracing all changes
impressive arsenal software makes to your system during installation – so
of ‘toolkits’. These they can be easily reversed later. You can also use your
toolkits go beyond licence to install Files Inspector Pro on two PCs, and get a
video conversion to let you edit, record and download videos. year’s worth of automatic updates and ‘priority’ technical
Any Video Converter (AVC) Free 9.1 can quickly import entire support. On the downside, the program’s calculations of file
video playlists from sites such as YouTube when you add and folder sizes are quite slow, and its presentation of drive
their URLs and click Analyze. You can then download specific contents isn’t that different from File Explorer.
videos from the playlist at the quality level of your choice
(see screenshot). It’s also now possible to rename videos OUR VERDICT: Don’t pay for it
before you download them, if they’ve been mislabelled by Files Inspector is a nice little program, but it doesn’t offer
the uploader. When converting videos, AVC now preserves much you won’t find in better-known free tools. Although
their original timestamps, rather than replacing them with its Pro version has some handy extras and is reasonably
the current time and date. Sadly, the best new feature, which priced, you get more comprehensive drive-space analysis
uses AI to identify scene changes in videos, is only available in from WizTree.
AVC Ultimate, priced £45 a year.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 19

 Best Free Software

What should I download?

We advise you which software and apps to use
Is there an OCR program
How do I make a for my HP printer/scanner?
searchable database? Q
I recently lost
access to a
I’m a member of my local museum, and Canon scanner
Q I’m trying to help them move into the 21st
century. They’ve been scanning and saving lots
I was using, which
had a useful optical
of photographs of local history but they’ve saved them character recognition
in date order only. Some don’t even have a file name. (OCR) feature. Is there
I need to organise them into a searchable database, with a free OCR program I
descriptive file names and perhaps some text I can attach can use with my HP
to the file. What’s the best way to index and edit all the LaserJet MFP M140
scanned photos? printer/scanner instead?
Alan Buxton John Taylor
It sounds like you need a photo-library
A management tool. We’d recommend Darktable, Yes, you can use ‘HP Scan for Windows’ (www.snipca.
free from www.darktable.org. Once you’ve
imported your photos, click the first one you want to
A com/54415). This won’t have been included with your
driver if it was released after June 2022. HP says to
index, and make sure ‘lighttable’ is selected at the top select ‘Save as Editable Text (OCR)’ – see screenshot above. You
of the screen. can save the results in Rich Text format or plain text.
Next, click the triangle beside ‘metadata editor’ ( 1 in our
screenshot) and you’ll reveal fields for title, description,
creator, publisher, rights and notes 2 . These should be fairly Can I print from old copper plates?
self-explanatory, with the possible exception of the ‘rights’
field, which is where you note whether the museum owns
the copyright to the picture, and what rights it – or anyone
else – has to use it.
Below these metadata boxes you’ll find a similar section
for ‘tagging’ 3 . Here you can type keywords related to
your image to help anyone searching for it later. In our
example below, we’re editing a picture of the Jolly Sailor
pub, which was a setting in the BBC Eighties drama series
Howards’ Way, filmed in Bursledon, Hampshire. So, we
might add BBC, TV, pub and Hampshire as keywords.
That would let us group it with any other photos in the
collection that had I’ve got some copper plates showing local comic scenes
been similarly tagged. 1 Q made by my grandfather. The only copies I have are
poor-quality photocopies of photocopies. Is there a
tool that can print from a scan of the plates?
Sam Hinchliffe

Yes, scan the plates then open the scan in GIMP (www.
A gimp.org). Convert the image to black and white by
clicking Colors followed by Saturation, then drag the
Scale slider to zero (see screenshot). Now invert it by selecting
Invert from the Colors menu – in your scan, it’s likely that the
2
‘lighter’ areas of the image will actually be darker because they
3 are sunk into the plate and won’t reflect the scanner’s light so
well. Now increase the contrast in the image so the light parts
become lighter, and the dark areas darker.

20 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709 Email us your questions at [email protected]

Named & Shamed
Keumars Afifi-Sabet puts the boot into tech villains,
jargon-spouting companies and software trying to trick you

SOFTWARE WARNING!
Never search for ‘Photo Recovery & File Recovery’

I
f you’re looking for an app
to recover lost photos, 1
BizApps’ identically named tool has
don’t bother searching for been downloaded 10 million times, but
one. I recently made the it’s even worse
mistake of searching for ‘photo recovery
app’ on the Google Play Store and came
across ‘Photo Recovery & File Recovery’
(www.snipca.com/54619) by Bangladeshi 2
developer PixelArmor . It was the 10th
most popular free tool on the Play Store
at the time of writing, which was odd
considering it had been downloaded only
100,000 times and had no star rating.
I foolishly clicked Allow when it asked
for permission to send notifications,
Keumars was pestered by alerts
and it proceeded to bug me every few and was then bugged again
minutes, urging me to recover files – while taking this screenshot
even though I was already using the app!
It even pestered me ( 1 in our screenshot made by BizApp Inc (www.snipca. being removed. It looked just as awful.
above right) while I was taking a com/54611) – has been downloaded You could try recovery apps from more
screenshot to show how many times it 10 million times (see screenshot above reputable developers like EaseUS (www.
had notified me 2 . right) since launching in December, yet snipca.com/54618), though they’re not
I deleted the app, but its popularity almost unbelievably it’s even worse, with free. I’ve been burnt too often by these
remained a mystery, so I searched online unskippable video adverts and a fake apps to bother. I’m just going to check
for answers. I actually found two other ‘uninstall’ button. The second – from regularly that Google is backing up my
apps with exactly the same name, but Mega Utility Applications – launched in files, and stop searching for apps that
made by different developers. The first – March and was available briefly before never do what they claim.

WHAT ARE THEY KEUMARS’ VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT

TALKING ABOUT?
Zak Coyne
WHAT THEY SAY
OpenAI on tackling risks of AI In a parallel universe Zak Using his tools,
www.snipca.com/54569 Coyne would now be earning scammers built fake
“We’ve streamlined levels to two clear his first million as a tech sites that impersonated trusted
thresholds that map to specific entrepreneur, inspiring the brands such as banks, health
operational commitments: High next generation of whizz kids. companies and postal services.
capability, which could amplify existing Instead he’s serving eight-and- Around one million victims
pathways to severe harm, and Critical a-half years in prison after (70,000 in the UK) had their
capability, which could introduce admitting running the LabHost passwords and bank details hacked.
unprecedented new pathways to website, which sold malware kits to Met Police estimate around £100m
severe harm.” 2,000 criminals around the world. was stolen before they worked with
Coyne, 24, from Huddersfield, the National Crime Agency and
WHAT THEY MEAN managed the site between August Microsoft to take down the site in
Credit Met Police

Let’s hope AI doesn’t lead us up the 2021 and October 2023, describing it April 2024. Let’s hope Coyne chooses
garden pathway, because we can’t even as a “one-stop shop for phishing” a different career path when he’s
work out how to describe the dangers. created “for spammers by spammers”. back on the streets.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 21

 Reviews
New products tested by our experts New products tested by our experts

PC | £1,900 from CyberPowerPC www.snipca.com/54503

CyberPowerPC Infinity Z890 Air

Ahead of the game

Like the Wired2Fire HAL 9000 (£1,924 resource-hungry

from www.snipca.com/54359) we software to get the
reviewed in Issue 708, CyberPowerPC benefit.
has chosen to fit its Infinity Z890 Air The Infinity really
with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 shines when playing
graphics card. If you’re looking to play games. We tested it with four
the latest games, such as Microsoft Flight current titles and pushed their
Simulator, with high graphical detail graphical settings to the max.
settings, or get the best out of creative At 1080p resolution it flew,
software, such as video editors, this is with an average frame rate of
an excellent choice. 197 frames per second (fps).
It dropped to a still excellent
166fps at 2K resolution, and even
Lightning-quick managed 102fps at 4K, which is
impressive. In a nutshell, the RTX
graphics, top-quality 5070 does graphics work well.
CyberPowerPC has used quality
components and an components throughout this build,

attractive case starting with the slick Lian Li

Lancool 207 chassis. You won’t even
need a screwdriver to get into it – the
One difference between the two PCs is tempered-glass pane and right-hand side
that the Infinity is built around one of the panel both clip into place without screws in volume when running demanding
latest Intel processors, the Core Ultra 7 and you simply slip your finger into a tasks, but never became annoying.
265KF, whereas the HAL 9000 has an groove to remove them. The warranty lasts a generous five
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X. Both are decent It’s a small case (456x219x456mm – years. The first year includes collect and
modern processors and ensured similarly, HxWxD), which is handy if space return, meaning CyberPowerPC will
high levels of performance in our beneath your desk is an issue, but it does cover all courier costs, and the first two
benchmark tests. make it a bit cramped inside, particularly years includes parts as well as labour, so
The AMD chip was faster in single-core given the huge RTX 5070 graphics card you’ll have peace of mind in the medium
activities, so provides better performance (pictured below left). This, along with the term. If this is within your budget and
in everyday tasks, though you’re unlikely cooling system, restricts easy access to you’re looking for an Intel PC that can
to get close to either PC’s full potential the memory and storage, though with handle graphical tasks well, you should
when simply web browsing or running 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, you’re give the Infinity serious consideration.
office software. The Infinity’s Intel unlikely to need an upgrade anytime
processor has more cores (20) and soon. Should you want to boost
performed better in more demanding performance in future you’ll need to VERDICT A PC with impressive
tests, though you need to be running remove some components to access specifications and high-quality
others, but it’s more of a fiddle than a components. Pricey, but well suited to
dealbreaker. both work and play
The internal fans did a great job of
keeping everything cool without causing
★★★★★
a racket. In general use you’ll notice a ALTERNATIVE
gentle whirring noise. It occasionally rose Wired2Fire HAL
9000 £1,924 A
SPECIFICATIONS desktop PC with
Twenty-core Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF processor similar credentials,
• 32GB RAM • 2GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
graphics card • 2TB SSD • Windows 11 Home •
but lags slightly
456x219x456mm (HxWxD) • Five-year warranty in demanding
www.snipca.com/54503

22 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 HOW WE TEST
Computeractive is owned by Future PLC,
LAPTOP | £999 from PCSpecialist www.snipca.com/54519 which employs a team of specialist
technical reviewers. You’ll often read

PCSpecialist 16 Fusion VI references to our benchmark testing,

which is a method of assessing products
using the same criteria. For example, we
Best of British test the speed of every PC and the battery
life of every phone and tablet in exactly
the same way. This makes our reviews
authoritative, rigorous and accurate.
We review plenty of PCs that have been Future PLC also owns the magazines
made overseas, so it’s always good to see Maximum PC, PC Pro and T3, and the
a British-built laptop for a change. The websites Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.
case and components of PCSpecialist’s com), TechRadar (www.techradar.com)
16 Fusion VI model still come from and Windows Central (www.windows
abroad, but it’s assembled in central.com). This means we can test
Wakefield. This is also where the thousands of products before choosing
tech support team is based, should you to create AI art and view live video the most relevant for Computeractive.
ever need it, and the laptop comes with captions. Because the Fusion has an
an excellent three-year warranty. Intel processor you don’t get any of the FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
Note, however, that parts are only software limitations we’ve seen with Our writers follow strict guidelines to
covered for the first year and you’ll have Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. In a ensure the reviews are fair and impartial.
to cover the cost of sending the laptop nutshell, this will run any Windows The manufacturer has no involvement in
back to PCSpecialist if something goes software you care to throw at it. our tests.
wrong after the first six months. It’s not the niftiest 16in laptop we’ve
seen recently. It’s slower than the Asus OUR AWARDS
We award every product
A classy design, Vivobook 16 Flip (£1,300 from www.
snipca.com/54366, reviewed in Issue that gets five stars our
superb screen and 708), which was also Intel-powered but Buy It! stamp of approval.
It means we were
used a more powerful Core Ultra 7
great at performing processor. This makes a noticeable extremely impressed by the product, and
we think you will be too.
difference to the performance, but it does
advanced AI tasks keep the price of the Fusion below £1,000.
Every product that gets a
The 16in screen is excellent, almost
four-star review is given the
The chassis looks particularly classy, perfectly tuned to the DCI-P3 standard,
Recommended award. We
and we like the robust all-metal build. reproducing 94 per cent of its colours in
highly recommend these
It accommodates plenty of connections our tests. It has a peak brightness level
products, although they just fail to meet the
– with two USB-C (including one that of 488cd/m2, which is good enough for
high standard of our Buy It! winners.
supports USB 4.0), one USB 3.2 and an use in all lighting conditions.
HDMI socket on the left-hand side. The In line with most laptops, the speakers PRICES
right edge has another USB 3.2 port, a are fairly so-so, and music starts to Our reviews contain a link to the best price
microSD card slot and a headphone sound harsh if you push the volume up we found online at the time of press.
socket (all pictured below). too much. The battery lasted over 15 hours
Inside, there’s 16GB of RAM and a 1TB in our performance tests, which should
SSD to support the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V get you through a working day.
processor, which has an AI- powering VERDICT A classy 16in laptop with a
specification of 40 TOPS. That’s enough SPECIFICATIONS decent Intel processor, excellent screen,
to push the Fusion into Microsoft’s Eight-core Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor • 40 generous connectivity and a reasonable
Copilot+ category, making this the first TOPS • 16GB RAM • Intel Arc 130V graphics • 16in price tag
UK-built Copilot+ laptop we’ve tested. 2560x1600-pixel IPS screen • 1TB SSD • 1x USB-C

The main benefit of this is the

4.0 port • 1x USB-C port • 2x USB 3.2 ports • 1x HDMI ★★★★★
port • 1x 3.5mm audio jack • Wi-Fi 6E • Bluetooth 5.3
enhanced version of Windows 11 Home, • Windows 11 Home • 20x383x253mm (HxWxD) • ALTERNATIVE
which has a few extra tools you can use 1.3kg • Three-year warranty www.snipca.com/54519 Asus Vivobook
16 Flip £1,300
LEFT EDGE This flexible laptop
is a similar size
but offers better
RIGHT EDGE performance for
£300 more

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 23

 Reviews
TABLET | £379 from Currys www.snipca.com/54531

Lenovo Idea Tab Pro

Splitting sides

Lenovo’s Idea Tab Pro is clearly aimed at

anyone wavering between buying an iPad
or Android tablet. That puts it in similar
territory to the Honor Pad V9 (£400 from
www.snipca.com/54419, reviewed in
Issue 708), in that it exceeds the iPad’s
specifications in a number of key areas,
while costing only a little more. In fact,
the Idea Tab Pro adds only £50 to the
iPad’s £329. And that’s despite its much
larger 12.7in screen and bundled stylus –
by comparison, Apple charges an extra a convenient fingerprint reader on its makes the Idea Pad Pro an excellent
£79 for its Pencil. power button, which gave us safe, quick choice for streaming music and videos.
and reliable access during our tests. The performance of its Mediatek
The 12.7in screen uses IPS technology Dimensity 8300 processor was also
Its large screen and and has a resolution of 2944x1840 pixels. impressive. We put it through its paces
It’s not quite as vibrant as a typical OLED with a range of demanding apps, plus
powerful speakers make screen, such as the one on our current plenty of multi-tab web browsing, and
favourite Android tablet, the Honor there was no noticeable slowdown.
it ideal for streaming MagicPad2 (£449 from www.snipca. Even games ran smoothly, with
music and TV com/53150, see page 30).
That said, its colours are punchy and
Call of Duty: Mobile maintaining
more than 60 frames per second (fps)
its 144Hz refresh rate feels slick when even after we cranked up the graphics
The Idea Tab Pro doesn’t move far from navigating Android. The maximum settings to Very High. The more
the standard tablet design, but has a brightness level of 400cd/m2 is reasonable. demanding game Zenless Zone Zero
smooth metal back (pictured below) It’s certainly more than enough for ran at a smooth 30fps on Low settings.
that’s both pleasant to the touch and feels indoor use, but may struggle in the Turning the frame rate up to 60fps, the
like it’ll last. The bezels around the screen brightest sunlight if used outdoors. Idea Tab Pro remained mostly stable,
are about 8mm, which are wider than The large screen is great for simple but did start to heat up.
we’ve seen on many rival tablets. everyday usage, but particularly good Equipped with a large 10,200mAh
There’s a magnetic area where the for multi-tasking. Lenovo’s version of battery, the Idea Tab Pro gets through an
stylus can be stored when not in use, Android has some extra tools for just entire day of office work, web browsing
though it doesn’t charge from the tablet this purpose, making it easy to split the and media streaming with some juice
– that’s done via a USB-C port. Not that screen between two apps or view one to spare, though gaming took more of
you’ll need to do that regularly because app as a floating window. This makes it a toll.
the stylus has an impressive battery life ideal for viewing multiple documents at
of around 150 hours. once or taking notes from a website.
The Idea Tab Pro also includes a Other additions to Android include VERDICT Another decent Android
microSD card slot, which is ideal if you the Entertainment Space on the home tablet that offers a realistic alternative to
want to quickly expand your storage or screen, which connects to most the iPad, but we prefer the OLED screen
transfer files from elsewhere. There’s also streaming services to provide a page of of our current favourite (see below)
recommendations, which is a real help
when pondering which films or TV
★★★★★
shows to watch. Taken together with its ALTERNATIVE
surprisingly powerful speakers, it all Honor MagicPad2 £449 More
expensive and the screen is smaller,
SPECIFICATIONS but this has a
Eight-core Mediatek Dimensity 8300 processor • brilliant OLED
8GB RAM • 128GB storage • 12.7in 2944x1840-pixel display that’s
IPS screen • 13-megapixel rear camera • 8-megapixel
front-facing camera • Wi-Fi 6E • Bluetooth 5.3 •
worth the extra
Android 14 • 189x292x6.9mm (HxWxD) • 620g • money
One-year warranty www.snipca.com/54531

24 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Reviews
PHONE ❘ £499 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54585
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SPECS
Samsung Galaxy A56 Multiple
Out of this world monitors
What do they do?
Connecting additional monitors to
The Google Pixel 7a (£279 from www. your PC can dramatically improve your
snipca.com/53388, reviewed in Issue productivity and is popular with creative
660) has been our favourite Android professionals and office workers. It
phone for some time now, but it’s finally lets you keep your primary monitor or
time for it to make way. Our new top laptop screen for your main workload,
dog is the Galaxy A56, which is the then display your email and messaging
successor to Samsung’s mid-range A55 apps, for example, on other screens, so
model, which we reviewed in Issue 688. you can keep an eye on them without
To keep things simple, the A56 is only getting distracted from your main task.
available with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of
storage – all run by its Exynos 1580 How do they work?
processor. This impressive combination The easiest setup involves simply
helps its performance nudge ahead of the connecting a monitor to any available
Pixel 7a. In fact the A56 was faster in all Samsung’s adaptation of Android 15 to port on your laptop, desktop PC or
our benchmark tests, whether it was its own One UI 7 system. This has a mini PC. The other option is to ‘daisy
navigating Android, handling everyday number of AI photo tools, including chain’ monitors, whereby you link the
tasks such as email, or playing some removal of objects, capturing the perfect first monitor to your PC, then connect a
casual games. group shot and suggestions for photo second monitor to the first, and so on.
enhancements. To do that, however, you have to make
The A56 also has tools for translating sure you have the correct ports.
A vibrant screen, foreign-language text and includes
Google’s handy ‘Circle to Search’ tool, What are the specs?
excellent camera and which lets you search online for items Connecting straight from a PC to
you see in images. Samsung’s Now Bar is monitor is straightforward as long as
durable battery just as useful, providing at-a-glance info on your monitor’s inputs are compatible
apps running in the background, such as with the PC’s outputs. You can also
It has a 5,000mAh battery, which is a music players and maps. connect older monitors to newer PC
decent capacity for a phone at this price. The camera is superb. The rear unit has ports using an adapter – for example,
In video-playback tests it lasted 29 hours, a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel when connecting a monitor to an HDMI
and got through a full day of typical use ultrawide lens, and a 5-megapixel macro port on your PC. In a ‘daisy chain’ setup
with charge to spare. lens. More megapixels don’t always the monitor needs two DisplayPorts
The screen is a thing of beauty, with mean great photos, but Samsung has – one in and one out (pictured). The
vibrant colours, perfect contrast and configured its cameras well. Shots look latter connects it to the next monitor
smooth visuals – thanks to its 120Hz refresh natural, detailed and well balanced. in the chain. It also works with USB-C
rate. It benefits from AMOLED technology, The camera even works well in lower ports on laptops, but they need to be
measures 6.7in across the diagonal and light, and takes better night-time photos compatible with ‘USB-C DisplayPort
has a resolution of 2340x1080 pixels. than we’ve seen on significantly more alternate mode’ or Thunderbolt, such
It can achieve a peak brightness of expensive phones. as the ports on the HP Series 7 Pro 24
1200cd/m2, which is more than enough inch WUXGA USB-C Monitor (£312 from
for even the sunniest of days. It’s even www.snipca.com/54594).
protected by Corning Gorilla Glass VERDICT An eye-catching screen,
Victus, adding protection against superb camera and genuinely useful
scratches and drops. tools make this phone a
We were also impressed with must-have
★★★★★
SPECIFICATIONS
Eight-core Exynos 1580 processor • 8GB RAM • ALTERNATIVE Google
256GB storage • 6.7in 2340x1080-pixel AMOLED Pixel 9a £499 At the same Can I change it later?
screen • 50-megapixel rear camera • 12-megapixel price, Google’s latest As long as you have ports of the
ultrawide camera • 12-megapixel front-facing
camera • Wi-Fi 6 • Bluetooth 5.3 • One UI 7 interface •
phone may be even better correct type, you can always add more
162x78x7.4mm (HxWxD) • 198g • One-year warranty – find out next issue monitors later.
www.snipca.com/53782

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 25

 Reviews
PORTABLE STORAGE | £30 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54559

PNY Elite-X Fit

A short drive

We sometimes refer to small USB storage from its metal connector – the Elite-X Fit
drives as thumb drives, but this 256GB is made from plastic, whereas the V3 is
device (it also comes in 64GB and 128GB) metallic throughout.
is so tiny it might be better described as a To check how robust it is we carried
fingernail drive. It has a USB-C connector, it around attached to a keyring in our
measures 27x15x5mm (HxWxD, when pocket for a couple of weeks, and even
stood on one end), and weighs just 3g. popped it in an envelope and posted it
back to ourselves. It survived all this
rough treatment, continuing to operate
A tiny, robust USB-C perfectly well afterwards.
It doesn’t come with any software, such the maximum write speeds at 99MB/s.
drive for files you want as backup or security tools. This is storage This certainly isn’t the fastest USB storage

to take anywhere at its simplest, designed to hold and

transfer documents, photos and more. It’s
you can buy – the V3, which uses USB 3.2
Gen 2, was much faster in our tests at
particularly useful if you work on files 905MB/s (read) and 888MB/s (write) –
It has a retractable cover, similar to that you’d like to access anywhere but but it’s good enough for the size and
PNY’s Pro Elite V3 (£85 from www. don’t want to keep in online storage, or the price.
snipca.com/53762, reviewed in Issue for quickly transferring files from one
704), but it’s smaller thanks to its USB-C device to another. Thanks to its USB-C
connector (the Elite V3 has a full-sized connector, you can also use it with VERDICT A tiny, affordable USB
USB-A). Another difference is that – apart smartphones and tablets, not just PCs. storage device, though it’s slower and
Despite its connector, the device is has less capacity than some
limited to USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, which is
rated to max out at 200MB/s when
★★★★★
reading and 100MB/s when writing. In ALTERNATIVE
our tests the Elite-X Fit performed well, Netac US9 1TB
exceeding the quoted read speed and £75 A larger, faster
peaking at 215MB/s, and coming close to and more versatile
storage device,
SPECIFICATIONS
64GB, 128GB or 256GB capacities • USB-C connector
with both types of
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 performance • 27x15x5mm (HxWxD) USB connector
• 30g • One-year warranty www.snipca.com/54559

WHAT SHOULD I BUY? We solve your buying dilemmas

Can you suggest a budget monitor for editing photos?

I’d like to buy a new monitor For your photographic needs on
Q because my current one is
about eight years old and I’m
A a budget, we’d stick with our
current favourite monitor, the
pretty sure the colours aren’t as vibrant Philips 27E1N1600AE (pictured, see page
as they used to be. 32). It has a 27in screen, so there’s plenty
Having looked at a wide selection of of room to display multiple photos,
new models during my research, I’m and costs just £202 from www.snipca.
finding it difficult to choose from all com/51687, which is excellent value for
the different specifications and prices. a monitor of this size and quality. it with a standard HDMI cable, though
I don’t need it for gaming, but would It can reproduce an impressive 82 per it also accepts video signals through its
use it to edit and organise my photos. cent of the DCI-P3 standard, so you USB-C port.
My budget is limited. should be able get colours just right when Do you need advice on what you should buy?
David Wrigley editing your pictures. You can connect to Email us at [email protected]

26 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Reviews
HEADPHONES | £70 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54533

1More SonoFlow Pro HQ51

Keep the noise down

This pair of over-ear headphones from you prefer a lighter touch.

Chinese manufacturer 1More sets out to With noise-cancelling switched on
do it all – high-quality audio, effective we found the sound of chatter on public
noise cancelling and an attractive design transport, the click of nearby keyboards
at a great price. They even throw in a and the noise of passing cars were a little plasticky, while the headband
decent battery life for good measure. significantly dampened, though not doesn’t feel too sturdy – though a hard
While it would be unrealistic to completely muted. Meanwhile, in our carry case is provided to protect them on
expect a pair of sub-£100 headphones office, with the volume level set at 50 per your travels.
to rival the audio quality of premium cent, we barely heard anything except
models aimed at audiophiles, these do a the music we were playing.
commendable job nonetheless. Sound is Noise-cancelling restricted the battery VERDICT Affordable noise-cancelling
crystal clear and avoids tinniness, even at life to a still decent 65 hours. Switch it off headphones with surprisingly good
higher volumes. The default sound profile and you’ll easily get 100 hours. You can audio and battery life
is fairly bass-heavy, but this can be also plug the included cable into the
adjusted in the 1More app’s EQ settings if 3.5mm audio if you want the reliability of
★★★★★
a wired connection rather than Bluetooth. ALTERNATIVE Sony WH-CH520
SPECIFICATIONS These headphones are comfortable to £35 For quieter
40mm dynamic drivers • 65-hour battery life with wear, thanks to the generous padding on environments where
noise-cancelling on; 100 hours with noise-cancelling the headband and earcups. They also noise cancelling isn’t
off • Bluetooth 5.4 • 3.5mm audio jack • USB-C port
for charging • USB-C and 3.5mm audio cable (with
look attractive, particularly the sleek matt required, these are
microphone) supplied • 246g • One-year warranty finish. The only real downside of the even cheaper
www.snipca.com/54533 design are the control buttons, which feel

BLUETOOTH SPEAKER | £130 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54534

Tribit StormBox Lava

Speaks volumes

Anyone looking for a larger Bluetooth submerged in a metre of water for up to app. Battery life is impressive – at
speaker that can fill a room with music half an hour. For transportation you can 50-per-cent volume level it can play for
but still be easily transported for use switch between an interchangeable 24 hours, which should be enough for
outside will appreciate the versatility of handle (pictured) and shoulder strap even the most energetic party animal.
the Tribit Stormbox Lava. It ticks both – both of which are supplied. It has an
boxes without costing a fortune. AUX port for wired listening and a USB-A
At 152x310x147mm (HxWxD) this port for charging external devices. VERDICT A versatile speaker for
semi-cylindrical speaker is too big to tuck As you might expect at this price, inside or outdoors, which sounds
into a small bag, but not so large that sound quality isn’t out of this world, but impressive for the price and has a
it’s awkward to carry around. And to it’s perfectly capable for house parties or battery that keeps going all day
withstand the great outdoors it has a outdoor events with lots of background
rugged build quality and ingress rating of noise. It handles most audio well –
★★★★★
IP67. This means it’s protected against from deep bass tones to higher pitches, ALTERNATIVE Pure
dust and dirt, and can survive being though sounds in the mid-range are Woodland £99 A less
often smothered by rumbling low-end powerful speaker, but it
SPECIFICATIONS frequencies and it loses a little quality at comes with digital and
2x 30W woofers • 2x 10W tweeters • 24-hour
higher volumes. FM radio built in as well
battery life • IP67 ingress protection • Bluetooth
5.4 • 152x310x147mm (HxWxD) • 2.3kg • One-year If you don’t like the default sound as Bluetooth connectivity
warranty www.snipca.com/54534 profile, you can adjust it in Tribit’s phone

28 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Reviews
EBOOK READER | £280 from Amazon www.snipca.com/54612
DO I REALLY NEED...
Onyx Boox Palma 2 A foldable
Phone book ebook reader?
What is it?
This is Onyx’s follow-up to the original Like Onyx’s Boox Palma 2 (left) the
Boox Palma (reviewed in Issue 672). It’s a Readmoo mooInk V Fold (pictured
very similar proposition – namely an below, www.snipca.com/54633) is a
ebook reader with an E Ink Carta 1200 pocket-sized ebook
screen that’s smaller than a typical reader. However,
e-reader. In fact at 159x80x8mm this has a larger
(HxDxW) it’s closer in size to a smartphone, 8in screen that
which makes it easy to carry around in a folds in half.
pocket and read with one hand.
Like many phones it has a 6.13in How does it
screen, mic, speakers, a camera on the work?
back and buttons on the side. Unlike It’s the first device to use a foldable
most smartphones, the plastic case feels version of E Ink’s new Gallery 3 colour
relatively cheap and the battery lasts for display. When open it’s a similar size to
weeks rather than hours. an iPad mini, but folded up it’s more like
a smartphone.

Runs Android 13, favourite apps, including music- What’s the catch?
so you can download streaming services and mobile games.
With its slower refresh rate, the E Ink
Chinese manufacturer Readmoo hasn’t
announced prices or launch dates yet.
apps as well as screen is never going to be as slick as a And it may soon have competition.
typical smartphone display, but most E Ink already makes screens for all the
read ebooks apps remain surprisingly usable. If you popular brands of ebook reader, so
want to stick to reading, both the Kindle manufacturers are probably already
The main physical difference between and Kobo apps work well on the Palma 2. planning their own folding devices.
this and the previous Palma is that the The E Ink Carta 1200 screen is now
power button is now longer and flatter. previous-generation technology. While So can I do without it?
This is to incorporate a fingerprint scanner it’s still fantastic to read on, with plenty Yes. We think most people will still be
that’s used to unlock the device – its of contrast to render text in sharp relief, happy to carry larger e-readers around
predecessor used a passcode. From a design the responsiveness isn’t as good as newer with them.
perspective this really is a minor upgrade. Carta 1300 screens. The built-in speaker
The software improvements are is perfectly fine for listening to audiobooks,
definitely worthwhile, however. The but doesn’t sound so great playing music. NEXT ISSUE
redesigned app icons and settings for The Palma 2 comes with 128GB of storage
NeoReader (the Boox library app) give it a and can accommodate a microSD card On Sale Weds 21 May
cleaner, more modern feel and make it should you need more in future.
easier to adjust fonts and page styling.
Google Pixel 9a
It runs on an adapted version of Android Google’s latest
13 – another step up on the previous VERDICT Decent pocket-sized affordable Android
model, which used Android 11. alternative to Kindle and Kobo, but smartphone
One of the best things about an don’t bother if you already have the
Android-based ebook reader is that you previous version
can do a lot more with it than just read
books. You can access the Google Play
★★★★★ PCSpecialist
Hydra R60S
Store and download many of your ALTERNATIVE A powerful desktop
Amazon Kindle PC capable of video
SPECIFICATIONS Paperwhite £160 A editing and gaming
6.13in 300ppi E Ink Carta 1200 touchscreen • cheaper option with
1648x824-pixel resolution • 128GB storage • Wi-Fi • a superior screen, These and much more...
Bluetooth 5.1 • USB-C charging port • 3950mAh Li-
ion rechargeable battery • Android 13 • 159x80x8mm
but it won’t fit in Subscribe to Computeractive at
(HxDxW) • 170g • One-year warranty www.snipca. your pocket www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
com/54612

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 29

 Buy It Find out which other products we liked.
Buy our 2024 Back Issue CD:
£19 from www.snipca.com/53433

Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award

LAPTOP DESKTOP PC APPLE iPAD

Asus Vivobook 16 Flip Palicomp AMD Cobra Apple iPad 10.9in

£1,300 from www.snipca.com/54366 £400 from www.snipca.com/43515 £329 from www.snipca.com/53977
Tested Issue 708 Tested Issue 643 Tested Issue 646

Versatile device that can be used like a The price of the 10th-generation iPad,
laptop or flipped over like a tablet. It’s released in 2022, has fallen far enough
faster than the Dell Inspiron (below) This fast PC is a mouth-watering that it’s the best-value model. The link
with office software and web browsing, bargain, with 16GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD above takes you to Apple, but also
has a stunning screen, and lasts nearly and a six-core processor – though it check John Lewis where it’s been as
14 hours. Worth the money. lacks USB-C ports and built-in Wi-Fi. low as £309.

ALTERNATIVE Dell Inspiron 14 Plus ALTERNATIVE Wired2Fire Ultima WS ALTERNATIVE iPad mini 7 The 2024
Comes with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Home Office Workstation Blisteringly version of the mini improves the colour
and a 14in 2240x1400-pixel screen. fast PC, powered by an overclocked accuracy on the 8.3in screen and has a
Great value. £799 from www.snipca. eight-core processor and 1TB SSD. more powerful processor. £499 from
com/54634 £675 from www.snipca.com/41500 www.snipca.com/52573

ANDROID TABLET APPLE iPHONE ANDROID PHONE ENNEW

TR
Y
Honor MagicPad2 Apple iPhone 16 Samsung Galaxy A56
£399 from www.snipca.com/53150 £799 from www.snipca.com/53981 £499 from www.snipca.com/54585
Tested Issue 700 Tested Issue 695 Tested Issue 709

With a larger screen (12.3in) than the

Galaxy Tab S9 (below) and a similar
performance for less money, Honor’s
MagicPad2 is a superb new tablet. The This is the best new iPhone for years, The successor to Samsung’s mid-
OLED screen has a strikingly sharp boosted by a processor that’s as fast as range A55, this has a stunning screen
resolution, and yet battery life is a much more expensive models. The screen and lasted over 29 hours in our tests.
mighty 18 hours. is excellent, while the new Camera Control It’s faster than Google’s Pixel 7a in all
button gives lots of ways to take photos. tasks, and has AI-powered photo tools.
ALTERNATIVE Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
Has a much brighter screen than its ALTERNATIVE iPhone 14 Now heavily ALTERNATIVE Google Pixel 7a Cheaper
predecessor, making it ideal for watching discounted, this remains a speedy version of Google’s flagship phone, it
TV. Also has a faster processor, speeding phone with great features and an uses AI to improve photos and lasts 10
up tasks. £799 (128GB) from www. impressive camera. £499 (128GB) from hours. Has fast processor and 8GB RAM.
snipca.com/50039 www.snipca.com/53982 £279 from www.snipca.com/53388.

30 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Buy It
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
MINI PC EBOOK READER P SECURITY SOFTWARE
DRRIC
OP E
GMKtec NucBox K11 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Norton 360 Premium
£700 from www.snipca.com/54341 £130 from www.snipca.com/52730 £19.99 from www.snipca.com/33247
Tested Issue 707 Tested Issue 698 Tested Issue 629

Norton has always performed

strongly in our antivirus tests,
A fast and powerful machine, but The sixth version of the Paperwhite regularly making the top three.
what really sets it apart are the ports has a larger screen (7in), faster page Owned by US firm NortonLifeLock,
letting you upgrade it – such as the turns and longer battery life (12 weeks it’s available at a discount on our
OCuLink connection for graphics – up from 10). Its glare-free finish Software Store. Use the link above
cards. Also has six USB ports, 32GB RAM means you can easily read it in bright for a 10-device, two-year licence.
(upgradeable to 96GB) and a 1TB SSD. sunlight, and its 300ppi resolution Other versions are available, including
makes text a joy to read. Norton 360 for Gamers.
ALTERNATIVE Geekom A8
Too small to accommodate many ports, ALTERNATIVE Kobo Libra Kobo’s first ALTERNATIVE Bitdefender Total
but makes up for it with a 2TB SSD and colour e-reader, with over 4,000 tones to Security Another top performer that
SD card slot for adding storage. £719 make illustrations and photos leap out. we’re offering at a discount. £24.99
from www.snipca.com/51157 £210 from www.snipca.com/50192 from www.snipca.com/41141

WEBCAM PC MONITOR SOLID-STATE DRIVE

Logitech C925e Business Philips 27E1N1600AE Corsair MP600 Pro LPX 1TB
Webcam £200 from www.snipca.com/54190 £84 from www.snipca.com/52658
£65 from www.snipca.com/50751 Tested Issue 692 Tested Issue 630
Tested Issue 608

Despite the name, this webcam is also An affordable 27in monitor with a In our tests, this M.2 SSD hit speeds
great for home users. Its standout sharp resolution, impressive image of 7,364MB/s and 6,870MB/s when
feature is automatically adjusting itself quality and a sturdy build. It has an reading and writing data – astonishingly
to keep your picture looking sharp. It HDMI port, a USB-C port and two USB fast scores. It’s compatible with the
offers a 78-degree field of view, which 3.0. The hefty base means you can new PCIe 4.0 standard, which is twice
is fine for everyday video chats with one raise and tilt the monitor easily using as fast as PCIe 3.0. The 1TB model
person in front of the camera. just one hand. costs £84; 2TB costs £143.

ALTERNATIVE Creative Live Cam Sync 4K ALTERNATIVE Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS ALTERNATIVE Crucial MX500 500GB
Affordable 4K webcam with high- Another excellent 27in monitor with As fast as an SSD can get in the
quality video that can also capture 1440p resolution and a fast refresh traditional 2.5in SATA format, this
voice from a distance. £45 from rate aimed at gamers. £229 from is a great-value upgrade. £65 from
www.snipca.com/51577 www.snipca.com/49898 www.snipca.com/53808

32 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Buy It

COMPETITION

Win 1 of 8…
Majority Little Shelford
Portable Bluetooth
DAB+ radios
Majority’s Little Shelford Portable presets and dual alarm let you save and submit your details by midnight
Bluetooth DAB+ radio has a classic- your favourite radio stations and wake Tuesday 20 May. Good luck!
looking, vintage design and can be up to them every morning.
powered both at the mains and by In this competition we’re offering You can buy the Little Shelford
battery (four AA batteries). It has a eight Cream radios, but it’s also Portable Bluetooth DAB+ Radio from
carry handle and weighs just 760 available in Midnight Blue, Black, Duck Amazon priced £44.95 (www.snipca.
grams, making it highly portable Egg, Red and Grey. It has a 3.5mm com/54506). For more Majority
wherever you want to take it. headphone jack and comes with a products, including DVD players,
It has a backlit and dimmable LED MicroUSB charging cable. microphones, speakers and turntables,
screen showing station information To enter this competition, answer visit www.majority.co.uk and ‘like’
and settings, while the 20-plus the question at www.snipca.com/54505 www.facebook.com/MajorityAudio.

PRINTER ENNEW SMART TV ROUTER

TR
Y
HP OfficeJet Pro 9135e Bush 43UT24SB Asus RT-AXE7800
£181 from www.snipca.com/53101 £199 from www.snipca.com/53637 £180 from www.snipca.com/52957
Tested Issue 700 Tested Issue 703 Tested Issue 665

A versatile cartridge printer-scanner It’s rare to find a 43in TV this cheap, This router has Wi-Fi 6E, so will be
for the home office that makes printing especially with a superbly bright screen. capable of the fastest possible speeds
jobs quicker and easier than most of Sound isn’t bad either, and it offers most on the 6GHz network over the next
its inkjet rivals. Colour prints cost a of the streaming services, including few years. It has five Ethernet ports and
reasonable 6p per page, while mono Freely. Its TiVo operating system is also a USB 3.0 port to connect a hard
costs 2p. Printed text is superb and very easy to use. drive or NAS drive.
photos are pretty good too.
ALTERNATIVE Samsung CU8000 ALTERNATIVE Synology WRX560
ALTERNATIVE Epson EcoTank ET-1810 More expensive, but has a 55in LED Our previous favourite remains an
Not the fastest printer, but comes with screen and sharp 4K resolution. excellent choice, delivering speeds of
enough ink for 4,500 mono and 7,500 Connectivity is good, with three HDMI up to 791.5Mbps. Add more units to
colour pages. £140 from www.snipca. and two USB ports. £360 from www. set up mesh Wi-Fi. £215 from
com/52191 snipca.com/52110 www.snipca.com/52051

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 33

Computeractive 2024
Back Issue CD & USB Stick
Both the CD and Stick contain all 26 issues from 2024

LE NOW!
ON SA

SOLD OUT
BACK IN
STOCK!

Buy the CD from us at Buy the Stick from us at

www.snipca.com/53433 www.snipca.com/53180
 Pull Out
& Keep

Workshops & Tips Issue 709

14 pages of easy-to-follow workshops and expert tips

35 Use your smartphone 40 Readers’ Tips PLUS
to help with DIY 44 Phone & Tablet Tips 47 M
 ake Office Better
42 Browser Tips: Add
38 Master your tabs with page-sharing options 46 M
 ake Windows 48 In the Club: Schedule
Zen Browser to your toolbar Better posts on Facebook

HOW TO...
Use your smartphone to
help with DIY by Nik Rawlinson

What you need: iPhone or Android phone Time required: Probably a whole weekend

S
pring is upon us, and now that we careful, you can end up spending magnetometer, your phone is an
can throw open the windows to get hundreds of pounds on tape measures, all-in-one tradesperson’s buddy, and a
rid of dust and fresh paint fumes, wall-stud detectors, plumb lines and the far more versatile DIY sidekick than you
it’s the perfect time to start thinking wrong coloured paint (we’ve all done it). probably imagined. Here we’ll reveal how
about home improvements. But have you A cheaper alternative is to delegate some your smartphone – whether Android or
got the right tools for the job? Take a trip of these tasks to your phone. iPhone – can help you do a neater
to your local DIY store and, if you’re not With a camera, accelerometer and home-improvement job more quickly.

Measure distances opposite end of the dimension you want to get one of the measurement points
1 and dimensions
If you have an iPhone or iPad,
to measure and press the ‘+’ button again.
Notice that your device will try and
exactly positioned in the first place, you
can now press and hold on either of them
you can do away with a physical tape latch on to an obvious edge to make and move them to the correct location.
measure by using the built-in Measure things easier. If it’s not quite hitting the Now that you’ve made your first
app instead – as long as you don’t spot you’re after, or it’s latching on to measurement, you can add to it. Either
need to be millimetre perfect (if you’ve something else very close to the object, repeat what you did to add a completely
uninstalled Measure, you can reinstall try moving a little closer before pressing separate set of vectors, or position the
it from the App Store at www.snipca. ‘+’ at either end of the line. point at the centre of the on-screen circle
com/54453). You’ll need to be using an As soon as you’ve pressed ‘+’ for the over one of the vectors at either end of
iPhone SE or later, iPhone 6s or later, second time, it will show the distance your existing measurement.
an iPad Pro, or an iPad 5th Generation between the two points on a line that You’ll notice that it seems to snap on
or later. And if you have an iPhone Pro, links them. If you didn’t quite manage to the point you’re pointing at. Press
you’ll also benefit from the built-in the ‘+’ button again to confirm that
LiDAR scanner, which detects objects to you want to use this as the start of your
automatically apply measurements. new measurement, then frame the end
When you launch the app, you’ll see point and press ‘+’ again to complete
a broken circle on the screen. Line up the measurement. Press the on-screen
the dot at the centre of this with one of shutter button to save a photo of the view,
the extremities of the object you want to complete with the measurements you’ve
measure and press the ‘+’ (plus) button just made overlaying it.
(see screenshot) to add a vector. Now If you don’t need millimetre accuracy, Apple’s Rather neatly, if you want to measure
move your iPhone or iPad to frame the Measure app can replace your tape measure a square or rectangle, you can skip the

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 35

 Apple’s
Measure app
can recognise
squares and
rectangles
How I use my phone for DIY
and calculate I tend to use my phone as a rough guide to complement traditional
their 2
dimensions
1 tools like tape measures and handheld stud detectors. However,
and area I’ve used it to plan a new colour scheme for a bedroom using
Dulux Visualiser. In the end I chose white paint, which I could
probably have done without any help - though the app was still
1 useful.
Nik Rawlinson
How do you use your phone for home-improvement projects?
Please let us know: [email protected]

screen selector slightly away from the the second row on the far left of the
line you’ve just drawn, the line turns into screen. This adds two new lines: a purple
a ruler. As it’s a bit difficult to see this in line showing a true vertical ( 1 in our
a screenshot of a large item of furniture, screenshot below left) and a green line
we’ve measured our cat (pictured below showing an accurate horizontal 2 .
left), so the ruler shows up against the As you angle your phone left and right,
ginger fur and you can more easily see these lines float in the opposite direction,
process of adding multiple vectors. what we mean. You can see how far from so they always maintain their correct
Instead, just take a step back so the whole either end of the measurement specific orientation. This lets you check that the
object is within the Measure window and features are located. vertical and horizontal surfaces you’re
a dotted outline will be laid over it. Press You can’t use Apple’s Measure app pointing the camera at are accurate.
‘+’ to confirm you want to measure it, on Android devices. Some have an You can also use the app not just to
and it will not only record the horizontal equivalent app built in, but if yours check angles, but to set them. Hold
and vertical lengths ( 1 in our screenshot doesn’t try the ad-supported Smart and drag on the edge of the green
above), but also calculate the area 2 . Measure, which you can download from area, and pull it to an angle indicated
If you have an iPad Pro 12.9in or later, Google Play (www.snipca.com/54458). on the outer arc of the protractor. The
iPad Pro 11in or later, iPhone 12 Pro or It performs a similar function, allowing specified angle will appear in the centre
later, or iPhone 12 Pro Max or later, your you to set start and end points for of the screen. Now line up a vertical
device has a LiDAR (Light Detection And measurements along a line. or horizontal edge with either the zero
Ranging) scanner, which times how long marker or the edge of the green area
it takes for light to bounce off an object to Measure and set angles that you’ve just dragged out, and use the
calculate measurements.
Notice how, if you have a LiDAR-
2 Not everything is set at a right
angle, which can complicate
opposite border to show where you need
to position a surface, slice a section of
enabled device, when you move the on- matters when cutting items to fit. wallpaper, paint along and more, in the
Fortunately, your phone can help, as its physical world.
Using LiDAR,
once you’ve built-in accelerometer, which switches You can perform a similar function
marked out a apps between portrait and landscape with the free (ad-supported) Angle
measurement orientation when you turn the phone Finder on iPhone (www.snipca.
line, it turns on its side, can also be used to measure com/54482). This has several functions,
into a ruler
angles between upright and horizontal. including a metal detector, plumb line
With the free Protractor app for and gyroscope. In this instance, though,
Android (www.snipca.com/54476) you we’re particularly interested in the laser
can overlay an on-screen protractor level. Select it, then hold your phone so
on top of the view from your phone’s the camera is pointing at the angles you
camera. Tap the plumb line button, on want to measure. Line up the red line
The Android Protractor
app uses the camera
to help you measure
angles

36 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Use your smartphone to help with DIY

3 1

The screen is green, so we know this picture

The iPhone Angle Finder lets you emulate a laser level frame is level

against one of the vertices, then use the Dulux’s Stud

Visualiser Detector
bottom-right slider ( 1 in our screenshot app lets displays
above) to rotate the green line until it’s you preview red lights
aligned with your other edge. Now note paint when you
the angle between them on the screen 2 colours in pass your
your home phone over
(ignoring the advert below 3 ). a wall stud
If you have an iPhone, your device also
has a built-in spirit level, which you’ll
find if you return to the Measure app and
tap Level. Hold your phone against the
object you’re trying to level off and gently
change its orientation. When it’s level,
the display will turn from black to green
(see screenshot top right).

See what your room

3 would look like in
different colours
One of the most time-consuming
DIY jobs is painting a room – and
unfortunately, you can be half way
through the task before you realise
you’ve made a dreadful mistake when
choosing your colour. You can now avoid
this calamity using augmented-reality duvet and pillows (you can still see some by the phone’s compass app). If you’re
apps like Dulux Visualiser, which show of the original white paint through the only going to use it once or twice it can
you what a colour would look like on bars of the bed head). Because the effect be a cheaper solution, and save you
your actual walls rather than just on a is applied live, we can move the phone adding yet another rarely used tool to
small paper strip. It’s a free download for around and, if we decide we don’t like your kit.
both Android and iOS (click the relevant the chosen colour after all, we can select We tested Stud Finder on iPhone
button at the bottom of www.snipca. another one and it’ll replace our original (www.snipca.com/54478) and Stud
com/54459). choice. Detector on Android (www.snipca.
When you’ve installed the app, launch com/54480). Both were free, with Stud
it, then tell it what kind of room you Detect wall studs Detector being ad supported, and Stud
want to decorate (such as a bedroom, for
example). Now, step into the room you
4 Drilling into wall studs can
damage your drill bit, and could
Finder pausing every so often for an
alert that encouraged us to upgrade to
want to paint and point your phone at hurt you if it dislodges or snaps off the paid-for edition.
the walls. Select a colour from the strip some metal. You should therefore always In each case, we ran them over an area
at the bottom of the screen and tap the check whether there are any in the vicinity where we knew there were studs in our
walls you want to apply it to. before you start working your way into walls, and both correctly detected them.
The room in our screenshot above walls. You can buy a wall- stud detector If you have particularly thick walls each
right is actually painted white, but the from a hardware store, but many phones lets you increase the sensitivity (see
Visualiser app has changed the wall can detect metal using a built-in screenshot above). Conversely, if you’re
colours without also affecting the white magnetometer (which is more often used getting false positives, you can reduce it.

Next issue: Edit your photos using mask layers Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 37
 Workshop
Master your tabs with Zen Browser
What you need: Zen Browser
Time required: 30 minutes

T here are now so many browsers

to choose from that newcomers
to this crowded field need to do
improvements that should help you
to more quickly navigate the web
and manage your browser tabs.
something special if they hope to Although it’s still in beta, you can
compete with established names. download Zen Browser from www.
Zen, which is based on the same snipca.com/54615. Click the
technology as Firefox (rather than Download button at the top right of
Chromium used by most other the page, and follow the onscreen
browsers), may just have cracked it, installation process. We didn’t make
thanks to a series of clever any changes to the default options.

STEP Start by getting familiar with Zen’s most 1

1 important elements, which are located in the
left sidebar. These include the search and 2
address box 1 , bookmarks bar 2 , tabs in the Default
workspace 3 and active tabs 4 . At the bottom you’ll 7
find icons for settings 5 and your downloads 6 .
Workspaces are where you organise related tabs.
To create one, right-click Default 7 then click ‘+’.
3
Give it a name (we’re calling ours ‘Zen links’),
then click Create Workspace. 5
4
6

5
1
1
2 2

STEP Zen will then create the new workspace and switch to STEP To save you navigating backwards and forwards

2 it. Right-click the new (‘Zen links’) workspace in the

sidebar and select Default to return to your previous
3 through a series of pages that might not deliver what
you want, Zen has a clever Glance feature. To use it,
view. Now click the Welcome tab 1 and hold down your Shift hold down the Alt key while clicking a link, and instead of
key while clicking the Privacy Policy tab 2 to select them both. opening the web page, Zen will show a preview of it. If it’s not
Right-click either, then hover over Change Tab(s) To Workspace what you want, click close 1 , but if you like the look of it, click
3 and click ‘Zen links’ 4 on the menu that opens. Your tabs will the full-screen button 2 and it will open in a new tab.
disappear from the sidebar, but clicking Default 5 and selecting
‘Zen links’ will reveal them again. You can create other workspaces
in the same way to house tabs you don’t want to close, but
would rather keep out of the way.

38 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 1 2

STEP You’ll have noticed a third button below the full-screen STEP When you have two or more pages open in a split

4 option in Step 3. This is the split-screen button, which

opens the previewed page alongside the original page
5 view, hovering over one of them reveals a small tab
containing a handle 1 and a ‘-’ button 2 . Click, hold
from which it was linked. You can display more pages by and drag the handle to rearrange the layout of your panes. Click
dragging them in from the sidebar – as we’ve done here 1 . You the ‘-’ button to remove a pane from the split view. This doesn’t
can also right-click a link on any visible web page then click close the page: it just removes it from the group, adding it to the
‘Split link to new tab’ to open it alongside the page you’re sidebar as a new tab. To close it, hover over the tab in the
currently viewing. sidebar and click the ‘x’ that appears.

STEP In its default state, Zen

6 hides the window

controls to save space.
Hover close to the top of the
screen to reveal them. You can
reclaim even more screen space
by right-clicking the tab area,
hovering over ‘Compact mode’ 1
and clicking ‘Enable compact
mode’ 2 . This hides the tab bar.
To see your tabs again simply
hover your cursor close to the
left-hand edge of the screen and
they will slide into view.

1 2

STEP To make more extensive changes,

7 right-click the tab area then click

Customize Toolbar. This reveals a
collection of useful controls 1 you can
drag on to the toolbar for easy access. Tick
the Title Bar box 2 and the window
controls will be permanently returned to
the top of the browser window, making it
1 easier to minimise, resize or close the
browser. Click Done 3 when you’ve
finished making changes.

2 3

Next issue: Improve Windows in ways Microsoft never will Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 39
 Readers’ Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT

Set tasks for right and middle clicks in GIMP

Seven years is a long time to wait for a screenshot). Next, click where it says
substantial update to GIMP (www. ‘Click here to set a button’s modifiers’ 2 2
gimp.org), but version 3.0 seems to – making sure you click either the middle
have been worth it (Issue 707, page 18). or right mouse button. Now click the
Digging into the settings, I’ve found a dropdown menu and select what you
new way to change what happens want that button to do 3 . I’ve set my
when you click the right and middle middle button to display GIMP’s menu 3
buttons on your mouse. and my right button to zoom. There are
Click Edit at the top then Preferences. several other useful options, such as
Now click Canvas Interaction on the rotating and changing the brush size. 1
left followed by Modifiers ( 1 in our Laura Jennings

Laura wins a copy of our 2024 Back Issue CD Buy it from us at www.snipca.com/53433

PHOTOGRAPHY difference! This holder comes complete 1 2

Use a tripod to take with a Bluetooth remote. The results
high-magnification photos have been amazing – see the attached
I take a lot of botanical pictures on picture of a leaf below. My wife has also
my Android phone, using Hantorm’s commandeered my outfit for videoing
‘Magnifier & Microscope’ app for my Android her dog-training activities as well as
phone (www.snipca.com/54537). At higher group family pictures!
magnifications it’s difficult to hold my Chris Adam
phone steady, so I bought the Lidasen
Flexible Mini Tripod APPS
Holder (£8.99 from Double-tap songs
www.snipca. to add to favourites
com/54538, pictured It doesn’t have the best quite simple: just double-tap the title of a
below). What a design, but I like Non Stop song. This will be confirmed by a message
Radio (www.snipca.com/54016), at the bottom (see screenshot 1 above).
which appeared in Issue 706’s Don’t ask me how I found myself on a
best new apps box (page 44). It’s Slovakian radio station, but it was playing
easy to add a station to your my favourite Hollies song, so I wasn’t
favourites (tap the heart icon), complaining. Tap ‘Favorite Songs’ and
but I was flummoxed about how you’ll see which songs you’ve added 2 ,
to add specific songs. though confusingly these have a heart
I only discovered how to do this icon next to them. Remember, you don’t
by reading the Troubleshooting tap the heart icon to add specific songs.
information, and it’s actually Terry Charles

Why I stopped using…

ChatGPT, Claude interface. The design is excellent and you
and Google Gemini immediately notice how much faster it is.
The interfaces of these AI T3 Chat offers Gemini’s flagship model
chatbots are pretty terrible, and lite version and OpenAI’s GPT-4o-
considering how good some of their mini for free. However, subscribing to
large language models are. I’m also the Pro plan (only $8 a month, which
tired of how slow they can be. converts to £6) lets you use loads of your prompts and responds in real
models including DeepSeek (via a US time. Mobile and desktop apps are
And what I use instead... third party, so no tracking) and Claude. coming soon.
I now use T3 Chat (https://t3.chat), There’s a dark mode you can turn on Benjy Ross
which takes models from these by clicking the top-right moon icon (see Tell us why you stopped using a website, app
chatbots and uses them in its own screenshot). It creates images based on or program: [email protected]

40 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers
Email us your tips: [email protected]

SECURITY
Make QR code scanner go Reader recommends…
straight to safe sites
I’ve been a satisfied Trend Micro Panasonic 55Z90AEB Freely TV
customer for many years, so was £1,400 from www.snipca.com/54539
eager to try its app for safely scanning
QR codes (www.snipca.com/54027) as Living by the sea, viewing comfortable
you recommended in Issue 706 (page 45). with regular gales, from a side angle. It
By default, when you scan a code you our satellite dish got has excellent colour
have to tap another button (‘Open’) to rusty over the years and and clarity. Nature
go to the website. eventually fell off during programmes in particular
Presumably this is to make you think a storm. We were then look great in UHD.
twice whether it’s safe, but I find this restricted to channels via Sound is good, though
redundant because I trust Trend Micro to Wi-Fi (we can’t get Freeview). We also not as impressive as high-quality
block dodgy sites. And if it didn’t, what needed a new TV. surround-sound. The remote control
would be the point of using its scanner Having done some research, we is easy to use, and Freely seems
anyway? decided that a TV with Freely installed excellent. Talking to Alexa makes it
Trend Micro does let you skip this extra could be the answer – and the easy to switch channels.
step, but you need to know where to look. Panasonic 55Z90AEB suited our needs. Linda Hawkins
Tap the top-right three-dot menu then It’s not cheap, but it’s well-designed Want to recommend hardware or software
tick ‘Open safe web pages automatically’ and streamline, with just one cable (for to fellow readers?
( 1 in our screenshot below). Below this power). It has a swivel stand, making Email [email protected]
you’ll see an option to change which
browser web pages open in 2 .
Len Hopgood AI below left) and generate more images.
Lock ImageFX’s ‘Seed’ This narrows the results to more similar
to narrow your image choices images 2 , making the trial-and-error
Like Philip Wilkinson (Readers’ process more focused.
Tips, Issue 708), I’ve been using This method has helped me create
Google’s ImageFX (www.snipca. landscape backgrounds for images I
com/54057) to create AI images. It’s one need to manipulate. However, even with
1 of the best image creators I’ve come Seed locked, you must still use precise
across. You still need to be patient and instructions, including colour, location,
use trial and error to get an image you style, dimensions and more 3 .
can work with, but this is made easier Derek Appleby
2 by locking and unlocking the ‘Seed’
option. This determines how varied WINDOWS
the images are. Ditch Start menu for folder
To explain, I begin with Seed unlocked. shortcuts
This produces images with great On many occasions over the years
differences between them. I repeat this I’ve read readers moaning that they
until I pick an image I like, then click the don’t like the Start menu on Windows.
padlock to lock Seed ( 1 in our screenshot This has always puzzled me because apart
from accessing my computer’s power
button I can’t remember the last time I
actually used the Start menu. Instead I
always use the two columns of shortcuts
2 shown in my screenshot below.
3 If I don’t have what I want on my
desktop, I simply type it into the search
box at the bottom.
Keith Norton

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 41

 Browser Tips
CHROME for them to Chrome’s top-right toolbar. BRAVE
Add page-sharing options To do so, click Customise Chrome in Switch to vertical tabs
to your toolbar the bottom-right corner of a New Tab more easily
When Google redesigned Chrome page ( 1 in our screenshot below) and The latest version of Brave (1.77.95,
in late 2023, it quietly removed select Toolbar. This will display a list of released at the start of April), makes
the ‘Share this page’ button from the buttons you can add to the browser’s a small but welcome improvement to its
address bar. Clicking this button provided toolbar – including a Downloads button, vertical-tabs feature. This option moves
several ways to share the current web as we explained in Issue 708 (page 42). your tabs from their traditional location
page, including copying its link, sending Scroll down to the ‘Tools and actions’ across the top of the browser to a side
it to other devices on which you were section 2 and choose which buttons to panel on the right, where they’re easier to
signed into Chrome, and creating a add to the toolbar, such as ‘Copy link’, access and have their full titles displayed.
QR code you could scan with your ‘Send to your devices’ and ‘Create QR Previously, to switch to vertical tabs,
phone’s camera. code’. The latter is particularly useful, you had to click Brave’s three-line menu,
These options were moved to the because you can download and share the choose Settings then Appearance, and
‘Cast, share and save’ section of the code, so anyone who scans it can open switch on ‘Use vertical tabs’ in the Tabs
browser’s main menu, which is harder to the relevant page. section. Now you can simply right-click
access – in fact, you may not even know The selected buttons will now appear the tab bar and select ‘Use vertical tabs’
they are there. Thankfully, you can now on Chrome’s toolbar 3 . To remove them, ( 1 in our screenshot below).
restore these sharing options, either either switch off their sliders or right- This will move your open tabs to a
individually or in bulk, by adding buttons click their icons and select Unpin. right-hand panel, where you can navigate
them vertically. To switch back to
horizontal tabs, right-click the panel and
3 untick ‘Use vertical tabs’.
If you’d prefer the vertical-tabs panel to
be on the left, go into Brave’s Appearance
settings and choose ‘Show on the left’
under ‘Use vertical tabs’. You can shrink
2 your vertical tabs to show only page
favicons rather than their titles, by
clicking the ‘Minimise tabs’ button in the
top-right corner of the side panel 2 .

1
1 2

WORKSHOP View two web pages side-by-side in Brave

1
1

2 1
3
1

1 Right-click a tab in Brave’s tab bar and

select ‘New split view’ 1 . This will split
the main browser window into two parts,
2 To swap the two halves, click the ‘Split
view menu button’ positioned between
them at the top of the window 1 and choose
3 If you don’t see the ‘New split view’
option when you right-click a tab, type
brave://flags in the browser’s address bar
with the current tab displayed on the left. If ‘Swap tab positions’ 2 . Select ‘Unsplit tabs’ 3 and press Enter. Find the entry Enable split
you only have one tab open, the right half to close the opposite tab and make the view 1 , select Enabled in its dropdown
of the window will show a New Tab page. current one fill the whole window. menu 2 and relaunch Brave.

42 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Secret settings and the best extensions

BEST EXTENSION FOR… Cleaning up your bookmarks

Bookmarks clean up scanning your bookmarks for you to back up your bookmarks before you
Chromium broken URLs and letting you delete them, and provides instructions. Its
www.snipca.com/54497 delete them individually. developer also explains why it requires
Firefox It can also find and remove certain permissions to check your bookmarks.
www.snipca.com/54498 duplicate bookmarks (see
Whether you save screenshot) and empty If you don’t like that, try…
bookmarks in one long folders, to keep your collection Bookmark Dupes
list or organised into as tidy as possible. Click the Chromium
folders, it’s useful to give Settings button top right to www.snipca.com/54500
them a spring clean to exclude specific folders from This extension also removes duplicate
remove obsolete entries. its scans. bookmarks and empty folders, but not
This extension makes that task easier by Sensibly, ‘Bookmarks clean up’ advises links that no longer work.

Brave has also introduced a ‘split view’, the name of the group 2 .
which lets you browse two web pages Alternatively, select
side-by-side. See our Workshop below New Group to create a
left to learn how it works. new tab group with a
different theme, name and
FIREFOX colour. Closing a group
Organise your tabs will retain all the tabs you
into themed groups added to it, so you can
Firefox 137, released in early April, reopen them all in one go
finally introduced the long-awaited by clicking its coloured
‘Tab groups’ feature. As we explained in label.
Issue 699 (page 42), this lets you organise If you don’t see the ‘Add
your tabs into themed groups, to make Tab to New Group’ option
them easier to find and to prevent your when you right-click a
tab bar from becoming cluttered. Firefox tab, you may not
To use the new option, right-click a tab have received it yet as part double-click it to change its value from
and select ‘Add Tab to New Group’. Give of Mozilla’s ‘progressive rollout’. ‘false’ to ‘true’ 3 .
the tab group a suitable name and assign To enable it yourself, type about://
it a colour, then click Done. You can now config in the address bar, press EDGE
add further tabs to the group by right- Enter and click ‘Accept the Risk and Sync your ‘feature usage’
clicking them and choosing ‘Add Tab to Continue’. Search for the preference across devices (or don’t)
Group’ ( 1 in our screenshot below) then browser.tabs.groups.enabled and Microsoft has updated the Sync tool
in Edge to sync your ‘feature usage’
across other devices on which you’re
signed into the browser. This rather
1 baffling option saves information about
how you use various Edge features, so the
2 browser’s layout can adjust accordingly.
If you’d prefer not to sync your feature
3 usage, because it entails sharing data
with Microsoft, you can switch off the
option, which is enabled by default in
Edge 135 (released in April). Click the
three-dot menu top right of the browser
and choose Settings, then Profiles. Select
‘Sync’ and switch off the Feature Usage
option at the bottom of the Sync list (see
screenshot above).
If you don’t see this, then it hasn’t
rolled out to your version of Edge, so you
needn’t worry. You can also stop syncing
other data, including your History, open
tabs and extensions.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 43

 Phone and Tablet Tips
ANDROID & iOS below left) and tap ‘Undo backup for
Delete your backed-up photos this device’ 2 – you won’t see this option
from Google Photos until you disable Backup.
Google Photos has added an Google Photos will now explain what
interesting option to its Android undoing backup entails – namely 2
app (www.snipca.com/54507) that was removing all photos and video from its
already available in the iOS version service, including albums, memories
(www.snipca.com/54508). It lets you and search results, but not from your
undo backups of photos and videos device. If you’re happy to proceed, select
you’ve made, without deleting the ‘I understand’ and tap ‘Delete Google 1
originals from your phone or tablet. This Photos backup’.
is useful if you want to start using a Note that content you’ve backed up
different photo-storage service, without from other devices will still appear in
losing your precious memories or leaving Google Photos. You can re-enable Backup
them in the ‘cloud’ with Google. to upload your pictures and videos again.
To undo the backup from your current
device, tap your profile picture in Google ANDROID
Photos and choose ‘Photos settings’ then Monitor and boost Edge’s
Backup. Switch off the Backup setting at privacy protection
the top of the screen ( 1 in our screenshot Microsoft has updated its Edge
browser for Android (www.snipca.
com/54509) with a useful feature called
‘Protection report’. This tells you how 3
1 many ads, trackers and malicious sites
the browser has blocked using its built-in
privacy and security tools.
‘Protection report’ is similar to the
Privacy Stats provided by Brave browser
on its home page. It also lets you tweak Select ‘Protection report’ to see how
Edge’s settings to boost its protection, if many ads, trackers and risky URLs have
2 it’s not blocking enough privacy threats. been blocked so far ( 1 in our screenshot
By default, the feature is hidden away, above), including details of the relevant
but Edge gives you the option to add a domains. Press the icon in the top-right
shortcut to your home/new-tab page. To corner 2 to add a shortcut to your home
do so, tap the browser’s three-line menu page, so you can access this information
button and choose Settings, then ‘Privacy more quickly.
and security’. If Edge doesn’t seem to be blocking any

BEST NEW APPS What you should install this fortnight

ClassiPod Organic Maps Proton VPN

Free Free Free*
Android www.snipca.com/54512 Android www.snipca.com/54502 Android www.snipca.com/54504
This brilliant retro music player recreates iOS www.snipca.com/54501 iOS www.snipca.com/54532
the look of an iPod Classic, complete This excellent open-source alternative to Proton VPN has redesigned its iOS app to
with a click wheel and Apple-style Google Maps has been updated to improve make it as easy to use as the Android
interface. Go into its its cycling routes and add extra detail to its version. It now
Settings and choose maps, including provides clearer
Change Directory communication information about your
to select a folder towers, lifeguards connection location
containing audio and minor and speed, and the
files. You can then powerlines. The iOS number of ads and
browse and listen to version has a handy trackers the (paid-for)
artists, albums and new split-screen NetShield feature has
songs without an view which lets you blocked. Both apps
internet connection view the map and have new widgets for
or streaming your search results accessing Proton VPN
subscription. side by side. from your home screen.

*Contains in-app purchases

44 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Brilliant things to do on your device

ads, tap Setting next to ‘Ads blocked’ 3 to Call or Message button in the Phone or
configure its ad blocker – the browser has Contacts app, it will open WhatsApp to
Adblock Plus built-in. Ensure ‘Block ads’ perform the action – as long as the
is switched on, and (optionally) that it person you want to contact also has
isn’t allowing ‘acceptable ads’. You can WhatsApp installed.
also set Edge’s ‘Tracking prevention’ to To make WhatsApp the default, open
‘Strict’ to block more online trackers. Settings on your iPhone and tap Apps,
then Default Apps. Press ‘Messaging’ and
ANDROID select WhatsApp ( 1 in our screenshot 1
Ask the Google Play Store right), then do the same for Calling 2 .
questions about apps You can revert to Apple’s own apps
Google has integrated its AI assistant should you change your mind.
Gemini with its Play Store. This Note that the option requires the
means you can now ask questions about latest version of WhatsApp and iOS 18.4,
2
Android apps before you install them, so update to both if you haven’t already
rather than scouring the developer’s done so.
description and user reviews for the
required
information.
BEST APPS FOR... Observing insects
To use the new
option, look for Picture Insect: Bug Identifier
the ‘Ask Play about Free*
this app’ box (see Android www.snipca.com/54513
screenshot left) on iOS www.snipca.com/54514
an app’s Play Store Take or upload a picture of an insect and this
listing. You can app will use AI to identify the critter. It provides
either choose one information about common species, including
of the suggested whether they’re harmful to humans and plants,
questions or type and advice about treating bites and stings.
one of your own. Subscribe for £28 a year, after a seven-day free
Examples include: trial, for extra features and unlimited identifications.
‘Are there any Best For Identifying insects
hidden fees or in-app purchases?’, ‘How
do I use this app?’ and ‘What do people iNaturalist
like most about this app?’. Free
Note that the ‘Ask Play’ AI feature is Android www.snipca.com/54515
currently only available for select apps in iOS www.snipca.com/54516
the Play Store – these are mainly popular This app also helps you identify insects, but
ones, such as streaming, shopping and iNaturalist’s main purpose is to record and share
social-media services. It should roll out to observations about different species of all flora
more apps in due course. and fauna. You can use it to report sightings of
insects in your garden and area, find out when
iOS and where they’ve been spotted near you by
Make WhatsApp your default the iNaturalist community, and learn more
calls and messages app about them.
One of the most useful features Best For Reporting insect sightings
introduced in iOS 18.2 was a Default
Apps screen in the Apps section of Spot-a-Bee
Settings. This makes it much easier to Free
switch from using Apple’s own apps Android www.snipca.com/54517
for everyday tasks to your preferred iOS www.snipca.com/54518
third-party tools. Developed by researchers in the UK, this app
WhatsApp has now taken advantage wants to reverse the decline in the UK’s bee
of the feature by letting you set it as the population by determining which plants and
default app for calls and messages on trees are most important to our buzzy friends.
your iPhone. However, this doesn’t mean Upload photos and details of bees you spot,
WhatsApp will replace Apple’s Phone including their type and what they were visiting,
and Messages apps – when you receive to add it to the community map. Be careful not
calls and messages, they’ll still come via to get stung.
those tools. Best For Sharing bee observations
Instead it means that when you tap the
*Contains in-app purchases

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 20252 45

 Make Windows Better Expert tips for every version

WINDOWS 10 & 11
WINDOWS 10 & 11
Control laptop brightness
with your mouse wheel
NirSoft’s Volumouse has Pause Task Manager with
been a favourite program
of ours ever since Issue
a single key press
442’s Workshop, back in 2015. It’s a clever By default, Task them by clicking View at the top, then
little tool that lets you increase your Manager updates its Update Speed followed by Paused.
computer’s volume by scrolling your readings every second, These options also let you set the update
mouse wheel. A recent update (2.20) making it hard to get a snapshot of speed to High (every half a second) and
adds the option to control your laptop how much data specific software and Low (four seconds). In Windows 11,
screen’s brightness level. processes are using. Pausing these you’ll find these options by clicking
Visit www.snipca.com/54596 then updates is simple, however – simply Settings at the bottom left, then clicking
scroll down and click one of the press the CTRL key. the ‘Real time update speed’ dropdown
download options below the Feedback In Windows 10 you can also pause menu (see screenshot).
heading (make sure you don’t click
any of the adverts on NirSoft’s page). If
Windows throws up a warning, click
‘More info’ then ‘Run anyway’.
Now open the program and click one
of the ‘Use the wheel when’ dropdown
menus to decide which combination of
key press and mouse scroll will change
the brightness. We’ve chosen when the
Alt key is pressed ( 1 in our screenshot
below). Next choose ‘Laptop Brightness
(Power Management)’ in the Component
dropdown menu 2 . Click OK to confirm.
at the top (see screenshot 1
2 below). Now click the three
dots and select ‘Automatically 2
copy text’ or ‘Remove line
breaks’ (or both). These
settings will apply every time
you use Text Extractor until
you change them.
1
Next, using your mouse or 1
trackpad, draw the area of
the screen containing the text
you want to capture. A multi-
WINDOWS 11 INSIDER coloured bar will appear
Extract text from Snipping Tool around it for a few seconds to indicate the WINDOWS 10 & 11
Microsoft has added Text Extractor text is being captured. If you’ve chosen Create desktop shortcut
to Snipping Tool, making it easier ‘Automatically copy text’, you’ll see a for Disk Cleanup
to copy text from an image to ‘Text is copied’ confirmation appear at You can create a
your clipboard. To use the feature – the top. If not, you’ll see the highlighted desktop shortcut for
which is available only to Windows text you’re about to capture and the Disk Cleanup to run
Insiders on the Canary and Device ‘Copy all text’ option at the top to click 2 . In in a specific drive on your computer.
channels at the moment – open Snipping both cases, your text is ready to be pasted Right-click your desktop followed by New
Tool, then click the ‘Text extractor’ icon wherever you like. then Shortcut. Now type cleanmgr.exe /d C:
( 1 in our screenshot above),
1 2 choosing another drive letter if not
C: (copy this command from our
Pastebin account: www.snipca.
com/54608).
Now click Next and choose a
name for the shortcut (for example,
Disk Cleanup C Drive). Click Finish
and an icon will appear with the
name you chose 2 . Click this to
open Disk Cleanup.

46 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Make Office Better Top tips for the best office programs

MICROSOFT EXCEL

Calculate compound interest of your savings

The =FV function in Excel
is perfect for calculating
how much your savings
will grow over time with compound
interest. Type your interest rate in
cell A1 as a decimal, so for example
three per cent annual interest
would be 0.03. Next, in A2 type
how many months you want to
calculate for, and in A3 type your
monthly payment. In A4 type your
starting balance. And finally, in A5
1
type the formula =FV(A1/12,A2,-A3,
-A4) ( 1 in our screenshot). This
formula divides the annual interest
rate by 12 to calculate the monthly
rate.
In our example, we’re starting
with £1,000 and will be saving
£100 a month for 36 months, at a 2
rate of three per cent. It gives us a
compounded total of £4,856.11 2 .

ONLYOFFICE and they’ll appear in the empty cells carefully, especially in longer documents.
Autofill spreadsheets with you’ve selected. Version 25.2, released in February, fixes
days, months and years that. Click Insert at the top followed by
Version 8.3 of OnlyOffice, LIBREOFFICE WRITER Page Number, then tick ‘Fit into existing
released in February, makes it Make page numbers fit into margins’ (see screenshot below left).
easier to auto-fill spreadsheet existing margins Click OK to confirm.
cells with weekdays, months and years. Whenever you added page
Start with a date like 1/1/2025, then select numbers in previous versions of MICROSOFT WORD
your cells. Now right-click the ‘fill’ icon LibreOffice Writer, especially in Type differently sized arrows
in the bottom cell (a small green square headers or footers, they would sometimes You can type arrows straight into
at the bottom right of a cell – 1 in our fall outside your set margins. LibreOffice Word, saving you the hassle of
screenshot below) and drag it to where would then repaginate your document to opening the Symbols box. What
you want the weekdays, months or years accommodate the change, pushing text you type resembles the direction and
to appear. Now release your mouse on to new pages. This could mess up your thickness of the arrow.
button and you’ll see options to fill in carefully designed document. That’s a For a thick right-pointing arrow
days (including weekends), weekdays, pain if you’ve already laid things out type ==> (that’s two equals signs and
months and years 2 . Click what you want a right-pointing chevron – 1 in our
screenshot below), while for the same
arrow pointing left type <== 2 . To make
the arrow thinner type dashes instead
of equals sign – for example, --> 3 and
<-- 4 . For a double-
2 1 headed arrow type
<=> 5 . The arrows
2 appear as soon you
finish typing – you
3 don’t have to press
Space or Enter. These
4 tricks also work in
Google Docs, but
5 not in LibreOffice
or OnlyOffice.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 47

 In The Club
Run a club or society? Here's how your tech can make it easier

Schedule posts on Facebook

F acebook’s Meta Business Suite is a
helpful set of tools for managing
pages. Many of its features, such as those 3
1
that let you post adverts and attract
customers, are aimed at businesses, but 4
there are several free tools that are useful
for running clubs, such as scheduling
posts to go live on a set date. It’s a great
2
way to promote events, though you can’t
schedule more than 30 days ahead. As you
We’ll explain how to do it, using this write your
post you'll
issue’s on-sale date of Wednesday 7 May see on the
as an example. right how
it’ll appear
Choose your date and time on your
Facebook
Log in using your personal Facebook page
account, then select your club's page.
Now visit https://business.facebook.com Write your post
or click Meta Business Suite in the Next, on the left, add any relevant photos
left-hand menu on your club’s home or videos ( 1 in our screenshot above)
page. then write your post in the ‘Post details’
Next, click Planner on the left to box below 2 . As you do so, you’ll see a
launch a calendar, with today’s date preview on the right showing how it’ll look
highlighted. This will show at what time on your page 3 – you can switch between
your followers have been most active PC- and phone-screen previews 4 .
during that week, indicating when it Scroll further down and you’ll see options
might be best to schedule your message. for saving the post to a Facebook Story Your scheduled post will appear in pale green
Now use the arrows at the top left to (see Issue 705, page 48), and whether the on your calendar
find and select the date you want your post should be Public (everyone can see
message to appear. A ‘Schedule post’ box it) or Restricted (choose specific people shaded in pale green on your calendar
will now appear, letting you type the time to see it). (see screenshot above). You can also click
for the post (see screenshot below). Click Once you’re happy, scroll to the bottom ‘Finish later’ to save the post, ready for
Save to confirm. and click Schedule. It will then appear you to complete later. This will also be
saved on your calendar but marked as
Choose your date
on the calendar, ‘Draft’ instead. You can see all your
then type the time current drafts by clicking the Drafts
you want the post button to the right of your calendar. If
to be sent you’ve scheduled posts across several
weeks, you can see them by switching to
the Month view at the top left.

Edit and reschedule your post

There are several ways of editing your
scheduled post. If you need to only
change the date, simply drag and drop it
to a different day in your calendar. This
brings up a ‘Reschedule post’ box where
you can set a time. To change the text,
images or videos, hover your cursor over
your post in the calendar, then click
the three dots that appear, followed by
‘Edit Post’.

48 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709 Next issue: Lock rows/columns when sharing spreadsheets
What’s All the
Fuss About...
Windows ‘inetpub’ folder
It took Microsoft a week to explain what this mysterious folder is

What is it? 1
A folder that was unexpectedly added to
Windows 10 and 11 computers in April’s
Patch Tuesday update (KB5055523 and
KB5055528 respectively), released on 8
April. It appears on the root C drive (see
screenshot 1 ) and is empty when you
open it 2 . Nobody seemed to know why
it had been added.

Not even Microsoft?

Presumably it did, but it failed to give any
information when releasing the update,
baffling users everywhere. Many thought
it was a bug Microsoft hadn’t spotted.

What’s it for? 2
It’s associated with Microsoft’s Internet
Information Services (IIS) and has been
around for years. It’s normally created
when you start hosting websites or
building programs on your PC. It stores
data generated by the sites and programs
(at C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles). If you don’t
do either then you can ignore the folder.
new one, programs won’t notice the Search for and open Control Panel, then
Great, so I can also delete it? difference – they’ll still think the files are on click ‘Programs and Features’. Click ‘Turn
Ah, not so fast. When the folder first the C drive, eliminating potential problems. Windows features on or off’ ( 1 in our
appeared lots of self-appointed experts screenshot below left), then scroll down
said removing it would cause no So what’s the risk with and select Internet Information Services
problems. This seemed fair given what symbolic links? 2 before clicking OK. Check your C drive
IIS is typically used for. But a week later Hackers can exploit them to access or to see if it’s returned.
Microsoft responded to the confusion by overwrite files they shouldn’t be able to.
saying the folder is part of a fix for the That’s a severe threat, so Microsoft had no Why did Microsoft wait a
CVE-2025-21204 security flaw (www. choice but to resolve it. The folder needs week before telling people
snipca.com/54589), which leads to to stay on your computer to keep you not to delete it?
symbolic links not being handled properly. protected, so Microsoft advises you not to Possibly because it wanted to check
delete it. whether the security fix worked – but if
What are symbolic links? so, it shouldn’t have released it in the
They’re Windows shortcuts. But rather What if you’d already deleted it? first place. Alternatively, it may have
than pointing to a file or folder like a No problem – you can bring it back. withheld details to avoid tipping off
regular shortcut, they pretend to be the attackers about the security flaw.
actual file or folder. Windows and other Whatever the reason, it probably decided
software often treat them as the real
1 to come clean only after perplexed users
thing, which is useful for performing lots started complaining on social media.
of clever tricks behind the scenes. Not for the first time, Microsoft took too
long to clarify a confusing update.
Such as?
Say you’re running out of space on your 2 So what should I do with
C drive, so you move a big folder from the folder?
there to the D drive. If you create a symbolic If you’ve deleted the ‘inetpub’ folder, turn it Nothing. Take no notice. You never saw it
link in the old location pointing to the back on in Control Panel – right?

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 49

 COVER FEATURE

BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
Don’t let spammers
and scammers make
you dread answering
!
the phone. Robert
Irvine explains the
most effective ways
to detect and avoid
nuisance calls and !
messages

S
cam calls are a scourge of modern average of four nuisance calls a month, – both human and robotic.
times. We’ve all experienced that but in our experience it’s much higher. Although caller ID makes it easier to
heartsinking moment when we Gone are the days when you might get see if it’s a friend, business or stranger
answer our phones to hear a the occasional cold call from a local phoning you, unless you wilfully ignore
detached voice claim we’re being fined by double-glazing firm or market-research all numbers you don’t recognise – which
HMRC, have a virus on our PC or were company. Spam calls now come from all can cause you to miss important calls –
recently involved in a car accident. over the world from a motley variety of it’s very difficult to avoid nuisance callers.
UK residents reportedly receive an telemarketers, fraudsters and opportunists In this feature, we explain the best ways
to deal with these pests, by identifying
and blocking them without answering
WHAT YOU CAN DO your phone, so you can focus on the
calls you actually want to receive.
• Avoid spam calls by sending them •B
 lock spam automatically using a We reveal how to activate spam-call
direct to voicemail dedicated app protection on your mobile and landline
• Block all phone calls from unidentified •S
 top scammers ringing you on your phones, recommend the best call-
numbers landline filtering apps and also explain how to
• Screen calls so you can decide whether •F
 ilter spam text messages on your stop spam text messages.
to answer them smartphone The spammers already have your
number – now we’ve got theirs.

50 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 ! BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
YOUR SPAM-CALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED
What defines a spam call? fallen for a scam, your name and phone
The term ‘spam call’ refers to any number may be added to a ‘mugs’ or
unsolicited or unwanted call, typically ‘suckers’ list, so other scammers can
targeting a large number of people. target you with further scams.
Also known as nuisance calls, they’re
mainly used for marketing and How do spam callers
fraudulent purposes. get your number?
Common examples include Your number may have been stolen in a
telemarketing calls, which aggressively data breach or hack, ‘scraped’ from a
try to sell you a product or service; website or bought from a data broker
robocalls, which play pre-recorded along with thousands of other numbers.
messages when you answer; and scam The auto diallers used by robocalls Report unwanted sales calls, robocalls and
calls, which try to obtain your personal simply run through variations of millions spam messages to the ICO
information, often by impersonating of numbers, and mark those who answer
reputable organisations. as ‘active’. calls, it’s as ineffective as the ‘do not track’
Others are merely annoying, such as Make sure you untick the box for requests browsers make to websites.
silent or abandoned calls, which may marketing communications when you Robocalls are strictly forbidden unless
occur when a spammer is testing your register with websites or enter competitions, (for some strange reason) you’ve consented
number, or when an auto-dialer has to stop your number being passed to third- to receive them. This rule is enforced by
made more calls than there are agents party companies and potential spammers. the ICO under the Privacy and Electronic
available to handle them. You can install a ‘burner’ app, such as Communications Regulations 2003
Hushed (www.snipca.com/54565), to (PECR), but again it only applies to UK
Can spam calls be dangerous? conceal your real mobile number from organisations.
Yes, very, especially the scam variety. companies you call and text, but you’ll In January this year, Ofcom introduced
Phishing calls pretend to be your bank, need to pay a monthly subscription. a new requirement for phone companies
the police, a government department or a to identify and block all numbers from
well-known company, and try to scare you Are spam calls illegal in the UK? abroad that imitate UK landline numbers
into telling them personal information, In the UK, the Information (www.snipca.com/54563). That’s
such as your bank-account details, so Commissioner’s Office (ICO) handles obviously great news – BT has been able
they can steal your money and identity. “predatory, nuisance marketing calls” to stop up to one million of these calls per
Tech-support scams claim your and advises registering your landline and day – but doesn’t apply to spoofed mobile
computer or phone has a virus and urge mobile number with the Telephone numbers. Ofcom says “further measures”
you to install remote-access software, Preference Service (TPS) at www.snipca. are being considered to block these,
which enables them to take over your com/54560 (see screenshot below). This You can report nuisance calls to the
device, infect it with malware and steal opts you out of unsolicited sales and ICO at www.snipca.com/54561 (see
your data. And the last few years have marketing calls, and companies that screenshot above), but for scam calls you
seen a worrying rise in voice-cloning contact you after you’ve registered (without need to go through Action Fraud (www.
scams (www.snipca.com/54566), which your consent) are breaking the law. snipca.com/54562).
use AI to impersonate people you know Although it’s definitely worth
– including friends and family members registering with the TPS, scam calls are How can you identify
– to con you into sending them money. outside its remit because it only covers spam calls?
Particularly scary is that once you’ve legitimate UK companies. For most spam Some spam calls can be identified from
their unfamiliar area codes or prefixes,
but many scammers spoof their caller
IDs to look like local and legitimate
numbers. There may also be a pause,
click or beep before a person speaks
or message plays, while the autodialer
connects you to the human or robot
agent.
Scammers often create a sense of
urgency about sharing your info and
may even resort to threats. Legitimate
organisations never ask you to provide
personal data in unsolicited calls, so
be wary of such requests. However, the
strongest protection against spam and
scam calls is to avoid them altogether,
Register with the Telephone Preference Service to block unsolicited marketing calls from UK using the methods we explain
companies in this feature.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 51

 BLOCK SPAM CALLS ON YOUR SMARTPHONE
Block spam calls Samsung phones use a feature called
on an Android phone Smart Call to flag and block suspected
The Phone app on Android phones has a spam and fraud calls, and let you easily
‘Caller ID and spam’ feature that detects block and report them. To activate this,
some spam calls. These are flagged as switch on ‘Caller ID and spam protection’
‘Spam’ when you receive them, if Google in ‘Call settings’, followed by ‘Block spam
identifies their numbers as known and scam calls’.
spammers.
You can also set your phone to filter Block spam calls
spam calls, so they don’t disturb you in on an iPhone
the first place – though the callers can Your iPhone identifies and blocks spam
still leave you voicemail messages. The calls using information from Apple
increasingly devious methods used by Business Connect, your mobile provider
spammers mean this option isn’t and supported call-identification apps
completely effective, but it will certainly you install (see page 53). To enable this
reduce the number of calls you receive. You can block nuisance numbers manually protection in iOS 17 or later, open the
These features should be enabled by and report them as spam Settings app and choose Phone, then
default on Android phones, but to ‘Call Blocking & Identification’.
double-check open the Phone app and corner. Select ‘Settings’, then ‘Caller ID
Your iPhone
tap the three-dot icon in the top-right and spam’. Switch on the options ‘See can identify
caller and spam ID’ and ‘Filter spam calls’ spam
(see screenshot left). 1 calls and
You can go even further by blocking send them
straight to
all calls from unknown numbers. Choose voicemail
‘Blocked numbers’ on the Settings screen
2
and turn on ‘Unknown – Block calls from
unidentified numbers’. However, this
risks missing important calls from private
numbers, such as delivery drivers and
healthcare providers, so is only advisable
as a last resort.
Once you’ve declined or ended the
spam call, you can block the nuisance Switch on Business ID ( 1 in our
number to prevent future disturbance. screenshot above) to help your iPhone
Long-press it in your call history and recognise legitimate numbers and
select ‘Block/report spam’. Tick the box detect nuisance ones, and Silence Junk
‘Report call as spam’ and tap Block (see Callers 2 to send spam and scam calls
The Phone app on Android phones detects screenshot above) – choose ‘Unblock’ if directly to voicemail without disturbing
and blocks some spam calls you mistakenly block a number. you. The ‘Caller Identification apps’
option lets you select a third-party app
to handle incoming calls and block
Block spam calls via your mobile network unwanted ones.
From the Phone app screen, you can
Last November, mobile snipca.com/54541, pictured), also set your iPhone to silence unknown
network O2 launched a who wastes scammers’ callers, which means you’ll only receive
feature called Call Defence time when they dial ‘her’ calls from people in your contacts and
(www.snipca.com/54540), number (which O2 cunningly any numbers you recently dialled
which uses AI to detect got added to online ‘mugs yourself. Calls from unknown numbers
spam and scam calls. It lists’) by rambling away will be diverted to voicemail.
warns you of suspicious indefinitely. To block spam callers manually, open
numbers before you answer, so you can EE introduced its spam-call-detection the Phone app and tap Recents. Tap the
decide whether to risk picking up. feature Scam Guard last July (www. ‘i’ information icon next to a nuisance
Call Defence has been activated snipca.com/54542), which costs £1 a number and choose Block Caller.
automatically for O2’s Pay Monthly month with a pay-monthly plan (it’s not Alternatively, swipe left on the call, press
customers – at no extra charge. Pay available on pay-as-you-go). the Block (orange-hand) button and tap
As You Go customers will receive a All UK mobile networks, including ‘Block and Report Junk’.
message when it’s available to them. MVNOs such as Giffgaff and Smarty, To unblock a caller, select Blocked
The company is also fighting nuisance advise reporting nuisance calls by texting Contacts on the Phone screen. Tap Edit,
calls with its AI pensioner Daisy (www. the word call and the number to 7726. press the red symbol next to the number
and choose Unblock.

52 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 ! BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
The Call suggested response such as “Please Enable the feature by tapping the
Screen feature remove this number from your mailing three-dot icon in the Phone app and
on Google
Pixel phones
and contact list”. Call Screen also offers choosing Settings, then ‘Text call’ or
helps you AI replies that tailor its responses to the ‘Bixby text call’. Download a language
avoid spam nature of the call. pack if prompted, choose a voice and set
calls To activate the feature on a Pixel phone, up your responses. When you receive a
tap the three-dot menu icon in the Phone call from an unknown number, tap the
app, choose Settings and switch on ‘Spam ‘Text call’ or ‘Bixby text call’ button (see
and Call Screen’ or Call Screen (depending screenshot below) to avoid answering.
on your Pixel model). You can set Call Apple’s Live Voicemail feature,
Screen to work automatically when it introduced in iOS 17, lets you send
detects spam calls, possibly faked incoming calls to voicemail and read
numbers (see screenshot left) and transcriptions of messages as they’re left.
first-time callers, or use it manually by It’s a useful way to screen and ignore
Screen calls before tapping Screen Call. Hopefully, the feature potential spam calls, but curiously no
you answer them will come to other Android phones in due UK mobile networks support it yet.
Google Pixel phones include a useful course, but in the meantime it’s one of
feature called Call Screen, which lets you the best reasons to buy a Pixel.
screen calls before you answer them. It The latest Samsung Galaxy phones (S20
helps you avoid speaking to spammers and above), running One UI 5.1 or later,
and scammers, and deters them from have a call-screening option called Text
calling again. Call – or Bixby Text Call on some models.
Like a virtual receptionist, Call Screen This answers incoming calls using the
asks the caller who they are and why responses of your choice and provides a
they’re calling, and provides a transcript transcript of the caller’s reply, so you can
of what they respond. You can then either decide whether to take the call, respond The latest Samsung Galaxy phones can
pick up the call, hang up or choose a via text or hang up. screen calls before you answer them

BLOCK SPAM CALLS USING A MOBILE APP

While the spam-protection features in TrueCaller’s Hiya blocks
Basic private
Android and iOS are useful and welcome, Protection numbers
to identify and block all nuisance calls, automatically automatically
you need a specialist app. These use blocks but you need
massive global databases of spam and notorious spam to pay to block
numbers spam
scam numbers, which are constantly
updated to combat the latest threats, and
offer sophisticated tools for dealing with
unwanted calls. Here are the best apps for
avoiding spam calls in the UK.

GOLD AWARD
Truecaller
Android www.snipca.com/54547
iOS www.snipca.com/54548
With more than 450 million users
worldwide, Truecaller is the most popular
app for identifying and blocking spam
and scam calls, reportedly detecting 56 above) automatically blocks the ‘top SILVER AWARD
billion in 2024 alone. In January, it finally spammers’ in the UK and can be configured Hiya
became fully compatible with iPhones, to block unknown and private numbers, Android www.snipca.com/54550
allowing for real-time caller ID and callers from foreign countries and anyone iOS www.snipca.com/54549
automatic blocking of nuisance calls. who isn’t a contact, as well as numbers you Hiya helps legitimate businesses avoid
To use Truecaller, set it as your default select manually. It also filters spam messages. their calls being labelled as spam, and
caller ID and spam app, and it will start Upgrade to Truecaller Premium to get consumers avoid calls from fraudulent
monitoring all your incoming calls. Max protection, which identifies and businesses – so everybody wins. It powers
When you receive a call from a number blocks nuisance calls using AI. This costs the call-protection features used by many
that’s not in your contacts, Truecaller £2.99 a month or £19.90 a year, after a phone companies, including Samsung’s
will attempt to identify the caller from its three-day free trial, and also removes ads Smart Call (see page 52), and its own app
huge database, and tell you if it’s a and unlocks extra features. See www. makes it easy to identify nuisance calls
known spam or business number. snipca.com/54544 for the full list, but without answering.
Its free Basic protection (see screenshot note that some aren’t available in the UK. Hiya’s colour-coded backgrounds let

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 53

 you instantly determine the risk level of know from its ‘Who called me?’ service.
incoming calls – such as purple for This lets you search for mystery phone
unknown, orange for suspected spam numbers that have called you to discover
and red for scam or fraud. With its free if anyone has reported them, and whether
plan, you can block private numbers (see they’re spam or scam-related.
screenshot on page 53), specific area codes The app uses this ever-growing database
and numbers from your call history, but of more than 10 million numbers to
to automatically stop unsolicited calls, detect nuisance calls you receive. Unlike
you need a Premium subscription. TrueCaller and Hiya, it’s UK-focused –
This costs £3.99 a month or £24.49 a meaning not just UK numbers, but global
year, after a seven-day free trial, which is ones reported by UK residents – and it
more expensive than Truecaller but doesn’t need to be set as your default
includes some useful tools. For example, caller ID app. Instead, it requires access to
you can perform reverse lookups of your contacts and call log. You can look
numbers to discover who they belong to up numbers from within the app and
and prevent spammers from leaving block or report them with a single tap.
voicemail messages. Call Blocker includes options for blocking
Hiya recently launched an AI Phone international, unknown and hidden
app (www.snipca.com/54546), which numbers, as well as specific area codes
screens and responds to calls using AI, and non-geographic numbers such as 0800.
and identifies AI-generated voices, but it’s Its Basic Protection blocks dangerous
currently only available in the US. calls automatically (see screenshot right),
but to identify all calls when incoming you
BRONZE AWARD need a Premium subscription. This costs
Call Blocker £3.99 a month or £7.99 for three months,
Android www.snipca.com/54550 after a seven-day free trial, and also
iOS www.snipca.com/54551 removes ads. You get 75 free credits per
Call Blocker is the official app of week to check numbers and update the Call Blocker blocks dangerous calls and looks
UnknownPhone.com, which you may database. up numbers in its database

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– that’s £140 cheaper than
Microsoft’s full price of £219.99.

To buy Windows 11 Pro, visit

www.snipca.com/41588 and
click the red Buy Now button
on the right.
JUST SO YOU KNOW…
This offer can be used by one person only, and expires at midnight
on 20 May, 2025. It’s a lifetime licence for one computer.

54 00
7 – 20
– 00
May
Month
20252023
• Issue
• Issue
709 xxx Issue 694 • 9 – 22 October 2024
 ! BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
BLOCK SPAM CALLS TO YOUR LANDLINE
Block nuisance calls using on your Approved list are put straight
BT Call Protect through, while those in CallSafe’s
BT (and latterly EE) customers have long database of unwanted callers and your
benefited from the company’s Call own Blocked list are rejected, so your
Protect service, which prevents spam and phone doesn’t ring.
scam calls from reaching your home Unidentified numbers are screened
phone. Free to all BT landline customers, by asking the caller to record a short
Call Protect uses a combination of BT’s introduction – at which point most
Blocklist, algorithms and numbers you spammers and scammers hang up – so
block yourself, to divert nuisance callers you can decide whether to answer or
to your junk voicemail. block them. To activate CallSafe, dial 1472 The BT4600
Last year, BT introduced a more from your TalkTalk landline, then press 1. blocks nuisance
sophisticated spam-protection service See www.snipca.com/54570 for more calls at the touch
of a button
called Enhanced Call detailed instructions.
Protect, though only for Sky Talk (available with all Sky
customers who have Broadband plans) handles nuisance
migrated to its Digital calls using Sky Talk Shield (www.snipca.
Voice VoIP system. com/54571). This free feature intercepts
Powered by Hiya (see and blocks robocalls, and screens calls
page 53), the service from unknown human callers by getting
reportedly identified them to speak their names. You can then
and blocked over 20 either answer the call, block it or send it
million spam and scam to voicemail. Buy a device that blocks
calls to landlines in its Sky Talk Shield should be enabled by spam calls
first four months (www. default if you added it when you signed Rather than rely on your landline
snipca.com/54567). up for Sky Talk or Sky Broadband (log provider to block spam calls, buy a
Enhanced Call Protect into your My Sky account to check). If third-party device. The BT4600 Big
is very easy to use. not, dial 1780 on your landline phone Button Advanced Call Blocker (£45 from
When you receive a then press 1. www.snipca.com/54575, pictured above)
suspected spam call, Virgin Media provides poor protection is designed for older and less dextrous
your Digital Voice against spam calls on your landline, users, and lets you block nuisance callers
phone (pictured left) despite its partner O2 offering Call at the touch of a big button.
shows the message Defence (see page 52). Its ‘Manage My It stores details of up to 1,000 spam and
‘Nuisance?’ so you Privacy’ option includes Anonymous scam numbers, so they won’t be able to
can reject or answer Call Rejection, which rejects calls from ring you again, and can record calls for
it. Calls from withheld numbers, and Caller Display, up to 60 minutes – useful for saving
registered businesses which identifies the number that’s audio evidence of scammers. Provided
BT Digital Voice
phones offer display their names, calling. This measly combination costs £3 your phone provider has Caller ID, the
enhanced protection so you know they’re a month on top of your standard bill. BT4600 also offers ‘visual voicemail’,
against spam calls genuine, while scam which shows you who has left a message
calls are identified so you can decide whether to listen to it.
using AI and sent to your junk voicemail. The BT4600 went on sale in 2016, but
The BT Blocklist and your Personal recent Amazon reviews confirm it still
Blocklist are enabled by default. You can works very well. A slightly newer model,
turn them off, and remove incorrectly the BT Advanced Z (£60 from www.
blocked numbers, by dialling 1572 or by snipca.com/54576) also has a nuisance-
signing into your My BT account. call blocker, and alerts you to unknown
callers while allowing friends and family
Block spam calls through.
on other landline phones Alternatively, there are devices that
Most internet providers with connect to your landline phone to block
home-phone services offer protection unwanted callers. The CPR V10000
against nuisance calls. Their options may Call Blocker (£50 from www.snipca.
change when they complete their switch com/54579) has a big red Block Now
to Digital Voice, but here’s what you can button you press to terminate calls and
currently use to avoid spam and scam block their numbers, and an Allow List
calls. for only accepting calls from trusted
TalkTalk checks incoming calls using numbers. It’s pre-loaded with 10,000
its free tool CallSafe (www.snipca. TalkTalk’s CallSafe service screens incoming known nuisance numbers to which you
com/54568, see picture right). Numbers calls and blocks unwanted callers can add 2,000 more.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 55

 BLOCK SPAM MESSAGES ON YOUR PHONE
Although spam messages are easier to
ignore than phone calls, they’re just as
annoying and potentially dangerous.
Phishing scams delivered by SMS –
known as ‘smishing’ – contain malicious
links that try to trick you into divulging
personal information, downloading
malware and sending money to
criminals.
These fraudulent texts are often very
convincing, so it can be hard, for
example, to tell the difference between a
1
genuine message from a courier about
your parcel and a fake one asking you 1
to arrange redelivery by installing a
data-stealing app. When in doubt, check
the delivery firm’s official website (see 2
www.snipca.com/54588 for links).
2
As with nuisance calls (see page 52),
you can report unsolicited messages to
your mobile network by sending the
details to 7726 (never reply to the Google Messages makes it easy to block and AI-powered Scam Detection spots suspicious
senders), but it’s preferable not to report spam messages by ticking this box activity in messages and warns you
get them in the first place. Here, we
recommend the best ways to avoid blocked’ folder or warns you that it looks top-right corner and choose ‘Block and
receiving junk messages on your phone. like spam and lets you report it. report spam’. Tick the ‘Report spam’ box
Tap ‘Report as spam’ to confirm those ( 1 in our screenshot above left) and tap
Block spam text messages suspicions or ‘Not spam’ if it’s safe. When Yes 2 . This will block all future calls and
on Android you receive a message from an unknown messages from that number, move the
Google’s Messages app, which comes number, Google Messages will again give current text to your ‘Spam and blocked’
installed on Android phones and is you the option to report it as spam or you folder and share the details with Google
also available from the Play Store can add the person as a contact so they’re and mobile networks so they can add it
(www.snipca.com/54583), offers reliable not flagged in future. to their spammers’ database.
protection against spam messages. When If Google Messages fails to detect a If you’d prefer not to open a potential
it detects a suspicious text, it either nuisance text, you can report and block it spam message, in case you inadvertently
automatically moves it to a ‘Spam and yourself. Tap the three-dot icon in the tap a dangerous link, long-press it in your
inbox, tap the three-dot menu icon and
choose Block then ‘Report as spam’. To
Boost your protection against scams see all the spam Google Messages has
blocked, tap your profile icon in the
Trend Micro’s excellent and blocks robocalls, but top-right corner and select ‘Spam and
ScamCheck app for Android this isn’t currently available blocked’. Tap the three-dot icon top right
(www.snipca.com/54587) and in the UK. You can, however, to also view a list of blocked numbers.
iOS (www.snipca.com/54586) use Trend Micro’s Deep If Google Messages keeps letting spam
provides powerful protection Fake option to determine through, its protection may be disabled
against spam and scam whether a person you’re (it should be enabled by default). Tap
messages. It uses AI to identify chatting to in a video call is your profile icon and choose ‘Messages
and alert you to any threats, AI-generated. settings’. Select ‘Spam protection’ and
and blocks them before they The ScamCheck tool switch on ‘Enable spam protection’.
reach you. itself analyses screenshots Google recently introduced AI-powered
Set ScamCheck as your of potential scams, including Scam Detection, which identifies
default messaging app and its text messages you receive and suspicious patterns in SMS, MMS and
SMS Filter (see screenshot) posts you see on social media, RCS messages, both before and after
will automatically filter and block junk to tell you if they can be trusted. There’s they’re received. This means that if
messages and those containing phishing also a Web Guard that protects you from you start chatting to an apparently
links and other security risks. It also sorts phishing sites in your mobile browser. innocuous person, Google Messages will
known and unknown senders into separate Trend Micro ScamCheck is free to try study their replies for signs they could be
folders, so you can ignore the latter. for 30 days, then costs just £1.99 a month a scammer. If so, it will warn you ( 1 in
Similarly, its Call Block feature identifies or £19.99 a year. our screenshot above) so you can report
and block them 2 .

56 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 ! BLOCK ALL
SPAM CALLS
Scam Detection is activated
automatically when you switch on spam
protection. It only analyses conversations
with numbers that aren’t in your contacts
list, so won’t spy on your private chats.
See www.snipca.com/54584 for more
information.
1
Block spam messages
on your iPhone
Apple’s Messages app lets you prevent
unknown senders from texting you 2
directly on your iPhone or iPad. Instead,
their messages are filtered to an Apple lets you delete and report junk, but this Block spam in WhatsApp to stop the sender
Unknown Senders folder, where you can doesn’t block the sender contacting you again
review them and either add their numbers
to your contacts, block or ignore them. Unlike Google Messages, Apple young lady) or a targeted phishing scam.
For your safety, you can’t open links in Messages doesn’t detect and block spam Examples include fake giveaways of
any texts sent to this folder. and scam messages automatically, free products and vouchers, fake job and
To set this up, open the Settings app whether they’re sent by SMS, MMS, RCS investment offers, and particularly nasty
and choose Apps then Messages. Swipe or its own iMessage service. However, scams that pretend to be friends or family
down to Message Filtering and switch on it does let you block or report them – members in emergency situations, asking
Filter Unknown Senders (see screenshot strangely, you can’t do both at once. for money to help them. WhatsApp bans
below). You can access the folder from To block a nuisance number, tap the accounts that send spam, scams and
the Messages app by tapping Filters in the name or number at the top of the malware, but with over 2.5 billion users
top-left corner of the conversation list Messages conversation, long-press Info it doesn’t catch them all.
and choosing Unknown Senders. and select ‘Block this Caller’. Annoyingly, To block and report a junk message
you can’t block a number without first and prevent the sender from contacting
opening the message. you again, long-press it in your Chats list
To delete and report a junk message and choose Block (on iOS) or tap the
– which you can do without opening it – three- dot menu icon and select Block
swipe left on it, tap the bin icon and choose (on Android). Tick the ‘Report to
‘Delete and Report Junk’ (see screenshot WhatsApp’ box ( 1 in our screenshot
above). Alternatively, if you’ve already above) then tap Block 2 . The last five
opened a message from an unknown messages in the chat will be sent to
sender, you’ll see a Report Junk option at WhatsApp, but the sender won’t know
the bottom. Tap this and select ‘Delete you’ve blocked or reported them.
and Report Junk’. Last year, WhatsApp introduced a
To boost Apple’s meagre protection feature that blocks messages from
against unsolicited texts, you can install a unknown accounts when they exceed a
third-party app that detects spam, such certain (unspecified) volume. This stops
as TrueCaller (see page 53) or Trend Micro spammers and scammers repeatedly
ScamCheck (see box opposite). targeting you with unsolicited messages.
To activate the option, go into Settings,
Block spam messages tap Privacy, then Advanced, and switch
and calls in WhatsApp on ‘Block unknown account messages’.
The popularity of WhatsApp has inevitably You can also block spam calls in
led to it being abused by spammers and WhatsApp. Select ‘Privacy’ in Settings,
scammers. You’ve probably received at tap Calls and turn on ‘Silence unknown
least one unsolicited message in the app, callers’. You’ll still be notified of these
Set up Apple Messages to filter messages whether a simple ‘Hi’ from a stranger calls, but they won’t make your phone
from unknown senders (usually a bot with a profile picture of a ring.

NEXT ISSUE On sale Wednesday 21 May

ON SALE
Weds
21
May
Wipe Your Old Devices PLUS

• Remove AI tools you don’t need
There are more coming – act now!
Erase data so you can sell or recycle them

• Rescue your Google Maps Timeline
 PC  Laptop  Phone  Tablet & more You haven’t got long!

Subscribe to Computeractive at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 57

 Why you must use
Command
Palette
Microsoft’s brilliant PowerToys
has just been updated with a
superb new tool. Jonathan Parkyn
explains what Command Palette is,
how to get it and how to use it

R
egular Computeractive readers launch the tool. Another bonus is that but if you happen to have a PC with an
will already know how much you can use it almost entirely without ARM processor (find out by clicking Start,
we love PowerToys – Microsoft’s resorting to your mouse. You launch it Settings, System, About and looking
ever-expanding suite of free with a keyboard shortcut, then navigate under ‘System type’), get the ARM64
Windows tools. It’s one of those rare extensions using the up and down keys version instead 2 .
downloads that would be genuinely or just start typing keywords. You’ll also notice that PowerToys is
worth paying for if it wasn’t free. It’s It’s also a lot more powerful than offered in ‘Per user’ and ‘Machine wide’ 3
endlessly useful and constantly improving. many of the Windows tools it replaces, versions. Choose the former if you’ll be
Now, with the latest major update providing you with options and shortcuts the only person using it; choose the latter
(version 0.90), PowerToys just got even that you wouldn’t get with, say, a if you want everyone who signs into your
better, thanks to a tool called Command standard Start menu search. computer to be able to use PowerToys.
Palette. It’s one of the biggest improvements
to Windows in years. Here, we’ll show How to get it Type to find what you want
you how to get started with it, walk you To use Command Palette, you’ll need the Launch PowerToys, then click System
through its best features, and share some latest version of PowerToys. If you already Tools on the left followed by Command
clever ways you can use it to perform have it installed you’ll see a prompt to Palette ( 1 in our screenshot below). Now
almost any task on your PC – from update to the latest version. You can also make sure ‘Enable Command Palette’ is
launching apps and finding files to update it manually by clicking Open switched on 2 and press Win+Alt+Space
running commands and making quick Settings, General, then ‘Check for updates’. on your keyboard to launch it (though you
calculations. If you don’t already have PowerToys, go can change the tool’s default keyboard
to Microsoft’s GitHub page at www. shortcut, as we’ll see later). Start typing
Why Command Palette snipca.com/54629 and download the keywords for the item you want to find 3 .
is so essential latest version for your operating system As you type, relevant search results –
Part search bar, part Command Prompt, (v0.90.1 at the time of writing). Most including apps, files, settings or actions
Command Palette is technically a universal people will need the x64 version of that match your keyword – appear below
launcher. In practice, it’s a multi-faceted PowerToys ( 1 in our screenshot below), the search box. If the item you want is
‘do-anything’ box you can
use instead of the current
Windows Start menu, Run 2
commands, File Explorer 1
and other areas of the
2 3
operating system.
Command Palette uses
extensions that specialise in 4
searching or launching
specific types of content. It 3 1
comes with several
extensions built in, which
are displayed below the Choose the right version of PowerToys based on your Switch on Command Palette, then type a keyword to
search box whenever you processor and who will use it carry out a task

60 7 – 20 Month 2025 • Issue 709

 Add and remove Command Palette extensions
The easiest way to add extensions is Windows package manager Winget, though of the available extensions didn’t work.
to choose ‘Search for extensions in the first you may need to install the official App Extensions you’ve installed will be
Store’ in Command Palette’s task list. Installer from the Microsoft Store (www. added to the bottom of the list in Command
This will launch the Microsoft Store and snipca.com/54632). Next, launch Command Palette. To choose which ones are shown
display a small (but growing) selection Palette, select ‘Install Command Palette and to remove any you don’t need, click the
of extensions, including converters for extensions’ and press Enter. Highlight the Settings cog followed by Extensions on
currency and time zones. extension you want and press Enter again to the left. Now click the button next to an
You can also install extensions via the install it. Note that when we tried this, some extension to turn it on or off.

listed in the results, navigate to it with the more about the file, including its size,
up/down keys and press Enter. extension and more. 2
Alternatively, narrow your search to a
specific type of content by selecting a Perform Run commands
Command Palette extension first. For The Run box (press Windows key+R) is
example, to search for an app (rather useful for launching system tools like
than a file or command), open Command Command Prompt, Msconfig, Registry
Palette, highlight the All Apps extension Editor, Group Policy editor and more, or 1
4 and press Enter. Now start typing for quickly navigating to hidden folders,
keywords and your results will be such as AppData. Command Palette has a
limited to installed apps. Run extension built in, and you can get to
To go back to the previous screen in it quickly by pressing Win+Alt+Space
Command Palette, press the Esc key. then > (right-pointing chevron) and typing
Don’t worry if Command Palette your Run command. Pressing Enter will Use Window Walker to switch quickly
disappears when you click outside its run the command, or you can press between apps and open windows
window – it’s designed to close when Ctrl+Enter to run it as an administrator.
you’re not using it. Clicking the three dots reveals an Best other extensions
additional option to run the command Command Palette has its own calculator
Find files and folders as another user. function: press the = key and start
When searching your PC for files and typing your calculations to get instant
folders, Command Palette has a few Search the web without results. Other extensions include
useful tricks up its sleeve. With Command using Bing and Edge Windows Settings, which lets you search
Palette open, press the down-arrow key Infuriatingly, the Start menu’s web search for and launch specific settings (access
until ‘Search files’ is highlighted, then is locked to the Bing and Edge browsers. this quickly by pressing Win+Alt+Space,
press Enter. Now type a keyword relating Command Palette finally gives you a way then $). Windows Services lets you
to a file you’re looking for and results will to get around this. Press Win+Alt+Space, browse, search for and start/stop
start appearing below. Navigate to the file then navigate to the ‘Search the Web’ background system tasks. Windows
you want and press Enter to open it. extension and press Enter (or type ??). System Command lets you quickly
Alternatively, press Ctrl+Enter to select Now type your search keywords and shut down, restart or lock your PC, or
an app to open the file with. Or you can press Enter again – your default browser reboot it into the UEFI firmware settings.
press the three-dot menu bottom right will launch with the search results. There are also extensions for searching
( 1 in our screenshot below) for more the registry, launching Command Prompt
options, including ‘Show in folder’, ‘Copy Quickly switch between and more.
path’ and ‘Open path in console’ 2 . You apps and windows
can also select Properties here to find out Another extension – Window Walker – Change its keyboard shortcut
provides you with a handy alternative to Launch Command Palette (by pressing
Alt+Tabbing your way through your open Win+Alt+Space) then click the bottom-
apps and windows to find the one you left Settings cog. Now click the pen icon
want. Launch Command Palette, navigate to the right of ‘Activation key’ and press
to ‘Switch between open windows’ and the combination of keys you’d prefer to
2 press Enter. You’ll see a list of all the use – it needs to start with Win, Ctrl, Alt
running apps and windows you currently or Shift. Click Save to confirm.
have open ( 1 in our screenshot above It’s worth exploring the other settings
right). You can simply start typing an here. For example, if you enable ‘Single-
app’s name in the search box to find the click activation’, clicking extensions,
1 one you want 2 , or navigate to it in the search results, commands and so on with
list and press Enter to switch to it. your mouse once has the same effect as
When searching for a file click the three-dot Pressing Ctrl+Enter will close the navigating to them and pressing Enter on
menu to see more options window or app you have highlighted. your keyboard.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 61

 Has your ‘new’
device been used
before?
Did your new hard drive, laptop
or phone have a previous
owner? Robert Irvine
explains how to check for
giveaway signs it’s not as
new as the seller claimed

B
uying a refurbished device With SSDs, SMART can also tell you Check a Seagate drive’s
saves you money and helps the the amount of data that’s been written FARM data
environment. But when you to and read from the drive, and the In the case of the fraudulent Seagate hard
purchase a brand new product, percentage of their projected lifespan drives, the SMART statistics had been
you naturally assume it’s never been that’s remaining. On a new hard drive or deliberately reset. This meant their usage
used before and will therefore offer SSD, you’d expect all usage values to be data was very close to genuinely new
optimum performance. near zero and the lifespan figure to be drives, and some buyers only became
Sadly, this isn’t always the case. Earlier 100 per cent. suspicious when they noticed physical
this year, German tech-news site Heise.de To check the status of your drives, signs of wear on their devices.
reported that more than 250 of its readers download the free tool CrystalDiskInfo To verify whether a drive has been used
had purchased Seagate hard drives that (www.snipca.com/54521) – to avoid its before, Seagate users are advised to check
were supposedly new but had, in fact, confusing download page, use this direct the FARM (Field Accessible Reliability
been used previously – potentially for link: www.snipca.com/54522. Run the Metrics) data. Exclusive to Seagate, FARM
tens of thousands of hours over up to program and it will check your PC’s also provides a ‘power on hours’ figure,
three years (www.snipca.com/54520). internal and external drives, and provide but unlike SMART’s value it can’t be faked.
Further investigation found hundreds a summary of the SMART data. In legitimate Seagate drives, the FARM and
of drives were being sold by retailers In our screenshot below, you’ll see that SMART values should be nearly identical,
and in online marketplaces all over our hard drive has been powered on but a significant difference between them
the world, including by some official 3,976 times for a total of 12,087 hours, suggests the drive has been tampered
Seagate partners. which sounds about right for our ageing with to conceal its real age.
Although such occurrences are rare, laptop. On a new drive, you should see There are several third-party tools that
there’s still a risk that a ‘new’ item you figures no higher than double digits, reveal FARM data for Seagate drives, but
buy online, particularly from a third- depending on how long you’ve been it’s easiest to use Seagate’s own SeaTools
party seller, had a previous life. Here, we using it for. software (www.snipca.com/54524). Click
explain how to check if your devices have ‘Drive Details’ (see screenshot below) to
been used before, so you can claim a
refund from the retailer if that’s the case.

Check if a hard drive

has been used before
You can check the health and history
of a hard drive through its SMART
(Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting
Technology) data. This includes details of
how many hours the drive has been
active for, how many times it’s been
powered on and if it contains any bad CrystalDiskInfo tells you how many hours Seagate’s SeaTools software provides a
data sectors. your hard drive has been used for drive’s true Power On Hours figure

62 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Confirm that your
laptop’s warranty
began when you Check your laptop
bought it – not before
for physical signs
of use
A new laptop should be in immaculate
condition, so any physical defect is a
giveaway sign it’s been used before.
These may include:

Scratches and scuffs Look closely

at the lid, base, edges and corners for
any scratches, scuffs or abrasions. A
view information about your drive, Lenovo laptops, www.snipca.com/54529 loose or creaky lid hinge also indicates
paying particular attention to the Power for HP and www.snipca.com/54530 for previous use, as does a worn trackpad.
On Hours figures on the SMART and Dell. Search for the serial number to see
Power tabs. SeaTools can also provide when the warranty began and will end Damaged or missing screws
useful details for non-Seagate drives, but (see screenshot above), and if it’s been Inspect the screws on the bottom
not FARM data. renewed. of the laptop. Damaged, missing or
mismatched screws indicate the laptop
Check if a laptop Check if your phone had a has been tampered with.
has been used before previous owner
The simplest way to discover if a ‘new’ Buying a supposedly new phone that’s Grubby or scratched screen
laptop has been used before is from its been used before not only means you Fingerprints on the screen are an
SMART information. You can either run won’t get optimum performance and obvious sign of previous use, but check
CrystalDiskInfo (as mentioned earlier) or, lifespan from the device, but could also too for tiny scratches. These are easier
for a simpler option that focuses solely on suggest it’s been stolen. Although new to spot when the screen is off.
read/write data, use DiskCountersView phones are usually sealed in pristine
from NirSoft (www.snipca.com/54527). packaging by the manufacturer, this isn’t Dust and debris Check around
This free tool tells you how many times always the case when buying from online the laptop’s keys and especially in its
data has been read from and written to marketplaces such as eBay and AliExpress, ports for particles of dust and debris
each of the drives and partitions on or if someone gives you a phone as a gift, the person who cleaned it may have
your PC, and the respective amounts. so it’s worth checking if you have doubts. missed.
Suspiciously high figures indicate the In our ‘Phone theft’ feature in Issue 708
laptop has previously been used. (page 60), we recommended making a Unusual noises Listen for suspect
Other than physical defects (see box note of your phone’s IMEI number, so noises such as loud fan sounds, clicking
right), it’s also worth checking a laptop’s you can report it if stolen. This number or whining, which could indicate wear
warranty status to determine if it’s had a also lets you discover whether a ‘new’ and tear on internal components.
past life. The warranty begins on the day device has been blacklisted for being
of purchase, so if the laptop is being stolen or lost.
resold as ‘new’ with the original To get your phone’s IMEI, dial *#06#
warranty, an earlier start date implies in the Phone app and note down the
you’re not its first owner. 15-digit number. Enter the IMEI number
You can find this information using into a free blacklist-check tool such as the
your laptop’s serial number. Type cmd in one at www.snipca.com/54525. This will
the Windows search box then press Enter search for the number in the global IMEI
to open Command Prompt. Type the database, which is maintained by the GSMA
command wmic bios get serialnumber (Global System for Mobile Communications 1
(see screenshot below) and press Enter Association), and tell you whether the
to reveal the serial number. phone is ‘clean’ or ‘blacklisted’.
Now go to the warranty-check section For even more information about a
of the manufacturer’s website – for phone’s possible previous life, check its 2
example, www.snipca.com/54528 for IMEI, make and model at CheckMend
(www.snipca.com/54526). Although
this site charges for reports and requires CheckMend tells you whether your phone has
you to sign up for a trader account, you been blocked or owned before
get your first report for free without
providing payment-card details (you may or counterfeited, and has a previous
need to disable your ad blocker). registered owner 2 . As well as providing
The report includes information about its results online, CheckMend emails
whether the phone is currently or has you a copy of the report and lets you
Find your laptop’s serial number by typing this ever been blocked ( 1 in our screenshot download a PDF. Further reports cost
into Command Prompt above right), could potentially be cloned £1.99 each.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 63

 Problems Solved
Our experts solve all your tech problems

PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT

How do I back up my music device?

I recently tried to back up my
Q Brennan music device’s
500GB hard drive to an
external drive, as the company
recommends. I plugged a large- 1
capacity external drive into the USB
port, but the machine told me it
wasn’t compatible. When I contacted 2
Brennan’s support team, they told me
the drives or sticks had to be formatted
in FAT32. I checked my USB sticks and
drives, and almost all of them were
either NTFS or exFAT. The only FAT32 3
stick I have is too small for the backup.
As a tech amateur, I’ve no idea how
to proceed. Sellers don’t seem to state
which formats their drives use, and
FAT32 appears to be obsolete. I was
told to search online and download 4
something. What would you advise?
Richard Latham Type these commands and you’ll see an asterisk next to the selected drive

This stuff can certainly be formatting to any drive above 32GB. could wipe the wrong drive instantly,
A confusing, even for seasoned
users, so we’ll explain. FAT32
There is a workaround, however, which
we’ll get to in a moment.
so work very carefully, double-
checking everything as you go.
is a very old file system dating back to Today you’ll rarely find a new drive First, press Windows key+X to open
the 1990s. By today’s standards it has pre-formatted as FAT32, because most the Quick Link menu, then click
very restrictive limits on the maximum modern devices have moved on from that ‘Windows PowerShell (Admin)’.
size of drive it supports and how big standard. So, as you note, new drives tend Next, at the command prompt, type
any single file contained on it can be. to be formatted as either exFAT (a more diskpart ( 1 in our screenshot above)
Windows, for example, supports FAT32 modern version of FAT32) or NTFS, which and press Enter, then type list disk 2
drives of up to 2TB. Frustratingly, is what all new versions of Windows use. and press Enter. Now note down
Windows simply refuses to apply FAT32 However, for various historical and the number assigned to your backup
technical reasons, many devices drive, which you can identify by its
beyond Windows PCs still use storage capacity, listed under the
FAT32, including your Brennan Size column.
music device. This means you’ll Now type select disk X, replacing X
need to format a drive in FAT32 with the relevant number for your
for the Brennan to recognise it. backup drive – such as select disk 2 3 .
1 As Windows won’t format drives To check you’ve selected the correct
bigger than 32GB as FAT32, the drive, type list disk once again: an
usual advice is to download a asterisk on the left-hand side indicates
2 tool that will. which drive is selected 4 .
However, there is an alternative Next, type clean ( 1 in our screenshot
method that gets the job done left) and press Enter – this will
quickly without any additional instantly and irreversibly erase the
3
tools, although it does involve contents of the drive. Then, type create
using command-line instructions. partition primary 2 and press Enter.
Once you’ve erased the drive and created a partition, They’re not difficult to execute, Finally, type format fs=fat32 quick 3
you can format it using the Fat32 file system but if you make a mistake, you and press Enter.

64 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Email us your problem and we’ll try to help:
[email protected]

How do I download all the images I get in Gmail?

After changing my internet Otherwise, the only way to view
Q provider recently, I started using
Gmail as my primary email
embedded images in Gmail at your
preferred size is to use your browser’s
service. I run a club, and members zoom control. This usually means holding
send me lots of pictures. However, the down the Control (Ctrl) button while
images look much too large in Gmail tapping the ‘+’ (plus) or ‘-’ (minus) keys,
so I can’t see them properly without or holding down Ctrl while turning your
downloading them first. What’s more, I mouse’s scroll wheel.
have to download each image from a One workaround that might help
message individually. I’ve checked, but I If you receive images as email attachments, (though it’s not perfect) is to open a
can’t see any way to download all the click this button to download them all at once Gmail message and save it as HTML.
images at once or display them at what This downloads all the elements of
I’d consider a ‘normal’ size. I’ve scoured clicking the paperclip icon in their email the page, including embedded images.
Settings, but to no avail. Can you help? tool, then selecting the photo files rather It will save these as JPEGs, giving
Charles McKinnie than dragging and dropping them into them labels like ‘unnamed.jpg’,
the body of their message. That said, ‘unnamed2.jpg’ and so on.
Gmail is frustratingly bad at Gmail could and should offer better To do this in Chrome, for example,
A handling attachments, especially
photos. Part of the problem is
options at the receiving end, which is
where your problem arises.
open the menu (three dots, top right)
move your cursor to ‘Cast, save and share’
that your club members are sending If you can convince members to then click ‘Save page as’. Now choose a
photos as inline or ‘embedded’ images in attach images rather than embed them, location on your hard drive before
the body of the message, rather than as Gmail will provide a ‘Download all clicking Save. This will create both an
attachments. So one solution is to ask attachments’ button (see screenshot HTML page and a folder containing
them to send images as attachments above). Click this to download all all the page’s digital ‘assets’. Open this
instead. They would typically do this by attached images in a ZIP file. folder to locate the image files.

How do I schedule recurring events in Google Calendar?

How do I get Google Calendar 1 Click this option In
Q to enter events automatically
on, say, the third Thursday of
Google Calendar to
set up a recurring event

the month? My U3A (University of the

Third Age) group organises events this
way, and at the moment I have to enter
the dates manually, which is a pain and
leads to mistakes. If it’s not possible, is
there an alternative tool I can use? My
colleagues use Apple devices, and they 2
would also like a solution.
Jim Benn the third Thursday’ 2 . Tweak
any other options you need
You won’t need any alternative to include in the Event box,
A tools because you can achieve
what you want quite easily
then click Save.
The process is similar for
in Google Calender. your colleagues with Apple
First, click the Create button followed devices. In Apple Calendar
by Event. Set the event’s date and time on an iPhone or iPad, tap the
as usual, then look under the schedule ‘+’ (plus) symbol to create a
Open the dropdown menu and choose the appropriate
and click where it says ‘Does not new event, then set the date option from the list that appears
repeat’ (see screenshot 1 ). Next, click and time before tapping
to open the dropdown menu that Repeat. Now choose Every Month, say. Repeat followed by On Date, then
appears, then choose when you want You can also set a date when the setting the termination date. Finally,
the event to recur, such as ‘Monthly on recurring event ends by tapping End add the event by tapping Add.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 65

 Problems Solved
What’s this black box interrupting my
Why won’t my web search?
in-car sat-nav
update? Q
Whenever I search
for anything in my
My car, a Suzuki S-Cross web browser, an
Q SX4, is 10 years old but has
only 13,000 miles on the
annoying black box appears
in the bottom-right of the
clock. I’ve successfully updated its window. I have no idea what
superb in-car sat-nav maps many it is or how to get rid of it.
times, but recently I encountered a Can you help?
problem. When I contacted Suzuki’s Eric Page
customer services, they told me Vibn (also known as Zuvu) is an AI Chrome extension with
updates had stopped in 2020 and From the screenshot an uncertain provenance, so we’d recommend removing it
that this model won’t receive any
more. Does this sound right to you?
A you sent us (right),
we can see that the cause Everything about Zuvu is similarly
Rod Cranness of your problem is a pop-up from a unclear.
questionable Chrome extension called In short, it’s all quite murky. We don’t
Sadly, yes. Like other car Vibn. This delivers AI results based on know how it ended up on your computer,
A manufacturers, Suzuki
supports its built-in sat-nav
your search terms.
We call it ‘questionable’ because we
but there’s a chance it was installed
stealthily alongside some other tool you
systems for a limited period. struggled to find any information about deliberately downloaded to your system.
Sometimes third-party providers the extension’s developers, who go by Thankfully, it’s easy to remove, and that’s
continue to offer updates after the the name ChatOnAI. Its website is now what we’d recommend doing.
cut-off date, but that’s not the case offline, and archived versions offer few First, open the Chrome menu (three
here. Garmin, which has been clues as to who is behind it. The dots, top right) then move your cursor
providing updates for your vehicle, extension itself still works and, at the to Extensions before clicking Manage
stopped doing so in October 2020 time of writing, is available to download Extensions. Locate the ‘Vibn AI’ panel,
(www.snipca.com/54305). from the Chrome Web Store. However, its click the Remove button (see screenshot
So we’re afraid there’s no way to name has changed to Zuvu, although it below), then confirm your decision by
update the built-in sat-nav, other still appears as Vibn when it pops up. clicking Remove again.
than replacing the entire head unit,
which is complicated and expensive.
A much cheaper and easier option
is to buy a simple bracket, such as
the pictured Veligood model (£7 from
www.snipca.com/54306), and use
Google Maps or a similar mapping
app on your phone. This would also
eliminate the need to update your
maps ever again.

Open ‘Manage Extensions’ in Chrome, then find the Vibn panel and click the Remove button

Q: How does Google know where I

parked my car?
A: Issue 697, page 66 – find it on
our 2024 Back Issue CD
A phone bracket and mapping app is the Buy it from
cheapest fix for a car’s outdated sat-nav www.snipca.com/53433

66 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 Can you downgrade from Windows 11 to 10?
In Issue 702’s Problems Solved Only Pro
Q (pages 65 and 68), you helped
two readers who had bought
versions of
Windows
can be
PCs with Windows 10 installed but downgraded
later upgraded them to Windows 11. In without
both cases you said they would need to needing a
new licence
buy a new licence to reinstall Windows
10. Why can’t they just use the original
Windows 10 installation media (or a
fresh download) to reinstall Windows
10, then either enter the product key (if
they have one) or allow the operating
system to activate automatically based
on the hardware fingerprint, without
needing a new licence?
Rod Currie
for Windows 11 (and 10 for that matter) Now, because of the way Microsoft
As we often say with anything is that only Professional (Pro) editions stores licences digitally in a user’s
A relating to Microsoft’s software
licensing, it’s complicated.
include downgrade rights. You can read
these terms for yourself, at www.snipca.
account, it’s true that trying to
reactivate a reinstalled copy of
When you accept a free upgrade from com/54307 – you’ll find the relevant Windows 10 Home might actually
one version of Windows to another, restriction at section 7b (see screenshot). work. However, that doesn’t mean the
your original licence is subsumed into Most home PC users will have the licence is valid. We wouldn’t want to
the new one. Microsoft gives users 10 Home edition of Windows 11, which recommend readers try something that
days to downgrade their PC if they means that after the initial 10-day might fail – or, worse, might succeed
choose, but after that, the terms of the cooling-off period, they are not entitled initially but fail later when Microsoft
new licence apply. to downgrade their PC from Windows 11 deactivates the operating system for
A crucial detail in Microsoft’s terms to 10 without buying a new licence. not having the appropriate licence.

Will an old laptop A replacement laptop

battery may not

impact my new
behave in the same
way as the original

battery?
I’m thinking of buying a second-
Q hand laptop that’s been fitted
with a new battery. I was
wondering if the fact that the laptop itself
is old would have a negative impact on
the battery. In other words, will the
battery charge as well as it would in a new
laptop and hold its charge as efficiently?
Diana Gamble
the new battery is a third-party So it’s not so much that a second-hand
Intuitively, you’d think the replacement rather than the same laptop would damage a replacement
A laptop being second-hand
would have no bearing on the
make and model the manufacturer
originally fitted, the laptop’s circuitry
battery, but that the battery might
behave differently to the laptop’s
performance of a new battery, but it’s not could interact it with it differently. original. Whether that’s likely to
quite that simple. While in theory a If the battery has a different capacity, cause problems in everyday use is
brand new battery should charge and for example, the laptop might misinterpret another matter. However, as you’ve
hold power just as well in an old laptop as its charge level because the battery isn’t never used the laptop with its original
a new one, there are many factors that behaving as expected. Running a full battery, you have no grounds to compare
can affect real-world performance. charge-discharge cycle can help calibrate whether its performance is better or
We don’t know which specific a laptop’s calculations, but there’s no worse, so it’s probably not worth
laptop you’re thinking of buying, but if guarantee. worrying about.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 67

 Problems Solved
1
What is this To access Toolkit’s
settings, click

strange ‘updater’
its icon in the
notification area
then select Toolkit
message?
Recently, every time I start my
Q PC I receive a message saying
that ‘updater.exe’ wants to run.
I don’t know what the message refers to
because Windows states ‘Publisher:
unknown’. So when it asks me if I’ll
allow it to update my PC, I click no.
Can you tell me what it is, where it
comes from, and how it got on my
computer?
John Parker

You’re very wise to be cautious never use Seagate Toolkit, you can 2
A in this situation. From the photo
of your screen you sent us,
continue to ignore this message.
Alternatively, you can stop the message
however, we’re pretty confident that this appearing by telling Seagate Toolkit not
message is from Seagate Toolkit, a to run at startup.
legitimate tool for computers that have To do this, first right-click the
Seagate hard drives. That the publisher is Seagate Tookit icon in the notification
listed as ‘Unknown’ is very bad form on area at the far right of the Windows
Seagate’s part, but we suspect that’s taskbar, then click Tookit (see screenshot
down to lazy programming rather than 1 ). Next, in Toolkit, click the three-dots
anything sinister. menu icon followed by Settings. Finally,
In other words, this program is next to ‘Start Toolkit automatically at Turn this slider off to stop Seagate Toolkit
probably safe to run. However, if you startup’, just click to turn the slider off 2 . starting automatically with Windows

Can I connect two PCs to my old monitor?

I have an old monitor that’s You can
Q still in excellent condition and
has both VGA and HDMI
connect
two PCs to
a monitor
connectors. Is it possible to connect that has
two PCs to the monitor, one through both VGA (or
the VGA socket and the other through D-SUB) and
HDMI inputs
HDMI? If so, what problems might I
encounter? I understand I can only use
one PC at a time, but I’d like to keep
them both connected to the monitor.
Mick Miller

Yes, you can connect a

A separate PC to each of these
sockets. The key question is
whether the monitor will let you
switch between them. The answer is
almost certainly yes, but as we don’t
know the make and model of your
screen, we can’t say for sure or provide other. Sometimes you do this through an or Source button on the monitor.
specific instructions. on-screen menu, which you navigate If so, pressing this should switch
However, it’s usually a simple matter using physical controls on the monitor. between the two inputs. Note that VGA
of using the monitor’s controls to Look for an option labelled Source or is also known as D-SUB (pictured
switch from one input socket to the Input. There may also be a physical Input above).

68 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

 ?? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN...

AVIF and older image types

I recently found a photo online JPEG is a very popular image format,
Q that I wanted to keep, so I
right-clicked to save a copy of
but it’s far from perfect. For example, it
can lose quality every time you save it,
it. It saved in a format I’d never seen and it doesn’t support modern graphical

AVIF
before – AVIF, with the file extension techniques such as transparency or HDR.
‘.avif’. All my browsers can open this One answer to these problems was the
file, as can Google Photos. However, High Efficiency Image Format, or HEIF. It
Microsoft Paint and other apps don’t was developed by the Moving Picture
recognise it. My online research told
me that AVIF stands for AV1 Image File
Format, and that it’s designed for
Experts Group (MPEG, www.mpeg.org) to
rectify JPEG’s numerous shortcomings.
Apple came up with its own version of
JPEG
highly efficient compression and HEIF called HEIC, where the ‘C’ stands HEIC and WebP, but slightly better. If
quality. From what I read, it was for Coding. HEIC is now the default things go the way AOMedia hopes,
designed to replace legacy formats image format on iPhones and iPads. we’ll all be using AVIF before long.
such as JPEG and WebP. This is what Elsewhere, and for similar reasons, This is certainly a possibility, because
prompted me to write to you. Is this Google developed WebP. technically AVIF is far superior to JPEG
true? What are the implications? And This brings us to AVIF. It’s a broader, and numerous other image formats,
is there any real difference? industry-wide effort to settle on a so we can expect more and more tools
Richard Norwood ‘next-generation’ standard, with to support it. However, users fed up
support from a consortium of big-name with having to deal with yet another
There’s an old joke that says players, including Microsoft, Apple standard may just stick with JPEG, as
A the best thing about standards
is that there are so many to
and Google. This organisation calls itself
the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia,
they have done for decades.
Want to know the difference between
choose from – and that certainly https://aomedia.org). technical terms? Email noproblem@
applies here. AVIF is essentially the same as HEIF, computeractive.co.uk

Can I use my all-in-one as a screen for a new PC?

I was interested to read your As you say your HP computer is
Q response to Peter Brown’s
question in Issue 705 (page 65)
otherwise working well for you,
why not stick with Windows 10
about using his Dell OptiPex 5250 all-in- for now? You’d need to pay for
one PC’s monitor as a screen for a new extended support when Microsoft
mini PC. My HP-b257NA all-in-one PC makes that available in October, but
works perfectly well for my modest at an estimated cost of £30 for the
needs, but it’s not compatible with first year (www.snipca.com/54308),
Windows 11. Something like the Chuwi HP says the HDMI port on Peter’s PC is for output it would be a lot cheaper than
UBox mini PC you reviewed in the same only, so he can’t use the screen with a second PC buying a new Windows 11 PC
issue (page 22) could be ideal. My HP PC and monitor.
has one HDMI port and several USB ports, Your machine’s USB-C socket also
one of which I believe is USB-C. Would I supports the Thunderbolt protocol, ON SALE
be able to follow Peter’s example and use
its screen as a monitor for this mini PC?
which in theory can handle video inputs.
However, we’re afraid that in this case, Next Issue Weds
21 May
Chris Parker too, the HP documentation is clear that
your all-in-one’s Thunderbolt port is for • Why are my videos playing
As a reminder for other readers, output only, not input, so you can’t so fast?
A while Dell’s documentation wasn’t
specific about whether every
connect an external PC that way.
As we said to Peter, if your HP PC has
•H
 ow do I wipe my old
sat-nav?
model of Peter’s PC included an HDMI the Pro edition of Windows installed, you •D
 o I need authenticator
input, in his case it was a possibility. could in theory run apps on a new PC apps? ...And many more
However, HP’s manual for the b257NA (at and display them on the HP’s screen
www.snipca.com/54309) is explicit: its using Remote Desktop. However, Remote Subscribe to Computeractive at
HDMI port is only for outputting to Desktop is really a troubleshooting tool, www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
external devices (see screenshot). so this isn’t a sensible everyday solution.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 69

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Problems Solved
Reader Support
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Email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help

Why can’t I reinstall You may find that Outlook appears a The good news is that customers who
classic Outlook? little unfamiliar when you first run it, but live in an area not served by FTTP will
I can’t reinstall the classic don’t worry. If you close then relaunch continue to receive broadband over a
Q version of Outlook, despite
following Microsoft’s
Outlook after setting up your accounts, it
reverts to a more familiar look.
fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connection,
even after the 2027 deadline. What’s
instructions (www.snipca.com/54211) as more, Digital Voice works whether you
described in Issue 706 (page 6). The first Will I lose my broadband and have an FTTP connection or not, so
download did nothing. The second landline when copper is axed? you’ll keep your landline, too.
showed the message ‘Mantenha-se online I was interested to see In most cases you can keep your
enquanto a sua aplicacao e tranferida’.
What am I doing wrong?
Q Thinkbroadband’s interactive
map showing when addresses
landline number. The only exception is if
you change providers. If so, tell your new
John Harris will get fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) provider you want to port your number
broadband (Issue 704, page 7, www. to your new account before you switch.
As we noted in Issue 708’s snipca.com/53798). It confirmed that
A Reader Support, the installer for
Microsoft’s classic Outlook is
Openreach has no plans to install
FTTP to my address within the next
Can you transfer 2FA content
to a new phone?
confusing, whether you download it three years. This is backed up by I was interested in your reply
or opt to ‘Install from Store’. One quirk
of the Microsoft Store version is that
Openreach’s postcode checker (www.
snipca.com/54488), which states FTTP
Q to Tim Boddington’s question
about two-factor authorisation
some elements of the installer are in isn’t available at my address. When I (2FA) in Issue 706 (page 71). On two
Portuguese. A rough translation of the checked further, it stated that Openreach occasions I’ve had to buy a new phone to
message you’re seeing is “stay online has no plans to provide replace a faulty one. As
while your application is installed. The FTTP to my home. both phones had stopped
process will complete shortly.” Does this mean working, I wouldn’t have
Microsoft knows about the problem that when the copper been able to transfer their
and is presumably working to fix it. But network is switched off in 2FA content to the new
we can confirm that the installation itself January 2027, I’ll lose my device as your advice
is fine. When you launch Outlook from broadband and landline suggests. What could
the ‘Outlook (classic)’ link in your Start connections, and the I have done in that
menu, the program itself runs in English. telephone number I’ve situation? I’ve been
Try installing it from the Microsoft had for 39 years? tempted to install the
Store link again. This time, ignore any Peter Gingell Microsoft Authenticator
Portuguese messages and wait for the With this setting on, Microsoft
app (www.snipca.
lengthy process to complete. You’ll It’s important to Authenticator will keep your com/54489), but now I
eventually see a message saying ‘Está tudo
pronto!’, which means ‘Everything is
A remember that the 2FA accounts backed up
rollout of FTTP
think it may not be a
good idea.
ready’, ( 1 in our screenshot below) – and the switch from copper lines to J Zarach
click ‘Fechar’ (Close 2 ). Digital Voice are two distinct – though
related – projects. With Digital Voice, BT As we mentioned in Issue 706,
1 is replacing the old public switched
telephone network (PSTN) with a system
A the best authenticator apps let
you back up your 2FA accounts
where voice calls are made digitally over to the cloud. In Microsoft Authenticator,
your broadband connection. for example, tap the three horizontal
FTTP rollout is happening on an lines, then select Settings and make sure
2 entirely separate schedule. Openreach iCloud/Cloud Backup is turned on (see
is currently aiming to deliver FTTP to screenshot above left). Once enabled,
25 million homes and businesses by backups happen automatically. Do this
2026. But, as you’ve already discovered, before your phone develops a fault and
Ignore Outlook’s Portuguese messages – just many premises still won’t have FTTP you’ll be able to restore your 2FA accounts
wait for it to install, then click ‘Fechar’ (Close) by January 2027. to your next (working) phone.

Issue 709 • 7 – 20 May 2025 71

 Jargon Buster
1080p High-definition video: Command line A way to Frame rate The number of still Large language model A type
1920x1080 pixels. control a computer by typing images, or frames, shown per of artificial intelligence algorithm
instructions one at a time. In second to create a moving image. that analyses huge amounts of
2FA Two-factor authentication. Windows this is called Command data sets to summarise and create
A system that uses two different Prompt. FTTC Fibre-to-the-cabinet. A content.
means to identify the user. For broadband technology that uses
example, a code sent to your Copilot+ An enhanced version fibre-optic cable between a phone Layers Image-editing programs
phone in addition to a password. of Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool. exchange and street cabinets let users create multiple layers.
Also used to classify Windows before transferring to the normal Think of these like layers of glass
2K A screen with 2048x1080 pixels. 11 PCs with a neural processing telephone wires. stacked on top of the canvas,
unit (NPU) that can perform over which can be drawn on, re-ordered
3G/4G/5G Technologies that 40 trillion operations per second FTTP Fibre-to-the premises. Fibre or hidden.
deliver faster mobile broadband. (TOPS). broadband that goes straight to the
doorstep. Faster than FTTC. LiDAR Light Detection and
4K Video with a resolution of at Core Units on a processor that Ranging. A remote-sensing
least 3840x2160 pixels. carry out program instructions. Gorilla glass Scratch-resistant method that uses laser pulses to
glass that’s used to protect the measure distances.
Accelerometer A sensor that Dark mode Showing white text screens of tablets and phones.
detects movement. Used in on a black background. Macro camera Lets you take
smartphones to decide whether Graphics card A component in a sharp, detailed, close-up photos of
or not to display a portrait or DCI-P3 A colour space that has a computer that produces the image small objects.
landscape screen, control games wider spectrum than sRGB. shown on the monitor.
or even work as a spirit level. Magnetometer An instrument
DisplayPort A socket for H.264 A type of MPEG4 video that measures magnetic forces,
Add-in Microsoft’s name for connecting monitors. that is used on Blu-ray discs and especially the earth’s magnetism.
tools that can be added to Office recorded by many cameras and
software. Dolby Vision Dolby’s HDR camcorders. MicroSD card A small type of
(High Dynamic Range) screen memory card.
Administrator Someone who can technology. H.265 The successor to Advanced
make changes to a computer that Video Coding (AVC). It offers the MMS Multimedia Messaging. A
will affect others who also use it. Domain These are used to same level of picture quality as system for sending images and
identify one or more IP addresses. AVC, but with better compression. sounds between mobile phones
AMOLED Active-Matrix Organic without using email.
Light-Emitting Diode. An Driver A file that tells HDMI High-definition media
alternative technology to LCD for Windows how to work with an interface. A type of connection that MVNO Mobile virtual network
creating flat-panel displays. Most external device. transmits high-definition video and operator. A mobile provider that
commonly used in smartphones, audio signals. piggybacks on another network
tablets and smartwatches. Dual-band router A Wi-Fi rather than its own.
router that operates on two HDR Camera technology that
AppData A Windows folder bands: 2.4 and 5GHz. takes a rapid burst of photos, then Noise cancellation Method for
that holds data and settings for combines them into one. reducing unwanted sound by
programs. E Ink Electrophoretic ink. A adding a second sound specifically
special type of ink used to display HTML Hypertext Markup designed to cancel the first.
Augmented reality Lets you content in electronic devices. Language. The language used to
view the real world on a screen write most web pages. NTFS New Technology File
and add virtual elements. exFAT Extended File Allocation System. A file system used by all
Table. Microsoft’s file system for Hz Hertz. Measures the frequency recent versions of Windows.
Benchmarking Comparing USB sticks and SD cards. something happens: 1Hz equals
software and products with an once a second. OCR Optical character recognition.
accepted standard. FAT32 An old system used for The process by which printed text
formatting hard drives, and still IMEI Integrated Mobile Equipment is scanned and converted into
Beta A version of software that’s used for some portable drives. Identity. A unique number used to documents that can be edited.
being tested. identify each mobile phone.
Favicon A small icon for a OLED Organic light-emitting
Bridge relay A server that helps website, usually appearing in the IPS A screen technology. Monitors diode. A thin-film organic light-
users connect to the Tor network, address and bookmark bars of a that use it have wider viewing emitting diode used in computer
bypassing censorship and online web browser. angles and better, more accurate displays and television screens.
blocks. colours than monitors that do not
Firewall A piece of software use this technology. Open source Software that can
cd/m2 Candela per square metre. or hardware that prevents be modified by anyone, rather
Standard unit of brightness. unauthorised access to a ISBN International Standard Book than just by the employees of the
computer over a network. Number. A 10- or 13-digit code company that created it.
Chatbot A computer program used to identify books.
designed to recreate conversation Firmware Basic software stored Partition A large hard drive can be
with human users, especially over on hardware, such as a processor, JPEG A common type of image file split into two or more partitions or
the internet. to control its operation. created by most digital cameras. ‘virtual’ drives.

72 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709

Passkey A method for signing into RCS Rich Communication Thunderbolt A very fast port for USB-C A connector that’s
accounts by typing a one-off code, Services. A method of sending text connecting external storage to a reversible.
fingerprint or facial recognition messages over phones with more computer.
rather than a password. features than SMS, such as photos VGA Video Graphics Array.
and videos. TIF Tagged Image File. A standard An older standard socket for
Phishing A form of internet file format used to store graphics connecting a monitor to a PC.
fraud that tries to trick you into Read To access data saved on a images.
revealing personal details. computer. VoIP Voice over IP. The routing
TOPS Trillion operations per of voice conversations over the
Plain text Text in a document that Refresh rate Measured in Hertz second. A measure of a PC’s internet, which is cheaper than the
doesn’t contain any formatting. (Hz), the number of times per processing power when performing telephone network.
second that the image on your AI tasks.
PNG Portable Network Graphics. monitor is redrawn. WEBP Google’s image format
A format for images that shrinks UEFI Unified Extensible Firmware designed to create files that are
file sizes using compression but Refurbished A second-hand Interface. A modern replacement smaller for the same quality, or of
without discarding any data. device that has been repaired by for the BIOS, designed to get a PC higher quality for the same size,
its manufacturer so that it can be into a state where it can launch an than JPEG, PNG and GIF.
Product key A unique serial resold and reused. operating system.
number issued by software Widget A small program that runs
companies that must be typed in Rich Text A file format used to UHD Ultra High Definition. on the Windows desktop.
by the user before a program will transfer files between different
launch for the first time. types of word-processing programs. Ultrawide Offering a field of view Write Save data to a hard drive.
that’s wider than traditional digital
QR code Quick Response code. SMART Self-Monitoring Analysis cameras. Wi-Fi 5 A standard for wireless –
A barcode that can be read using and Reporting Technology. PC- also known as 802.11ac. Allows for
smartphones. testing technology developed by USB 2.0/3.0/3.1/3.2/4.0 Faster much higher speeds than 802.11n.
IBM. successors to USB.
RAM Random-access memory. Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi standard with
Used for data storage while a PC is SSD Solid-state drive. Storage that USB-A The original type of USB speeds up to 10 times faster than
switched on. uses no moving parts. connector, released in 1996. 802.11ac. Also called 802.11ax.
 Easy when you
Know How
Armed with a handheld scanner and a yearning to
get organised, Robert Irvine tries to…

Catalogue his book collection

M
uch as I love my Kindle
e-reader, I still feel a strong
kinship (as opposed to Kindle-
ship) with physical books. However, over
the past 10 years, a succession of house On my PC,
moves has reduced my library from
hundreds to dozens. the 13-digit ISBN was
Charity shops have been the main
beneficiaries, but I’m frequently automatically
frustrated when I go to grab a book from
the shelf only to realise I’ve given it away.
inserted in the
With time to spare over the Easter
weekend, I resolved to catalogue my
document I currently
remaining book collection, so I can had open
keep track of the titles I own.
I know there are mobile apps that
scan ISBN codes, but – inspired by a tip Robert used a handheld barcode reader to
from reader Chris Adam (see Issue 707, scan ISBN codes to his PC
page 41) – I thought it would be more
fun and less fiddly to use a handheld hassle of charging it before use. clicked the ‘Search for Books’ box 2 and
barcode reader. I plugged the scanner into a USB scanned the ISBN code with my new
I found one on Amazon for the bargain port, jumped at the loud beep and handheld scanner. Libib instantly
price of £12 (www.snipca.com/54607), grabbed the nearest book. I pressed recognised the book and added the
from a brand called Netum. While I didn’t the blue button on its handle, pointed its title, author, publisher, page count and
recognise the name, the reviews and red light at the ISBN barcode (pictured cover to my library. I didn’t even need
average rating were positive (4.6 of 5), right) and it beeped again to confirm to click Search.
and the company has its own website the code had been read. On my PC, Spurred on by my success, I lugged
(www.netum.net). the 13-digit ISBN was automatically a pile of books to my PC and scanned
Unsurprisingly, Netum is based in inserted in the document I currently their codes too. These were sorted
China, which meant the barcode scanner had open. alphabetically in my Libib library, with
took a week to arrive, but it was well I now realised I should probably useful options to add my own reviews,
packaged and came with a manual. prepare a spreadsheet to enter the ratings and reading status – such as ‘not
Because I’d opted for the cheaper option, codes in, lest I end up with an begun’, ‘in progress’ or ‘completed’.
it was wired rather than wireless, so I’d indecipherable mess of numbers. Or – I also tried Libib’s free mobile app
need to bring my books to my PC. But even better – use dedicated software to (www.snipca.com/54613), which
this minor inconvenience saved me £24 catalogue my books and look up worked well, untethered me from my
compared with the Bluetooth model information about them online. PC to scan books on the shelf and synced
(www.snipca.com/54609), as well as the One of the Amazon reviews suggested its scanned data with my online library.
the online tool Libib (www.libib. However, it didn’t feel as impressive as
com), so I signed up for a free wielding a dedicated barcode scanner
1 Basic account at www.snipca. with a fancy red laser beam.
com/54610. This lets you catalogue The only downside was the handheld
up to 5,000 books, DVDs, CDs and scanner’s beep, which was starting to
games from your personal library. give me a headache. Thankfully, the
2 Once signed into Libib, I manual provided a barcode that disabled
clicked Add Items in the the tone, and I resumed my ISBN scans in
left-hand menu, chose Books a suitably library-style silence.
under Select Collection and Need help cataloguing your book collection?
selected Book as the item type Let us know: noproblem@computeractive.
Libib identified Robert’s books from their ISBNs ( 1 in our screenshot left). I then co.uk

74 7 – 20 May 2025 • Issue 709 Next issue: Robert tries to sync his clipboard across PCs
9000