SWITCH TO A

FASTER VPN!
DON'T CLICK THESE
GOOGLE ADVERTS
Another scam to watch out for page 11
CANCEL
p38 Without sacrificing your privacy
BER 2023
ISSUE 670 ❘ 8 – 21 NOVEM

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again, switch to the
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every issue
Learn something new in
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STOP USING
PASSWORDS
Why you must switch to PASSKEYS now
– SAFER, EASIER TO USE & UNHACKABLE!
 Never get scammed again
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EDIT, SPLIT & MERGE ON YOUR OLD PC
YOUR VIDEO FILES p35 Yes, you can do it – but should you? p60
WELCOME
EDITORIAL
Group Editor in Chief Graham Barlow
Group Editor Daniel Booth
Deputy Editor Robert Irvine
From the Editor
Production Editor Graham Brown For my first years online I used a childhood overkill in an increasingly risk-averse
Art Editor Katie Peat
Contributors Keumars Afifi-Sabet, Judith Batchelor, Dinah pet as my password. That was risky, society. Those reservations haven’t entirely
Greek, Jonathan Parkyn, Nick Peers, Nik Rawlinson, Andy but I blame my parents for lacking the left me, but I’ve been using passkeys for
Shaw
foresight to call our cat M#p5s@!a$Vj8 the past six months and wouldn’t go back.
ADVERTISING rather than Bimbo. Over time I added my They’re safer, easier to use and as
Advertising Manager Alexandra Thomas
date of birth to Bimbo, plus exclamation unhackable as anything can be.
MARKETING AND CIRCULATION marks, hashtags and every type of bracket It’s a huge change, though, so in this
Subscriptions Juber Ahmed
For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493 known to man (square, round, curly, issue we explain what it means for you.
angled). Only when it was leaked online As we show, you can already use passkeys
PRODUCTION
Head of Production did I start using password managers. in Windows, Apple and Google. Please
Stephen Catherall But now passwords themselves are on email me your thoughts and questions.
Senior Production Manager
Lawrence Brookes the way out, being replaced by passkeys. I Daniel Booth
was sceptical of this at first – viewing it as editor@computeractive.co.uk
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Computeractive at the time of review. Computeractive
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Weight of parcels them into Google. Instead, you need to
Amazon’s drones type them into your browser address
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www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 3

 Contents
8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

6 News Windows 11’s Moment 4 update

now available for all

10 Question of the Fortnight Does

WhatsApp threaten access to 999?

11 Protect Your Tech

Fake Notepad++ ads in Google results

12 Letters
Windows 11 isn’t a dead duck

14 Consumeractive Will Hive refund me

after ending support for cameras?

16 Grow Your Family Tree Momentous

p6
Find records of ‘clandestine’ marriages update

18 Best Free Software

Sumatra PDF 3.5 Beelink
GTR7 7840HS
21 Named & Shamed
McAfee’s ‘18% per cent memory’ pop-ups
p22

Reviews
22 Beelink GTR7 7840HS
All-purpose mini-PC for work and play

23 Acer Aspire Spin 5

Versatile laptop flips its lid

24 Xiaomi Poco F5
Fast phone falls behind in photo finish

25 Linksys Velop Pro 6E

Wi-Fi 6E mesh system spreads the word Acer Aspire
Spin 5
26 Crucial X10 Pro pxx
p23
Tiny SSD is big on the inside

28 Epos S6
High-quality webcam provides clarity
Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed
Wireless mouse clicks the right boxes

29 TP-Link Tapo C420S2

Security cameras keep both eyes open

30 Buy It/Competition
Win an EZVIZ C8C Outdoor Security Camera

4 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

 Subscribe now!
See page 58 for our special subs offer

Workshops & Tips Avoid cutting-room flaws

p35
35 
How to… Edit, split and merge your
video files

38 
Browse securely with Mullvad
browser and Windscribe VPN

40 R
 eaders’ Tips Send documents that
people can make copies of

42 Browser Tips
Find related text on web pages using AI

44 Phone and Tablet Tips Try the new

features in the YouTube app

46 Make Windows Better Create

STOP USING
shortcut to find your mouse cursor

47 Make Office Better

Add PowerPoint slides to your document CO
FEATVER

PASSWORDS
UR
48 In the Club P50 E
Create a simple budget tracker

49 What’s All the Fuss About?

YouTube Primetime Channels Why you must
50 COVER FEATURE
switch to PASSKEYS
Stop using passwords now – SAFER,
As more tech companies abandon the EASIER TO USE &
hackable old password, we explain why
passkeys are easier to use and more secure UNHACKABLE!
60 Should you run Windows 11
on an old PC?
The software that lets you run a lite version Windows lite fantastic
of the operating system on any PC
p60
62 Secret tips for Freevee
Why Amazon’s free streaming service could
be the only one you need

64 Problems Solved
Where are my apps being saved to?

71 Reader Support
Can I remove boxes from Windows Copilot?

72 Jargon Buster

74 Easy When You Know How

Robert Irvine turns his phone into a mouse

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 5

 News
Windows 11’s Moment 4 update
now available for all
M
icrosoft has made the
‘Moment 4’ update
available to all
WHAT WE THINK
The Moment 4 update is
a triumph for Microsoft’s
new strategy of regularly
releasing batches of new
tools rather than waiting for
annual updates. It calls this
“continuous innovation”,
and it’s both improved
traditional tools like File
Explorer and introduced new
features like passkeys and
Copilot. So it’s such a shame
that Microsoft’s stringent
technical requirements mean
millions of users are stuck on
Windows 10. This remains an
excellent operating system,
but it’s looking increasingly
limited next to its successor.
400M PEOPLE NOW USE WINDOWS 11
More than 400 million
people now use
Windows 11 two years
after it launched, which
is one year longer than it
took Windows 10 to hit that
milestone.
The figure comes from internal
Microsoft data seen by our
sister site Windows Central.
It indicates that Microsoft’s
strict technical requirements
for running Windows 11 have
severely restricted the number
of people upgrading.
However, Windows Central
You’ll like this…
Google Chrome may soon disguise your
IP address (www.snipca.com/48102)
6 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
The top stories in the world of technology
Windows 11 users, bringing
over 150 new tools to many
parts of the operating system,
including File Explorer,
Snipping Tool and the taskbar.
It first issued the update in
September as a staggered
release, so not all users
received every new tool. But
it’s now available as the
optional update KB5031455,
which you can install by
searching for and opening
‘Windows updates’ then
clicking ‘Download and
install’ or ‘Check for updates’.
Alternatively, you can install
the update from the Microsoft
Update Catalog (www.snipca.
com/48094).
After installation you’ll be
updated to build 22621.2506
of Windows 11 version 22H2.
The update is part of
Microsoft’s ‘optional
non-security preview updates’
says Microsoft is happy with
the number of people
upgrading, and that it’s
beaten internal goals.
The latest analysis from
Statcounter (www.snipca.
com/48104) shows that
23.64 per cent of all Windows
computers run Windows 11, far
less than the 71.62 per cent
running Windows 10. These
figures have hardly budged
in the past six months.
• Should you install Windows
11 on old computers? See
page 60
1
schedule, so you don’t have to
install it. However, it’s expected
to be part of Microsoft’s next
‘Patch Tuesday’ compulsory
security update, due on 14
November.
Use OCR in Snipping Tool
One of the standout features
in Moment 4 lets you use
optical character recognition
(OCR) in Snipping Tool to
extract text from screenshots
and paste them into another
program, such as Word. You can
also redact email addresses
and phone numbers so they’re
obscured by black boxes (see
screenshot 1 ).
Another addition is the
Gallery view in File Explorer,
which shows your most recently
taken photos 2 . It’s the same
view you see when you select
All Photos in the Windows
Photo app. If you’ve set OneDrive
to save photos taken on your
phone, these will show
automatically in the Gallery.
Also new is the “never
but not this…
Openreach web blackout ‘meant woman
gave birth in kitchen’ (www.snipca.com/48099)
2
combined” mode for the
taskbar, letting you see
taskbar windows and their
corresponding labels
separately. To turn this on,
open Settings, then click
Personalisation, Taskbar,
‘Taskbar behaviours’ and
change the ‘Combine taskbar
buttons and hide labels’
dropdown menu to Never.
Other major changes in
Moment 4 include the
introduction of the Copilot AI
tool (see Issue 669, page 60)
and passkeys (see Cover
Feature on page 50).
We’ll continue to reveal the
new tools in Moment 4 – and
the bigger 23H2 update
expected in the next few
weeks – in Make Windows
Better (see page 46).
India shuts down 76 scam
centres phoning UK citizens
I ndian police have raided
76 locations in a crackdown
on call centres making scam
phone calls to people in the
UK, as well as Canada,
Germany, Australia, Spain
and the US.
The raids were carried out
by the country’s Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
partly based on evidence
provided by Amazon and
Microsoft – two of the
companies most often
impersonated by scammers.
Victims are targeted by
pop-up messages on their
computers falsely claiming
that it was suffering technical
problems.
These alerts contain a
phone number for help fixing
the problems. Calling it puts
the victim through to the
scammers, who ask for
remote access to the
computer.
They then appear to
demonstrate what the
problems are and demand
payment to solve them.
Indian police said the
Use Bluetooth hearing aids in
Windows 11
M icrosoft is adding
support for hearing aids
to Windows 11, letting you use
the devices to take calls, listen
to music and stream audio.
It comes in the Insider
Preview Build 25977, released
in October, and applies to
hearing aids equipped with
the latest Bluetooth Low
Energy Audio (LE Audio)
technology, such as Oticon’s
Real range (www.snipca.
com/48059, pictured).
LE Audio uses the LC3
audio codec, which delivers
high-quality audio while
conserving battery power. It
also means audio can be
criminal gangs used
“international payment
gateways and channels to
facilitate the movement of
funds illicitly acquired” from
victims.
Police confiscated 32 mobile
phones in the raids, along
with 48 laptops and hard
disks, and 33 SIM cards.
They also froze “numerous”
bank accounts and seized
emails linked to 15 accounts
that gave critical information
on the operations.
Amazon said the raids came
after it worked with Microsoft
for the first time to fight
tech-support scams. It
transmitted to multiple
devices simultaneously.
Microsoft said forthcoming
updates will add extra features
to hearing aids, such as
controlling audio presets
within Windows settings.
Your computer will need to
support LE Audio in order for
hearing aids to work with the
new technology.
To check this, search for
and open Device Manager,
then click the Bluetooth
added that it will continue
to “work with Indian law
enforcement agencies as well
as authorities from countries
of victims so that they can
continue to act”.
Microsoft said that the
operation sends “a strong
message to perpetrators of
tech support fraud: there
will be consequences for
their actions”.
Amazon explains how to
spot scams impersonating the
company at www.snipca.
com/48061, while Microsoft
shows examples of scams
in a video at www.snipca.
com/48060.
TOMORROW’S
WORLD
section and right-click your
Bluetooth wireless adapter.
Now click Properties,
Advanced, and check the
Firmware Version. If it shows
LMP 11.0 or higher (see
screenshot), your computer
can work with LE Audio.
It’s not known when
Microsoft will add
hearing-aid support to the
full version of Windows 11,
though it’s unlikely to be
for several months.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 7
IN BRIEF
NEXT COPPER SWITCH-
OFF AREAS NAMED
Openreach has named the
next 28 locations where it
will scrap copper phone lines,
ahead of the nationwide
switch-off in December
2025. The lines in these
areas will be disabled from
November 2024, and include
exchanges in Dartmouth,
Kelso, Liverpool, Newcastle,
Staines and Tonbridge. See
the full list at www.snipca.
com/48070.
20,000 SIGN ‘EXTEND
W10 SUPPORT’ PETITION
Campaigners have given
Microsoft a petition
calling for it to extend
support for Windows
10 beyond October
2025. It was set up by the
Public Interest Research
Group (PIRG), a non-profit
consumer organisation in the
US, and contained 20,000
signatures. PIRG’s Lucas
Gutterman said Microsoft
should continue providing
security updates for “the
millions of people who can’t
upgrade their computers”
– see www.snipca.
com/48068.
Amazon’s equivalent of
Christmas elves are these
humanoid robots, called
Digit, being tested in US
warehouses. At first they’re
being used to pick up and
collect empty baskets,
meaning humans won’t
need to lift as much. Amazon
claims they won’t replace
humans. Watch them at
www.snipca.com/48062.
 News
IN BRIEF
TESCO MOBILE EXTENDS
FREE EU ROAMING
Tesco Mobile has extended
free roaming in the EU until
2025, letting customers use
minutes, texts and data at
no extra cost. It applies both
to customers on monthly
subscriptions and those on
pay-as-you-go deals. For
more information visit Tesco
Mobile’s site: www.snipca.
com/48067.
TALKTALK CLOSES TV
STORE & WIPES CONTENT
TalkTalk closed its TV Store
on 31 October, angering
customers who have lost
all the content they had
paid for and downloaded. It
blamed the rise of streaming
services, saying stores of
downloaded content are now
“outdated”. Some customers
claim to have been offered
£25 compensation for
content purchased – see
TalkTalk’s community forum:
www.snipca.com/48031.
THE WORLD’S
GONE MAD!
Fidias
Panayiotou
(pictured)
has gained
2.4 million
followers on YouTube as a
“professional mistake maker”
– whatever that means. His
latest “mistake” was to travel
around Japan while dodging
train fares and hotel bills,
causing outrage in a country
proud of its good manners.
Panayiotou has apologised,
but hopefully some of his
followers will recognise
their own mistake and stop
watching his videos.
8 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Vodafone announces UK’s
fastest ever broadband
V odafone will offer 2.2Gbps
broadband from “early
2024”, making it the fastest
UK speed offered by a major
internet provider.
The service will be part of
its Pro II Broadband package,
and will initially be available
on CityFibre’s cable network.
This is available in many cities
around the country, including
York where it was tested
earlier this year.
Type your postcode into
CityFibre’s site (https://
cityfibre.com) to see whether
it runs cables in your area.
Vodafone claims 2.2Gbps
is fast enough to download
games in around three
minutes, and TV shows in just
12 seconds. It’s 30 times faster
SKY’S 100Mbps COSTS SAME AS 145Mbps
Sky has launched a 100Mbps
service, but it costs the same
as its 145Mbps package – £38
a month, increasing to £43
after 18 months. As with other
Windows BitLocker ‘slows SSDs by 45%’
W indows BitLocker is
slowing down SSDs
by as much as 45 per cent,
according to new research.
BitLocker is a security
feature in Windows 10 and 11
Pro that encrypts data on
your hard drives.
When switched on, you
have to sign in to access
content on your computer. If
anyone steals your device,
they wouldn’t be able to sign
in without your password.
However, in tests run by our
sister site Tom’s Hardware
(www.snipca.com/48054)
with a Samsung 990 Pro 4TB
SSD with fast DDR4 memory
installed in a Windows 11 Pro
than the UK’s average speed
of 70Mbps. It also says it’s
38-per-cent faster than EE’s
new package of 1.6Gbps.
The service will use
Vodafone’s Ultra Hub router
Sky packages, you can add the
WiFi Max option for a monthly
fee, which will give you a
superior Wi-Fi router – see
www.snipca.com/48064.
PC, it found that
read and write
speeds were up
to 45 per cent
slower when
BitLocker was
turned on.
The reason
is that with
BitLocker
enabled, the
processor is constantly
encrypting and decrypting the
data on the SSD.
To check whether BitLocker
is enabled, open Command
Prompt as an administrator,
then type manage-bde -status
( 1 in our screenshot) and
press Enter.
and Super WiFi6E Booster to
send signals around the home.
You can already sign up to
Pro II Broadband from £39 a
month, but the current top
speed is 910Mbps. Vodafone
hasn’t said how much it will
charge for 2.2Gbps.
It comes as Ofcom predicts
that gigabit broadband will
cover 94 per cent of UK
properties by May 2026.
Visit Vodafone’s site for
details of the new speed:
www.snipca.com/48009.
1
2
3
If the ‘Encryption Method’
is ‘XTS-AES’ 2 , and ‘Protection
Status’ is ‘On’ 3 , then BitLocker
is running.
To turn off BitLocker, type
manage-bde -off C: and press
Enter. Replace the C: drive
with a different letter if your
encrypted drive is not on C:.
Amazon to deliver by drone in
UK in 2024
A mazon is to start
delivering items by drone
in the UK by the end of 2024.
Its Prime Air service will
carry packages weighing under
five pounds to destinations
within one hour of its base.
Amazon said it will start in
a single location and then
expand to more areas.
Customers will be able to
choose from “thousands” of
suitable items, it added.
Deliveries will be made
using the company’s new
MK30 drone, which it claims
is quieter than previous test
models, and can fly twice as
far and in more types of
weather, such as “light rain,
and hotter and colder
temperatures” (see www.
snipca.com/47981).
Amazon added that the
drones use sensors to “identify
and avoid obstacles in the
delivery area”. It says this
Netflix hikes UK prices yet again
N etflix has raised its prices
again, less than two years
after its last major increase.
Its Basic Plan, which remains
available only to subscribers
who signed up before it was
cancelled, has increased by £1
NETFLIX STOPS
WORKING ON
OLDER TVs
Many viewers have reported
online that Netflix has ended
support for their older TVs,
including models from
Samsung, Sony and Toshiba
sold around 10 years ago.
Netflix also appears to have
stopped working on some
old PlayStation consoles and
Blu-ray players. Read more at
www.snipca.com/47988.
technology can detect
objects that “weren’t
there the day before, for
example, a freshly
planted tree, or mobile
crane moved into its
path”.
The service is part of
a series of UK trials
allowing a drone to be
flown beyond the line
of sight of the person
controlling it.
Frederic Laugere, head
of innovation advisory
services at the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA), said the tests
will assess how drones can be
“safely and successfully
incorporated into more of the
UK’s airspace”.
The launch comes 10 years
after Amazon’s founder Jeff
Bezos first announced it was
working on delivery drones in
2013. It ran a trial in 2016 from
a lab in Cambridge, but only a
to £7.99 a month.
The Premium Plan,
which removes adverts
and lets you stream
some shows in
UltraHD (4K) on up to
four devices at a time,
now costs £2 more at
£17.99 a month.
Prices for the other
two subscriptions –
‘Standard with Adverts’ and
Standard – stay the same at
£4.99 and £10.99 a month
respectively.
The rises come after Netflix
reported an increase of 8.8
million subscribers between
July and September.
Netflix bosses said this
impressive growth is down to
the company charging £4.99 a
month for subscribers to share
passwords with people in
handful of people used it.
Amazon already offers
limited drone deliveries in two
cities in California and Texas.
As well as the UK, it plans to
expand the service to another
US city and Italy by the end of
next year.
Google’s rival drone service,
called Wing (https://wing.
com), is currently operating in
Ireland. The company plans to
bring the service to the UK.
other households.
Before it introduced this fee,
Netflix estimated that as many
as 100 million households
around the world shared
passwords. It used to
unofficially encourage
password sharing, but
changed its policy after a big
fall in subscribers following
the end of Covid lockdowns.
• Cancel Netflix for Freevee
– turn to page 62
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 9
IN BRIEF
NEW SANDISK STICKS
HAVE 400MB/s SPEED
Western Digital has released
USB-C sticks in its Ultra Dual
Drive Go range in
three new colours
– Navagio Bay
(blue), Lavender
and Absinthe
Green (pictured).
They have
transfer speeds
of 400MB/s
and come in
three capacities:
64GB (£11.49),
128GB (£18.99)
and 256GB
(£49.99). Buy
from www.snipca.
com/48002.
PAY $1 TO SEND & REPLY
TO TWEETS IN TRIAL
New users signing up to X
(formerly Twitter) in New
Zealand and the Philippines
are being charged $1 (about
£0.82) a year to send tweets
and reply to posts. X said the
trial will help to cut spam.
Those who don’t pay will only
be able to read posts, watch
videos and follow accounts.
The company didn’t say
whether it would introduce
the fee in other countries.
BBC BRINGS FORWARD
SD CHANNEL AXE
The BBC has brought forward
its date for axing standard
definition (SD) broadcasts
on Freesat and Sky from
March to 8 January next
year. It’s part of the BBC’s
plan to move all channels
to high definition (HD) on
Freeview, satellite and
streaming. Affected viewers
will see a message on their
TV confirming the closure.
For details, read Issue 659’s
‘Don’t lose your TV channels’
feature – buy from
www.snipca.com/47975.
 Questionof
Question ofthe
theFortnight
Fortnight
Does WhatsApp’s popularity
threaten access to 999?
Young people might not know how to call emergency services
I
t won’t surprise anyone to
learn that we’re making far
fewer calls from landlines
than 10 years ago, but one
unexpected impact could be
on the 999 service.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom
has warned that young people
might grow up not knowing
which number to ring in an
emergency because they
prefer to contact people
using messaging apps.
Its latest research on
how people use ‘online
communication services’
(www.snipca.com/48080)
shows that the time Brits
spent making landline calls
fell from 103 billion minutes
in 2012 to 32 billion in 2022.
During this time mobile calls
increased from 132 billion
minutes to 170 billion –
peaking at 190 minutes in
2020 during the Covid
lockdowns.
These are striking statistics,
but more significant is the
dramatic fall in the number of
text (SMS and MMS) messages
sent – from 151 billion a year
to 36 billion. In that time the
number of messages sent
annually through messaging
apps soared from 100 million
to 1.3 trillion.
Most of those messages were
sent on WhatsApp, which is
used by 76 per cent of UK
adults, making it the most
popular app in the country.
The next two most popular
– Messenger and Instagram
Direct Messenger – are also
messaging apps. All three,
along with Facebook, are
owned by Meta.
What’s really important is
that most people (60 per cent)
10 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
WhatsApp is used by 76 per
cent of adults, making it the most
popular app in the UK
now prefer messaging apps to
making phone calls of any
kind – whether landline or
mobile. Only 23 per cent would
rather send a text while even
fewer (16 per cent) prefer calls.
Of those who make mobile
calls, only 26 per cent do so
every day. In comparison,
67 per cent who use
messaging apps do so daily.
It’s hardly surprising then
that 58 per cent say they’d
rather go without mobile-
phone calls for 24 hours than
give up their messaging apps.
But there’s a big difference
between the generations.
Three quarters of 24-to-44-
year-olds prefer apps, while
over 40 per cent of over-75s
are more comfortable with
phone calls. Yet most older
people still use messaging
apps regularly – at least once
a week.
Similarly, nobody aged
55 to 64 thought they should
contact emergency services on
WhatsApp, compared with
four per cent aged 16 to 24.
That latter figure concerns
Ofcom, given that you can’t
phone emergency services
through WhatsApp. It says
there’s no evidence yet that
younger people struggle to
contact emergency services,
but there’s potentially a risk
if the trend continues.
Ofcom is raising the issue
because it’s responsible for
assessing any “consumer
harm” caused by changes to
THE FACTS
• The time Brits spent making
landline calls fell from 103
billion minutes in 2012 to
32 billion in 2022
• 1.3 trillion messages were
sent through apps in 2022,
up from 100 million in 2012
• Four per cent of people
aged 16 to 24 would choose
WhatsApp as their main
contact for emergency
services, even though you
can’t phone 999 on it
UK telecoms.
Earlier this year, it asked all
communication providers to
ensure that people are able to
phone 999 during power cuts.
Many customers are worried
about this ahead of Openreach
turning off the UK’s copper
phone network in 2025,
forcing them to use VoIP
services that rely on a router
being plugged into an
electrical socket.
Phoning 999 has become
easier over the years. Since
2009 you’ve been able to call
emergency services on any
network, when you can’t get a
signal on your own. And you
can also call 999 on a pay-as-
you-go (PAYG) phone with no
credit left.
But Ofcom is right not to be
complacent. Messaging apps
are great and landlines are
dying out, but regulators must
be aware of the unintended
consequences of such rapid
change. If knowledge of 999
among the young continues to
dip, Ofcom should consider
campaigns to boost awareness.
Protect your tech
Scams and threats to avoid, plus new security tools
WATCH OUT FOR...
Fake Notepad++ ads in Google results
What’s the threat?
Scammers have infiltrated Google’s
security to place fake adverts for
Notepad++ – a powerful alternative
for Windows Notepad – in its search
results. Researchers at Malwarebytes say
that the scam adverts have appeared
online for months. It’s thought that
clicking them ultimately leads to your
PC being infected by ransomware.
The adverts all appear under Google’s
‘Sponsored’ heading, and have several
different long titles designed to make
you click. These include ‘Notepad++ for
Windows – Notebook text editor
Download’ and ‘Download Notepad –
Text file editor’ (see screenshot 1 ). The
scammers hope that the length of each
title will distract people from the fact
that the URLs above don’t mention
Notepad++.
Clicking the URL takes you to
Notepadxtreme 2 , which accurately
impersonates the real Notepad++ site.
New tools Chrome’s typing
error suggestions
Mistype a website’s address and
you might end up on a site created
by scammers who have bought a
URL similar to the genuine one.
These ‘typosquatting’ attacks
continue to impersonate most
major websites and companies,
including Amazon, Apple, Google
and Microsoft.
To help protect you, Google has
updated Chrome to suggest
legitimate URLs if you misspell
one. In its example, Google shows
a misspelt URL for YouTube ( 1 in
screenshot) and two authentic links to
the site below 2 , both indicated by its
logo. Clicking one of these takes you to
the real YouTube site, out of reach of
scammers.
Chrome’s suggestions are based on
what you’ve previously visited in the
How can you stay safe?
Fake software adverts are rife on Google,
so we’d always advise typing the
program’s URL into your browser bar –
just make sure you spell it correctly
(see below). To download the genuine
version of Notepad++, visit https://
notepad-plus-plus.org.
If you don’t know the URL, search for
the software on a service that doesn’t
1
2 from Argos, selling 160 batteries
browser, so you won’t see a genuine
URL as an alternative if you’ve never
been to that site. The feature is live now
for Chrome for PCs, as well as on
Android and iPhones.
It’s one of five new tools for Chrome
– see Google’s blog for the others:
www.snipca.com/47999.
1
2
Credit: Malwarebytes
show adverts. Try Brave Search
(https://search.brave.com) within Brave’s
browser, or DuckDuckGo (https://
duckduckgo.com) after turning off
‘Advertisements’ in Settings.
ScamWatch
Readers warn readers
‘160 batteries for £3’
Most scams on Facebook are so
badly worded that they’re easy to
spot. But not so this ‘offer’ supposedly
for the “low price of £3”. It cited
“upcoming changes in alkaline
battery regulations” as the reason for
the promotion, which sounds like it
might be genuine. How many people
would know anything different? I
didn’t see any spelling or grammatical
mistakes, and the photo looks like it’s
from inside an Argos store. Wouldn’t
surprise me if many people have
fallen for this scam. You can see
what it looks like at www.snipca.
com/47930.
Adam Bedford
Warn your fellow readers about scams
at letters@computeractive.co.uk
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 11
 Letters
Tell us what’s on your mind
Google’s adverts help me
find suitable products
Having read Issue 669’s ‘Question
of the Fortnight’ (pictured), I have
mixed feelings about adverts in Google.
I heartily dislike
the layers of
‘Sponsored’
results at the top
of search results.
By the time I’ve
scrolled down
past them, I’ve
lost any enthusiasm
I had for the product I was looking for.
However, the ‘carousel’ of products that
usually appears when you search for tech
items – like laptops and tablets – can be
useful. I just searched for ‘best tablets
under £200’, and it found me 30-odd
devices that I can scroll from left to right
– not down the page.
This is easy on the eye, and all the info
you need is clearly presented: brand,
price, storage, rating and where to buy
from. It’s certainly better to have 30
devices in a horizontal carousel than a
long vertical list that takes you to the
bottom of the results page.
Phil Butterworth
I find adverts in Google search
results as annoying as most people
do, but in its defence it does a great job
showing information when you’re not
looking for something to buy.
The best example is when searching for
weather updates. All I need to do is type
‘weather’ into the search box and it
shows me a seven-day forecast for my
area. It’s not detailed, but it’s fine as a
summary. It appears at the top of the
results, so I don’t need to scroll an inch to
see it. I’ve never seen a single sponsored
listing above or below it.
Nigel Ferndale
Facebook putting profits
before people
Facebook can choose which business
model it likes, but there’s something
distasteful about its decision to charge
users to block adverts (Issue 669, page 9).
In the same issue you warn about the rise
of fake car adverts on Facebook. Over the
years you’ve highlighted many such
scams on the site, and there’s clearly a
sizable problem with them.
12 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
I think the company should first
strengthen its measures to block fake ads
before introducing a fee to turn off all
ads. But it’s a case of profits before people
yet again.
James Maudsley
Why Firefox is my
favourite browser
Following Issue 668’s ‘Stop using
browsers that
track you’ Cover Feature
(pictured), I’d like to tell
you why Firefox is my
favourite browser. I’m a
family-history
researcher with over
12,000 people on my
tree. This means I have
to store loads of
favourites. Firefox lets
me do this. I have 24
folders, containing at
least 368 websites. I can
even make the folders
appear in alphabetical
order, as well as the websites
within them.
I also love the scissors icon in Firefox. I
use this to snip articles from newspapers
about ancestors and relatives. I find it
much easier to use than the Snipping
Tool in Windows.
Firefox may not have its own ad-blocker,
but I find that the uBlock Origin
extension (https://ublockorigin.com)
does a great job. I also like how it is easy
to export Favourites from Firefox so that
I can use other browsers if needed.
I guess Brave would be my second
choice because it also lets you alphabetise
What’s the Issue…?
When did you explain why you
should stop using credit cards
when shopping online?
Roy Pringle
In Issue 665, page 60. Buy it
CA SAYS
from www.snipca.com/47978.
I’m tempted to buy a Sony
Walkman music player. Have
you reviewed one recently?
Terry Marshall
favourites. DuckDuckGo’s browser might
be great when it’s finished, but I’ve found
some stumbling blocks. For example,
when I imported my Firefox favourites
into it, they didn’t come out in
alphabetical order.
Lynn Sharpe
CA SAYS Lynn makes a great case for
Firefox, which often gets overlooked in
favour of big-tech browsers
(Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s
Edge) and privacy-focused upstarts
(Brave, DuckDuckGo, Mullvad).
As we explained in Issue 668
(available from www.snipca.
com/48004), Firefox remains an
excellent choice if you want to
avoid being tracked online. And
because it’s not based on Google’s
Chromium code, it can provide
features other browsers can’t.
One-hour emergency
battery not good
enough in power cuts
I’m very happy for Neil Sheriff
(Star Letter, Issue 667), who’s a
willing participant in the copper
switch-off trials in the East Midlands.
However, I live in a very rural part of
Northumberland that was badly hit by
Storm Arwen in November 2021. Many of
us were without power for days, while
some had to wait weeks. The mobile
masts were also out of action, though
even when they’re working the signal is
poor and nothing would induce me to
rely on them. We don’t all have generators,
and we shouldn’t have to.
People who desperately needed to
?
CA SAYS Yes, the
NW-A306 in Issue
662, page 29. Buy it
from www.snipca.com/47979.
How long ago did you round up
the best apps for smart TVs?
CA SAYS That was last year, in
Issue 636’s Cover Feature. Read it on
our Back Issue CD: www.snipca.
com/44660.

contact others – some who had made
the switch, others who had switched to
mobile to avoid landline charges – were
keeping in touch by finding neighbours
who still had landlines. One man
walked four miles to call an ambulance.
A woman who offered to drive a patient
to hospital couldn’t because she was
unable to charge her electric car.
In situations like this, a one-hour
emergency battery for the vulnerable
isn’t going to cut it. There has to be a
system that will continue to work when
the power is down.
The campaign group Silver Voices
(https://silvervoices.co.uk) is right –
there are serious risks and BT is charging
ahead without considering them. I’d like
to be certain I can call an ambulance
when I need one, and that my daughter
can phone me to make sure I’m OK when
the next Arwen happens.
Elspeth Christie
Leaving Lycamobile after
cyber-attack
The cyber-attack on Lycamobile
(see Issue 669, page 8) happened
around the time that my rolling contract
was due to be renewed. This payment
didn’t go through – possibly due to the
attack. I chose instead to phone and add
credit that I had bought from a retailer. I
thought this had gone through, but not
long after its service stopped working for
me. I spoke to a customer-service agent
who claimed I didn’t have any credit. I
couldn’t persuade her that this wasn’t
true. I’ve decided to cut my losses and
move to another network.
Ruth Easdale
Hive’s thermostats haven’t
saved me much money
Just a note of caution to everyone
who got carried away reading
Hive’s claim that Brits have saved £325m
by using smart thermostats (Issue 669,
page 9). Several reports from consumer
groups have pointed out that Hive’s
calculations of savings are based on an
energy use that’s much higher than the
national average.
I’ve had a Hive thermostat for about five
years, and I like how it lets me control
and monitor my energy use. The device
has never malfunctioned, and Hive’s
support has been prompt and friendly.
But I doubt it has saved me significant
amounts of money during that time.
Thomas Hancock
Views expressed don’t necessarily reflect those of Computeractive
Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive
STAR LETTER
Windows 11 isn’t a dead duck
Unlike Barry Freeman (Letters,
Issue 669), I don’t understand
the logic of sticking with Windows 10
just because Microsoft is rumoured to
be releasing Windows 12 next year. He
mentions that nobody wants to “buy a
dead duck”, but the point is that you
don’t have to pay for Windows 11. It’s
free to upgrade, and this process is
relatively straightforward as long as
your PC is technically up to scratch. I
see no reason why Windows 12 won’t
also be free and simple to switch to.
Perhaps Barry and others don’t want
the hassle of having to learn Windows
11 if it’s going to be superseded by 12.
But I think that’s the wrong approach.
The leap from Windows 10 to 12 is
going to be more confusing if you don’t
use 11 as a ‘bridge’ between the two.
Indeed, I predict many people who
attempt this leap will give up and go
back to Windows 10.
The other reason to upgrade to
Windows 11 is simply that it can now
do so much that Windows 10 can’t. I’ve
been exploring features added in the
The Star Letter writer wins a Computeractive mug!
Don’t confuse
search boxes
with address bars
Jack Woods’ problem
with your Snipca links
(Issue 668, page 69) highlights
an issue common to many
web users – confusing a
search engine’s search box
with the browser’s address
bar. It reminded me of an awkward
conversation I had with a customer trying
to explain this. They’d phoned asking to
speak to someone from a different
organisation and weren’t happy when I
explained they’d got the wrong number.
It turned out they’d searched for the
organisation in Google, and the first entry
in the list of results named the business
they were looking for. But this was
actually a link to that business in a
directory of local support hosted on our
website. They’d not gone any further
than the list of search results, which did
Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk
(formerly Twitter): @ComputerActive
www.twitter.com/computeractive
past few months, and I can count five
I now use regularly: removing
backgrounds in Paint; blurring
backgrounds in the Photos app
(pictured); extracting text from
Snipping Tool screenshots; signing in
with facial recognition; and getting
answers from the web using Copilot
(better than I thought it would be).
I’ll admit that I wasn’t impressed
with Windows 11 when I upgraded
last year. But recent updates have made
it a far more impressive system. Yes,
Windows 12 will probably have these
new features too, but why wait for
them? You might as well get
them now.
Colin McGovern
1
2
show our number as part of the ‘About’
information. Had they clicked the link it
would have taken them to the actual
directory entry where the correct contact
info would have been shown.
John McCormick
CA SAYS To reinforce John’s point, you
need to type our Snipca URLs into your
browser bar ( 1 in our screenshot above),
not into Google’s search engine (or any
other) 2 . Simply press Enter after typing
and you’ll be redirected to the correct
website.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 13
 Consumeractive
We stand up for your legal rights
Will Hive refund me
after ending support
for cameras?
I’ve read that in 2025 Centrica
Q will no longer support its Hive
View outdoor home security
camera (pictured), which means it will
stop working. Do I have any rights
considering I bought the camera only
two years ago?
John Clare
John has the usual consumer
A rights, but nothing stronger.
Companies aren’t legally bound
to support products indefinitely. The
Consumer Rights Act does give you up to
six years to seek redress
(five years in Scotland),
but that doesn’t mean
the law expects all
goods to last that long.
Hive has said it won’t
refund customers who
are unhappy about the
decision, but we still
think it’s worth
complaining and asking
for some money back.
Include proof of how long
you’ve owned the device.
LEGAL UPDATE
Give your view on UK’s cloud-computing industry
It’s not often consumers get
to have their say on digital
services they rely on, but the
Competitions and Markets
Authority (CMA) is asking for feedback on
its investigation into the cloud-computing
dominance of Amazon and Microsoft.
Cloud computing is the business of selling
computing resources to other companies –
such as storing data and running software –
which they can use remotely over a network.
It’s worth £7.5bn in the UK, with Amazon
14 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
LEAD
CASE
The company will continue to offer
refunds for faulty devices until 2025
if customers are on a subscription. It
will also refund customers without a
subscription, though again only if there’s
a fault and the item was bought in the
past year. To complain or ask for a
refund, phone customer services on 0203
176 3838 or email customerservice@hive.
co.uk or help@hivehome.com.
The outdoor security camera is just
one of several Hive is withdrawing
support for. It’s also axing the indoor
security camera, as well as the
HomeShield alarm system. See the full
list at www.snipca.com/47958,
including products it stopped
supporting earlier this year.
If you buy any of these
from a third-party retailer
(ie, not directly from Hive),
it must let you know that
Hive will stop supporting
the device in 2025. If it
doesn’t, it would be guilty
of misleading you under the
Unfair Trading Regulations, and you’d be
entitled to a refund.
CASE CLOSED
and Microsoft sharing 60 to 70 per cent of the
market, ahead of Google on 10 to 15 per cent.
Competition experts have long argued the
industry needs reform. This has been backed
up by a recent Ofcom report that claims
Amazon and Microsoft impose technical
restrictions that make it hard for customers
to switch to alternative services. It also claims
they charge “high fees” for transferring data.
These practices can limit competition and
damage the digital economy, Ofcom said.
The CMA is now investigating the industry
Can Argos
refuse to fix a
faulty laptop?
A GeoFlex 340 laptop I bought
Q from Argos in June 2022 and
have hardly used became faulty
in August. The manufacturer Geo
Computers (https://geo-computers.com)
said it’s probably an inherent fault, but
won’t repair the laptop because the
warranty has expired. Argos refuses to
help. Is there anything I can do?
Terry Prole
Because six months have passed
A since purchase, Terry will have
to prove that the fault is
inherent. First, he should tell Argos that
Geo Computers thinks this is the case. It’s
then up to Argos to decide whether to
accept the manufacturer’s verdict.
If it doesn’t, Terry could ask a repair
shop to inspect the laptop. If it finds
an inherent fault then he can present
this to Argos. He’ll probably have to pay
for this inspection, though Argos would
have to refund him this cost if it agrees
there’s a fault.
Argos would then have to repair or
replace the laptop, or give him a refund
for it – though it might deduct money
to reflect the length of time he’s been
using it.
CASE ONGOING
(see www.snipca.com/48053) and will
publish working papers and provisional
decisions ahead of a final report in April 2025.
This isn’t a matter that only concerns big
businesses. Thousands of charities,
individuals and small companies also use
Amazon’s and Microsoft’s services. Until the
report is published you can tell the CMA what
needs to change by emailing cloudmi@cma.
gov.uk. If you’ve ever paid for a cloud service
and been frustrated by how hard it is to
switch, here’s your chance to let off steam.

Can I keep my email address if I switch ISPs?
I’m with TalkTalk and still use
Q my email address from my
days with AOL. I’m tempted
to switch to Virgin or Swish Fibre
broadband, but want to keep my AOL
email. I’ve read I can do this, but it
looks like I have to pay a monthly fee.
Can I buy it in a one-off deal?
Ray Paice
Ray won’t need to buy the email
A address because he’s actually
allowed to continue using it for
free. TalkTalk took on AOL’s broadband
customers in 2006, but AOL’s email
Can Tesco make
me wait for
phone update?
In June, my wife and I renewed
Q our pay-monthly mobile phones
with Tesco Mobile, choosing
two new Moto G13s (pictured). My phone
works perfectly, but my wife’s phone
keeps dropping calls. Tesco won’t help,
saying it’s a software problem and fixes
are being sent out. I don’t find this
acceptable, so where do I stand?
Samuel Brown
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
Vodafone fixed my crackling phone line
For the past 30 years the phone
line in my house has been
dreadful. There have been
horrible crackling noises on
the line, sometimes so loud that the caller
can hardly be heard. None of my phone line
or internet suppliers over the years have
fixed the problem, despite fiddling with the
BT box opposite my house.
A while ago the line was worse than
usual, so I contacted Vodafone, who I’ve
been with for a couple of years. The chap I
Contact us so we can investigate your case
Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk
Please include your name, phone number and address.
service is owned by US company Verizon.
This means Ray can keep using his address
no matter which internet provider he
switches to – just as he’d be able to use a
Gmail or Outlook address anywhere. This
is explained on TalkTalk’s community
forum: www.snipca.com/47961.
However, Ray would have to pay to
keep using any email addresses that
TalkTalk has given him. This is entirely
legal. A provider has to pay for servers
A
Samuel also told us
that Tesco said the only
way he could get a
replacement phone was if he
cancelled the contract, which
would lead to early-termination
charges for the entire year.
Assuming this fault hasn’t been
caused by Samuel or his wife,
Tesco’s argument is ridiculous.
Even if the phone fault isn’t
considered inherently faulty,
Samuel can argue that – under
the Consumer Rights Act – it certainly
isn’t fit for purpose and isn’t as described.
Software updates are only meant to fix
spoke to said he’d get someone to look in
the phone line box on the main road near
me. While we were talking the crackling
noises disappeared. “Oh,” he said, “that’s our
engineer, he was in the area anyway so he is
currently working on your connection in the
main box.” How about that for immediate
attention!
The line is now perfect. I’d like to thank
Has a company impressed you with its
customer service? Please let us know:
editor@computeractive.co.uk
and security to process emails, so it’s
reasonable to ask departing customers to
pay to keep using the service.
TalkTalk for example charges £5 a
month, or £50 a year, to use Mail Plus
(www.snipca.com/47964), while BT
charges £7.50 a month for Premium
Mail (www.snipca.com/47963).
Sky partners with Yahoo to provide
its email service and doesn’t charge
former customers anything to keep
using the service. Ex-Virgin customers
can use their email for free, but for only
90 days. After that, the account is closed
for good.
CASE CLOSED
minor faults.
If a phone
doesn’t fulfil its
basic function of making calls
without receiving an update,
then perhaps it wasn’t ready to
be sold to the public.
Samuel needs to contact Tesco
to point this out. He may have to
put up with a repair initially, but
a replacement would be more
suitable. We’ve also contacted
Tesco on Samuel’s behalf because
he told us that despite explaining his rights
under the Consumer Rights Act, Tesco
has refused to budge.
CASE ONGOING
the Vodafone chap for realising that the
problem wasn’t with the box over the road,
but a fault in the main box.
Angela Thorne
Contact
Vodafone
•Online www.snipca.com/47947
•Phone 0333 304 0191
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 15
 Grow Your
Family Tree
If your ancestors got hitched outside of a church,
follow Judith Batchelor’s advice to…
Find records of ‘clandestine’ marriages
I
It’s thought that in the 17th and 18th
Centuries up to a third of all marriages
in England and Wales were clandestine
or irregular – meaning they didn’t take
place in a parish church. They were often
performed in a prison, or in a tavern or
coffee house just outside the prison gates.
By the 1740s over half of all weddings in
London took place at Fleet Prison.
These were legal as long as both parties
consented, were of legal age (14 for males
and 12 for females at the time) and the
ceremony was conducted by a Church of
England clergyman. The Fleet Marriage
Registers, kept by individual clergymen,
are held in class RG 7 at the National
Archives (www.snipca.com/47895).
They span the years 1667 to 1754 and the
information recorded is often more than
what is found in a typical parish register.
Search registers on Ancestry
To search these records on Ancestry, visit
www.snipca.com/47892 and enter as
much information as you can, including
names and the years of birth and marriage.
I knew that my fifth-great grandfather
Corbett Seymore was baptised on 4
November 1723 in the parish of St
Dunstan in East Stepney, London. I
Your Genealogy Problems Solved
I have a grandfather born in Ireland, but I
can’t obtain a certificate/registration of
his birth to prove he’s Irish. His name is
James Johnston, born in 1860 in Belfast.
He died in Portsmouth in 1928. They were
Catholics, and formal records favour
Protestants. Birth certificates in Northern
Ireland start from 1864, which works
against me. Can you help?
Robert Heath
Look for a baptism record instead. You can
16 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
1
2
Judith found 21 grooms called William Seymore,
but only two brides named Christabel or similar
suspected that his parents, William
Seymore – a mariner from Ratcliff in
Stepney – and Christabel Stevenson
married in a clandestine ceremony a few
months earlier.
I searched for them, and found 21
grooms named William Seymore (listed
under different spelling variants – use
the Broad and Exact sliders to tweak
this filter, 1 in our screenshot above).
However, there were only two entries
where the bride had a name similar to
Christabel 2 , so I viewed those records.
The two marriage entries gave much
the same information – that they married
on 14 August 1723, at the Fleet Prison
– though the official recording the
wedding misspelt her name as ‘Cristaball’
search over 3,500 Catholic registers at
https://registers.nli.ie. Other useful
websites for Irish research include Irish
Ancestors (www.johngrenham.com) and
Roots Ireland (www.rootsireland.ie). You
may need to create a dossier of genealogical
evidence to prove his identity. For further
advice, contact the Department of Foreign
Affairs in Ireland: www.snipca.com/47902.
Have a genealogy question for Judith?
Email letters@computeractive.co.uk with
‘Grow Your Family Tree’ in the subject line.
Next issue: Find ancestors who fought at Trafalgar and Waterloo
The marriage record calls the bride ‘Cristaball’
(see screenshot above).
William was 19 and Christabel was 17,
so they may have married at the prison
because they didn’t have their parents’
consent, which was usually needed for
anyone under 21. Also, Christabel must
have been pregnant.
Tick ‘name variants’
in Findmypast
If you don’t have any luck on Ancestry,
try Findmypast’s collection (www.snipca.
com/47894). Make sure you tick the box
to include name variants to find a specific
marriage (see screenshot below). It may
also be best to search only under the
groom’s name because male names
generally had fewer variations and
women’s surnames often weren’t
recorded. When I searched Findmypast,
Cristabell was not recognised as a variant
of Christabel. You’ll also find Fleet
Marriage Registers at TheGenealogist
(www.snipca.com/47896) and BMD
Registers (https://bmdregisters.co.uk).
Tick ‘Include
name
variants’ on
Findmypast
to account for
misspellings
 Best Free Software
Robert Irvine recommends new programs that won’t cost you a thing
PDF VIEWER

Sumatra PDF 3.5

www.snipca.com/48052
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11

Sumatra PDF has long been one of our favourite PDF tools.
It’s simpler and less bloated than the likes of Adobe Acrobat
Reader but more versatile than the PDF viewers built into
browsers. Its first major update for over a year brings a raft of
new features and improvements that make Sumatra an even
better and faster way to read PDF files and other formats,
including MOBI (ebooks), CBZ/CBR (comic books) and – as of
this version – the new image format AVIF.
Sumatra PDF 3.5 sees the long-awaited addition of a dark
mode to make viewing PDFs easier on your eyes, especially
at night. To activate this, click the three-line menu button in
the top-left corner and choose Settings, then Theme. Select
either Dark or Darker to apply dark mode to Sumatra’s inter-
face, then press I to invert the colours of the current PDF.
Sumatra now lets you add annotations to PDFs by right-
clicking the document and choosing ‘Create Annotation
Under Cursor’, then either Text, Free
Text or Stamp. Type the comment you want
to appear in the annotation and click ‘Save
changes to existing PDF’ or ‘Save changes to new PDF’
(to create an annotated copy). To move an annotation, press
Ctrl and click it, then drag it to the desired position.
Other welcome changes allow you to drag out a PDF’s tab
to open the file in a new window; switch between tabs by
pressing Ctrl and Page Up or Page Down; and reopen closed
tabs by pressing Ctrl+Shift+T – just like in your web browser.
There’s also a new Clear History command you can use
to delete thumbnails of the PDFs you’ve been viewing from
Sumatra’s Home tab. Press Ctrl+K to open the Command
Palette and select Clear History in the long list of commands.
This is the first version of the program to offer a build for
64bit ARM processors.

1 Sumatra PDF features tabs
just like a web browser,
so you can easily switch
between multiple files.
The Home tab shows
thumbnails of the PDFs you
frequently read, and you can
now drag other tabs into
new windows.
2 To use the new annotations
feature, right-click a PDF and
choose ‘Create Annotation
Under Cursor’. Click ‘Text’ to
insert an icon indicating an
annotation, Free Text to add
the annotation to the PDF
itself or Stamp to insert a
stamp, such as ‘PAID’.
3 Type the text for the
annotation into the box
that opens. You can change
the text font, colour, size
and alignment as required.
Click one of the ‘Save
changes…’ buttons to insert
the annotation or ‘Delete
annotation’ to remove it.
4 Sumatra PDF now offers
a dark mode, though the
option is tucked away. Click
the menu in the top-left,
choose Settings, then
Theme and select Dark
(pictured) or Darker. Press I
to invert the colours of the
current PDF.

18 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

PRIVACY CLEANER
SHOULD I PAY FOR…?
Privacy Eraser Free 6 Choose the right version of software
www.snipca.com/48050
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 or 11
Sweet Home 3D Mobile
This excellent program www.snipca.com/48055
for deleting traces of Price: £4.29 (Android)/£3.99 (iOS)
your PC and web Free trial period: None What you need: Android or iOS
activities has been
updated with useful If you’re thinking of redesigning your home, Sweet Home
new cleaning options. 3D is the best free software for the job, allowing you to
These include create a detailed plan, including walls, doors and furniture,
automatically wiping then view the result in 3D. The developer recently launched
cookies from the Local a mobile version, so you can use Sweet Home 3D on your
Storage folder of phone or tablet, with the catch that – unlike the desktop
Chromium browsers, to prevent details of the sites you visit program – you need to pay for it.
from being stored on your PC, and improved cleaning of the The benefits
cache in Microsoft Edge. The most notable addition in Privacy of using Sweet
Eraser Free 6 is cleaning of the Windows Downloads folder, so Home 3D on your
you can stop people seeing the files you’ve downloaded. Click mobile device
the Windows tab and in the new Windows Downloads section are obvious. You
(see screenshot), choose the types of files to delete when the can walk around
program performs a clean-up. Options include Apps/ your home while
Programs, Pictures/Images and Documents. Privacy Eraser drawing your plan,
has also added support for cleaning Nvidia installation files, rather than dashing
WhatsApp Desktop and WPS Office. back and forth to
your PC, to ensure
PRIVACY TOOL that dimensions
and positions
O&O ShutUp10++ 1.9.1436 are as accurate
www.snipca.com/48051 as possible.
What you need: Windows 10 or 11 Additionally, the
touchscreen of your
We’re also happy phone or tablet
to see a new lets you add, resize and move elements using your fingers,
version of O&O which is easier than dragging and dropping with a mouse.
ShutUp10++, The app’s interface adjusts to fit the size and orientation
which tweaks of your screen, so your plan and the furniture catalogue
Windows privacy are simultaneously accessible. You can quickly change the
settings to stop colour and texture of walls, floors and ceilings; customise
Microsoft spying every door, window and item in a couple of swipes; and
on you. The latest view changes in the plan in a 3D view, which you can either
update takes aim at look at from above (see screenshot) or as a ‘virtual visitor’ at
the new Copilot floor level. It’s equally simple to add notes, dimension lines,
feature in Windows 11, which has raised concerns about how arrows and other useful annotations.
the AI tool uses your data. ShutUp10++ has added a Windows Sweet Home 3D Mobile currently includes 800 objects,
Copilot section (you’ll only see this in Windows 11), which lets with more to be added soon, and lets you export your plans
you either hide Copilot’s taskbar button or disable the feature to your PC to make further adjustments.
altogether (see screenshot). There’s also a new Taskbar
category, which lets you remove the People icon and the OUR VERDICT: Pay for it
‘News and interests’ pop-up in both Windows 10 and 11, and a Sweet Home 3D Mobile makes redesigning your home a
new Search section. This includes the option to stop the doddle, and even works offline. Because the free desktop
Windows search box displaying results from Bing, while version has served so well over the years, we don’t begrudge
another new setting blocks ‘search highlights’, which show the small outlay to use the ad-free app.
distracting information relating to your searches.

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 19

 Best Free Software

What should I download?

We advise you which software and apps to use
Can I scan PDFs without
What should I use paying for Adobe?
to scan negatives? Q
I need to scan
documents with
Are there any free alternatives to the SlideScan handwritten
Q and FilmBox apps for scanning photo negatives
and slides using a lightbox connected to a PC?
sections so I can convert
them into items that
Alan Tyldesley can be emailed.
Scanning into PDF
Scanning slides and negatives was once quite a makes these single-page
A challenge. Traditionally, they were used as a filter
to coloured light being projected on to paper or a
files very large, and
sometimes too big to
distant surface – such as a wall. The further away the convert into Word. Is there a way around this apart from paying
surface, the bigger the resulting image. But scanning is for an Adobe licence?
quite the opposite. The device you’re using to capture the Michael Cox
image stands in for the ‘surface’ of old, but moving it
further from the slide or negative makes the image smaller, The excellent PDFgear (free from www.pdfgear.com)
rather than larger.
Modern smartphones with high-resolution sensors solve
A has all the features you need. It can convert images to
PDF, compress large PDFs, and convert directly from
this problem, allowing you to take a close-up shot of your PDF to Word (see screenshot) and vice versa, plus a lot more
source material, appropriately backlit by a lightbox. You besides. We tested it by downloading a PDF of this feature from
end up with a crisp, multi-megapixel image that just needs Google Docs and running it through the Word conversion
a little cropping and correction. process. The output, which opened in LibreOffice Writer, was
While we’d recommend the efficient Google PhotoScan an accurate, editable reproduction of the original. Even our
(www.snipca.com/47913) for Android and iOS, when links were clickable.
working with regular photos we’ve actually had the
best results using our phones’ built-in camera apps for
backlit slides and negatives. They were even better when Which 2D animation program
we went one step further and placed strips of black paper
along the four sides of the slide to block out the lightbox,
won’t nag me?
as this helped our phone to focus on the lit frame of film. I’m looking
If your phone’s camera app isn’t up to the job, consider
installing third-party alternatives such as Halide (www.
Q for a free
2D-animation
snipca.com/47906, pictured) for iPhone and Open Camera program that I can use
(www.snipca.com/47907) for Android. on my Windows 11
laptop without Windows
nagging me that I need
to choose an admin user.
Is there one?
Sheila Smith

Free and open-

A source, Pencil2D Animation (www.pencil2d.org) has
never asked us to select an admin user. As you’d
expect, it has a timeline for placing video frames, and an ‘onion
skin’ tool to line up the graphics as you move between cells.
You can also import images that weren’t created in the program,
letting you combine multiple images drawn using traditional
tools – pencils (see screenshot), pens, pastels and so on – to
produce handmade animations.

20 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670 Email us your questions at letters@computeractive.co.uk

Named & Shamed
Keumars Afifi-Sabet puts the boot into tech villains,
jargon-spouting companies and misbehaving software
SOFTWARE WARNING!
McAfee’s ‘18% per cent memory’ pop-ups
W
hen is a pop-up
advert not a
pop-up advert?
When it’s delivered by
McAfee’s antivirus software, and you get
two conflicting excuses from the company.
This saga began when reader Patrick
Wilmore sent us screenshots of a McAfee
pop-up that appeared on his screen. It
claimed that his “available memory” was
18 per cent ( 1 in our screenshot), and
warned that anything below 30 per cent
could impact a PC’s “speed and
performance” 2 . Other alerts showed his
memory at 14 and 19 per cent.
Patrick doubted these claims straight
away. His PC has a hefty 32GB of RAM,
and he was running only Outlook when
the warning popped up. He then checked
Task Manager and found that he actually
had around 80-per-cent free RAM.
Growing suspicious, he spoke online
to a McAfee support agent, who called
the warning a “promotional popup alert”
(an ‘advert’ in other words) for its
PC-cleaning tool PC Optimizer. Pay
WHAT ARE THEY
TALKING ABOUT?
WHAT THEY SAY
Lenovo
www.snipca.com/47954
“If you’re not in the Extended Reality (XR)
industry, terms can be a little confusing.
XR includes augmented reality (AR), 3D
digital overlays on transparent lenses
to view real-world environments,
and virtual reality (VR), immersive 3D
experience in opaque headsets. AR and
VR are converging into mixed reality
(MR), the merging of a real-world and
digital environments, almost like toggling
between AR and VR.”
WHAT THEY MEAN
Forget XR – we’re now in the BS industry.
McAfee claimed that reader Patrick
Wilmore’s computer had only 18 per
cent memory left
£49.99 and “with just a few
clicks” you’ll get an “instant boost
to your system’s performance”.
What’s going on here? Is McAfee 1
really trying to scare users with
fake claims about declining
memory in order to sell software?
When we enquired, it told us the
pop-ups had been caused by “a
product bug causing inaccurate
reporting of memory usage”.
That seems to suggest McAfee
has designed these adverts to 2
appear when PC memory is low,
but that a “bug” has made them
pop up randomly. We doubt that’ll
be of comfort to Patrick and
others. They don’t want to be
pestered with such annoyances,
whether they’re accurate or not.
McAfee told us it’s “working hard to cancel the “appalling” service in February
resolve the issue”, but it’ll be too late to when his contract expires. If the pop-ups
keep Patrick’s business. He plans to continue many more will do likewise.
KEUMARS’ VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT
Luke McInerney
Luke McInerney might be Not content with
wanted by police in that, he also wrote, “If u
connection with an offer a reward I’ll tell ya
assault case, but that Where I am”. We’re not
hasn’t stopped him sure what’s worse – his
popping up on social mocking of authority
media to taunt detectives. or his disregard for
He responded to an grammar. Whatever else
appeal for information he may be guilty of, he
on Swindon Police’s has already committed
Facebook page by posting several crimes against
Credit: Swindon Police
a video of himself on a beach. “Here’s good English.
where I am,” he laughs. “Catch me if We’ve no doubt the law will
you can, yeah?” (see www.snipca. eventually catch up with u, Luke.
com/47970). Have fun while ya can.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 21
 Reviews
New products tested by our experts New products tested by our experts
MINI PC ❘ £749 from Beelink www.snipca.com/47875
Beelink GTR7 7840HS
Wee powers
Cheaper mini PCs tend to be perfectly
fine at Windows tasks, but aren’t that
great at jobs requiring more processing
muscle, such as gaming or video editing.
While this will never rival a desktop
PC with a standalone graphics card,
Beelink’s £750 GTR7 7840HS offers
significantly more power and is therefore
a better all-rounder than any mini PC
you’d get for less than £500.
Costs more than
most mini PCs, but
provides all-purpose
performance
The last time we got this excited about
a small-form PC that could hold its own
with a bit of gaming was the Beelink
SER6 Pro 7753HS (reviewed in Issue 661,
www.snipca.com/47879). At the time it
cost £699, but has now dropped to £559,
which is £190 cheaper than this model.
The SER6 is built around an AMD Ryzen
7 7735HS processor, which is one of
AMD’s latest models.
Some of this price differential is down
to the inclusion of the AMD Ryzen 7
7840HS processor in the GTR7. This came
out at the same time as the SER6’s chip,
but is definitely a step up. It also comes
with twice the storage (a 1TB SSD),
though it matches it for RAM with a very
respectable 32GB.
22 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
This all adds up to significantly better
performance levels. In benchmark tests
that measure raw processing power, the
GTR7 is 60 per cent faster in single-core
tests and nearly 30 per cent faster in
multi-core tests. This makes little impact
on the relative Windows outcomes of
the two, with the GTR7 just six-per-cent
quicker. It was streets ahead in gaming
tests, however – up to 25 per cent.
Overall, then, the GTR7 is a better
all-rounder than the SER6, though it
ought to be for the price. If you’re looking
for a mini PC that lets you play a few
games, the GTR7 is certainly a better bet.
However, if you mostly stick to Windows
tasks – browsing the web, managing
emails or using office tools – you won’t
see a huge benefit for your extra spend.
It’s worth stressing that you should be
able to go for a spin in Microsoft Flight
Simulator on this PC, but high
resolutions and detailed graphics
will still take their toll.
However, if you like to crank
up the settings for a more
realistic experience, you’ll need
to opt for a desktop gaming PC
equipped with a separate
graphics card.
Unusually for a mini PC, this comes
in a choice of four colours – green, blue,
grey and orange – so you can more easily
match it to an existing colour scheme.
It has plenty of ports, including USB-C
and USB 3.0 on the front panel (pictured
above). On the rear there’s another two
USB-C, two more USB 3.0, and two USB
2.0 ports These sit alongside two Ethernet
sockets, an HDMI port and a DisplayPort
(pictured below left).
SPECIFICATIONS
Eight-core Ryzen 7 7840HS processor • 32GB RAM
• AMD Radeon 780M graphics • 1TB SSD • Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2 • 2x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet ports • 1x
DisplayPort • 1x HDMI port • 3x USB-C ports • 3x
USB 3.0 ports • 2x USB 2.0 port • 49x168x120mm
(HxWxD) • One-year warranty www.snipca.
com/47875
VERDICT The best all-purpose mini
PC we’ve seen to date, but a desktop
machine would be a better option if
serious games are your thing
★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE Beelink SER6 Pro
7753HS £559 Just as good at carrying
out Windows tasks, but costs £190 less

LAPTOP-TABLET | £799 from Currys www.snipca.com/47900
Acer Aspire Spin 5
Flipping marvellous
If this looks familiar, it’s probably
because Acer has released a number
of Spin models over the years.
The most recent we reviewed, in
Issue 666, was the Chromebook
Spin (£699 from www.snipca.
com/47409). The Spin 5 runs
Windows 11 Home but retains the
option of flipping the screen all the way
back so you can use it as a tablet. It comes
with a stylus, which makes it easier to
write by hand without leaving
fingerprints. We love the way you can use
this device in so many different ways.
A versatile device
that runs Windows
smoothly – shame the
screen is so limited
After being bowled over by the speed of
our current favourite laptop – the Huawei
MateBook 16s (£1,279 from www.snipca.
com/47904, reviewed in Issue 669) –
with its Intel Core i9 processor, we didn’t
expect the i5-1335U processor in the Spin
5 to compete. However, in terms of sheer
power, it’s pretty impressive in its own
right. In our benchmark tests, it ran at
around 80 per cent of the MateBook’s
speed, which is good going for a device
that costs over £480 less. It lagged further
behind in our graphical tests, suggesting
it isn’t the best option for gamers.
As you’d expect, the overall specification
can’t match the MateBook. It has the
same amount of memory at 16GB, but the
512GB SSD is half the size. It offers the
LEFT EDGE
RIGHT EDGE
bare minimum of connections – a single
USB-C, two USB 3.0 and an HDMI port –
but this should be fine for most people.
The screen is a 14in panel, with a
1920x1200-pixel resolution. That’s
typical for a laptop at this price, but its
colour accuracy is poor, with our
colorimeter tests showing it recreated
just 64 per cent of the sRGB standard.
That’s probably the most disappointing
thing about the laptop.
The keyboard offers a solid tactile feel
with a snappy key press. The white
backlighting is relatively even and provides
a nice underglow for late-night working.
The down-pointing speakers sound fine,
but they don’t offer much bass.
Those looking for a device that’s
relatively small and flexible should like
this model, as long as you restrict yourself
to regular Windows work, such as office
software, email and browsing the web.
Anyone looking to play games or watch
videos would do better to spend a bit
more on a more powerful model with a
better screen, such as the MateBook 16s.
SPECIFICATIONS
Ten-core Intel Core i5-1335U processor • 16GB RAM
• Intel Iris Xe graphics • 14in 1920x1200- pixel screen
• 512GB SSD • 1x USB-C port • 2x USB 3.0 ports • 1x
HDMI port • Windows 11 Home • 17.9x318x226mm
(HxWxD) • 1.6kg • One-year warranty www.snipca.
com/47900
HOW WE TEST
Computeractive is owned by Future PLC,
which employs a team of specialist
technical reviewers. You’ll often read
references to our benchmark testing,
which is a method of assessing products
using the same criteria. For example, we
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.
Future PLC also owns the magazines
Maximum PC, PC Pro and T3, and the
websites Laptop Mag (www.laptopmag.
com), TechRadar (www.techradar.com)
and Windows Central (www.windows
central.com). This means we can test
thousands of products before choosing
the most relevant for Computeractive.
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
Our writers follow strict guidelines to
ensure the reviews are fair and impartial.
The manufacturer has no involvement in
our tests.
OUR AWARDS
We award every product
that gets five stars our
Buy It! stamp of approval.
It means we were
extremely impressed by the product, and
we think you will be too.
Every product that gets a
four-star review is given the
Recommended award. We
highly recommend these
products, although they just fail to meet the
high standard of our Buy It! winners.
PRICES
Our reviews contain a link to the best price
we found online at the time of press.
VERDICT A small, versatile laptop
with a latest-generation processor that
offers impressive performance levels,
but the screen quality is disappointing
★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE Huawei MateBook 16s
£1,279 Not cheap, but offers more
power and a
larger,
superior
screen
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 23
 Reviews
SMARTPHONE | £379 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47916

Xiaomi Poco F5
F for fast

When we reviewed the Poco F3 back in Another plus point is its

Issue 608 (£259 from www.snipca.
com/44553), it became our favourite
Android phone and remained so for
months as other phones came and went.
We didn’t look at the F4, but now the
Poco F5 has arrived, it presents a great
opportunity to see how these phones are
evolving.
Fast performance
and impressive screen,
but unwanted extras
6.67in OLED screen, with a resolution
of 2400x1080 pixels and a refresh rate
that can be set up to 120Hz. It’s bright
enough to see everything in direct
sunlight, and colours are accurately
represented. In short, there’s nothing to
complain about.
All this at a lower price sounds like
it ought to knock the Pixel 7a off its
perch, but there are a few areas where
Xiaomi fails to hit the mark.
Our main gripe is with the software.
Android 14 underpins everything, but
the interface is Xiaomi’s own MIUI 14
operating system that’s placed on top of when we took the same shot with both

and poor cameras
let it down
As with the F3, the headline feature of
the F5 is its processor. Here Chinese
manufacturer Xiaomi hasn’t gone all-in
with the best available processor, but
has instead opted for the Qualcomm
Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2 chip. This is a
relatively new processor, but still a
generation behind the Snapdragon 8
found in the likes of the Samsung Galaxy
S23 (£849 from www.snipca.com/45374,
reviewed in Issue 654). However, this
compromise has helped keep its price to
less than half that of the Galaxy S23.
This trade-off has an impact on
performance, of course. In terms of
raw power, the processor runs at 80 to 90
per cent of the speed of the Galaxy S23,
which is an impressive result. For
comparison, that makes it about 30-per-
cent faster than the £449 Google Pixel 7a
(www.snipca.com/47920, reviewed in
Issue 660), which is our current favourite
Android phone – see page 30.
Android and changes the way its phones
look and operate.
The problem here is that the phone
comes loaded with many apps you
probably won’t want, clogging up
precious storage space. You can hide
these from the home screen but some are
uninstallable. There are fewer intrusive
ads than MIUI suffered from in the past,
and there are arguably worse versions of
Android out there. However, next to the
pure version of Android running on
Google’s Pixel phones, there’s just too
much unwanted stuff going on here.
The camera is decent enough in
bright light, but again lags behind the
quality of the Pixel 7a’s camera. Like the
Pixel it offers a main camera, as well as
an ultrawide and a selfie camera. The
main camera takes decent shots in good
light, with a respectable level of detail,
acceptable exposure, and an impressive
dynamic range.
However, in our tests images turned out
soft in gloomier conditions and after dark
images became positively grainy. The
ultrawide lens also struggles in darker
conditions, and colours didn’t match
lenses. The selfie camera suffered from
similar deficiencies.
If it was just about performance and
you were looking for an affordable phone
to carry out more demanding tasks –
such as playing the latest games – we
would definitely recommend the Poco F5
over the Pixel 7a. For general phone use,
however, Google’s unadulterated Android
14 provides a more pleasing experience.
The camera’s better, too.
SPECIFICATIONS
Eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2
processor • 8GB RAM • 256GB storage • 6.67in 120Hz
2400x1080-pixel OLED screen • 64-megapixel
rear camera • 8-megapixel ultrawide camera
• 16-megapixel front-facing camera • Wi-Fi 6 •
Bluetooth 5.3 • MIUI 14 based on Android 14 •
161x75x7.9mm (HxWxD) • 181g • One-year warranty
www.snipca.com/47916
VERDICT Superb performance for
the price, especially if you’re looking
to run demanding apps, but its fussy
interface and underwhelming cameras
take the shine off
★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE
Google Pixel 7a £449
Not as powerful but
a better all-round
Android experience,
and superior cameras

24 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

MESH Wi-Fi ❘ From £380 (for two nodes) from Amazon www.snipca.com/47957
Linksys Velop Pro 6E
Mixed signals
This is one of the most affordable Wi-Fi
6E mesh systems around, but it’s still not
exactly cheap. Support for the extra 6GHz
network inevitably drives up the cost of
any mesh system, as each node must
include an additional radio alongside the
usual 2.4GHz and 5GHz transmitters. So
while this Velop system is competitively
priced for what it is, you’re still looking
at £380 for the two-unit system or £500
for three.
Stylish and fast, as
long as you don’t use
its Wi-Fi 6E channel
Two may be all you need, however.
We found that the two-unit option
reviewed here was more than sufficient
to completely cover our medium-sized
three-bedroom home.
There’s certainly elegance in the
design. Each unit is a little white tower
with a stylish squared-off corner. At
the rear of each one there’s a pair of
Gigabit Ethernet sockets, while a small,
circular status LED on the top emits
various colours to indicate the strength
of your network signal.
Getting set up is quick and easy via the
Linksys mobile app, and once your mesh
system is running you can use this app to
manage it. This process works well
enough, but the system lacks certain
high-end features, with no VPN support
or network-security scanning. Parental
controls are also a letdown, offering only
access scheduling for individual devices
and the option to manually block a
measly 10 websites.
We measured average speeds using a
laptop in several locations around our test
home. Over the 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 connection
we saw fast and remarkably consistent
download speeds throughout, ranging
SPECIFICATIONS
Tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz Wi-Fi 6E • 2x Gigabit
Ethernet ports • 196x95x95mm (HxWxD) per unit •
Three-year warranty www.snipca.com/47957
between 85.7MB/s and 69.8MB/s. That’s
more than enough to make full use of a
500Mbps (62.5MB/s) fibre internet
connection.
Surprisingly, switching to Wi-Fi 6E
saw speeds fall. Results were still strong,
with download rates never dropping
below 50MB/s, but in every location the
6GHz connection was conspicuously
slower. Although Linksys doesn’t
explicitly say so, the likely reason is that
the system is using the 6GHz network
for node-to-node traffic, as well as
connections to Wi-Fi 6E-compatible
devices. Counterintuitively, that leaves
this Wi-Fi 6E mesh working best with
devices that aren’t using Wi-Fi 6E.
Wi-Fi 6E devices with a dedicated
backhaul channel need another radio
installed, which takes the price even
higher. The Netgear Orbi RBK963E,
for example, has this option, but costs
£1,200 for just two units (www.snipca.
com/47959). The Velop Pro 6E is cheaper,
but your Wi-Fi 6E devices won’t get the
full benefit of an unclogged 6GHz
channel.
VERDICT Fast, and one of the
cheapest Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems, but
its Wi-Fi 6 network runs faster than 6E
★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE Asus RT-AXE7800
£250 Those that don’t need a mesh
system to spread a
signal across a large
house will get faster
Wi-Fi 6E connections
with this router
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SPECS
P-cores and
E-cores
What are they?
Every modern processor is made up
of a number of cores, with each doing
the work of a single processor. Most
models from Intel now combine two
different types of core – performance
(P-cores) and efficiency (E-cores).
Performance cores handle the hard
work of the most demanding software,
such as games and video editing. The
efficiency cores take on background
tasks, such as checking for messages or
running antivirus software.
How do they work?
E-cores are smaller and use less power
than P-cores. They help processors use
power more efficiently, so you’ll often
find a higher ratio of them in mobile
processors designed for devices that
run off batteries.
What are their specs?
Intel’s specifications always state the
number of P-cores and E-cores in a
processor. For example, the 10-core
Intel Core i5-1335U chip (pictured
below) in the Acer Aspire Spin 5
reviewed on page 23 has two P-cores
and eight E-cores. Processors for
desktop PCs don’t need to run as
economically, so will often have a
higher ratio of P-cores.
Can I change them later?
Not without changing your processor.
The number of cores and their type is
determined at the manufacturing stage
and can’t be altered.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 25
 Reviews
PORTABLE SSD | From £109 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47946
Crucial X10 Pro
The Tardis of drives
External SSDs have been getting smaller
in recent years and the Crucial X10 Pro
continues that trend. It measures just
50x65x10mm (HxWxD), which isn’t
much bigger than a matchbox. Despite
its modest size, the Tardis-like X10 Pro
can hold 1TB (£109), 2TB (£195) or 4TB
(£326) of storage. Here, we take a look at
the 1TB version.
A tiny, lightning-
quick SSD that offers
extras at a price
The top of the case is a tough
aluminium panel, while its underside
has a rubberised finish that stops it from
sliding across your desk. There’s a handle
in one corner for transporting it using a
ring or clip – though the activity light is
also located there and becomes harder to
see if you’re using the handle. The device
is IP55 rated, so you could take it out in
light rain, but don’t drop it in water.
Potential speeds are impressive. On
SPECIFICATIONS
1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities • 1x USB-C Gen 2x2 port
• USB-C to USB-C cable • 50x65x10mm (HxWxD) •
38g • Five-year warranty www.snipca.com/47946
WHAT SHOULD I BUY? We solve your buying dilemmas
How can I digitise my old negatives and slides?
Further to your ‘What Should
Q I Buy?’ question in Issue 660
(‘How can I save slides to my
PC?’), I’d like to know which film
scanner you’d recommend for
digitising 127mm and 120mm
negatives, as well as 35mm
slides. The negatives were
taken in the 1950s and
1960s, while the slides
were taken in the 1970s
and 1980s.
AS Darlington
26 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
most PCs it’s rated at
1,000MB/s, but it’s capable of
reaching 2,000MB/s if it’s
connected to a Gen 2x2
standard USB port. These are
currently fairly rare (check
your machine’s manual to
see if yours has any). If not,
it’s there if you’re able to take
advantage in future. We
tested it with a laptop that
has Gen 2x2 ports using a
drive-speed benchmark test, and
achieved read speeds of 2,057MB/s and
write speeds of 1,834MB/s, which means
Crucial’s claims are pretty close to the mark.
The drive comes without any tools
installed, but you can download useful
software from Crucial’s website,
including a storage-management utility
that helps you maintain it. This also lets
you use the drive’s encryption tools,
which are built into the hardware and
ensure the contents of your device
remain private – even should it fall into
someone else’s hands. There’s also a
Crucial-branded version of Acronis
True Image, which can make clones of
existing drives for backup purposes.
Bear in mind, these additional features
add to the price. The X10 Pro’s older
stablemate, the X8, operates at speeds up
The Lomography DigitaLIZA
A Max (£85 from www.snipca.
com/47949, pictured) is
probably your best bet, given the variety
of relatively rare film formats you have.
It isn’t a traditional film scanner,
because it doesn’t actually scan the slides
or negatives for you. It’s more of a
backlight on to which you can
temporarily mount your film,
with an attachment that can
hold a smartphone. You can
then take a photo of your
to 1,000MB/s, but lacks encryption. If
you can live with that, the 1TB model
costs around half the price (£57 from
Amazon at www.snipca.com/47948).
VERDICT A tiny external SSD that’s
fast (particularly when connected via a
compatible USB-C port) and secure, but
it’s pricey compared with rivals that lack
some of its features
★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE Crucial X8 £57 If you
don’t need to encrypt your data, the
older X8 model
is half the price
for the same
capacity
negatives and slides using a
smartphone.
It can also work with a traditional
digital camera if you happen to have a
tripod you can set it up on. It doesn’t
come with image-editing software to
convert negatives into regular shots,
but most free image-editing tools can
do this for you, including Paint.net
(www.getpaint.net) and IrfanView
(www.irfanview.com).
Do you need advice on what you should buy?
Email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk
 Reviews
WEBCAM | £84 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47932
Epos S6
An improving picture
Danish company Epos, best known for
its high-quality headsets, is now adding
webcams to its repertoire. The S6
webcam is a compact device that can be
placed above your screen, whether you
have a monitor or a laptop. It comes with
a hard-shell carrying case, so it’s easy to
pack up and travel around with. The
device has a USB-C port, but comes
with cables that let you connect to both
USB-C and standard USB ports.
The design is an inconspicuous black
box, so it will easily blend in with most
screens without drawing attention to
SPECIFICATIONS
4K (2160p) resolution • 90-degree field of view
• USB-C and USB 3.0 adapter cables supplied •
43x58x29mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty
www.snipca.com/47932
MOUSE | £70 from Amazon www.snipca.com/47931
Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed
Finger-clickin’ good
This wireless mouse has many of the
features of Razer’s top-of-the-range
models, but is much cheaper. It feels
comfortable with your fingers wrapped
around it and has a pronounced hump
that offers decent palm support.
It costs less because it doesn’t come
with a rechargeable battery – instead
you have to load a standard AA battery.
This also means it doesn’t need a port for
charging. While these omissions help
keep costs down, it does mean you can’t
use it as a wired device even if you
wanted to.
That aside, it’s fast and accurate. It has
six buttons providing eight programmable
controls. Its left and right buttons are
SPECIFICATIONS
30,000dpi sensitivity • 750 IPS maximum speed • Six
programmable buttons • 40x64x127mm (HxWxD) •
82g (including battery) • Two-year warranty
www.snipca.com/47931
28 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
itself. There’s a dial on the top of the
device that opens or closes its shutter point and make sure the picture is
cover, so you can guarantee privacy. In optimised the way you want it.
addition, a white light comes on to the
left of the lens whenever the camera is
capturing video. VERDICT A good-quality webcam
The camera shoots video up to 4K that can stream video up to 4K, but
resolution and the picture quality is that does make it more expensive than
impressive, with crisp details and many basic models
accurate colours. It automatically turns
up brightness levels in low light.
★★★★★
However, as with most webcams, if ALTERNATIVE
it’s too dark, there isn’t much it can Logitech C925e Business Webcam £73
do to help. In gloomier conditions, we Save a few
noticed motion blur and even trails pounds with
following our movements. this lower-
The supplied software lets you resolution
customise and adjust the camera’s model
settings, and you can zoom in to a focal
nicely grooved toward the front to
ensure better grip and easier pressing.
Our only design gripe is that it’s a little
on the heavy side – when fitted with
its battery it weighs 82g.
We tested it on a variety of surfaces –
including a range of mats, a slightly
textured office desk and a marble
kitchen work surface. The Viper V3 VERDICT A wireless mouse that’s
worked well on all of them, with the comfortable to use and offers plenty of
tracking maintaining a high level of customisation options, but bring your
accuracy. own AA battery
There’s no doubt Razer is aiming
this mouse at serious gamers rather
★★★★★
than everyday users, though it’ll work ALTERNATIVE
well for anyone and isn’t expensive Logitech Lift Vertical
for what you get. Ergonomic Mouse £68
If comfort is more important to you If you value comfort
than speed and accuracy, however, we’d over speed and
still recommend the Logitech Lift Vertical features, this similarly
reviewed in Issue 631 (£70 from Amazon priced model is a joy
at www.snipca.com/41687).

SECURITY CAMERA | £140 (for two) from Amazon www.snipca.com/47986
TP-Link Tapo C420S2
Double vision
TP-Link offers a growing
number of Tapo-branded
smart-home devices – from
security cameras to smart
bulbs. These are mostly fairly
affordable without making too
many compromises on performance
level or number of features. That’s
certainly true of this two-camera outdoor
security system.
In the box you’ll find two cameras, one
hub, two brackets (and the screws and
templates you need to attach them
to a wall), two battery packs and all the
cables you’ll need to set it all up.
High-quality footage,
easy installation and
built-in storage
The cameras are cylindrical and
made of solid white plastic, with the
lenses housed in a black circular panel on
the front. Each camera measures just
64x64x111mm (HxWxD) so are designed
to be inconspicuous. The brackets screw
into the back of the camera and can be
used as a stand on a horizontal surface or
a mount on a wall. The cameras are IP65
rated, so can be used inside or out.
Setup is easy. First, you need to connect
the hub to your Wi-Fi router using the
included Ethernet cable. You can then set
up each camera by slotting in the battery
pack, twisting it into the locked position
and following the instructions in the
smartphone app – the whole process took
us around five minutes. The battery
should last 180 days, after which you’ll
Reviews
DO I REALLY NEED...
A digital
film roll?
What is it?
Swiss company I’m
Back has developed a digital camera
sensor attached to a 35mm film roll
(pictured), which you can insert into an
old analogue 35mm camera.
What does it do?
need to take the camera off its mount for By inserting the film roll into a camera
charging. and connecting it to a small base unit,
The four-megapixel lens delivers 2K which attaches to a standard tripod
video (2560x1440-pixel resolution) mounting, you can convert an analogue
straight to your phone, but you can also film camera into a digital one.
switch to 720p to extend the battery life.
We found recorded video to be sharp, What’s the catch?
bright and smooth – and we could easily First you need to have kept your old
recognise visitors. Things aren’t quite as 35mm camera. Next, you’re going
clear after dark, but we were still to have to spend 539 Swiss Francs
impressed with the quality of its colour (around £495) to back the project on
night vision. Kickstarter (www.snipca.com/47989)
The cameras don’t record footage 24 before 3 December. It has already
hours a day – instead they are triggered achieved its funding target so will
by motion detection. The Tapo can definitely go ahead, but you’ll have to
differentiate between people, vehicles wait until next June before you get the
and animals, and generally did a solid job product.
of capturing only relevant footage.
Clips can be recorded on to a microSD So can I do without it?
card, so there’s little need to pay the Yes. For that price you can buy yourself
subscription fee for online storage. It’s a perfectly good digital camera. Unless
still available if you want it, however, you are a true enthusiast with an
with prices starting at £5.29 a month expensive 35mm camera.
for both cameras.
SPECIFICATIONS NEXT ISSUE
2K (2560x1440-pixel) resolution • Colour night
vision • 113-degree field of view • Requires included
hub connected to Ethernet port • IP65 weather- On Sale Weds 22 Nov
proofing • MicroSD card slot • Two-way audio •
64x64x111mm (HxWxD) • Two-year warranty Geekom AS 6
www.snipca.com/47986 A fast mini PC
with a powerful
AMD Ryzen 9
VERDICT Two easy-to-install high- processor
resolution outdoor security cameras at a
very reasonable price iPhone 15
★★★★★ Find out how Apple’s
latest iPhone squares
ALTERNATIVE up against the best
Arlo Pro 5 £219 A similar Android smartphones?
set of features except it
doesn’t need a hub These and much more...
connected to your router, Subscribe to Computeractive at
but it’s more expensive www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 29
 Buy It
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
LAPTOP
Huawei MateBook 16s 2023
£1,100 from www.snipca.com/47772
Tested Issue 669
In all our years of testing no laptop
has ever performed Windows tasks
as quickly as this. This breathtaking
speed is down to the powerful Intel
Core i9 processor. It also has a sharp
16in screen, 16GB RAM and long
battery life.
ALTERNATIVE Honor MagicBook X 16
2023 Also has a 16in screen and is great
value, though it’s not especially fast.
£450 from www.snipca.com/47868.
ANDROID TABLET
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
£768 from www.snipca.com/47493
Tested Issue 667
With a much brighter screen than our
previous favourite – the Galaxy Tab S8
– this is perfect for watching TV. It also
has a faster processor, so tasks feel
smoother, even with several windows
open. It’s a great buy at its full price of
£799, but look for discounts that make
it even better value
ALTERNATIVE Lenovo Tab P11 Pro It’s
slower than the Tab S9 and the screen is
duller, but has a detachable keyboard so
you can use it as a laptop. £360 from
www.snipca.com/45244
30 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Find out which other products we liked.
Buy our 2022 Back Issue CD:
£17 from www.snipca.com/44660
DESKTOP PC
Palicomp
AMD Cobra
£400 from www.snipca.com/43515
Tested Issue 643
This fast PC is a mouth-watering
bargain, with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD
and a six-core processor – though it
lacks USB-C ports and built-in Wi-Fi.
ALTERNATIVE Wired2Fire Ultima WS
Home Office Workstation Blisteringly
fast PC, powered by an overclocked
eight-core processor and 1TB SSD.
£644 from www.snipca.com/41500
APPLE iPHONE
Apple iPhone 13
£599 from www.snipca.com/43498
Tested Issue 627
Now £200 cheaper than its 2021 launch
price, the iPhone 13 has a superb screen,
long battery life and an excellent camera -
particularly for taking quick snaps without
blurring. You could pay £799 for the newer
iPhone 15, but we’re not convinced it’s
worth the extra money.
ALTERNATIVE iPhone SE With a single
camera and smaller screen but the
same powerful A15 processor and 64GB
storage as the iPhone 14, it’s great value.
£429 from www.snipca.com/34773
APPLE iPAD
Apple iPad 10.2in
£369 from www.snipca.com/36178
Tested Issue 623
The 9th-generation of the basic iPad,
released in 2021, is now the best-value
Apple tablet. The 2022 version looks
better and has a faster processor, but
it’s not worth paying £130 extra for.
ALTERNATIVE iPad Mini With an even
better, but smaller, screen than the
10.2in iPad, the Mini also supports
the Pencil and has 64GB of storage.
£569 from www.snipca.com/33050
ANDROID PHONE
Google Pixel 7a
£523 from www.snipca.com/46332
Tested Issue 660
A cheaper version of Google’s flagship
phone, this uses AI to add clarity to
photos, and lasts an impressive 10
hours. Has a fast processor and 8GB
RAM to supercharge performance.
ALTERNATIVE Xiaomi Poco F3 This
remains an excellent phone, with 6GB
RAM and 128GB storage. The only phone
under £450 that’s faster is the iPhone
SE. £259 from www.snipca.com/44553
 Buy It
Our pick of products that have won the Buy It award
MINI PC
Geekom Mini IT13
£699 from www.snipca.com/47789
Tested Issue 669
Crams incredible specs into a small
box: 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 6E
and the same Intel Core i9 processor
as our favourite laptop – the MateBook
16 on page 30. Comes with Windows 11
Pro, and is 50-per-cent faster than our
previous favourite below.
ALTERNATIVE Beelink SER6 Pro
7753HS With 32GB RAM and a 500GB
SSD, this is a speedy device. Has plenty
of ports too. £609 from www.snipca.
com/46416
WEBCAM P PC MONITOR
DRRIC
OP E
Logitech C925e Business
Webcam
£68 from www.snipca.com/41104
Tested Issue 608
Despite the name, this webcam is also
great for home users. Its standout
feature is automatically adjusting itself
to keep your picture looking sharp. It
offers a 78-degree field of view, which
is fine for everyday video chats with one
person in front of the camera.
ALTERNATIVE Anker PowerConf C300
Good image quality, crisp audio and
lots of features. £90 from www.snipca.
com/41105
32 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
EBOOK READER
Kobo Libra 2
£170 from www.snipca.com/40645
Tested Issue 624
A fantastic 7in screen, 32GB of storage
and Bluetooth connectivity make this a
rival to Amazon’s Oasis ebook reader,
yet it’s much cheaper. Battery life is
superb – we managed 54 hours of use
per charge. It supports OverDrive, so
you can borrow ebooks from libraries.
ALTERNATIVE Amazon Kindle This low-
cost option is a good choice, especially
now it has 16GB of storage. £85 from
www.snipca.com/44221
Iiyama ProLite
XU2492HSU-B1
£109 from www.snipca.com/39701
Tested Issue 618
This 23.8in screen is superb value,
with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels.
Colour is good, covering 88 per cent of
the sRGB colour range. Connect your
computer via HDMI, DisplayPort or
VGA, and there’s a USB hub to connect
your mouse and keyboard.
ALTERNATIVE AOC 27P2C This also has
a 1920x1080 resolution but it’s 27 inches,
so pixel density is lower. But you’ll only
notice if you look really closely. £230
from www.snipca.com/41609
SECURITY SOFTWARE
Norton 360 Premium
£19.99 from www.snipca.com/33247
Tested Issue 629
Norton has always performed
strongly in our antivirus tests,
regularly making the top three.
Owned by US firm NortonLifeLock,
it’s available at a discount on our
Software Store. Use the link above
for a 10-device, two-year licence.
Other versions are available, including
Norton 360 for Gamers.
ALTERNATIVE Bitdefender Total
Security Another top performer that
we’re offering at a discount. £19.99
from www.snipca.com/41141
SOLID-STATE DRIVE
Corsair MP600 Pro LPX
500GB
£56 from www.snipca.com/41547
Tested Issue 630
In our tests, this M.2 SSD hit speeds of
7,364MB/s and 6,870MB/s when
reading and writing data – astonishingly
fast scores. It’s compatible with the
new PCIe 4.0 standard, which is twice
as fast as PCIe 3.0. The 1TB model
costs £64; 2TB costs £130.
ALTERNATIVE Crucial MX500 500GB
As fast as an SSD can get in the
traditional 2.5in SATA format, this
is a great-value upgrade. £36 from
www.snipca.com/37304

COMPETITION
Win 1 of 3
EZVIZ C8C Outdoor
Security Cameras
The C8C Outdoor Pan/Tilt Camera is
EZVIZ’s first outdoor Wi-Fi Pan/Tilt
Camera, combining an exquisite
design with extensive features. With
1080p high-definition video and
images, it captures more details
than ordinary outdoor cameras.
With a 352-degree horizontal
rotation and 95-degree vertical
rotation, the C8C gives
you an all-around view of
your surroundings. You
can see and hear what’s
happening through the
PRINTER
Epson EcoTank ET-1810
£170 from www.snipca.com/41232
Tested Issue 628
An inkjet printer that comes with
enough ink to print 4,500 mono
and 7,500 colour pages, making it
exceptionally cheap to run. It’s not
the fastest printer, but quality is good,
especially on photo paper – we’ve
never seen better on an inkjet.
ALTERNATIVE Brother DCP-J1140DW
Compact multifunction model with rare
features at this price, including
double-sided printing. £141 from
www.snipca.com/43670
EZVIZ app on your phone or tablet.
The AI algorithm intelligently
detects the motion of human shapes
in real time. When people enter your
customised detection area, you will
be alerted immediately. There are
three night-vision modes available to
provide protection in all circumstances.
And its weatherproof design keeps it
operating without
being interrupted by
wind, rain or snow.
To enter this
competition,
SMART TV
Samsung Q60B
£448 from www.snipca.com/45083
Tested Issue 652
With our former favourite – the TCL
55RP620K out of stock – Samsung’s
43in set is our new pick. It has excellent
colour reproduction in well-lit scenes,
and the picture is wonderfully sharp –
especially in 4K.
ALTERNATIVE LG OLED42C3
LG’s 42in TV is three times the price,
but unlike TCL’s model it has an
OLED screen, boosting picture quality
considerably. £980 from www.snipca.
com/47271
Buy It
answer the question at www.snipca.
com/47824 and submit your details.
It runs until midnight Tuesday 21
November. Good luck!
The EZVIZ C8C Outdoor Security
Cam has an RRP of £109.99,
though Amazon is currently selling
it for just £59.99 (www.snipca.
com/45784). For more information
on EZVIZ products, including smart
locks and video doorbells, visit
www.ezvizstore.co.uk and follow
@ezviz_uk_ie on Twitter.
ROUTER
Asus RT-AXE7800
£250 from www.snipca.com/47586
Tested Issue 665
This router has Wi-Fi 6E, so will be
capable of the fastest possible speeds
on the 6GHz network over the next few
years. It has five Ethernet ports and also
a USB 3.0 port to connect a hard drive or
NAS drive.
ALTERNATIVE Synology WRX560
Our previous favourite remains an
excellent choice, delivering speeds of
up to 791.5Mbps. Add more units to set
up mesh Wi-Fi. £215 from www.snipca.
com/44696
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 33
Computeractive 2022
Back Issue CD & USB Stick
Both the CD and Stick contain all 26 issues from 2022

LE NOW!
ON SA
NEW!

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

www.snipca.com/44660 www.snipca.com/44976
 Pull Out
& Keep

Workshops & Tips Issue 670

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

35 E
 dit, split and merge
your video files
38 B
 rowse securely with
Mullvad and Windscribe
40 Readers’ Tips PLUS
44 Phone & Tablet Tips 47 M
 ake Office Better
42 Browser Tips:
Find related text 46 M
 ake Windows 48 In the Club: Create a
on web pages using AI Better simple budget tracker

HOW TO...
Edit, split and merge
your video files By Nick Peers

What you need: MKVToolNix Time required: Depends on length of video

W
hen it comes to your
media-streaming toolkit, make
sure you leave space for
MKVToolNix. You’ve got MakeMKV
(www.makemkv.com) for ripping discs,
and HandBrake (https://handbrake.fr) for
converting them to space-saving (and
universally compatible) formats, but
what happens when you want to perform
major surgery on a video file? That’s
when you need MKVToolNix.
Despite the name, MKVToolNix
can import most popular video
formats, not just MKV. You can
use it to combine files into one
single video, split a video into
separate files, and edit
their properties. You can
also rename commentary
and subtitle tracks, so
they’re easier to identify and select
in compatible media players.
You can remove unwanted tracks
from your video to save space
(or even splice in a track from
another source), and even
construct your own
chapter structure to help
you navigate a lengthy clip
quickly. It can also fix problems
with files due to incorrect
aspect ratio settings. Here we’ll
explain the best ways to use it.

Download MKVToolNix Click ‘All supported media files’ to 1

1 and add files
Go to www.snipca.com/47942
see all the formats you can open in
MKVToolNix

where you’ll find download links for all

major operating systems. Click the blue
Windows link below the Downloads
heading to reveal installer and portable
versions for both 32bit and 64bit.
When installed, open the program and
you’ll find yourself at its primary screen,
called the multiplexer. This lets you carry
out all kinds of edits on your media files.
Start by right-clicking inside the
‘Source files’ box ( 1 in our screenshot)
and choosing ‘Add files’. MKVToolNix
may only export video files in MKV
format, but you can import a wide range
of media files into it. Click the ‘All
supported media files’ dropdown menu
next to the ‘File name:’ field to
see just what it can work with 2
– a mixture of video, audio
and subtitle formats 2 .
Once you’ve opened a file,
you’ll see information about
its tracks (video, audio and
subtitle) appear in the panel
below it, split into multiple
columns (right-click the
column header to customise
what’s shown). Available information a summary about what’s in that track –
includes the track type, the codecs used, the number of channels and bitrate if
whether it’s the default track chosen for audio, or display resolution in pixels if
playback, and a Properties field providing video.

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 35

 Edit and remove
2 unwanted tracks
If you’d like to make changes
to a track’s properties, select it from the 1
list to reveal a more complete list of its
attributes in the Properties pane on the
right, divided into multiple selections.
Start with the ‘Track name’ field under
‘General options’ – this lets you provide a
more descriptive title for the track in
question.
For example, if your file has a
commentary track, it’ll be listed as 3
‘Stereo’ by default if audio, or left blank if
a subtitle track. You could change this to
‘Director’s Commentary’ (see screenshot
below) to help make it easier to identify
in programs that display this information,
such as VLC Media Player.
Another use for the properties pane is
when you encounter a video that doesn’t
display in the correct aspect ratio
(occasionally a problem with certain
movies from DVD). Check the sleeve for
2
the correct aspect ratio – such as 1.85:1 or 3
16:9 – then select the video track in
MKVToolNix and scroll through the
Properties pane to the ‘Video properties’
section. Select ‘Set aspect ratio’ and click Untick tracks you don’t want in the combined file and choose which should be default
the dropdown menu to select the correct
preset, which MKVToolNix will add to the output file. To do this, open your first file the file by whatever means you like. To do
file’s properties when you play it. as before, then right-click inside the this, first play back your file in VLC Media
‘Source files’ box and choose ‘Add file’ to Player (or similar) to work out where you
add your second file. want to cut the file. Make a note of the
You’ll now see that the ‘Tracks, relevant chapter or timestamp, then
chapters and tags’ box lists tracks from import your file into MKVToolNix and
both files, colour-coded to help you switch to the Output tab.
identify which file each track comes You’ll see the Output tab contains six
from 2 . You can then simply untick any sections, including a General tab where
tracks you don’t want to include in the you can change the title of the clip as
combined file. Choose – if necessary displayed in VLC Media Player. But for
Click ‘Track name’ under ‘General options’ to – which video, audio and/or subtitle now focus on the Splitting section. Start
add a more useful description to a file track should be the default 3 , and then by clicking the ‘Split mode’ dropdown
output the file as before. menu. You’ll see a choice of seven ways to
Once you’ve made your changes, Hopefully, the file will be processed splice your file (see screenshot above
choose where to save your amended file with no warnings or errors. In some right) – we’ll explain the four most useful.
(and what to call it), then click ‘Start cases, however, it will trigger a warning: The ‘After output size’ and ‘After output
multiplexing’ and wait for the progress click the ‘Job output’ button on the left to duration’ options will effectively split the
bar to hit 100 per cent. review this in the Warnings box. You’ll file as many times as necessary after a
typically get this if MKVToolNix spots certain file size or time is reached. For
Combine tracks from potential (but non-critical) problems, example, if you set the output duration
3 different files
Usually, media files come with
or it needs to perform some minor
adjustments – typically changing track
to 01:30:00 (one hour, 30 minutes and
zero seconds), then a four-hour file
all the tracks you want to include in IDs where they might otherwise clash. would produce three separate files:
them. Sometimes, however, tracks are two 90-minutes long, and the final one
split between two versions or you may Split files into 60 minutes.
have two versions of a movie – one with
director’s commentary, the other without
4 multiple parts
Another popular use for
Make a note of the ‘Maximum number
of files’ option, which lets you limit the
( 1 in our screenshot above right). MKVToolNix is to split one video file into number of files created. In most cases,
MKVToolNix allows you to combine multiple parts, or to separate one part you’ll probably want to split a file at
tracks from two or more files into a single from the rest. The program lets you split precise points, in which case you’d select

36 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670


Click ‘Split mode’ to see seven options for
splitting files into multiple parts
either ‘After specific timestamps’ or
‘Before chapters’. If you choose the
former and enter 01:30:00 into the
‘Timestamps’ box, your four-hour movie
would be split into two parts: one
90-minutes long, the other 150 minutes.
You can enter multiple timestamps,
separated by commas, if you want to split
the file into more than two parts. If your
media file contains chapters, this is usually
by far the simplest way to split a file into
its constituent parts. The thing to remember
is the ‘before’ bit, so if you want to split
chapters 1-8 of a movie, you would enter
9 into the Chapter numbers box.
Merge different files
5 into a single file
You can also merge multiple files
into a single file. From the Input tab, add
your first file in the usual manner, then
right-click its entry in the ‘Source files’
box and choose ‘Append files’ to add the
first file you’d like to attach to the original
file. Repeat for any other files. They’ll
appear in the list below the main file.
As things stand, when you click ‘Start
multiplexing’ the files will be stitched
together preserving their original video,
audio, subtitle and chapter tracks. If any
don’t match perfectly, you may see a
warning appear – click the Job Output
section where you can click ‘Abort job’
should you want to end the process. If
you receive an error message, it means
the files can’t be stitched together due to
an incompatibility – most often because
there’s a mismatch between codecs,
video sizes or bitrates.
If you switch to the Output tab before
multiplexing, look at the Chapters
section, where you can create your own
chapter structure for the output file. If
you click the ‘Generating chapters’
dropdown menu the obvious choice is
‘One chapter for each appended file’,
although you can also generate chapters
at fixed intervals. If you select this option,
Next issue: Use package managers to download software safely
Edit, split and merge your video files
CONVERT MKV FILES TO MP4
MKVToolNix can only output changes as
an MKV file. In many cases, you’ll want
to convert that file to a more compatible
format – typically MP4. For this, try an
online converter such as Zamzar (www.
zamzar.com). It can convert between
dozens of formats, including MKV to
MP4 – go to the page for this at www.
snipca.com/47951. Click the Choose
Files dropdown menu, find your MKV file,
however, be sure to untick any chapters
listed in the ‘Tracks, chapters and tags’
panel on the Input tab.
Below the ‘Generating chapters’
dropdown menu is the ‘Name template’
field, which is how your chapters will be
named (and so appear in your media
player). Available options include ‘<NUM>’
(track number), ‘<FILE_NAME>’ and
‘<START>’ (chapter start timestamp), and
can be mixed and matched. For example,
‘Chapter <NUM:2>: <FILE_NAME>’.
Change the video tracks
6 Some videos come with more
than one video track in place –
Picture-in-Picture commentary on a
movie, for example. Load a file with more
than one video track into MKVToolNix
and you’ll see that all tracks are listed.
But how do you create a file that gives
you access to this secondary video track
in the first place?
The solution lies with MakeMKV, but
instead of extracting the file in the usual MKV and WebM files.
way, you’ll need to generate a full backup
of the DVD instead. After the disc has
been recognised in your computer, choose
‘File, Backup’, make sure ‘Decrypt video
2 entries listed, showing
3 4
1 add chapters and
Rename chapters and change where they’re saved in the file
select ‘mp4’ in the second menu then click
Convert Now (see screenshot).
files’ has been ticked, select your backup
location then click OK.
Once the backup has completed,
click the disc icon to open the DVD in
MakeMKV – you need to do this to be able
to identify the file you need to open in
MKVToolNix. Select the track in question
and make a note of its ‘Source file’ name
– this is what you’ll need to open in
MKVToolNix. You’ll find it in the BDMV/
Playlist section directory in many cases.
If it’s an MPLS file, click ‘Don’t scan, just
add the file’ when prompted.
Edit file chapters
7 MKVToolNix also has a chapter
editor, letting you rename
chapters and change where they’re
placed in your movie file. Select ‘Chapter
editor’ on the left ( 1 in our screenshot
below) where you can open a supported
file or start a new one from scratch. You
can work on supported chapter files like
CUE and XML, as well as chapters inside
You can work on multiple files at once.
Press Ctrl+N or Ctrl+O to open them,
then switch between them via the tabs
at the top 2 . In the left-hand pane you’ll
see existing chapter
start and end points 3 .
Select one to edit its
properties in the
right-hand pane 4 .
You can also
right-click a file to
sub-chapters.
Use the ‘Start & end’
fields on the right to
change when the
selected chapter starts
and stops, then type a
new name for the
chapter at the bottom.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 37
 Workshop
Browse securely with Mullvad browser
and Windscribe VPN
What you need: Mullvad browser; Windscribe VPN Time required: 20 minutes

O ne of the most popular ways to hide

yourself on the web is to use Tor
Browser. Tor bounces your activity
between layers of servers while obscuring
your identity. It’s very effective, but it can
be slow. Mullvad aims to speed up secure
browsing by pairing its anonymity-
focused browser with a VPN to avoid
using multiple servers. Mullvad has its
own paid-for VPN, but it’s just as fast and
private to use the free Windscribe VPN
instead, as we’ll explain.

STEP Go to www.windscribe.com and click the green

1 Download button at the top of the page. Click

Windows and wait for the installer to download.
When it has, launch ‘Windscribe_2.6.14.exe’ from your
Downloads folder. When the User Access Control pop-up
asks if you’re happy for the program to make changes to
your system, click Yes, then follow the installation
instructions. The final step will launch your browser at the
Sign Up page. Enter the required details, then click Create
Account. Windscribe will now show you a price list for its 1
paid-for services. However, check your inbox for the email
sent to the address you supplied when signing up, and click
the ‘Confirm Email (for 10GB)’ link 1 to get 10GB of data a
month for free.

STEP Next, download the Mullvad browser by clicking the yellow STEP We didn’t launch the VPN before downloading

2 Download Mullvad Browser button at www.snipca.com/47998,

then the green Download button on the following page 1 . When
it’s finished downloading, launch the program file (its name begins with
‘mullvad-browser-windows’ and ends with the version number) from
your Downloads folder and select the language you want to use. Leave the
Destination Folder at its default setting and click Install. When it’s finished
installing, leave the option to Run Mullvad Browser selected (as well as the
options to add Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts, if you want) and click
Finish.
3 Mullvad to avoid the download being included
in our 10GB of free data. However, the
Windscribe program will still be running on your
desktop. Switch to it and click Login, then enter the
username and password you specified when signing
up in Step 1. Windscribe will automatically select
what it considers the best location for a smooth
downloading experience 1 . Click the power button
2 and it will start routing all of your internet traffic
through its server in that location. You can now use
Mullvad to surf the web via a browser and VPN that
help maintain your privacy.

38 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

 STEP VPNs are useful

4 for accessing
content that’s
unavailable in the country
in which you’re browsing, 1
or streaming content
when you’re abroad on 3
holiday that you’d watch
at home. To do this, click
Locations at the bottom of
the Windscribe window 2
then click the country in
which the content is
available to switch to a
server in that location.
Note that only 11 countries
are included in the free STEP Open the Mullvad menu 1 and click Settings, followed
1
plan, including the US,
UK, France, Germany and
5 by ‘Privacy & Security’ 2 . Notice that the browser is set
to ‘Always use private browsing mode’ 3 . This mode
the Netherlands. To access deletes all of your cookies and other website data when you
countries with a star by close the browser, so cookies set by the sites you visit can’t be
their flag 1 you’ll need to used to track you. This means you’ll need to log into services
take out a paid-for like webmail every time you visit. If you’d rather avoid this,
subscription. either untick this option to allow cookies (and thereby be more
easily tracked), or use an alternative browser specifically for
websites that require a login.

2
1
1

STEP Scroll down to the ‘Enable secure DNS using’ STEP If you want to visit several sites in a single session, those that

6 heading. By default, Max Protection is selected 1 ,

which means Mullvad will always use its own
DNS servers to verify that the address you type into the
browser matches the site you’re being directed to. This
should prevent you from being sent to a fake website. You
can augment the Max Protection setting by clicking the
‘Choose provider’ dropdown menu and selecting ‘Mullvad
(Ad-blocking)’ 2 to also filter out adverts that appear on
the pages you visit.
7 you visit later may use cookies that have been set by sites you
visited earlier. You can avoid this by regularly closing and re-
opening Mullvad, but the browser itself offers a far simpler solution:
click the New Identity button 1 and it will close all active windows
and tabs, then restart. It will prompt you for confirmation because
you’ll also lose any unsaved data but – if you trust yourself not to use
this feature by accident – you can tick the ‘Never ask me again’ box 2
before clicking Restart Mullvad Browser 3 , and in future it will restart
without this interim step.

Next issue: Use Windows Backup Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 39

 Readers’ Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT
Send documents as Google Drive links
As secretary of a bowls club, I often
send details of fixtures, meetings and
other important information to fellow
members. I’ve given up sending these
as documents attached to emails.
Instead, I generate a link to a file I’ve
created in Google Drive and send that.
One advantage of this method is that
I can change the link so recipients can
save a copy of the document and edit it,
without affecting the original. Open
the document you want to share in
Google Drive, then right-click in the
address bar at the top and select Copy.
Brian wins a copy of our 2022 Back Issue CD
TV STREAMING
Watch Netflix on your
Chromebook
I always thought there wasn’t much
you could install on a Chromebook,
but when I bought one I found that some
of my favourite services are available to
Why I stopped using…
4K Video Downloader
I’ve just read Issue 664’s
Cover Feature in which you
recommend using Vividl (www.snipca.
com/46995) instead of 4K Video
Downloader (www.snipca.com/46993).
I was using the latter some time ago,
but have since changed to a better
alternative.
And what I use instead
I now use aTube Catcher (www.atube.
me, pictured right), a free app that
lets me download from multiple
sites at once. It does this by creating a
40 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Now paste this URL into an email
or chat message, and change the word
‘edit’ at the end to copy (see screenshot
above). When the person receives the
link and clicks it, they’re taken to a page
with a blue ‘Make a copy’ button.
Buy it from us at www.snipca.com/44660
download from the Google Play Store.
The one I use most is the Netflix app.
Open the Play Store from your
Chromebook’s main menu – its icon is in
the bottom-left of the screen. Type
Netflix into the search box, then click
Install (see screenshot below left),
followed by Get Started.
Philip Hunter
VOICEMAIL
Access your voicemail from
other phones
We recently had an emergency that
required me to listen to a voicemail
on my phone. But I’d left my phone in a
pub about 30 miles away, which meant
we had to drive back and retrieve it.
batch file of downloads.
I can download in a
choice of formats
and resolutions, and
there are options for
burning to disc.
I mostly use the
program to download
videos and convert the
soundtracks to MP3
audio files, which I
then put on a USB stick
to play in the car. The
software also updates automatically.
Malcolm Wilde
Clicking the button saves the
document to their Google Drive
account – so obviously they need an
account for this method
to work.
Brian Perryman
I didn’t realise at the time that it’s
possible to access my voicemail from any
other phone. To do this, you need to set
up a security PIN. The following
instructions are for EE, but I’ve heard
they’re similar for other networks.
First, call your voicemail by pressing
the 1 button on your mobile phone, then
press * to skip to the main menu. Select
the settings and features menu, then tap
option 3 to change your PIN. Type a new
one, followed by the hashtag symbol (#)
to save it.
Once you’ve done that, you can simply
phone 07953 222 222 then enter the PIN
to hear your messages. If you’re abroad
remember to add +44 and lose the zero.
Paul Naughtie
Tell us why you stopped using a website, app
or program: letters@computeractive.co.uk

BROWSERS
Make private video chats
in Brave
You were preaching to the
converted with Issue 668’s Cover
Feature on using browsers that don’t
track you. I switched from Chrome to
Brave last year, and it’s marvellous.
What’s often overlooked is how fast
private browsers are – presumably
because they don’t load all those trackers.
1 replacement for my ancient Humax SD
2 box had a confusing order that I never
I noticed you didn’t mention Brave
Talk in your otherwise comprehensive
review of the browser. This video-chat
tool is easy to open and use. Just press
Ctrl+T to open a new tab, then the
video-camera icon at the bottom right.
Alternatively, visit https://brave.com/talk
to open a meeting room. I always blur
my background during chats to give me
even more privacy. Do this by clicking
the cog icon, then ‘Virtual backgrounds’
( 1 in our screenshot above), and select
Blur or Half Blur 2 .
Calls are free for up to four people, so if
you have chats with larger groups, you
should probably use Zoom, which has a
100-person free limit.
Ben Coogan
EMAIL
Export and import your
Gmail filters
Reading your instructions on how
to set up a spam filter in Gmail
(Issue 669, page 49) reminded me that
it’s also possible to export your filters
to a new Gmail account. I found this
invaluable a few years ago when I had
about 300 filters to export.
1 words. To perform this type of search,
2 a book from my childhood. I remembered
3 ‘Brisingimin’. So I searched for
Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers
Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk
Reader recommends…
Manhattan SX Freesat HD Box
£69 from www.snipca.com/47852
Back in Issue 659 (page 63) you
recommended Manhattan’s SX
Freesat HD box for readers on a budget.
As it costs just £69, I thought it was
worth trying out as my main TV device
in a small cottage we own in Devon. It
has turned out to be an excellent
box. I know the HD picture quality
can’t compete with 4K, but it’s sharp
enough for my eyes.
In a rare moment of common sense
from the manufacturer, the device
presents channels in the conventional
order, starting with BBC 1. My previous
got the hang of. Choosing favourite
shows and channels is easy too.
First, click the top-right cog icon in
Gmail, then ‘See all settings’ below. Now
click ‘Filters and Blocked Addresses’ ( 1 in
our screenshot below left), then tick the
filters you want to export 2 followed by
the Export button 3 . You can then choose
where to save the filters as an XML file.
To import a filter, click that option to
the right of the Export button. Now click
‘Choose file’, navigate to the XML file on
your computer, double-click it, then click
‘Open file’. Tick the filters you want to
import into your Gmail account, then
click ‘Create filters’ to transfer them.
Keith Harford
WEBSITE
Perform a ‘fuzzy’ search on
Internet Archive
Following James Robertson’s tip
about searching within books in
the Internet Archive (Issue 668), another
trick I use is applying a ‘fuzzy’ search for
titles and names I can’t remember
exactly. This shows results not only for
the words you type but also for similar
type a tilde (~) after the name.
For example, I was trying to find
most of the title (The Weirdstone of)
but not the last word. I knew it began
with ‘B’, and was something like
Brisingimin~ ( 1 in our screenshot above
The box’s simplicity prompted me to
buy one for my mother, too. She has no
desire to ‘binge watch’ series on Netflix,
so the Manhattan SX is perfect. She
couldn’t believe something so small
could give her more than 170 channels!
Darren Hanger
Want to recommend hardware or software
to fellow readers?
Email letters@computeractive.co.uk
1
2
right), hoping this would be close
enough. I got lucky! There was one result
for The Weirdstone of Brisingamen 2 –
so my initial guess wasn’t too far out.
Note that fuzzy searches can take
longer than a conventional search,
because the search engine has to check
more potential results.
Paul Jarvis
TRACKING
Get precise directions for
lost AirPods
Regarding your feature on
tracking lost devices, the latest
version of Apple’s AirPods Pro earbuds
(£229 from www.snipca.com/47873)
have Precision Finding built into the
MagSafe charging case. This means the
‘Find My’ app can locate the device,
showing not only the distance to your
lost earbuds, but the precise direction. I
used it recently to find my AirPods,
which turned out to be down the back
of a sofa in a cafe.
Irene Mitchell
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 41
 Browser Tips
EDGE
Find related text
on web pages using AI
The ‘Find on page’ search tool,
which you launch by pressing
Ctrl+F, is an essential function in all
browsers, letting you quickly find all
instances of a word, name or phrase on
the current web page. Last year, Microsoft
expanded Edge’s ‘Find on page’ tool with
the option to only match whole words,
and it’s now integrated AI to make the
feature even more useful.
When you misspell the term you’re
looking for, the improved ‘Find on page’
tool will use AI to guess what you mean
and provide ‘Also found’ suggestions.
These may also include synonyms and
related terms for correctly spelled words
– for example, ‘journalism’ and ‘updates’
when you search for news (see screenshot (released mid-October). If you can’t see it tools is called Refiner, and is intended
above right) . yet, you can enable Smart Find manually. to make interacting with the bot less
The AI-powered ‘Find on page’ feature, Type edge://flags into the browser’s repetitive and tedious.
which Microsoft has dubbed Smart Find, address bar and press Enter to load the When you want to ask Aria a follow-up
began rolling to Edge users in version 118 Experiments page. Use ‘Find on page’ to question to one of your queries, you can
locate the entry Related matches for find now simply highlight part of its initial
on page, select Enabled in its dropdown response and choose Refiner’s Reuse
menu and restart Edge. option (see screenshot left). This adds
When you press Ctrl+F and enter a query, the selected text to the chatbot’s input
you’ll now see ‘Also found’ suggestions field to save you having to type that part
below the search box. Click one of these again, and makes Aria generate a more
to find matches for that term instead. specific answer.
Additionally, if you’ve asked Aria to
OPERA generate content based on a text prompt,
Try the new AI features but you’re not entirely happy with the
in the Aria chatbot result, you can highlight the offending
With Bing Chat now firmly section and choose Refiner’s Rephrase
incorporated in Edge, and Google option. This will amend the content
Bard reportedly coming to Chrome, accordingly, without the bot needing to
Opera is continuing to refine its own AI start from scratch.
chatbot, Aria. Indeed, one of Aria’s new Best of all, Opera has added a dedicated

WORKSHOP Generate content using Opera’s AI chatbot

1 2
1
2
2 1

1 Click the Aria button on Opera’s sidebar

1 and choose Get Started. Sign into your
Opera account – or register for one – and
select ‘New chat’. Rather than type a
query, click the new Compose (pen) button
on the left of the chat box 2 .
2 When the Compose panel opens, select
the type of content you want to generate
in the Task section 1 – options include Blog
Post, Email, Presentation, Speech and Article.
Provide a topic and more context in the
Description box 2 .
3 Choose a suitable tone for your content,
such as Formal, Informal or Funny - use
the My Style option to provide examples
of your writing style. Specify the desired
length then click the Generate button 1 .
Aria will display the result on the right 2 .

42 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

 Secret settings and the best extensions

BEST EXTENSION FOR… Faking your location

Location Guard (see screenshot), which you your IP address – for that you
Chromium can switch between on a site- still need a VPN or proxy –
www.snipca.com/47909 by-site basis, depending on but helps keep you more
Firefox how mislocated you want to be. private online.
www.snipca.com/47911 Unlike a VPN, your faked (or
Although a VPN stops websites spoofed) whereabouts won’t If you don’t like that, try…
identifying your location, it can be in another country but up to Spoof Location
feel like overkill when you just 7,116 metres (about 4.5 miles) Chromium
want to avoid revealing precisely away, so you can still get useful www.snipca.com/47912
where you are. Location Guard local information. Alternatively, This extension lets you fake
solves this problem by applying use the extension’s ‘Fixed your location by changing
random ‘noise’ to your location location’ option to place you your browser’s latitude and
to make detection less accurate. somewhere else in the world. longitude to coordinates of
There are three privacy levels Location Guard doesn’t hide your choice.

Compose feature to Aria, which creates
more specific content than the equivalent
option in Bing Chat and Bard. See our
Workshop below left to find out how to
use it. Visit Opera’s blog (www.snipca.
com/47903) for more information about
Aria’s new AI tools.
BRAVE
Access archived versions of
missing web pages
One of Brave’s lesser-known but
most useful features is the ability to
view archived versions of web pages when
the original site no longer exists or is
temporarily offline. This option is powered
by the Internet Archive’s brilliant Wayback
Machine (www.snipca.com/47899) and
means that when you enter the URL of an
unavailable page, you can click ‘Check for
saved version’ ( 1 in our screenshot below)
to browse archived ‘snapshots’ of the site.
Brave 1.59, which was released in
October, improves the feature by making
it less easy to permanently dismiss.
Previously, the ‘Sorry that page is
missing’ banner had a ‘Don’t show this
again’ button, which some users clicked
by accident when they only intended to
close the banner. This prevented them
from using the ‘Check for saved version’
option again, forcing them to search the
Wayback Machine manually.
The button has now been replaced
with a ‘Don’t ask me again’ tick box 2 , so
you need to explicitly opt out of hiding
the ‘Check for saved version’ option in
future. It’s a small but welcome tweak
for accessing content that’s disappeared
from the web.
FIREFOX
View all your open and closed
tabs in one place
Firefox 119 (released 24 October)
expands the browser’s View feature,
which was introduced a year ago in
version 106. Previously, Firefox View let
you see the last three tabs you recently
had open on other devices, so you could
continue browsing where you left off,
and reopen tabs you had closed in the
current window.
The updated feature allows you to view
all open tabs in all windows on all your
devices in one place, as well as all your
recently closed tabs. You’ll need to be
signed into your Firefox account and have
the Sync option enabled in both your PC
browser and the Firefox mobile app to see
all this information. You can also now
access your browsing history in Firefox
View, to revisit all the web pages you’ve
been to over the last few months.
To open the View dashboard, click
the button in the top-left corner of the
browser ( 1 in our screenshot below). Use
the ‘Recent browsing’ options on the left
2 to browse your open tabs, recently
closed tabs, tabs from other devices and
history. Click the title of a page to switch
to or reopen its tab, or the icon next to
that entry to close the tab or remove it
from the dashboard.
If you share your computer, you may
be worried that Firefox View could
compromise your privacy. To hide it,
right-click its button and choose ‘Remove
from Toolbar’. You can restore it by
right-clicking the toolbar and selecting
Customise Toolbar.

1
2
2

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 43

 Phone and Tablet Tips
ANDROID & iOS
Use two WhatsApp accounts
on one phone
Back in Issue 658 (page 44), we
explained how you can log into
your WhatsApp account on up to four
additional phones, allowing you to easily
switch between devices. But what if you
have two WhatsApp accounts – perhaps
one for personal messages and the other
for business – and want to use them on
the same phone?
1 has been verified, you’ll be able switch
2 for passkeys – see our Cover Feature on
The latest update to ANDROID & iOS
the chat app addresses Try the new features
this dilemma by letting in the YouTube app
you sign into two The YouTube app
WhatsApp accounts for phones and
on one phone. Your tablets has received a major
device must be dual update, adding several
SIM, which means features that improve your
it accepts two SIM viewing experience.
cards or eSIMs, so you A new ‘You’ tab in the
can add a second bottom-right corner of the
phone number to app (see screenshot left)
WhatsApp. combines the old Library
To do so, open the and Account tabs. It stores
Settings screen in details of all the videos
WhatsApp and select you’ve watched (unless you
Account then ‘Add have disabled your ‘Watch
account’ ( 1 in our history’) and ‘liked’, the
screenshot left). Tap playlists you’ve created, and
‘Add account’ again 2 , the films and TV shows
press ‘Agree and continue’ then type you’ve purchased. It also lets you track
the phone number associated with the time you spend viewing YouTube
your other SIM card. Tap ‘Next’ and videos, switch to a different YouTube or
you’ll be sent a code to verify the new Google account and turn on the app’s
account. incognito mode.
Once your second WhatsApp account Another new feature makes it easier to
speed up video playback when you’re in a
between the two by tapping your profile rush to get to the most important part.
picture. Your phone will notify you Rather than fiddle with speed settings,
when a new message is sent to either simply press and hold anywhere on the
number, so you can respond through the video player to stream the content twice
relevant account (which may be slightly as fast – release your finger to resume
confusing at first). normal playback speed.
In other WhatsApp news, the Android Additionally, you can now lock your
version of the app has just added support screen while watching videos, to avoid
interrupting playback with an accidental
page 50 for details. tap or knock. To activate this option, tap

BEST NEW APPS What you should install this fortnight

Eurostar Trains Rain Letterboxd

Free* Free Free*
Android www.snipca.com/48023 Android www.snipca.com/48015 Android www.snipca.com/48021
iOS www.snipca.com/48024 Despite the name, this new weather app iOS www.snipca.com/48022
Following its merger with European train doesn’t just tell you This popular app for movie lovers, which
company Thalys, when it’s going lets you discover,
Eurostar has updated to pour down, but rate and create
its app to let you buy provides a 12-day watchlists of films,
tickets for even more forecast including has been updated to
destinations, including actual and ‘feels like’ support two-factor
Antwerp, Cologne temperatures; wind authentication (though
and Düsseldorf. The speed and direction; not passkeys – see
booking system has sunrise and sunset page 50). Letterboxd
been streamlined and times; and much has also added the
the app offers useful more. Its friendly option to sort films by
features such as a design makes even ‘Your Interests’ – based
lowest-fare finder the wettest, gloomiest on the titles you’ve
and an AI chatbot. days look cheerful. previously ‘liked’.

*Contains in-app purchases

44 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670


the Settings cog and choose ‘Screen lock’
– press the player and select ‘Tap to
unlock’ when done.
All these new features, as well as the
‘Stable volume’ audio-balancing option
we (prematurely) mentioned in Issue 663
(page 45) are rolling out to the YouTube
app now, but they may take a while to
reach every phone and tablet.
ANDROID & iOS
Read transcripts of podcasts
in Spotify
Although the whole point of
podcasts is that you listen to –
rather than read – their content, it’s
useful to have a written record of what’s
being said. This means you won’t miss
important details and can enjoy a show
without using your headphones and
turning the volume up, such as while
you’re travelling.
To address this
need, Spotify has
introduced
transcripts for its
popular Podcasts
feature, enabling
you to read along
with episodes as
they play. The
transcripts are
auto-generated,
so there may be
the occasional
mistake, and
time-synced
– with words
highlighted in white as they’re spoken.
To view the transcript for a podcast,
simply scroll down on the Now Playing
screen in the Spotify app and tap the
arrows in the top-right corner of the
‘Read along’ card (see screenshot above)
to see the full text. The feature is available
to all Free and Premium users, but is
rolling out gradually and isn’t available for
all podcasts, so you might not see it yet.
iOS
Protect your eyes using
Screen Distance
One of the most interesting new
features in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17
helps protect your eyesight by warning
you not to hold your device too close to
your face. It’s called Screen Distance and
is intended to “reduce eye strain and the
risk of myopia in children”, but is useful
for iPhone and iPad users of all ages.
Screen Distance works by using the
Brilliant things to do on your device
TrueDepth front camera on
your device to detect when
you hold your iPhone or
iPad nearer than 12in (30cm)
from your face for extended and select Screen Time.
periods. It displays a Tap ‘Screen Distance’
notification stating ‘iPhone/ under Limit Usage (see
iPad is Too Close’, and screenshot left) then
suggests you hold it at arm’s choose Continue for an
length to protect your eyes. explanation of how the
Once you do so, a tick will feature works. Screen
appear on screen, so you can Distance will now be
resume your activities. enabled on your device
To activate Screen – you can turn it off again
Distance, open the Settings if you find its warnings
app on your iPhone or iPad annoying.
BEST APPS FOR... Cutting your monthly costs
MoneySavingExpert
Free
Android www.snipca.com/48027
iOS www.snipca.com/48028
The MSE app lets you browse all the
money-saving news and articles from Martin
Lewis’ website, including the weekly email.
It also includes tools such as Bill Buster –
which alerts you when cheaper mobile and
broadband deals are available; eligibility
calculators for credit cards and loans; and an
AI-powered chatbot for quick queries.
Best For Money-saving advice
Snoop
Free*
Android www.snipca.com/48025
iOS www.snipca.com/48026
Following the closure of Money Dashboard
in October, Snoop is now the easiest way
to manage your finances on your phone.
Connect your bank account and credit
card(s), and the app will sort your spending
by category, create monthly budgets and
expense reports, and recommend deals to
save you money on bills and subscriptions.
Best For Tracking your spending
Trolley.co.uk
Free
Android www.snipca.com/48029
iOS www.snipca.com/48030
Trolley.co.uk lets you compare the cost of
groceries and household items at supermarkets
and high-street stores, so you can see the
cheapest places to buy them. It recently
added Amazon and eBay to its results, to help
you find bargains online, and also lets you
create shopping lists and get price-drop alerts.
Best For Slashing your shopping bills
*Contains in-app purchases
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 45
 Make Windows Better
WINDOWS 10 & 11
Install apps from the new
Microsoft Store website
Microsoft has redesigned
the website for its Store
(www.snipca.com/47945)
to add a ‘carousel’ of apps, games and
film and TV content along the top ( 1 in
our screenshot below). It aims to make
this an easier way to browse what you
want. Click the arrows at either side to
move through them.
Each section has its own headings
under the carousel. In the Apps section 2
you’ll find the ‘Top free apps’ of the
moment 3 , which included iTunes,
Spotify and WhatsApp when we visited.
Scroll down and you’ll find sections such
as Essential apps, Creativity apps and
‘New & trending’ apps.
1
2
WINDOWS 11
Automatically create videos
from photos and music
Microsoft’s Moment 4 update
for Windows 11, released in
September, introduced an ‘auto
compose’ feature in the Clipchamp video
editor. This uses AI to help you create a
montage or slideshow based on images
and videos that you upload. You can also
upload music, or let Clipchamp choose a
soundtrack.
Search for and open Clipchamp, then
click ‘Create a video with AI’ on the home
screen. Now give your video a title, then
add music, photos and videos by dragging
and dropping the relevant files from File
Explorer. Click ‘Get started’ and Clipchamp
1
3
2
46 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Expert tips for every version
WINDOWS 10 & 11
Create shortcut to find your
mouse cursor
PowerToys users have
long been able to press
the left Ctrl button twice
to activate Find My Mouse. This darkens
the screen except for an area around
the mouse cursor ( 1 in our screenshot).
In version 0.74 Microsoft has added the
option to use the right Ctrl button.
Open PowerToys, then click ‘Mouse
utilities’ on the left. Next, click Open
2
will then prompt you to choose from
video styles (such as playful, bold and
elegant). These change the colours and
music. You can also choose between
landscape or portrait.
Once you’ve uploaded your files, click
the Play icon to preview the video, and
‘Create a new version’ ( 1 in our screenshot
below) if you want Clipchamp to generate
a new one. Click ‘Edit in timeline’ 2 to
make changes in the Clipchamp editor, or
Export 3 to save the video.
Settings, then select the ‘Activation
method’ dropdown menu and choose
‘Press Right Control twice’ 2 .
You can also now create your own
shortcut. Click the pencil icon 3 in
the ‘Activation shortcut’ section and
choose your combination by pressing
the keys on your keyboard. This can be
any combination, as long as it begins
with Win, Ctrl, Alt or Shift.
1 3
WINDOWS 11
Open volume mixer with
new shortcut
Also new in the Moment 4 update
is a keyboard shortcut (Windows
key+Ctrl+V) to open a new box
for tweaking your audio options. You can
change the Output Device – we’re using
Realtek speakers ( 1 in our screenshot
below) – and activate ‘Spatial sound’
technology, which is ‘Windows Sonic for
Headphones’ 2 . At the bottom is the
volume mixer, letting you change the
volume for individual programs 3 and
Windows tools.
1
2
Make Office Better Top tips for the best office programs

MICROSOFT WORD

Add PowerPoint slides to your document

Adding slides from your PowerPoint presentation
into Word documents is useful if you want to create
handouts to accompany a slideshow. You could take
screenshots of your slides, but it’s much smarter to copy and 5 1
paste slides as objects because any changes you make to your
presentation will be mirrored in Word. 3
In PowerPoint, right-click the slide you want to copy across 2
in the left-hand pane ( 1 in our screenshot) and click Copy.
Now open Word and click the Home tab on the toolbar. Click
the dropdown arrow under Paste 2 , and select ‘Paste Special’.
4
In the window that opens select ‘Paste link:’ 3 then choose
Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Object 4 . Click OK. The slide will appear in your document as an object 5 .

MICROSOFT EXCEL Writer will list any issues that it has

Import tables from websites
Copying and pasting tables from
a web page into spreadsheets
can be fiddly because it often
causes errors in formatting. To avoid
these, use Excel’s ‘Get & Transform’
tool, which is an easier way to extract
and import data from the internet. It’s
built into Excel 2016 and later, while in
2010 and 2013 you’ll need to install a
Microsoft add-in (see www.snipca.
com/47908 for details).
First, click the Data tab in the toolbar,
then From Web on the left ( 1 in our
screenshot below). Enter your URL into
the text field, and click OK. In our example,
we’re importing the final 2022/23 Premier
League table from Wikipedia (www.
snipca.com/47901).
In the next window, named ‘Access
Web content’, we clicked Connect.
Then, in the final Navigator window, we
chose the ‘League table’ option in the left
pane 2 , which made the preview appear
on the right 3 . We clicked Load at the
bottom and Excel imported the table
into our spreadsheet 4 .
1
2 encountered. In our example, there are
3
1
LIBREOFFICE WRITER
Open ‘Accessibility Check’
from the sidebar
LibreOffice Writer includes an
Accessibility Check tool that scans
your document and flags up
issues that may cause problems to readers
with disabilities – especially those who
use screen-reader software – such as
images not containing alt text.
Version 7.6 of LibreOffice Writer has
added Accessibility Check to the sidebar,
giving you another way of opening it. It
also remains as an option when clicking
Tools on the top toolbar.
Click View in the top toolbar, then
Sidebar – or press Ctrl+F5. Next, click the
Accessibility Check icon ( 1 in our
screenshot above) in the sidebar. In a
pane to the left of the sidebar, LibreOffice
two issues including the fact the
‘Document title is not set’. We clicked
Fix 2 and the Name box opened 3 ,
prompting us to enter a title.
ONLYOFFICE
See page breaks
in your spreadsheet
When you print a spreadsheet,
your pages will be divided based
on paper size, scaling and other
factors, but this might not be to your
liking. To check this, open a page-break
preview in OnlyOffice (new in version
7.4), showing how your pages will be
divided when printed. You can then use
this information to adjust the layout of
your sheet so the printed pages look neater.
Click the View tab on the toolbar, then
the Page Break Preview button ( 1 in
our screenshot below). Blue dotted lines
will then separate the printable pages,
which are labelled Page 1, Page 2, and so
on. The grey spaces 2 are areas that won’t
be printed. Change the layout of your
spreadsheet by clicking the Layout tab on
the toolbar and adjusting the page
orientation, document size, print area
and scaling. To exit Page Break Preview,
click the View tab, then select Normal 3 .

4
1
3 3
2
2

Issue 670 • 25 October – 7 November 2023 47

 In The Club
Run a club or society? Here's how your tech can make it easier
Create a simple budget tracker
T here are plenty of financial programs
that can help you track your club’s
expenses, but many are overkill if you
just need something simple. That’s where
Notion can help. It’s a collaborative
workspace that you can use to capture
your thoughts, manage a team or even
run a small business.
It has lots of templates, including travel
planners, journals, CVs and to-do lists,
but here we’ll focus on the Simple Budget
option. Templates make it easy to get
started, but if you’d rather make your
own Notion document from scratch,
click ‘Create new page’ and start typing.
Create an account
and edit the template
Before you can start, you’ll need a free
Notion account, so visit www.notion.so
and click the top-right ‘Get Notion free’
button. If you have a Google account, you
can sign in using your email address.
Once you’ve logged in, select Templates
in the left panel. The screen will show
various template options, with Work in
the top-left dropdown menu. Change this
to Personal, then scroll down through the
sidebar on the left to find the Personal
Finance section and select Simple Budget.
Click the blue ‘Get template’ button at the
bottom right to activate it.
Notion will create a simple budget table
for you. It will include a few example
entries, such as Groceries, Books and
Movies, but you can edit these. At the top
You can add your own column names and categories to the template
48 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Select ‘Pound’ so your table uses
UK pounds rather than US dollars 1
is the monthly budget amount
( 1 in our screenshot below
left). It’s in dollars, but you
can change this to UK pounds
by clicking to edit it and
typing £.
You’ll see that Notion has
already created columns for
Expense, Amount, Category
and Date 2 . You can rename
these by clicking the heading
and typing what you want.
The Category column offers 2
three default options that
you can apply to each entry:
Home, Food or Entertainment 3 . You can Now you can use your template to
edit them by clicking the three dots to the track your spending. But what happens
right of each option, or create a new when you reach the end of a month?
category by typing it into the box above. We’d recommend duplicating your page
The ability to filter by category lets you so you keep each month’s expenses
see how much you’ve spent in each one. separate. To do this, hover your cursor
Click the Category heading followed by over the Simple Budget entry in the
Filter, then select a category. sidebar, then click the three dots and
choose Duplicate (see screenshot below).
Create a new table If your club members also join Notion,
for each new month you can give them access to your
Next, change the budget table’s currency workspace and let them add their
from dollars to pounds by clicking the ‘# own expenses. Click the ‘Create a
Amount’ column heading ( 1 in our teamspace’ option in the Notion sidebar,
screenshot above right) and selecting then select ‘Add members’ and enter a
‘Edit property’. Change the ‘Number member’s username or email address
format’ to Pound 2 and you’re done. to invite them.
Select ‘Duplicate’ to create a new budget table for each new month
Next issue: Create a WhatsApp channel for your club
What’s All the
Fuss About...
YouTube Primetime Channels
Welcome to a new way of streaming TV without friction and flicking
What is it?
A service, now available in the UK, that
lets you subscribe to TV-streaming
channels from within YouTube. It’s
similar to how Amazon Prime Video and
Apple TV work. When you sign up to
them, you’re given the option to
subscribe to other channels, including
BFI Player, BritBox, Discovery, MGM and
Paramount Plus. It means you pay twice:
once to Amazon and Apple, and again to
MGM, Paramount or whoever. YouTube
has a big advantage, though.

What’s that?
It’s free. Or more specifically, you don’t
have to subscribe to YouTube first, before
choosing a Primetime channel. You still
need to pay to subscribe to a service from
within it, but overall you’ll spend less
than through Prime Video or Apple TV.
And you can watch on up to three
different devices.
Which channels are available?
Only five for the moment. The most
popular is likely to be Paramount Plus
(£6.99 a month), which has thousands of
TV shows and films, including the new
series of Frasier, all the Mission:
Impossible movies and every instalment
from the Star Trek franchise (pictured
below). Lionsgate+ (£5.99) is a similar
mix of TV and movies, though with fewer
big titles, while there are two Play
channels – History and Crime &
Investigation (£3.99 each). Last and
probably least is Hayu (£4.99), home to
“endless reality TV” such as The Real
Stream me up, Scotty! Watch every Star
Trek episode and film on Paramount Plus via
YouTube Primetime Channels
Housewives of Beverly Hills and The
Only Way is Essex. All five have a free
seven-day trial.
Will more channels come later?
Hopefully. There are dozens more
channels available on US Primetime,
including CNN, Disney+, HBO Max and
National Geographic, so some should
make it to the UK version soon.
How do I subscribe?
Either through the YouTube app on your
phone, smart TV or streaming box (see
www.snipca.com/48010 for instructions),
or by visiting www.snipca.com/48014 in
your browser then clicking one of the
channel logos (see screenshot above).
So the channels are all
available from one place?
Yes, which is another benefit YouTube is
very keen to shout about. You currently
suffer too much ‘friction’ apparently.
Do I? In what way?
By having to switch between countless
apps to find what you want to watch.
Richard Lewis, director of partnerships at
YouTube UK, said this tedious flicking
“disrupts and adds friction to the user
experience”. It’s not like the old days
when you could sit down and turn on
BBC1 and ITV for the whole evening.
YouTube already knows that many of its
viewers discover TV shows by watching
recommendations. However, currently if
a show you’re interested in is available on
a paid-for service, you have to leave
YouTube to watch it. YouTube’s intention
is to keep you within the site.
But hasn’t YouTube’s success
been down to short videos,
not TV shows?
Undoubtedly. Analysis shows that most
viewers tend to watch for between seven
and 15 minutes. More than 1.5 billion
people now subscribe to YouTube Shorts,
where videos can’t be longer than 60
seconds. But the Primetime channels
aren’t competing with YouTube. They’re
offering something closer to traditional
TV, and every time you subscribe
YouTube takes a cut.
Will the adverts be as annoying
as they are on YouTube?
Probably not. The channels will decide
what form they take, not YouTube, so
they’re unlikely to infuriate you by
appearing without warning in the middle
of a video. That’s a bigger source of
friction YouTube should deal with.

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 49

 COVER FEATURE
Header small
STOP USING
PASSWORDS
Passwords are a hassle to
remember and enter, and
offer only weak protection
for your online accounts.
Robert Irvine explains
why you should now
switch to passkeys
W
hether you store them in your
browser, on Post-it notes or in
your head, passwords are a
necessary evil for protecting
your online accounts. The trouble is that
they don’t perform that job very well, and
can prove more frustrating than reassuring.
We’ve all received alarming emails
urging us to change our passwords
WHAT YOU CAN DO
• Sign into websites and apps without
typing a thing
• Unlock your online accounts with your
finger or face
• Avoid fiddly two-factor authentication
methods
• Protect your personal data against
50 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
immediately after they’ve been
compromised in a data breach; been
locked out of accounts when we couldn’t
remember the password; or had to
conjure up convoluted logins containing
upper- and lower-case letters, numbers
and special characters.
The introduction of two-factor
authentication (2FA) gave our accounts
phishing scams and keyloggers
•S
 top your login details being sold on
the dark web
•D
 iscover which companies now
support passkeys
•L
 og into accounts using a USB
security key
a second layer of security, but because
2FA methods are used in addition to
passwords, and usually involve waiting
for verification codes to arrive, they make
signing into websites even more tiresome.
Thankfully, there is now a reliable
solution to the password problem in the
form of passkeys. These represent a huge
step forward for online security because
they’re safer, faster and more convenient
than passwords – with no need to type or
remember anything.
As with any new technology, there’s
still a lot of confusion and uncertainty
about passkeys, so in this feature we
explain how they work, how to use
them and which websites, apps and
services currently support them.
Once you switch to passkeys, you’ll
wonder why any of us ever bothered
with passwords.

WHY YOU SHOULD DITCH PASSWORDS FOR PASSKEYS
What are passkeys?
Passkey technology is a new means of
securing your accounts with websites,
apps and online services without using a
password. It shares some similarities
with two-factor authentication, which
usually requires you to enter a
verification code to sign into accounts,
but is easier to use and saves you needing
to remember or type any login details.
Instead, passkeys let you log into
sites and apps the same way that you
unlock your PC or phone, such as using
your fingerprint, face or a screen-lock
PIN. Because this data is stored on your
device rather than with the respective
service, passkeys are much more secure
than passwords, as well as more
convenient.
Precisely how are passkeys
more secure?
Although traditional passwords are
concealed on your screen behind
asterisks or bullet points, you still need to
type and submit them using plain text.
When you create an online account, the
website or apps encrypts this text and
saves the result as a ‘hash’. Every time
you sign into the site or app, it compares
the stored hash with the password you
enter, and only grants you access if the
two match.
The danger is that if hashes are
compromised in a data breach, hackers
will be able to decrypt – or ‘crack’ – them
and use the extracted passwords to gain
access to users’ accounts. Online services
should ideally ‘salt’ their hashes, which
means adding random data to passwords
before they’re encrypted to make them
more difficult to crack. But this salting
STOP USING
PASSWORDS
often doesn’t happen, and unsalted
password hashes that have been stolen in
breaches end up being sold on the dark web.
In contrast, passkeys use a type of
end-to-end encryption called public key
cryptography. Each passkey consists of a
pair of keys – a public key and a private
key – that are linked to one another. Your
public key is stored by the website or app
when you create a new account, while
your private key remains on your device
and is never shared. To sign in, your
device sends a request to the site or app,
which then returns a challenge that can
only be solved with the corresponding
private key.
Because passkeys are bound to specific
websites and apps, they safeguard you
against phishing scams that trick you into
entering your login details on fake sites
and apps. Only the public key is stored by
the online service, but this is useless to a
hacker unless they also have your private
key. It may sound complicated, but it all
happens automatically – and instantly –
when you use your passkey method.
Many big tech
companies now
support passkeys
as part of the
FIDO Alliance
Passkeys let you
use your phone’s
fingerprint scanner to
unlock your accounts
What are the main
passkey methods?
The most common passkey methods are
biometric, such as fingerprint and face
scans. You may already use one of these
options to unlock mobile apps that
contain sensitive information, like the
NHS app or your banking app.
Passkeys work across different devices
and operating systems, which means
you can sign into websites on your
Windows PC from your Android phone or
iPhone, either by using your biometric
method or screen-lock code or by
scanning a QR code. Your account is
authenticated over Bluetooth rather than
less-secure Wi-Fi, which means there’s
little chance of your data being
intercepted by hackers.
Passkeys are also available in physical
form on USB security keys such as
YubiKeys. We take a closer look at these
on page 57, but it’s important to note that
not all security keys support passkeys
– only those that use the FIDO2
authentication standard.
What is FIDO2?
FIDO stands for Fast Identity
Authentication (FIDO2 is the second
generation of the technology), and was
developed by the FIDO Alliance (www.
snipca.com/47941) to “solve the world’s
password problem”. All passkeys are
based on FIDO standards, which allows
them to work seamlessly and securely
across your devices, and to be used by
any FIDO-certified company.
As we explain over the following pages,
members of the FIDO Alliance now
include Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft,
PayPal and many more – see www.
snipca.com/47943 for the full list
(pictured left).
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 51
 SIGN IN WITH PASSKEYS ON YOUR PHONE & PC
iPhone and iPad
Apple introduced support for
passkeys in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16
last year, and refined the feature
with the release of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17
in September. They work on all iPhones
and iPads that run those operating
systems, and are stored in your iCloud
Keychain, so you can access your
passkeys on all devices you’re signed into
with your Apple ID.
To use passkeys on your iPhone or iPad,
you first need to turn on two-factor
authentication. Although passkeys are an
alternative to traditional 2FA, they still
require you to set up your device as
‘trusted’. Open the Settings app, tap
your name and choose ‘Sign-In &
Security’. Select ‘Turn On Two-Factor
Authentication’, then tap Continue and
follow the instructions to add your
iPhone or iPad as a trusted device.
You also need to activate iCloud
Keychain to sync your passkeys across Turn on iCloud Keychain to use passkeys on Skip the QR code to apply passkeys
devices – and ensure you can use them your iPhone or iPad automatically from your Android phone
should you lose your iPhone or iPad. Tap
your name in the Settings app, select username field on the sign-in screen, and You can now
iCloud then ‘Passwords and Keychain’ use your passkey method to confirm your use passkeys
to sign into
(see screenshot above right) and turn on identity. All the passkeys you create are your Google
iCloud Keychain (you may need to sign in stored in the Passwords section of your account on
with your Apple ID). iOS device’s Settings app. any device
You can now create and save passkeys To use your saved passkeys to sign in on
for any websites and apps that support a device that isn’t associated with your
them. As we’ll explain later, the steps Apple ID, such as a Windows PC, enter
vary between services but you should your username on the sign-in screen and
find the option to set up a passkey in your select ‘Other options’, ‘Passkey from
account settings. This will use your nearby device’ or similar. Follow the
default method for unlocking your onscreen instructions to display a QR
iPhone or iPad, such as Touch ID, Face ID code, and scan it with the camera on
(see screenshot below) or a passcode, so your iPhone or iPad. The passkey saved in
you can sign into the site or app without your iCloud Keychain will complete the
entering your password. Simply tap the login process. You can create passkeys on
non-Apple devices in the same way.

Passkeys let you use Touch ID or Face ID to
sign into accounts
Android phone and tablet
Android 14, which began rolling
out on 14 October, brings
improved support for passkeys by
allowing more apps, such as third-party
password managers, to create and store
them. But as with previous versions of
the mobile operating system, it will be
several months before most Android
users receive the update, with only
Google’s Pixel phones getting version 14
at the time of writing.
In the meantime, you can access
passkeys on your Android phone or tablet
through Chrome, and also use them to
sign into your Google account(s)
(provided you have screen lock enabled
on your device).
When you visit a passkey-supporting
website in Chrome, and enter your
username or email address, you’ll see the
option to ‘Create a passkey’. Tap this then
use your preferred screen-lock method
– Fingerprint, Face Unlock, PIN or Pattern
– to secure your account.
Passkeys are automatically saved to
Google Password Manager in Chrome and
synced across other devices on which
you’re signed into the browser. This
enables you to use your phone or tablet to
log into sites on your desktop PC by
scanning a QR code with your camera.

52 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670


Share your passkeys with other people
Apple offers the useful ability to securely
share your passkeys with other people.
This allows you to grant trusted friends
and family members access to your accounts
with specific websites and apps, without
needing to send them the password.
The sharing is performed using AirDrop,
so both you and the recipient must have
that feature enabled on your iPhone or
iPad. Open the Control Centre by swiping
up from the bottom edge (on an iPhone)
or down from the top-right corner
(on an iPad) of the screen and ensure
AirDrop is activated, along with Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth (which it uses to transfer data).
Additionally, the person you’re sharing
your passkey with must be listed in your
Choose to skip the QR code next time
(see screenshot above left) and you’ll be
able to apply your passkey simply by
tapping a notification.
You should see the option to ‘Simplify
your sign-in’ with a passkey when you
next log into your Google account. If not,
go to www.snipca.com/47952 in any
browser (desktop or mobile), select ‘Get
passkeys’ and sign into your Google
account. Choose ‘Continue’, confirm your
passkey security method and select ‘Use
passkeys’ (see screenshot left). You can
now sign into your Google account
without a password – a ‘Skip password
when possible’ option will be turned on
in your account settings.
Windows PC and laptop
Microsoft officially added passkeys
to Windows 11 with the release of
the Moment 4 update in September.
You’ll find the new option by opening the
Settings app and selecting Accounts then
scrolling down to ‘Passkeys settings’ at the
bottom of the ‘Account settings’ section.
However, Windows 10 users needn’t feel
left out because the passkeys feature is
effectively an extension of Windows Hello,
which offers password-free sign-in on both
operating systems using your fingerprint,
face, a PIN or a physical security key. The
big difference is that Windows 11 lets you
create and autofill passkeys for supported
websites and apps (see screenshot above
right), so they can be applied with a
single click, whereas Windows Hello in
Windows 10 is primarily used to sign into
your PC and Microsoft account.
When you register with or sign into a
STOP USING
PASSWORDS
Contacts with the email address they use for
iCloud, and vice versa.
To send the passkey, open the Settings
app, tap Passwords and choose the account
you want to share. Press the Share button
and select the device or name of the person
you want to send the passkey to. When they
receive your AirDrop request, they can tap
Accept to use the passkey to sign into the
relevant account.
You can also create a group of trusted
contacts to share specific passkeys between
your iOS devices (see screenshot). Passkey-
sharing isn’t yet available in Android or
Windows, but it’s possible it could be added
in the future, and some password managers
now offer the feature.
Windows 11 has a new passkeys manager for saving password-free logins
site or open an app that supports
passkeys, Windows 11 will give you the Quickly test how
option to save a passkey using your
default Hello method – remember that
passkeys work
you’ll need a fingerprint reader or Over the next few pages, we’ll reveal
compatible webcam (see www.snipca. which programs, apps and websites
com/48032) to sign with your finger or now support passkeys, but for a quick
face. You can also select ‘Use another demonstration of how they work you
device’ to save the passkey to your iPhone can visit Passkeys.io (www.passkeys.io).
or iPad by scanning a QR code, or to a Enter your email address, click Continue
linked Android phone or tablet. Choose and follow the prompts to create an
‘Sign in with a passkey’ account with the demo site and a
to access the site or app. corresponding passkey. If you’re using
In Windows 10, you can still sign into Chrome, you’ll be able to save the
websites with passkeys using the options passkey to Google Password Manager,
provided by your mobile device, as so you can autofill it by clicking the
explained on page 52, but you won’t be email-input field. In other browsers, click
able to manage them on your PC through ‘Sign in with a passkey’ and choose one
Windows Hello. You can, however, store of the other options, such as using your
passkeys on a USB security key – see page phone, Windows Hello or a security key.
57 for the best options.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 53
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SOFTWARE & SERVICES THAT SUPPORT PASSKEYS
Web browsers
As we explained on page 52, Chrome now
lets you use passkeys in both its desktop
version and mobile app, and it’s likely
that other browsers will follow suit. Edge
also offers the feature – when you visit a
site that supports passkeys, click the ‘Sign
in with a passkey’ option (see screenshot
right), or similar, and choose to sign in
with your phone, Windows Hello or a
security key.
If you’re using Windows 11, you can
save your passkeys in Windows Hello (see
page 53) and autofill them on websites.
The option to ‘Autofill passwords and
passkeys’ directly in Edge was recently
spotted in the developer build of the
browser (see www.snipca.com/47960),
so should be coming to the stable version
soon (hopefully for both Windows 10
and 11).
Firefox doesn’t yet fully support
passkeys, but it does let you sign into
websites using USB security keys. You’ll
see that option when you try to use a
passkey on a supported site. As Brave and
Vivaldi are based on the same Chromium
code as Chrome and Edge, they also let
you use passkeys from your phone,
Windows Hello or a security key.
Password managers
Because passkeys are intended to replace
passwords, some of the most popular
password managers have adopted an ‘if
you can’t beat them, join them’ approach.
NordPass Password Manager, from the
company behind NordVPN, was one of
the first tools to add support for passkeys,
back in March (www.snipca.com/47966).
This lets you easily create, sync and
manage password-free logins across all
your devices and operating systems,
through the NordPass web vault, desktop
app (see screenshot below), Chrome
and Firefox extensions, and iOS app –
passkeys are also available in the Android
The free version of NordPass lets you manage passkeys new option provides more ways
as well as passwords
STOP USING
PASSWORDS
Edge lets you sign
into sites using
passkeys – and
will soon autofill
them
app, but only in Android 14 (see page 52
to find out why). Passkeys are included in
the free version of NordPass, but if you
want to share them with other people
you need a paid subscription, which costs
from £1.19 a month.
Rival password manager Dashlane
integrated passkeys even earlier, and even
lets you log into your account using a
biometric method or code (www.snipca.
com/47972), rather than a traditional
‘master password’. However, it recently
changed its free plan to limit you to 25 1
logins – to store unlimited passwords and
passkeys, you need to upgrade to Premium
for £3 a month.
1Password, which also costs £3 a month
after a 14-day free trial, introduced
support for passkeys in September (www.
snipca.com/47965). The service usefully
highlights saved logins you can convert to
passkeys, and provides a regularly 2
updated directory of passkey-compatible
services (www.snipca.com/47967).
Other password managers planning to
add passkey support by the end of the WhatsApp now lets you sign into its Android
year include Computeractive favourite app using a passkey
Bitwarden (www.snipca.com/47968) and
LastPass (www.snipca.com/47969). Tap your profile picture in WhatsApp
and select Account then Passkeys (if you
Messaging and social apps can’t see this, the update hasn’t rolled out
Perhaps the most exciting recent to your Android phone yet). Press ‘Create
addition to passkey-supporting a passkey’ ( 1 in our screenshot above)
services is WhatsApp, albeit only and WhatsApp will assign the passkey to
in the Android version at the your phone number 2 and save it to your
moment (see announcement at Google account.
www.snipca.com/47976). The Tap ‘Continue’ and use your preferred
messaging app already lets you screen-lock method (fingerprint, face
lock your chats using your or PIN) to create the passkey. Choose
fingerprint, by going into Settings ‘Revoke’ to delete it and stick with your
and choosing Privacy then previous sign-in method.
Fingerprint Lock. However, the Surprisingly, considering that
WhatsApp’s owner Meta is a board-level
to sign in securely. member of the FIDO Alliance (see page
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 55
 51), passkey support has yet to be added
to Meta’s other apps such as Facebook
and Instagram. However, you can protect
your Facebook account with a security
key that lets you log in without a
password on your PC, phone or tablet
– see www.snipca.com/47974 for details.
The only other major social-media app
you can sign into with a passkey is TikTok
for iOS, though the feature will soon be
coming to LinkedIn and X (formerly
Twitter) – see www.snipca.com/47977.
Online stores and services
Traditional passwords have always been a
weak way to protect your accounts with
online stores. Once a hacker gets hold of
your password, they can instantly access
your personal and payment information,
and make purchases in your name. So
we’re pleased that some of the biggest
web retailers have implemented passkeys
as a much stronger and less fiddly
security measure than 2FA.
In October, Amazon quietly introduced
passkey support on its website – but not
in its Android or iOS apps. To activate
the feature, go to the Your Account page
(www.snipca.com/47982), click ‘Login &
Security’ and sign into your account
(with your usual password). Click the
‘Set up’ button next to the new Passkey
option, then ‘Set up’ again (see screenshot
above right) and choose your passkey
device – phone, tablet, Windows Hello or
security key.
You’ll receive a notification to apply the
passkey method you want to secure your
Amazon account with. This will create
and save your passkey, so you can sign
into Amazon without a password. Note
that if you already have ‘2-step verification’
set up, you’ll need to enter a code after
using your passkey. This rather defeats
the object and has led one passkey expert
to criticise Amazon’s “poor implementation”
(www.snipca.com/47983).
Passkeys are also available for eBay –
you may be prompted to turn on the
option when you next sign in (see
eBay is prompting users to turn on passkeys
for their accounts
56 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
screenshot below left). If not, go into your
eBay account settings (www.snipca.
com/47984) and click ‘Sign-in and
security’. Click ‘Turn on’ next to Passkeys
and follow the instructions to set up your
passkey. If you don’t see the Passkeys
option, choose ‘Turn on’ next to ‘Face/
fingerprint/PIN sign in’ or ‘Security key
sign in’, depending on your preference.
As with Amazon, passkeys are currently
only available on the eBay website, not in
its mobile app.
The opposite is true of Uber, which
now lets you order everything from
taxis and train tickets to takeaways and
groceries. This only supports passkeys in
its mobile app (www.snipca.com/47985)
– tap Account then ‘Manage Uber account’
and press the Security tab. Select
‘Passkeys’ then ‘Create a passkey’ to use
your face, finger or PIN to log into Uber
on your phone.
Similarly, you can use passkeys to
access your PayPal account, but only in
Chrome for Android or Safari for iOS
– not your desktop browser. When you
sign into PayPal in either mobile browser,
you should see the option to ‘Create a
passkey’ – see www.snipca.com/47987
for more information.
Other tech companies
Many big tech companies have already
embraced passkeys, and many others are
FIDO Alliance members so are likely to
introduce the feature soon.
We’ve already mentioned that
Microsoft has added a passkey manager
to Windows 11, and it also lets you use a
passkey to access its online tools, such as
Outlook, OneDrive and Microsoft 365 apps.
To create your passkey, go to the
Security section of your account (www.
snipca.com/47991) and click ‘Add a new
way to sign in or verify’. Select ‘Use your
Create a passkey
to sign into
your Amazon
account without a
password
You can sign into your online Microsoft
account using a passkey
Windows PC’ (see screenshot above) or
‘Use a security key’ and follow the
instructions. When you visit Microsoft’s
‘Sign in’ page (www.snipca.com/47990),
click the ‘Sign-in options’ button and
choose to sign in with Windows Hello or
a security key.
Adobe added passkey support for
online accounts earlier this year – go to
www.snipca.com/47993 and click Add
next to Passkeys to set this up. And Virgin
Media customers can now sign into their
accounts with their face or fingerprint,
though the company calls the feature
Device Authentication rather than
Passkeys (see www.snipca.com/47994).
Other participating tech companies
include Nvidia (click ‘Login with Security
Device’ at www.snipca.com/47995),
online office suite Zoho (see www.snipca.
com/47996) and Yahoo (www.snipca.
com/47997), though its passkeys aren’t
yet available to all users.

SIGN IN WITH A USB SECURITY KEY
We’ve mentioned USB security keys
throughout this feature, so you may be
wondering which one you should buy. We
recommend using a key and another
passkey method, so you’ll still be able to
access your accounts if you lose your device.
Provided the key is FIDO-certified, it
will work with all websites and apps that
support passkeys, as well as those that
only support security keys (such as
Facebook), but there are significant
differences between the devices. Here’s
our pick of the bunch.
BEST ALL-ROUND KEY
YubiKey 5 NFC
£55 from www.snipca.com/48000
Made by Yubico, the co-developer of the
FIDO authentication standard, the tiny
YubiKey 5 NFC (below) fits comfortably
on your keyring, so you can access your
accounts securely wherever
you go.
Simply plug it
into the USB-A port
on a PC or tap it on an
NFC-enabled phone or
tablet to sign in. It’s
compatible with services
including Google, Microsoft,
Facebook, Dropbox, 1Password
and many more, and is waterproof
and crush-resistant. A USB-C version
– the YubiKey 5C NFC – is available for £60
(www.snipca.com/48001), and Yubico
has lots of other keys in its range (see
www.snipca.com/48013).
BEST BUDGET KEY
Thetis Fido U2F Security Key
£19 from www.snipca.com/48003
This impressively cheap security key
(right) has a compact folding design
with a rotating aluminium
casing that protects its
connector against
drops, bumps and
scratches. It
supports FIDO’s
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STOP USING
PASSWORDS
When will passkeys replace passwords?
Passkeys are undoubtedly the future
of logins, and hopefully this feature will
have convinced you to try them. However,
we still have some way to go before
passwords become obsolete, and many
tech companies – even members of the
FIDO Alliance – have yet to introduce full
passkey support.
Google’s recent switch to passkeys is a
major step towards mainstream adoption,
as is Microsoft’s new passkey manager
in Windows 11, but it’s likely we’ll continue
to hang on to traditional passwords for
another few years.
Early data suggests that people are
U2F (Universal 2nd Factor) standard
rather than the older UAF (Universal
Authentication Framework) and OTP
(One Time Passcode) protocols, but still
works with a wide variety of services.
This model is Bluetooth-enabled, but
others in the range aren’t, so ensure you
buy the right one if you want to sign into
accounts wirelessly.
BEST BIOMETRIC KEY
Kensington VeriMark
£59 from www.snipca.com/48006
Although it lacks NFC, which means
you need to connect it to a phone or
tablet with a USB cable, the Kensington
VeriMark Guard (below) has the
advantage over other security keys of a
built-in fingerprint reader. This gives you
two ways to sign into accounts on your
Windows PC, and ensures that nobody
finding it easy to switch to passkeys.
Research by Dashlane found that 92 per
cent of passkey-creation requests are
completed successfully, compared with
only 54 per cent of password-creation
requests (www.snipca.com/48008).
There are always reservations about
new technology, but the simplicity,
security and convenience of passkeys
give them a strong chance of succeeding.
Ultimately, it depends on website and
software developers making the transition
as easy as possible, and promoting
passkeys as the best alternative to
passwords.
but you can access your data.
Its tiny design (7x18x21mm) means
the key is best left plugged into your
computer so you don’t lose it, though
it does come with a protective cover
and tether.
BEST PASSWORD MANAGER
CryptoTrust OnlyKey
£70 from www.snipca.com/48007
The OnlyKey (left)
combines a security
key with a password
manager, complete with a
built-in keypad for typing
logins without them being
stolen by keyloggers.
It supports several
methods of
authentication,
including U2F and
OTP, and is itself protected
with a PIN so nobody can access your
accounts if it’s lost or stolen.
Extra features include encrypted
backup and self-destruct (which wipes
the device after 10 failed attempts to
unlock it). However, its user interface is
rather confusing.
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Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 57
 SHOULD YOU RUN...
WINDOWS 11
ON AN
OLD PC?
If your computer can’t upgrade to the
full edition of Windows 11, consider an
unofficial ‘lite’ edition instead. Daniel
Booth explains the pros and cons
What is Tiny11?
If you’ve been putting off upgrading to
Windows 11 because you fear your old
computer isn’t up to the job, consider
installing Tiny11 instead.
It’s an unofficial stripped-down version
of Windows 11 Pro – so you’ll need to be
running Windows 10 Pro to upgrade to it.
While the full version of the operating
system requires 4GB of RAM and 64GB of
hard-drive space, Tiny11 needs only 2GB
and 8GB respectively. One PC enthusiast
even managed to run it on just 200MB of
RAM (see www.snipca.com/48037).
Also, crucially, your computer doesn’t
need the security features TPM 2.0 or
Secure Boot. These are the strictest
specifications imposed by Microsoft on
PCs when upgrading to Windows 11, and
is the main reason why so many
machines have been unable to.
The reason Tiny11 needs less RAM
and storage is that it removes many
heavyweight apps, such as Edge and
OneDrive, as well as features it deems
unnecessary. Tools it does keep include
accessibility features like Narrator and
Magnifier, and smaller apps such as
Calculator and Notepad, plus Windows
Terminal and PowerShell. Additionally, it
keeps Windows Security, so you’re
protected in the usual way. It also has the
Microsoft Store, so you can install apps
from there, or download software from
the web as you wish.
There’s much to like about Tiny11, but
it most certainly won’t be right for
everyone. First, we’ll explain how to
60 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Click ‘ISO IMAGE’
on the right to
download Tiny11
from the Internet
Archive, or Torrent
if you want it
faster
1
2
download the program, then give you the update for Windows 11, though it’s actually
case for and against it. based on the 22H2 update released last
year. To download the 4.2GB file, click
Download Tiny11 ‘ISO IMAGE’ on the right ( 1 in our
You can either upgrade from Windows 10 screenshot above). The IA limits users’
Pro to Tiny11, or perform a clean install. bandwidth so the download might
We recommend trying the former method take a few hours. If you find this is too
first, though some users have reported slow, choose the Torrent option for
seeing error messages this way. If you get downloading instead 2 .
stuck, try a clean install instead. You’ll This version doesn’t require TPM 2.0
need an activation code for Windows 11 and Secure Boot. If your machine does
Pro, just like the normal Windows. You have these features but you’d still like to
can use a standard Windows 10/11 Pro run Tiny11, visit www.snipca.com/48038
product key to activate it. instead, then click ‘ISO IMAGE’ on the
The best place to download Tiny11 from
is the Internet Archive (IA). There are
plenty of other download links online,
but they’re mostly on sites where you run
the risk of clicking a download advert
instead. Visit www.snipca.com/48046
and if on the right you see ‘Log in to view
this item’, click it and sign in with your
Internet Archive account (if you don’t
have an IA account, sign up for one at
www.snipca.com/48043).
This link is for the latest version of
Tiny11. Confusingly, It’s called ‘23H2’, Click ‘tiny11 b2.iso’ if your computer does have
referring to Microsoft’s forthcoming 23H2 TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot
right and select ‘tiny11 b2.iso’ file (see
screenshot bottom of page 60) – it’s a
3.6GB file.
When Tiny11 downloads, you’ll need
to create a bootable USB stick (or CD)
for the ISO file. For USB sticks, we
recommend the software Rufus (www.
snipca.com/47012); for CDs try
WinCDEmu (www.snipca.com/47262).
Once you’ve placed the ISO file on
your stick or CD, you’ll have to set your
computer to boot from it. This requires
opening your machine’s BIOS or UEFI
when booting – check your manufacturer’s
manual or website for instructions.
When in the BIOS or UEFI, open the
‘Boot options’ (or similar) menu, then
select the USB stick or CD and press your
keyboard’s arrow keys to move it to the
top of the list. Press Enter and wait for
Windows to confirm the change.
You should next reach the ‘Windows
Setup’ screen. Select the language, time
format and keyboard method, then click
‘Next’. Accept Microsoft’s terms, click
Next, select the drive where you want to
install Tiny11, then click Next at the bottom.
Now complete the remaining steps
such as selecting the country and the
keyboard layout method, and setting up a
local account by entering a name and a
password. You can sign into your Microsoft
account later through Settings if you
want to. Follow a few more security steps
and the installation should start.
When it’s running, open Task Manager
to see confirmation that its RAM is a
Install Tiny11 then open Task Manager to see
confirmation that it’s only 2GB
OUR VERDICT: SHOULD YOU UPGRADE TO TINY11?
We’re going to assume that you’ve tried
and failed to install the full version of
Windows 11, but you’re still keen to try it,
and are prepared to bypass Microsoft’s
technical specifications.
If the Windows 10 computer you want
to upgrade is your main machine and
you’re happy with it, then you’ll naturally
be reluctant to risk running Tiny11. Only
do so if your enthusiasm for Windows 11
Open ‘This PC’ and you’ll see that Tiny11 takes
up a mere 8.07GB
petite 2GB (see screenshot below left). Then
search for and open Local Disk on your
machine, then right-click it and choose
Properties and you’ll see that Tiny11 takes
up around 8.07GB (see screenshot above).
The case for Tiny11
The most obvious benefit of Tiny11 is
that it should continue running
efficiently on older hardware over the
longer term, not merely the next year or
two. Nor does it come with many – often
unwanted – tools that Microsoft adds to
Windows 11, such as Edge and Teams.
You’ll notice the difference as soon as
you click the Start button. Only a few
apps will appear, including Notepad,
Microsoft Store, Calculator, File Explorer,
Photos and Settings – see screenshot
above right
By default, Tiny11 uses a local account,
rather than a Microsoft account, so your
activities are not so closely linked to your
profile (you can revert to a Microsoft
account if you prefer). If you’re not keen
to let Microsoft track what you do on
your PC, this could be a reason to switch
in itself – particularly as Microsoft is now
encouraging Microsoft Account login as
the standard option.
Tiny11 hasn’t come out of nowhere: it’s
a follow-on from Tiny10 for Windows 10
outstrips your caution. Bear in mind that if
you stick with Windows 10, you’ll need to
buy a new computer with Windows 11 (or
possibly 12) before October 2025, when
Microsoft plans to end support for 10.
But if the computer you want to upgrade
is a spare machine gathering dust, then what
have you got to lose? This is the attitude
many users have taken, and have reported
great success stories of reviving neglected
Tiny11’s Start menu removes many of
Windows 11’s built-in apps
(available to download from www.snipca.
com/48047), so has been in active
development for several years, and is
improving all the time.
The case against Tiny11
Some of Tiny11’s benefits are also
reasons to be cautious – chiefly, the fact
it’s an unofficial build of Windows. This
means it’s not supported by Microsoft,
so won’t update automatically and
there’s no guarantee that it will continue
working in the future.
You may be put off also by the
anonymity of Tiny11’s developer, known
only as NTDev. He describes himself
as “an electronics student who does
dumb things in their spare time” (www.
snipca.com/48040). This is knowingly
self-effacing: Tiny11 is an impressive
achievement, and has many positive
reviews online. What’s more, NTDev
has an excellent reputation among
software developers.
But there’s no doubt it’s an experimental
operating system that should be
downloaded with care. You won’t get any
support if anything goes wrong. Also,
remember that while Tiny11 is a free
download, you’ll still need a valid code to
activate Windows 11 Pro. Without this you
won’t be able to activate Tiny11.
PCs and laptops.
So, at the risk of sitting on the fence,
whether you should install Tiny11 depends
entirely on the status of the Windows 10
computer you want to upgrade. It might
help to watch NTDev’s YouTube video
explaining how Tiny11 works: www.snipca.
com/48045. If nothing else, it will show
you that the system looks and feels much
like the full version of Windows 11.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 61
 Secret tips
FOR
Freevee
Cancel your expensive Netflix subscription
and watch TV shows and films for free
on Amazon’s brilliant Freevee service.
Robert Irvine reveals all you need to know
W
ith Netflix raising its prices
again (see page 9), and
Disney+ following suit,
there’s never been a more
expensive time to subscribe to streaming
services. But if you’ve run out of things to
watch on iPlayer and ITVX, there is an
affordable alternative in the form of
Amazon Freevee.
Completely free to view, albeit supported
by ads, Freevee has significantly improved
the quantity and quality of its content
since it was called IMDb TV. It now
features thousands of great TV series
and films – and even makes its own
original programmes.
Here we explain how to get the most
from the best free Netflix alternative.
Watch Freevee on any device
You can watch Freevee on virtually any
device, provided you have an Amazon
account. The simplest way is in your
browser at www.snipca.com/48033, in
the ‘Free with ads’ section of the Prime
You can watch Freevee in the ‘Free with ads’
section of the Prime Video site
62 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Video site (see screenshot below left) –
you don’t need to be a Prime member.
Freevee’s TV shows and films are organised
into categories such as ‘Popular movies
and TV’, ‘Recently added’ and genres
including ‘Action and adventure’, Comedy,
Drama, Sci-fi and ‘British movies and TV’.
If you have an Amazon Fire TV Stick,
the Freevee app is preinstalled so you can
start watching immediately on your TV.
The app is available from the relevant app
stores for many other streaming devices
and smart TVs, including Google/Android
TV, Roku and Apple TV devices. Where
there isn’t a Freevee app, such as on
Samsung TVs, you can access the service
via the Prime Video app – just choose
‘Free with ads’ in the left-hand menu.
There’s also a Freevee mobile app for
Android (www.snipca.com/48034) and
Apple (www.snipca.com/48035).
Stream Freevee’s
live TV channels
As we mentioned in our ‘Watch TV for
free’ Cover Feature in Issue 667 (get it
from www.snipca.com/48036), in
addition to on-demand content, Freevee
lets you stream dozens of ‘live’ TV channels.
These FAST (free ad-supported
streaming television) channels mainly
show back-to-back episodes of specific
programmes, including Homes Under the
Hammer, Baywatch and Great British
Menu, as well as content from TV and
film networks such as UKTV Play,
Filmrise and NBCUniversal. Its line-up
was recently expanded with channels
from MGM, including The Addams Family,
The Pink Panther and The Outer Limits.
To tune into these channels, select the
Live TV option in the website or app
(Prime Video or Freevee) and browse
today’s schedule. Note that some listed
channels are provided by Discovery+ and
require a subscription.
Access Freevee’s US service
with a VPN
Although there are a lot of American
movies and TV series on Freevee, some of
its British content is only available to US
viewers. In October, BBC Studios launched
five new FAST Channels on Freevee, to
join the 17 it already offers across the
pond. These include BBC Comedy, BBC
Sci Fi and a channel devoted to Silent
Witness and New Tricks.
We fooled Freevee into showing us
these channels by using the free version
of Windscribe VPN (www.snipca.
com/48041) to pretend we were based in
New York. Despite a banner that asked if
we were ‘based outside of the US’ (see
screenshot above right), we were able to
stream the BBC channels and many
others we don’t get in the UK.
As with Netflix, Freevee’s US service
is much better than ours, with hundreds
of channels to browse, though we’d be
interested to know what Americans make
of distinctly British shows such as Made
in Chelsea, Alan Partridge’s Mid Morning
Matters and Alan Carr: Yap, Yap, Yap!.

Freevee’s superior US service has a lot more live TV channels than its
UK version – watch them using a VPN
Skip ads and intros on Freevee
Whereas Netflix charges you £4.99 a
month for its ad-supported plan, Freevee
is completely free to watch, but that doesn’t
make its adverts any less annoying. Ad
breaks precede and randomly interrupt
most of its TV shows and films, and last
from 10 seconds to two minutes.
Happily, there is a workaround that
reduces the number of ads you see on
Freevee, at least when you’re watching on
its website. Install the extension Freevee
Skipper (www.snipca.com/48044) in
Chrome or another Chromium browser,
Freevee Skipper fast-forwards through the ads
before and during Freevee shows
Five fantastic things to watch on Freevee
Neighbours
Freevee’s revival of the
Australian soap opera
(pictured) is its most popular
programme in the UK. You
can also stream hundreds of
old Neighbours episodes.
Occupation
In this highly rated sci-fi film from 2018,
a group of small-town residents have
to band together to survive after a
devastating alien attack.
Columbo
Freevee has the first seven seasons of
You can only delete your Freevee ‘Watch history’ through the Amazon
Prime Video site
and switch on its ‘Pre-roll ads’ option
(see screenshot below left).
This will fast-forward through the
ads that play before and during TV
shows, though it might not work with
ads in films (a fix is being worked on).
You can also enable ‘Skip intros and
recaps’ to avoid repetitive credit
sequences and summaries when you’re
binge-watching a series, and set the next
episode to play automatically. You may
need to restart your browser for the
extension to work.
Manage your future
and past viewing
As with other Prime Video content, you
can save Freevee shows and films to
watch later by clicking the Watchlist
(plus-sign) button on the website or
selecting ‘My list’ in the TV or mobile
app. On the Prime Video site, saved titles
will appear under Watchlist in the My
Stuff section, while in the Freevee app
they’ll be added to ‘My list’.
the long-running US series,
starring Peter Falk as the
crumpled but savvy detective
(pictured).
The Theory of
Everything
Starring Eddie Redmayne, this
BAFTA-winning biopic tells the story of
Professor Stephen Hawking.
Bosch: Legacy
Made exclusively for Freevee as one of its
Originals, this police-procedural series has
a 100-per-cent score on review site Rotten
Tomatoes (www.snipca.com/48065).
1
It’s equally useful to know how to
delete entries from your Freevee viewing
history, to stop people knowing you’ve
been watching shows you might be
embarrassed about.
The only way to do this is through the
Prime Video website. Either click your
profile name, choose ‘Account & Settings’
and click ‘Watch history’ ( 1 in our
screenshot above), or go straight to www.
snipca.com/48048. Click ‘Delete movie
from Watch History’ or ‘Delete episodes
from Watch History’ 2 to remove a film
or TV series from your account.
Fix your Freevee problems
Freevee’s simple ‘just press play’
functionality means it doesn’t suffer
many technical problems, but you may
occasionally find that its TV app fails to
open or hangs after doing so, and displays
an error code such as ‘ITV-101’. This is
particularly frustrating on a Fire Stick,
where it’s not possible to uninstall and
reinstall the Freevee app.
Instead, you should try ‘force-stopping’
the app and clearing its cache. On a
Fire Stick, open Settings and choose
Applications, then Manage Installed
Applications. Select ‘Amazon Freevee’
followed by Force Stop, then choose
Clear Cache. The Freevee app should now
open without any problems. You’ll find
the same options on a Google TV in the
Apps section of Settings.
Another common problem is Freevee’s
picture quality. Amazon says this may be
caused by slow connection speeds – it
recommends at least 1Mbps for SD
content and 5Mbps for HD content. If
your video is ‘juddering’, Amazon
suggests turning off the Motion setting on
your TV – we explained how to do this in
our ‘Smart TV problems fixed’ Cover
Feature in Issue 661 (get it from www.
snipca.com/48049).
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 63
 Problems Solved
Our experts solve all your tech problems
PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Where are my apps being saved to?
When setting up my PC I
Q configured Windows’ storage
settings so everything, from
apps to data, was saved by default on to
D – a 1TB hard drive. Since then I’ve
noticed that the free space on drive C
(an SSD) has continued to decrease,
and that File Explorer still shows all
app files as being on the C drive. This
hasn’t been of great concern until
recently, as I want to do a clean install
of Windows 11 on to my C drive. Have
my apps really been stored on C
instead of D? Can you explain how the
‘Change where new content is saved’
option actually works? And, if the apps
are on D, will they still run with the
new clean install?
Alan Rich
The wording Microsoft uses to
A explain this feature – which
for the benefit of other readers
is found in the Storage section of the
System group, in Settings – isn’t all that
clear about its function. While other
categories, such as ‘New documents
will save to’, operate as you might
expect, the same is sadly not true for
‘New apps will save to’ – the first and
arguably most important category.
In fact, when you make use of this
option – as you have, choosing in your
case drive D – it applies primarily to
Restore all installed apps in Windows 11 by switching on this setting
64 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
1
Check where your apps are stored in the
'Apps & features' section of Settings
apps installed from the Microsoft Store.
For many Windows users, that’s likely to
be only small percentage of a collection of
installed software.
And, in turn, that’s because traditional
Windows software – or ‘desktop’
programs – can ignore these ‘defaults’
and install wherever they choose, or at
least wherever the user allows them or
wants them. Put another way, if you don’t
explicitly tell a desktop program to install
on a drive other than C then it’ll typically
default to installing on to C.
So, that probably explains what’s gone
on here. You can check for sure which
apps are installed where in the Apps
section of Settings. In the right-hand
pane, alongside the ‘Filter by’ label, open
3 introduced a feature to restore installed
2
Move an app to a different drive by selecting
it in the list and clicking Move
the dropdown menu and choose the
relevant drive (see screenshot 1 ).
If you find that any Microsoft Store
apps are installed on C then those at
least can be moved to D, just by
clicking the relevant app name,
followed by the Move button 2 .
Then, use the dropdown menu to
choose drive D and confirm by
clicking Move again.
However, none of this is of much
help when carrying out a clean install,
because by definition Windows’
‘memory’ of what’s installed where will
be erased, along with everything else
on the C drive. So, app data on drive D
will remain there, but a fresh install of
Windows won’t know about it.
With Windows 11, Microsoft
apps. In Settings, click Accounts
followed by ‘Windows backup’ and
then turn on the ‘Remember my apps’
option 3 . Then, when you come to
reinstall Windows and sign in with the
same Microsoft account, during setup
you’ll be offered the opportunity to
restore your old apps automatically.
However, as with the ‘New apps will
save to’ feature this works only with
apps downloaded from the Microsoft
Store – so you’ll still have to download
and reinstall any traditional desktop
programs.

How do I sync my iPhone with my Windows 10 laptop?
I read with interest your reply to
Q reader Dave Ochard’s question,
in Issue 662 (page 65). Dave
wanted to stop Windows syncing with
his phone, and you explained how. That’s
fair enough, but I want to do the opposite
and actually sync my phone and PC – I
didn’t realise this was even an option.
However, when I tried to connect my
Windows 10 laptop to my iPhone, I
wasn't able to proceed. In fact, the Phone
Link app suggests it works only with
Android. So what’s going on here?
John Harrison
A good old-fashioned Microsoft
A mess is what’s going on here!
Let’s start with the Microsoft
Phone Link PC app. This was originally
known as Phone Companion and then,
sometime later, was rebranded as ‘Your
phone’. As we’ll see, it’s still referred to as
‘Your phone’ in some parts of Windows
and beyond. Regardless of this, the
original ‘Your phone’ version was briefly
compatible with both iPhones and
Android phones. But it didn’t work well
Is this a
legitimate
Tesco website?
Browsing the internet I came
Q across a site purporting to be
Tesco Clearance Warehouse,
which seems to have some absolute
bargains. Is it a scam? I notice Tesco is
spelt ‘Tesc0’ – with a zero on the end.
What are your thoughts?
Michael Barman
You sent us a link to the site,
A
which we’ll come back to
presently, but it is definitely an
outright scam – and you and everyone
should steer well clear.
At a glance, one could be forgiven for
thinking the website might be from
Tesco, but it doesn’t bear close scrutiny.
You spotted that in text elements Tesco
is spelled with a zero. But that’s merely
the start. While the site has now
Email us your problem and we’ll try to help:
noproblem@computeractive.co.uk
2
Clicking ‘Add a phone’ launches the Phone
Link app, which isn’t compaible with iPhones
in Windows 10
at all with iPhones, so Microsoft made it
Android only – and then rebranded it as
Phone Link.
More recently, Microsoft
seems to have resolved the
problems Phone Link had
connecting to Apple devices,
but only on Windows 11. To
make it work you need to
download the matching app
for iPhone. Only, of course,
the iPhone app isn’t called
Phone Link – Microsoft has
named it ‘Link to Windows’
(www.snipca.com/47787 -
see screenshot 1 ).
The iPhone version of Phone
Link is called ‘Link to Windows’
This scam website purporting to be Tesco uses a fake URL domain
disappeared, the aforesaid website URL
doesn’t even attempt to mask the scam,
with a domain of ‘flyazuh.com’ (see
screenshot). The giveaway is in the
imagery, which does resemble Tesco – but
the headline ‘all stores closing’ claim
should give anyone pause for thought. Is
it likely that one of the UK’s biggest
supermarket chains would be in the
Despite all this, it seems no one told
the team maintaining Windows 10
because, in the relevant section of that
version of the operating system, it still
states that ‘Your phone’ is compatible
with both iPhone and Android. But, as
you’ve discovered, clicking the ‘Add a
phone’ button 2 screen actually launches
the Phone Link app – and as noted, the
Windows 10 version of Phone Link isn’t
compatible with iPhones.
1 So, that’s a potted version
of the cause of this problem.
Unless Microsoft updates the
Windows 10 version of Phone
Link so that it’s compatible
with iPhones – and we think
that’s unlikely – then this
feature will remain exclusive
to Windows 11 users.
If you’re set on using
Phone Link with your
iPhone, then you should be
able to upgrade to Windows
11 free of charge, via
Windows Update or www.
snipca.com/47782.
process of closing all its stores and for
that not to have made the news?
Like many big-name retailers these
days, Tesco does operate a ‘clearance’
site, but it’s absolutely not the one you
stumbled on. The legitimate site is
called Tesco Outlet, and it’s hosted by
eBay. You’ll find it at www.snipca.
com/47783.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 65
 Problems Solved
Were has my
laptop’s Bluetooth
function gone?
When I bought my Toshiba
Q Satellite L750 series laptop,
many years ago, it came
installed with Bluetooth. I successfully
upgraded from
Windows 7 to 10 a
while ago, using
instructions from
Computeractive, but
the Bluetooth
functionality
disappeared
somewhere in the
process. I’ve searched
the internet to try to
rectify this, but nothing I’ve tried
seems to work – so I remain minus
Bluetooth. Is there any explanation
for this?
Tony Bolter
Your laptop model is well
A over a decade old, and it
was supported by Toshiba
only up to Windows 8.1. So, while
you managed to upgrade to Windows
10, Toshiba never released a
Bluetooth driver compatible with
that version of the operating system.
So, that’s the root cause of your
problem.
To add Bluetooth you need to
buy a USB dongle, which are very
affordable. For example, the EasyULT
model (pictured below) costs around
£6 (www.snipca.com/47784).
Add Bluetooth to an older laptop with a
USB dongle like this EasyULT device
66 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Where have my GIMP tool options gone?
I’ve been using the GIMP image
Q editor (www.gimp.org) for the
past few months – partly on your
recommendation. To be honest, I find it
quite hard to use but I’m getting to grips
with it – or least I was. That was until a
little tab disappeared that has options for
the tool that’s currently selected. I have
no idea where it went and I don’t even
know what it’s called, so searching
online for help has not worked. Perhaps
you or your readers might know what
GIMP’s Tool Options panel is all too easy to
I’m talking about, and what caused it to accidentally remove – and restore
vanish? I’d love to get it back, otherwise I
might end up too frustrated to use GIMP. dialog’s tab and then drag, it’ll become a
Peter Walker ‘floating’ panel. Such is the complexity of
GIMP’s interface, you may have done this
We’re confident you’re talking accidentally and, without realising, later
A about the Tool Options panel
(see screenshot above right). Like
docked it elsewhere or closed it.
To get it back, click to open the
so much else in GIMP, this is all too easy Windows menu then point to Dockable
to move or lose by accident and you will Dialogs ( 1 in our screenshot below)
be left with no idea as to what happened. before clicking to select Tool Options 2 .
Specifically, in GIMP, this panel – and Next, simply drag and drop its tab header
many others like it – is known as a to wherever you’d like the panel to be
‘dockable dialog’. If you click a dockable positioned.
2
1
Click these options in the Windows menu to restore the Tool Options panel in GIMP
Q: Can I choose my own full-fibre
router?
A: Issue 643, page 65 – find it on
our 2022 Back Issue CD
Buy it from
www.snipca.com/44660
 How do I block Microsoft’s lock-screen adverts?
I’ve enjoyed seeing the photos
1 2
Q displayed on the screen of my
Windows 10 PC when I lock it
– until recently! There was a space
image that I’d seen a few times, and
quite liked. Then one day my brain
did a double-take and I realised it was
an illustration, not a photo. That wasn’t
a problem, but looking more closely at
the image I realised I was looking at an
advert – for a game called Starfield
(there was a caption to this effect).
While I quite liked the image I didn’t
appreciate the fact that Microsoft was
pushing adverts on to my PC. I have no
interest in gaming on my computer, To remove Microsoft’s adverts from your lock …and choose whether to set a single photo or
and even less desire for adverts to be screen, click Picture or Slideshow… continuously repeat a folder of your images
shoved in front of my face. Is this new? that you simply haven’t noticed until now. own photos.
And can I stop them? The feature behind this is called To do this, first click Start followed
David Wilson Windows Spotlight and, while it’s by the Settings cog then Personalisation
theoretically ‘free’, its use comes at the followed by ‘Lock screen’. Next, in the
It’s not new but, while we’re cost of these occasional commercials. right-hand pane, under Background,
A not defending Microsoft here,
the number of annoying adverts
Fortunately, it’s easily disabled, but
bear in mind you will lose the photos
open the dropdown menu and choose
either Picture or Slideshow (see
displayed on your lock screen will be offered by Microsoft. Instead, you can screenshot 1 ) – and then just use the
vastly outnumbered by the stunning choose your own static image, or have relevant options to set a single photo
photos that you do like – so it’s likely the lock screen use a folder of your or photos folder 2 .

How can I connect The Kingspan

Watchman receiver
my oil tank to the doesn’t need to be
connected to your router

app that measures

its level?
I bought a wireless receiver to powered devices to
Q monitor the level of oil in an oil
tank that I own. It then displays
connect to a network
via USB – not power a
this level on my phone. The problem is device connected via
that the receiver has a USB plug on it USB.
that plugs into my BT router. However, Other than the BT
this is too far away from the oil tank router you didn’t tell
to receive a signal from the tank us which specific makes
transmitter. I have a range extender in and models you’re
my boiler room (which is much closer). using, but popular
The range extender has an RJ45 brands in this area –
(Ethernet) socket on it. There is a RJ45- like the pictured
to-female-USB adapter on Amazon but Kingspan Watchman
will that work? I would be grateful for (around £140 from
any advice you may have. www.snipca.com/47785) So, we think all you really need is a
Fred Lyons – don’t need to be connected to a router. powered USB socket closer to the tank.
Instead, they need simply to connect to Many of us have spare USB charger
The adapter you have in mind any standard USB socket or charger to adapters floating around in drawers, so
A won’t work for this purpose,
because it is intended to allow
draw some power – which is all the
router is providing in your arrangement.
you can simply use one of these in a
socket closer to the tank.

Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 67

 Problems Solved
How can I sync Check which
Google account
the calendars on is linked to your
iPad calendar in
2
my iPads? Settings (left),
then make your
sync options
(below)
Several years ago I bought a
Q second iPad. Both my iPads
successfully synchronised via 1
Google Calendar. About a month ago this
sync stopped. Both iPads have two email
addresses in common, and each also has
its own separate email address. Could
this be the problem? If this is the case
how can I change the addresses so they
have the same one? Or is there another
way to synchronise both iPads?
Michael Carter

We don’t entirely understand list, tap Calendar

A your setup, but we suspect
that a recent update has disabled
( 1 in our screenshot
above). Next, in the
the calendar synchronisation on one or right-hand pane,
both devices. The email addresses don’t, tap Accounts 2
as such, have anything to do with this – followed by the
you can sync multiple email accounts via relevant Gmail
the iPad’s Mail app – but obviously, if account name.
you’re syncing the iPad Calendar app via Finally, use the
Google Calendar, then both will need to sliders to make your
use the same Google account (and thus synchronisation
the same Gmail address). choices – obviously
To check what’s going on, launch the ensuring that the Calendars switch at above). Now just repeat this process on
Settings app and then, in the left-hand least is in the On position (see screenshot the second iPad.

Do I need a Google account to download Android apps?

Following a few articles in Download Android
Q your magazine, I’m wondering
whether I actually need a
apps without a Google
account via F-Droid
Google account? I do watch content on
YouTube, but I don’t use Gmail, Google YouTube can be
Maps or other services – because I’m browsed without a
aware that everything I do via Google is Google account
recorded. So, if I close my account, is it (though if you aren’t
correct that the only thing that I will logged in you won’t
not be able to do is download apps be able to manage
from the Google Play Store? subscriptions, likes
Mark Hynard videos and more).
However, you
No one has to have a Google mention downloading
A account, or an account with
any other company. However,
apps from the Play
Store, which suggests
whether one might be considered you have either an
‘necessary’ depends on what you want Android smartphone or
to do. From the description you gave it tablet. It’s possible to use either without a F-Droid (pictured above) to browse
doesn’t sound like cancelling your Google account, but you wouldn’t be able and download open-source apps,
Google account would affect your to use any installed Google apps or services. anonymously. It’s a free download,
online activities much – if at all. Instead, you could use a tool like from https://f-droid.org.

68 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670

 ?? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN...
Range extenders and mesh networks?
I’ve been looking to fix a
Q particular Wi-Fi blackspot in
my home. Well, it’s actually
the conservatory and garden. I can
sometimes get a connection in the
conservatory, but it’s flaky at best, and
in the garden the signal is all but non-
existent. I’ve been looking at options to
resolve this and was thinking about a
range extender, like the TP-Link AC750
(£20 from www.snipca.com/47786,
pictured) because it’s cheap and I have
a spare mains socket in the conservatory.
However, a friend suggested it would
be a false economy and I’d be better off
investing in a mesh Wi-Fi network. I’ve
looked at a few of these, but they are
all much more expensive. What’s the
fundamental difference, and do you
have an opinion on which option
would be the best for me?
Tony Carlton
There are so many options in
A this area that we’re going to
have to generalise a bit.
However, the fundamental point of
both mesh networks and range
Should I enable ‘Controlled folder access’ in Windows?
I am running Windows 10
Q Home. I noticed recently – when
going first to Windows Security
settings, then ‘Ransomware protection’
followed by ‘Manage Ransomware
protection’ – a slider called ‘Controlled
folder access’. On my PC it’s in the Off
position. I have never changed this so I
assume this is the default setting. Is it
worth switching this on? What would be
the implications? Thanks for your
excellent magazine.
Ian Thompson
It’s an interesting feature that is
A potentially a
lifesaver, but can
also be deeply frustrating.
In essence, enabling it
ensures that ‘unauthorised’
attempts to access a raft of
system and personal
folders result in an
extenders is to ensure you can secure a
good Wi-Fi connection wherever you
need one – but mesh systems are
altogether more sophisticated than
extenders.
Mesh networks employ multiple
‘nodes’ that work together to form a
single network, so your devices hop
from one node to the next. As nodes
communicate with each other, in
theory, a mesh network and the
coverage it provides can grow
indefinitely. This means you could
keep adding nodes to reach any part of
your house or garden – using as many
as needed to create multiple ‘bridges’
to get signal wherever you need.
By contrast, a range extender merely
Extenders like the TP-Link AC750 can help
‘repeats’ the Wi-Fi signal from your overcome blackspots in your home
router. So, if you can’t get a good signal
from your conservatory, there’d be little valid in some circumstances, for your
point putting a range extender directly in particular situation we think a range
there. However, if you have a mains extender would do the job – and it’d
socket somewhere between the router certainly be cheaper and less hassle
and conservatory then a range extender
plugged in there could be all you need
than setting up a mesh network.
Want to know the difference between
– creating a single bridge, if you like. technical terms? Email noproblem@
So, while your friend’s advice would be computeractive.co.uk
automatic block. You’ll be alerted and folders by clicking the ‘Protected folders’
you’ll then need to investigate further,
removing the block manually if you
link.
If you can put up with a few days (or
determine there isn’t a problem. likely weeks) of Windows stopping what
It’s effective, because ransomware you want to do, often seemingly
tends to target personal files and folders. randomly, then it’s worth enabling.
However, many tasks you do every day – Equally, if you find it irritating, it’s just as
almost all entirely innocent – require easy to switch off again.
access to protected folders.
This tool is so thorough that, initially at ON SALE
least, you’ll find yourself spending lots of
time reviewing and allowing blocked Next Issue Weds
22 Nov
actions. To do this, from the ‘Virus &
threat protection’ pane of Windows • Is Java safe now?
Security, you’d first click ‘Block options’ •C  an I unlock a school
then, on the relevant alert,
click the Actions button •H
Chromebook?
 ow did I receive a Giffgaff
before choosing ‘Allow on WiFi call?
device’ (see screenshot). ...And many more
You can add (or remove)
Subscribe to Computeractive at
Click this option to allow actions
blocked by the ‘Controlled folder www.getcomputeractive.co.uk
access’ feature
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 69
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Problems Solved
Reader Support
Having a problem with our recommended software or expert tips?
Email editor@computeractive.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help
Why is Brave’s lion logo
greyed out?
I was keen to try the Brave
Q browser, having been persuaded
by your recommendation in
Issue 668’s Cover Feature on using
browsers that don’t track you. However, I
couldn’t click the lion logo to the right of
the address bar. You said doing this opens
the Shields section so you can turn on
and off web trackers. Yet the lion logo is
greyed out on my version of Brave, and
doesn’t respond to clicking. Perhaps it
didn’t download properly?
Wayne Butler
We don’t think there’s anything
A wrong with your download of
Brave - which is straightforward
and free from www.brave.com. Instead,
we think you’ve not moved beyond
Brave’s home page, or its ‘new tab’ page,
which opens when you press Ctrl+N. On
both pages the lion logo is always greyed
out. It only turns red and becomes
clickable when you visit another site.
Once you’ve clicked the lion ( 1 in our
screenshot below), click ‘Advanced
controls’ 2 then choose the setting you
want to change.
1 A
2 screenshot above). Click this and Copilot
Brave’s logo only becomes clickable once
you’ve opened websites
1
2
Click the Refresh arrow icon to reload Copilot
so you can start again
Can I remove boxes from
Windows Copilot?
I read your feature on Windows
Q Copilot (Issue 669, page 60), and
have enjoyed testing it to see
what it’s capable of doing. But after it has
answered a few questions, I find that the
panel on the right gets cluttered with
boxes, and looks confusing. Is there a
way of removing the boxes to help you
start afresh?
Sheila Newell
You hit on the answer by
using the word ‘afresh’. Look
at the top of Copilot and you’ll
see a Refresh circular arrow ( 1 in our
will reload, removing everything from
the panel, ready for you to type into the
‘Ask me anything’ box again. You can also
see the Refresh option by clicking the
three horizontal dots 2 .
Which one is the download link
for Auto Dark Mode?
I liked the sound of Auto Dark
Q Mode, which you recommended
in Issue 667 (page 19). Setting a
schedule for turning dark mode on and
1
Click this link on Auto Dark Mode’s GitHub
page…
2
…then click this link on the next page under
‘Assets’
off had been at the top of my software
wish list for quite a while. However,
when I clicked the link you gave (www.
snipca.com/47583), I couldn’t work out
what I had to do next to download the
program. Should it have started to
download automatically?
Chris Bracewell
No, it shouldn’t have
A downloaded automatically,
but we don’t blame you for
wondering what you needed to click. The
link above takes you to the software’s
GitHub page, where developers can work
on building and improving software
code. Unfortunately though, what might
seem obvious to developers is less so to
ordinary users. As a result, GitHub is a
tricky site for novices.
The correct link to click is on the right-
hand side, under the Releases heading
(see screenshot 1 above). Next, scroll
down to the Assets heading and click the
top link – ‘AutoDarkModeX_10.4.1.1.exe’
at the time of writing (see screenshot 2 ).
Sorry for not making the download
process easier to follow. We’ll explain it in
future when recommending software
from GitHub.
Issue 670 • 8 – 21 November 2023 71
 Jargon Buster
2K A screen with 2048x1080 pixels.
32bit/64bit A measure of how
much data a PC can process at
once. Most older computers are
32bit, more modern ones are 64bit.
4K Video with a resolution of at
least 3840x2160 pixels.
720p A common resolution of
high-definition video: 1280x720
pixels.
Add-in Microsoft’s name for
tools that can be added to Office
software.
Administrator Someone who can
make changes to a computer that
will affect others who also use it.
AI Artificial intelligence.
Intelligence demonstrated by a
machine rather than a human
being.
Alt text Words that appear in place
of an image if the image fails to
load online. Also used by screen-
reading software to describe
images to visually impaired
readers.
ARM Advanced RISC Machine.
Processors that are more energy-
efficient and are used in more
devices than those made by AMD
and Intel.
Aspect ratio A measurement of
the shape of a screen. Traditional
PC screens are 4:3. Widescreen
displays are 16:9 or 16:10.
AV1F AV1 Image File Format.
Open-source image file format
that has better compression than
WebP, JPEG, PNG and GIF and is
designed to replace them.
Backhaul The process of sending
data to a wired access point to
reach the wider internet.
Bandwidth A measure of how
much data can be transferred
through a connection at one time.
Batch file Commands that are
processed in sequence, often without
requiring input from the user.
Benchmarking Comparing
software and products with an
accepted standard.
72 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
Biometric Using measurable
personal characteristics, such as
fingerprints, for identification.
BIOS Basic Input-Output System.
Software built into every PC that
connects the vital components.
Bootable Describes a device or
disc with system files on it so it can
be used to start up your computer.
Cache A temporary space for
storing information.
CBZ/CBR Comic book files. CBZ
compresses files using Zip, while
CBR uses RAR.
Chatbot A computer program
designed to recreate conversation
with human users, especially over
the internet.
Clean install An operating system
installation that overwrites all
other content on the hard drive.
Clone A feature found in backup
programs that makes an exact
copy of a drive on to another drive.
Code The various programming
languages used to create software.
Codec Short for Compressor/
Decompressor. A file that tells a
computer how to record or play a
type of media file.
Colorimeter A tool for measuring
the colour accuracy of monitors by
calibrating its brightness, contrast
and colour.
Cookie A small text file stored on
your computer by a website.
Core Units on a processor that
carry out program instructions.
CUE A metadata file that
describes how the tracks of a CD
or DVD are laid out.
Dark mode Showing white text
on a black background.
Dark web Websites that can
only be accessed using special
software such as Tor Browser.
DNS Domain Name System.
Technology that associates
computers with their addresses on
the internet.
Domain These are used to identify
one or more IP addresses.
Driver A file that tells Windows how
to work with an external device.
Dynamic range The difference
between the lightest and darkest
shades in an image.
End-to-end encryption Ensures
that messages can be seen only by
the sender and recipient.
eSIM A digital SIM card that’s built
into a phone, making it easier to
change network.
GHz Gigahertz. A measure of
how many instructions a chip can
process per second. 1GHz is equal
to 1,000MHz.
Gigabit Internet connection
offering speeds of at least 1Gbps
(1,000Mbps).
Gigabit Ethernet A very fast
networking standard that can
transfer data at up to 1,000Mbps.
Graphics card A component in a
computer that produces the image
shown on the monitor.
HDMI High-definition media
interface. A type of connection that
transmits high-definition video and
audio signals.
IP address Internet Protocol
address. A unique set of numbers
used to identify computers and
websites on the internet.
IP55 Ingress Protection55.
Indicates that a phone has been
tested against dust and water for
up to 55 minutes at a pressure
of one atmosphere (or about 10
centimetres of air).
IP65 Dust-proof, and protected
from water jets at any angle.
ISO file A type of image file
that contains all the data from a CD
or DVD.
Keylogging Recording everything
someone types. Normally used to
steal passwords.
LED Light-emitting diode. An
electronic device that emits light.
Backlight for some LCDs.
Mesh Wi-Fi Wireless network
system that uses multiple,
connected routers to stretch Wi-Fi
further than a traditional router.
MicroSD card A small type of
memory card.
MKV Matroska. An open-source
type of video file.
MMS Multimedia Messaging. A
system for sending images and
sounds between mobile phones.
MOBI Short for Mobipocket. Ebook
format that lets readers add their
own content, such as drawings,
annotations and bookmarks.
MPLS Multiprotocol Label Switching.
Technology for sending data using
the fastest route on a network.
NFC Near-field communication.
A technology that allows two
devices to communicate by being
touched together or placed near to
each other.
OCR Optical character recognition.
The process by which printed text
is scanned and converted into
documents that can be edited.
Open source Software that can
be modified by anyone, rather
than just by the employees of the
company that created it.
OTP One-time password/
passcode. Can be used only once
to sign in for a specific login session.
Passkey A method for signing into
accounts by typing a one-off code,
fingerprint or facial recognition
rather than a password.
Phishing A form of internet
fraud that tries to trick you into
revealing personal details.
Picture-in-picture Shows video
in a small moveable screen while
you browse the web or watch TV.
Plain text Text in a document that
doesn’t contain any formatting,
such as bold characters and italics.
Product key A unique serial
number issued by software
companies that must be typed in
by the user before a program will
launch for the first time.
Proxy server A computer that sits
between your computer and the
internet and filters the connection.
QR code Quick Response code.
A barcode that can be read using
smartphones.
RAM Random-access memory.
The computer’s working area,
used for data storage while the PC
is switched on.
Ransomware Malware run by
hackers who lock files on your PC and
demand a payment to release them.
Read speed How long it takes
a hard drive to ‘read’ data, and
respond to it.
RJ45 Registered Jack-45.
Connectors usually found on the
end of Ethernet cables. Also called
modular connectors.
Roaming charge Fee incurred for
using your phone to receive data
via overseas mobile networks.
Secure Boot A security standard
designed to make sure your PC
avoids malware when booting.
Security key A USB device that
locks and unlocks your computer.
SIM Subscriber Identity Module.
The smart card used by all digital
mobile phones.
SMS Short Message Service.
More commonly called text
messaging.
Spatial sound A form of digital
surround sound that allows the
origin points of different sounds to
envelop you from all directions.
Spoof Fake your location to beat
geographical restrictions online.
sRGB A standard RGB colour
space for use on monitors,
printers and the internet.
SSD Solid-state drive. Storage that
uses no moving parts.
Timestamp The time which an
event is recorded by a computer.
Tor Browser A web browser
designed for anonymous surfing.
TPM Trusted Platform Module.
A computer chip that allows your
hardware to perform security-
related tasks.
Two-factor authentication
A system that uses two different
means to identify the user. For
example, a code sent to your
phone in addition to a password.
U2F Universal 2nd Factor.
Technology that lets you use a
physical security key for two-
factor authentication (2FA).
UEFI Unified Extensible Firmware
Interface. A modern replacement
for the BIOS.
Ultrawide Offering a field of view
that’s wider than traditional digital
cameras.
USB-C A new connector that’s
reversible, letting you plug it in
upside down.
VoIP Voice over IP. The routing
of voice conversations over the
internet.
VPN Virtual private network.
Keeps all internet communication
safe and private.
WebM Video file format supported
by major browsers and software.
Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi standard with
speeds up to 10 times faster than
802.11ac. Also called 802.11ax.
Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi 6 extended to
include the 6GHz band.
Write speed How long it takes a
hard drive to save data.
XML Extensible Markup
Language. A versatile type of
document that can store various
types of information.
 Easy when you
Know How
Fretting when he can’t find all his stuff after moving
house, Robert Irvine tries to…
Turn his phone into a mouse
G
reetings from my new home. As I
mentioned in the last issue, having
finally had enough of my cold and
expensive London flat, I’ve upped sticks
and relocated to a warmer and cheaper
abode.
I arranged to move all my belongings
and furniture using AnyVan, and was
pleased that the driver turned up on time
and did most of the heavy lifting. What I
didn’t realise was that he’d make several
other collections and drop-offs before
reaching my new place, where I waited
patiently for 10 hours with only my
phone to occupy me. Perhaps the
company name is actually short for:
‘Anyone who wants this van, just chuck
your stuff in’.
But it all worked out in the end, and
everything arrived intact. The only
problem was that, after two days of
unpacking, I couldn’t find the wireless
mouse for my laptop. It wasn’t in the
obvious boxes or bags, and I knew I
hadn’t binned it, so where was the pesky
peripheral? This was almost as stressful
as finding a real mouse scurrying around
my new kitchen, because it meant I’d
have to use the dreaded laptop touchpad.
As I was due to resume working from
home that day, I needed a speedy
solution, so decided to try using my
phone as a mouse. I vaguely recalled
that you can connect your mobile device
to your PC and control the cursor by
swiping your finger around on-screen.
This seemed less fiddly than using a
touchpad, because a phone is closer in
size to a mouse and you can get a proper
grip on the thing.
Most methods for linking your phone
and PC require installing software on
both devices, but I came across a free app
called ‘Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse’
(www.snipca.com/47918) that claimed it
will “turn your device into a serverless
Bluetooth keyboard and mouse” with “no
additional software needed”. This
sounded ideal, so I quickly installed the
app on my Android phone. It’s not
74 8 – 21 November 2023 • Issue 670
This was almost as
stressful as finding a
real mouse in my
new kitchen
available for iOS, but if you’re an iPhone
user you could try the similar ‘Remote
Mouse & Keyboard’ (www.snipca.
com/47919).
After switching on Bluetooth on my
phone, I opened ‘Bluetooth Keyboard &
Mouse’, swiped through the welcome
screens and tapped ‘Get started’. I pressed
Allow to give the app permission to
“find, connect to and determine the
relative positions of nearby devices”,
then tapped ‘Set up remote device’.
My Bluetooth-enabled laptop was listed
on the ‘New connection’ screen, so I
selected it and tapped Connect. I accepted
the pairing request on both devices, after
checking the provided PIN matched, then
pressed ‘Use this device’ in the ‘Bluetooth
Keyboard & Mouse’ app.
A small mouse icon appeared in my
phone’s notification tray, above a large
blue virtual trackpad. To test the
connection worked, I swiped my
forefinger around this area, and was
delighted to see the cursor move around
on my laptop’s screen. I won’t pretend
the motion was as smooth and precise as
using a proper mouse, but the cursor was
easy to control and responded instantly to
my finger’s movements.
Best of all, unlike my laptop the app
included dedicated buttons for left-
clicking and right-clicking ( 1 in our
screenshot), which saved me a lot of
Next issue: Robert tries to print unprintable documents
2
1
The ‘Bluetooth Keyboard & Mouse’ app has
left- and right-click buttons and a scroll bar
frustration. It took me ages to learn how
to right-click on a touchpad, and I’m
supposed to be a technology journalist.
There’s even a scroll bar down the side of
the swiping area 2 , so you can swiftly
navigate web pages and documents.
As its name suggests, Bluetooth
Keyboard & Mouse also includes a virtual
keyboard, which is handy if your physical
one stops working. Any letters you type
on your phone instantly appear on your
PC screen, though pressing the text box
above the keyboard prompts you to
upgrade to the app’s Pro version.
I eventually found my mouse in a
shoebox stuffed with random cables and
chargers. But at least I now have an
alternative if it scampers off again.
Need help using your mouse? Let us know:
noproblem@computeractive.co.uk
9000