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I recently paid my GP a visit. Nothing serious, you’ll be pleased to hear – just a routine check-up. During the course of the appointment, however, I found myself sharing a great deal of personal information with my doctor – details such as my age, weight, how much exercise I do and so on – that I wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing with just anybody. Of course, I trust my GP to respect my privacy, but sadly there’s no Hippocratic oath to protect me from apps that secretly harvest data about where I go, who I talk to and what websites I visit. When we use our mobile devices, it can feel like we’re doing so privately. But the apps we use are often set up to collect large volumes of…

We’ve got to the bottom of the problems that Samuel Nicholl (see Issue 476) and fellow reader Doug Makinson were having trying to contact Bullguard Internet Security’s support team. Both had experienced problems downloading their software, but hadn’t been able to get a response from Bullguard’s customer services. We contacted the company – which was deeply apologetic – and it said it had now contacted both Samuel and Doug and that the problem was now fixed.“They should be able to get support by Live Chat now, instead of emails,” the company said. “We have also provided a small compensation for the period (adding an extra six months to their subscription)”. It seems the lack of replies was caused by a technical problem with Microsoft’s servers that meant Bullguard’s replies to…

All that glitters is not WhatsApp Gold I use WhatsApp on my Android phone to stay in touch with my daughter overseas, but I became suspicious when I got a message titled ‘Activate WhatsApp Gold’, offering special access to a premium version “used only by big celebrities”. I looked up WhatsApp Gold on the internet and found a warning on the police’s Action Fraud site (www.snipca.com/20911). The message is a scam. If you follow its web link you’ll be infected with malware. I always stay away from special offers, but other readers should be warned. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

New products tested by our experts PC ❘ £500 from Palicomp www.snipca.com/20927 As we’re writing this, our colleagues on the car magazines are oohing and aahing about a new Rolls Royce concept car. Apart from being a frankly crushing reminder that their jobs are more exciting than ours, it also got us thinking about surface versus substance. The prototype Roller of the future, marketed as the ‘Vision Next 100’, looks amazing, with a driverless luxury cabin and enclosed wheels that make the car seem like it’s floating. But it doesn’t actually exist. “It might look quite plain, but it’s wellequipped for any task you choose” The Palicomp AMD Avenger, by contrast, is definitely real, and at 500 pounds it’s going to work out a fair bit cheaper. From the outside,…

Anker 6-Feet Nylon Braided USB Cable with Lightning Connector £7 from Amazon www.snipca.com/21026 The cables supplied with phones and tablets always seem to fall apart, and even Apple’s aren’t immune. Anker’s braided version is like a miniature steam-iron cable. It’s tough and, at nearly two metres long, reaches further than most. There’s also a microUSB version for non-Apple devices (www.snipca.com/21013). Just Mobile AluCable Flat £17 from Amazon www.snipca.com/21015 Braiding can feel a bit stiff, but this Apple Lightning cable is the opposite: floppy, yet very durable. Just Mobile specialises in high-quality engineering, and the aluminium plugs here are just as sturdy as the wire itself, which comes in a practical 1.2m length. Anker PowerLine+ Micro USB £10 from Amazon www.snipca.com/21018 This braided cable, also from Anker, is excellent value at…

Win 1 of 2 Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 19.5 The new 19.5 version of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate has been optimised for Intel’s 6th-generation processor. It also includes stop-motion animation, which lets you take videos using a phone, webcam or digital camera, and multicamera editing for up to six cameras and two additional soundtracks. To enter, email your address to cacomp@dennis.co.uk with ‘pinnacle’ in the subject line, by midnight 19 July. Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 19.5 is available as a free upgrade for existing Pinnacle 19 users (full price is £99.95). For more information visit www.pinnaclesys.com and ‘like’ Pinnacle Studio’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pinnaclesys. There are also two new apps at www.snipca.com/20488.…

iOS Use Google’s new iOS keyboard app In our Best New Apps section in Issue 477, we told you about Google’s new iOS keyboard app Gboard, which lets you run Google searches and send information directly from the keyboard. However, you need to change some settings if you want to set it as your default iOS keyboard. First, install it from www.snipca.com/20977, tap Open, then tap Get Started twice. You’ll be directed to your device’s Settings screen. Tap General, Keyboards, Add New Keyboard, then select Gboard. Next, tap the Gboard option again, swipe the Allow Full Access slider to turn it on, then tap Allow. Now exit the Settings page and open any app (for example, Safari), then tap the URL field at the top to bring up your default…

WINDOWS 10 Find the meaning of words using Cortana In previous issues we’ve explained how to use Cortana to compose and send emails, identify music tracks and make quick calculations. Perhaps its most useful feature is the ability to quickly find the definition of single words and phrases. While you can always install a third-party program such as WordWeb or refer to an online dictionary, Cortana’s database is powered by the Oxford English Dictionary, so you’ll get results from a reputable source in seconds. To find the definition of a word, simply press the Windows key, then type, for example, what does hoi polloi mean (see screenshot above). You can also find the meaning of phrases, by typing, for example what does kick the bucket mean. If Cortana has any…

There’s a way to switch themes by typing a command into the Command Prompt window, but it’s a long command so it won’t save you any time. However, by including the command in a batch file you can create desktop shortcuts to switch themes without having to access Control Panel. First, launch Notepad then carefully type rundll32.exe %SystemRoot%\ system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\desk.cpl desk,@Themes /Action:OpenTheme / file:”C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\ scenes.theme”. To avoid errors, you can copy and paste it from our Pastebin page (www.snipca.com/20898). Now click File, followed by Save. Give the file an appropriate name, using the ‘.bat’ file extension — SwitchToScenesTheme. bat, for example. When you doubleclick the SwitchToScenesTheme.bat file Windows will switch to that theme. Just click OK to confirm. This command is specifically for the Scenes theme. For other themes you’ll…

Apps that download data in the background without your knowledge can seriously increase your phone bills. Although mobile networks have got better at warning customers when they’re approaching their data cap, nobody wants to reach the third day of the month and realise their entire allowance has been swallowed by a misbehaving app that has been eating up data in the background. To avoid any nasty surprises you can always switch mobile data off completely in the settings of your phone or 3G/4Genabled tablet, but that will reduce the functionality of your device. Instead, Android devices have a setting that ensures apps can only access 3G and 4G mobile data when you’re actually using them. On most Android devices, you’ll find this option by in Settings, then Data Usage and…

• Write SMS We can only think of only one type of app that you should allow to compose your text messages, and that’s voice-controlled apps such as Siri and Cortana. Refuse any other app that requests this. • Send SMS Some apps can send a text message without you having to press the Send button. Deny at all costs unless you’re 100 per cent sure that the app can be trusted. • Write contacts Keep your contacts list your own by denying any app permission to make changes to it. • Call phone This one allows an app to make a call without your consent. • In-app purchases Deny this permission to prevent an app from costing you money by buying add-on content (you can always enable it for…

While researching this feature I visited a couple of retail outlets to window-shop for a Toshiba external hard drive. The same drive was on sale at a big-name franchise in a retail park and at the dingy computer-repair shop next to my local train station. The superstore wanted £46.99; the repair shop wanted £50. Besides being more expensive, the repair shop was terrifying. The guy behind the counter greeted me with “yeah?” I mentioned that I’d seen the drive cheaper at the superstore and expected to be thrown out of the shop, but the assistant/owner said “I can do £40,” without even looking up. If I’m honest I couldn’t wait to make my excuses and get out. By contrast, the superstore assistant made me feel like her new best friend…

Username or password not accepted If Windows repeatedly says that the username or password you’ve entered is not recognised and you’re certain that you’re typing the correct information, then check your Caps Lock (CapsLck) key. You might be typing upper-case letters without realising it — and Windows passwords are case-sensitive. Tap Caps Lock to disable the mode and then try again. Also make sure that Num Lock (NmLck) is enabled, because if your password includes numbers and you’re using the numeric pad, you could be typing incorrect characters. Another possibility is that someone with an administrator account has altered your password, so ask around your family. If you have no joy, read the next fix. Lost or forgotten account password Type the wrong password a few times and Windows will…

KEN RIGSBY is Computeractive’s Mr Angry “My five-year-old iPad was rendered rubbish after just three years. I’d wager Apple planned this” Shall we start with a joke or two? OK, here goes. Why did the chicken cross the road? To see its flatmate! No? OK then: What game does an elephant play in the back of a Mini? Squash! Still no? Fair enough. It’s probably because I first heard those one-liners around 50 years ago and wrote them down for future use. The trouble is that those gags are now not merely stale but practically unusable; funny in their day, but no longer capable of raising a laugh. In short, they’re obsolete. That’s what keeps alleged humorists like me in business: people will always want to hear new jokes because…

Tell us what’s on your mind Email: letters@computeractive.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/computeractive Twitter: @ComputerActive www.twitter.com/computeractive Is ‘Apple’s overpricing’ worth it? Ken Rigsby is of course quite correct when he attacks Apple’s high prices (The Final Straw, Issue 477). But he didn’t mention a vital element that needs to be considered when buying Apple products. I’m referring to the very high standard of service and technical assistance – all in a language of your choice. I live in Spain and the local Apple office is very capable in their English-language skills, but if there is the slightest language problem they will transfer me to an expert based in Ireland – all for free. I’m not very good technically, but I find Apple products – especially the iMac – easy to use. There is…

SECURITY Winja www.snipca.com/20837 What you need: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1 or 10 It may sound like a word for someone who moans about everything, but Winja is short for something much tougher: ‘Windows Ninja’, the new malware-detecting guardian of your hard drive. Like other manual malware scanners, such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Winja is no substitute for a good antivirus (AV), but rather a companion to it. It won’t cause a conflict because it’s not designed to run in the background. However, unlike other malware scanners, Winja can harness the power of AV to block dangerous files and processes before they harm your PC or your wallet. It does this by running suspicious files through online malware-scanner VirusTotal, which collates up-to-themoment data from 56 AV programs and offers a ‘Detection…

PHONE ❘ £109 from Tesco www.snipca.com/20964 Motorola’s Moto G4 gives you a big phone for £160 (see our review, page 22), but what it you prefer a small phone for even less? The LG’s K8 is an eye-catching phone, with a slightly curved edge to its front glass that’s complemented by bowed top and bottom edges, giving the impression of a complex piece of engineering. There’s no physical Home button and the speaker is on the top edge, so the front looks uncluttered. Unusually, the power and volume buttons are on the back, so the sides are also free of distractions. The rear panel, which comes in a deep indigo, has a basket-weave texture that ought to be horrible but actually feels very pleasant. The medium-sized 5in screen has a…

What’s the best kit for editing videos? Q Can you advise on a laptop and software for editing camcorder and GoPro videos? I don’t really want to spend more than £800. John Mclaughlan A You need a full-size laptop with a big hard disk and a screen with decent colour fidelity. A mid-range Intel i5 PC can edit Full HD (1,920x1,080) video, but more cameras now shoot 4K, and unless you have a quad-core i7 with 8GB of memory, effects such as colour correction or cross-fades will make your editing timeline stutter. There are many good video editing apps. Adobe Premiere Elements (£79 from www.snipca.com/20957 – pictured) is easy to use and reliable, while Corel VideoStudio Pro X9 (£48 www.snipca.com/20958) does more for your money. Unlike these, Pinnacle Studio 19.5…

SUMMER 2016 The successor to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 stylus smartphone is rumoured to arrive in August. If the leaks are correct, it could have a big, wraparound screen, like the S7 Edge (pictured), as well as a top-end Snapdragon processor. AUTUMN 2016 Apple has unveiled iOS 10, the operating system that’ll be installed on the iPhone 7, due in autumn. The hardware isn’t expected to differ much from that of the iPhone 6s (pictured), but Apple may replace the headphone jack with a Lightning port adapter. AUTUMN 2016 New Macs are expected to arrive in the autumn, probably incorporating AMD’s latest graphics cards. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons the MacBook Pro will get an LED ‘touch bar’ above the keyboard, replacing the function keys. 2017 The industry expects Microsoft to…

Samsung Safety Screen Free Android: www.snipca.com/20981 Kids – and grown-ups – seem to spend far too much time staring at their smartphone screens. Long-term close-up use can impair vision and even affect users’ moods. This Android app warns you whenever you hold a device too close to your face. Renotify Free Android: www.snipca.com/20982 It’s annoying when you accidentally swipe away a notification from your note-taking app before reading it. Renotify lets you create notes that cannot be swiped away unless you open the app and turn off a setting for that note. You can also set when you want the reminder to appear. Raffler Free Android: www.snipca.com/20983 iOS: www.snipca.com/20984 This app could make you rich. Register to receive a five-digit number, which is entered into a daily £1,000 lottery draw.…

OUTLOOK Customise sound alerts for emails from specific people You’re probably familiar with the default ‘ding’ sound Outlook makes when you receive an email. But did you know you can customise this sound for arriving emails from certain people? It’s a good idea to set a different sound alert for important emails that require a quick response, for example. To do this, first find an email from the person whose alert tone you want to change. In this example, we’ll change the tone for all emails we get from the Windows Insider Program. Right-click the email in your inbox, move your cursor to Rules, then click Create Rule. Next, ensure the box next to the person’s name (‘From Windows Insider Program’ in our example) is ticked, and tick ‘Sent to’…

The app stores of Apple and Google are generally good at weeding out malicious apps. But occasionally one slips through the net, which is why it’s important to carefully review the permissions of every app you install. Last year, for example, a card-game app called Durak was added to the Google Play Store, but was later found to contain malware. The app had been downloaded nearly ten million times before the malware was discovered. It caused an advert to appear on infected phones every time the phone was unlocked that warned of fake security threats. Users were invited to ‘take action’ by clicking a link that took them to a page of security apps, which turned out to be fakes that – if installed – would send premium SMS messages…

Amazon Prime Availability: Now Format: iOS, Android, Windows, Smart TV Website: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/prime Price: £7.99 monthly, or £79 for 12 months As it happens, I started writing this feature with Father’s Day looming large. And there I was, on Friday, without a present for my dad for the following Sunday. It seemed the perfect opportunity to test out Amazon Prime’s delivery service. But Prime’s accelerated shopping service is only half the story. In fact, Amazon Prime is a multifaceted service. For £79 per year, you not only get Amazon’s next-day or same-day (depending on your post code) delivery service, but also access to Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos (a Google Photos image-storage alternative) and even an ebook-lending library for Kindle owners. But do all those added extras mean value for…

WARNING: Junk ahead Junk offender: IrfanView Brilliant software still has its downsides. IrfanView is up there with Chrome and Avast as the first three programs I install on a new PC – but they’re all a bit of a pain. Chrome for its PC-slowing processes, Avast for its aggressive pop-up messages, and IrfanView – a nimble little tool for capturing screenshots and converting image formats – for being a junkware attack waiting to happen. What, no developer’s download? Go to www.irfanview.com then click Download, and you’ll see a long list of buttons and links. Every single one takes you to a third-party listings site. As you’ll know, these sites often wrap programs in their own third-party installer along with unwanted extras (PUPs). At the top of IrfanView’s list is Cnet’s…

Contact us so we can investigate your case Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk Write: Consumeractive, Computeractive, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD Please include both your phone number and address. Unfortunately, we can’t reply to all your letters. Should I pursue a promised discount? Q In January 2016, I sent my Apple iPad 2 to a company called Fone Angels for repair for a total cost of £149.96. When I finally got my iPad back after nearly four months, I was promised a 10 per cent discount for the slow and poor service. I’m yet to receive this, so is it worth pursuing? Mike Johnston-Price A A verbal contract is as binding as a written one and Mike could take out a small-claims action. But, unless he’s got proof of this – for…

How can I share photo albums as I did with Picasa? Q I used to rely on Picasa for creating online photo albums. It gave me a link that allowed friends and family to view my photos in the right order, with captions. Now Picasa has been replaced by Google Photos, which doesn’t let me reorganise or caption my photos. What should I use instead? Brian Luffers A Google Photos has some great features, including automatic backup and an album tool that lets you include videos and GIFs alongside photos. But it ditches some of Picasa’s best bits, notably the option to order photos as you wish, and captions are hidden until the viewer clicks the tiny ‘i’ above a photo. To recapture the Picasa magic, you could try the…

PHONE ❘ £160 from John Lewis www.snipca.com/20943 It’s not difficult to find a smartphone for under £200. The hard part is actually liking it. When you pay a third of the price of an iPhone, you have to expect some compromises: typically a plasticky finish, a dull screen and slow performance. We always do our best to recommend budget phones that minimise these kinds of problems, and Motorola’s Moto G series has been a recurring favourite. But now, in its fourth generation, it might just be the phone that’s the answer to all our prayers. “It performs like phones that cost twice as much, and its camera is one of the best we’ve ever seen” The new 5.5in full HD display equals the Apple Plus model’s screen, and although it…

Find out what other products we liked. Buy our new 2015 Back Issue CD: £15 fromwww.snipca.com/19124 LAPTOP Asus UX305 £550 from www.snipca.com/19439 Tested: Issue 447 13.3in is a practical size for a laptop, and this light but sturdy ‘ultrabook’ has a smart and slim design that does justice to its capable performance. Upgradeable to Windows 10, it’s limited mainly by its 128GB SSD, which makes it work fast, but might leave you needing more space. ALTERNATIVE Toshiba Satellite C40-C This 14in Windows 10 laptop looks like it costs a lot more. It’s not the most amazing PC, but it’s fantastic for the price. £200 from www.snipca.com/20245 ANDROID TABLET Samsung Galaxy S2 9.7 £350 from www.snipca.com/20438 Tested: Issue 462 The Sony Xperia Z4 is too expensive and Google’s cheaper Nexus 9…

Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Extract zipped files in Google Drive ✓ My friend emailed me photos of our recent holiday together as a zipped (compressed) file. I moved my cursor over the zipped file in Gmail and saw two options – Download and ‘Save to Google Drive’. I chose the latter, which brought up prompts to save it to one of the folders within my Google Drive. However, after opening Google Drive (in Chrome), I realised that I couldn’t access these files. Double-clicking the zipped file let me see the items they contain as a list, but I couldn’t seem to share, view or download them. Thankfully, I found a way to extract these files. First, right-click the zipped file, move your cursor to ‘Open…

AGES 0-5 Shapes & Colors Music Show Free www.snipca.com/20985 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/20986 (iOS) This simple game will teach your toddler how to identify shapes and colours. They need to tap a shape to hear its name and colour. The app also has a multi-coloured piano keyboard; simply tap a key to make its associated coloured shape bounce. AGES 6-10 *Infinity Loop Free www.snipca.com/20987 (Android) Free www.snipca.com/20988 (iOS) Infinity Loop is a puzzle game that will improve your child’s concentration. They need to rotate small shapes so they join up to create a pattern. It’s an immersive game that can keep you occupied for hours. AGES 11-16 *Exploding Kittens £1.69 www.snipca.com/20989 (Android) £1.49 www.snipca.com/20990 (iOS) Your whole family can play this card game on their devices. Avoid drawing Exploding Kitten cards…

Make your desktop more colourful If you’ve recently upgraded to Windows 10 you might be wondering why File Explorer and other windows look a little pale. That’s because, by default, the title bars and other windows elements are white. To change your colour scheme, click Start, followed by Settings, Personalisation, then Colours. Now slide the ‘Show colour on Start, taskbar, action centre and title bar’ to On, then choose a colour. And if you like the Aero Transparency effects from Windows 7, also slide the ‘Make Start, taskbar and Action Centre transparent’ slider to On. Get more battery life Choosing a more complex theme can drain your laptop’s battery much faster when it’s not plugged in. For example, if you’re using a slideshow theme that rotates the desktop image, your…

In much the same way we blithely click Agree to lengthy license agreements when installing PC software, we usually tap OK to the long list of permissions requested when installing apps on our tablets and phones. But in our haste, we may miss permission requests that developers sneak in to let them access almost any information that’s stored on your device. Did you know, for example, that property-finder app Zoopla knows your call history? That eBay’s app can track your location? Or that Netflix can access your contacts list when you sit down to watch a film? We’re not suggesting these companies are behaving maliciously, but it shows just how much information your apps are collecting. What are app permissions? You can think of app permissions as keys that unlock…

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO WINDOWS 10 This 148-page book is the only guide you need on Microsoft’s new operating system. You’ll learn how to master all the new tools, lock Microsoft’s weak privacy settings and prevent future updates from wrecking your PC. It includes fixes for all the problems and bugs that have appeared in Windows 10 since it launched. Plus, you’ll discover how to make Cortana understand you, remove the apps you hate, fix the dreaded Reboot Loop problem, master the new Edge browser, and stop Microsoft sharing your personal info. BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON at www.snipca.com/17716 THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO ANDROID If you use an Android tablet or phone, this book will tell you how to get the most out of your device. It explains everything you…

Email us your problem and we’ll try to help: noproblem@computeractive.co.uk PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT Where’s my missing 300GB? Q I have a 3TB external drive, but Windows shows the capacity as just 2.72TB. I have just 1.95GB of files currently stored on this drive. My other drives show the expected capacities. Where’s my missing storage? Robert Stalker A This isn’t actually an error, but partly a result of how harddrive capacities are now commonly calculated and marketed, and partly because of how Windows tallies storage. Whichever way we explain the background, someone is likely to write in to tell us that one or other viewpoint is wrong — because it’s just one of those areas of technology that people like to argue about. We’ll just to stick to the facts,…