Computeractive

computeractive

EDITORIAL Group Editor Daniel Booth Deputy Editor Will Stapley Production Editor Graham Brown Art Editor Katie Peat Contributors Adam Banks, Dinah Greek, Jane Hoskyn, Jonathan Parkyn, Nick Peers, Nik Rawlinson, Wayne Williams ADVERTISING Group Advertising Director Andrea Mason Advertising Manager Alexa Dracos MARKETING AND CIRCULATION Subscriptions Rachel Hare Marketing Production Manager Gemma Hills For subscription enquiries ring 0330 333 9493 PRODUCTION Group Production Manager Stephen Catherall Production Controller Sophie Griffin MANAGEMENT Managing Director Dharmesh Mistry MD of Advertising Julian Lloyd-Evans Commercial and Retail Director David Barker Chief Executive James Tye Company Founder Felix Dennis…

from the editor

Reading dozens of privacy policies feels like a modern form of torture, so hats off to Deputy Editor Will Stapley. He scoured the small print of every VPN mentioned in our Cover Feature (and several that aren’t) to expose services that compromise your privacy. He emerged with his soul just about intact. His legwork reveals that a shocking number of VPNs are run by chancers who at best offer a shoddy service, and at worst steal your personal data. He explains how to spot these, names and shames the worst offenders, and recommends services you can actually trust. It’s an essential read for all VPN users. On another note, many readers have taken advantage of our offer to download Windows 10 Home at a huge discount. We’ve worked hard to extend this…

this issue in numbers

250m How many Microsoft customer-support records were exposed in a breach - p11 227 Number of towns and villages added to Openreach’s full-fibre list - p7 £109 Price of the Neocore E1 tablet recommended by reader Terry Warner - p43 HOW TO USE SNIPCA URLs We use snipcas to turn long URLs that are hard to type into ones that are short and simple. They aren’t websites themselves, which means they won’t be recognised if you type them into Google. Instead, you need to type them into your browser address bar, then press Enter. Doing this will take you to the correct website.…

microsoft updates w7 just 2weeks after support ended

Microsoft has backtracked and released a fresh update for Windows 7, just a fortnight after it ended support for the operating system. It took the decision after users reported a problem with its final update (codenamed KB4534310), which was released on 14 January, the day support ended. Users complained on online forums that the update was causing their desktop wallpaper to appear black when the Stretch option was selected. This option forces the wallpaper to fill the whole PC screen. At first, Microsoft said it would release the fix only to people and organisations that have paid for extended support. But the company quickly changed its mind following a fierce backlash from users, saying “all customers running Windows 7” will now get the update. Microsoft said the problem can also be fixed by…

apple: same charger on all phones will cause huge waste

Apple has attacked EU plans to force all tech companies to use the same charger, claiming it would lead to an “unprecedented” amount of electronic waste as customers throw away chargers that no longer work. MEPs are debating whether to make firms use a universal charger in order to make life easier for consumers. If such a law passed, Apple would have to replace its Lightning chargers (pictured) with a commonly used alternative, such as USB-C, which is used by most Android devices. Although the law would apply only in the EU, Apple would probably change its charger across the world. This would mean hundreds of millions of Apple users having to buy new chargers when upgrading to a new iPhone or iPad. They would also have to replace any accessory that…

full-fibre broadband coming to 227 small towns and villages

Openreach has announced that work will soon begin to deliver full-fibre broadband to 200 hard-to-reach areas. The company, which runs the UK’s broadband infrastructure, said 227 market towns and villages will be connected, giving speeds of 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) to around 250,000 homes and businesses. Locations include Aberdare and Camarthen in south Wales, East Grinstead in Surrey, Shaftesbury in Dorset, Liskeard in Cornwall and Clitheroe in Lancashire (download the full list as a PDF at www.snipca.com/33924). Work will begin before March 2021, following successful trials last year that connected 50,000 rural homes. Openreach will use heavy-duty tools specially built to lay cables in difficult terrain. Diamond cutters, for example, have a giant rotating blade embedded with sharp diamonds to slice through roads and pavements to create a neat channel for engineers to feed fibre-optic…