Carry multiple operating eae systems in your pocket p54 OVERRATED IL NUS De USING! e he best free open UTC Pe to Ta NI LLL ery ett £230 IM] NN i 9°771473' 709172 ne : PLN eT SCAN YOUR WI-FI | WHO’S BLOCKING aden AS Uae! §=FROM SCRATCH Reclaim stolen speed p50 Uncover secret snubbers p47 9 \iyyeer errs yr anetteACHIEVE ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE WITH THE PROLITE XB3288UHSU Grow your workspace with the 32° Prolite XES2SQUHSU efering pin-aharp images cisplayed in AK with vid tours without tag and motion Combine and watch images from different sources at the same time thanks to the Picture in Picture [PIP] mode support, suitable for graphic designers and engineers, = A fivama ens spabeoeia[i Homepage Issue 482 Open-source of constant delight side from a non-Microsoft web Dy erect first program I'd install on a new PC, to prepare for the junk to come. With its simple interface, powerful cleanup tools and sweeping-brush logo, CCleaner was free software that you could trust. How times have changed! Over the past few years, ‘CCleaner has been caught collecting user data, bundling unwanted junk and even spreading malware. So now when people mention CCleaner to me, | say "Ha! Overrated,” and with a swish of my cloak | direct them to an open-source alternative. ANYTHING FROM TOY a sao i Bite Switch to the best free open sou alternatives to mainstream 1 CLS rH I or tia ide FFotiow us on Twitter at twitter.com/webusermagazine ‘Average sales, Jan-Dee 2018, 26,519 copies por issue In this issue's cover feature, we look at the tragic tale of CCleaner and other programs that are past their prime, and recommend the best open-source equivalents. The tools we've picked are not only free to download, but free from corporate constraints, hidden security flaws and nags to upgrade to paid-for versions. We also explain what “open source’ means and why even Microsoft has surrendered to its charms. Robert Irvine, Editor [email protected] ‘#Bwebuser ETS AUSB STICK eee att eee Fit app on your phone page 6 How to find out what was fon TV on the day you were born = or any other date page 17 How to bring back the old Photo Viewer that Microsoft ditched in Windows 10 page 30 How to twoak Firofox to activate the browser's secret spell-checking tool page 65 How to make money by ‘using an old computer to mine for cryptocurrency page 67 Subscribe to Web User! Never miss another issue — subscribe at subscribe.webuser.co.uk a 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 3Protect yourself from Wi-Fihijackers p50 FAQ Our guide to Discord COVER FEATURE SOFTWARE YOU MUST STOP USING Ditch pricey software for superior free versions 7 Who's blocking you on the web? Find out who your friends are on social media Save money on digital subscriptions How to spread the cost and share the benefits Best free Wi-Fi network scanners ‘See who and what is accessing your network 4 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 : Ps roe a you onsocial metia p47 oS Bere es LOO eds Special subs offers ia UT GUMS MI TNO Cd Flies a ‘Slash the cost of streaming subscriptions 2 Best New Websites Celebrate the life and music of Johnny Cash Product Test + Budget smartphone head-to-head + Amazon Echo Show 5 Best Free Software Play any audio or video file using SKPlayer Best New Browser Tools Delete hidden web trackers in Chrome Best Free Apps Create new wallpaper for your Android phoneContents www.webuser.co,uk Fi www.facebook.com/webusermagazine QD vr twitter com/webusermagazine FAVOURITES us 6 What’s New Online Is Facebook in danger of Google redesions its image search fling mob justice? 74 8 Need to Know This fortnight’s top tech news stories, 12 Stay Safe Online Security advice for PC and mobile 18 Build a Better Site Expert tips, tools and practical help 60 Broadband Deals 20 What to Watch Online Films and TV shows you can't miss ‘Find the best-value package for you | 26 Best Buys 72 Inbox | Our pick of back to schoo! products Tell us your views and opinions 37 Take a Screen Break 74 Page 404 Guess the emoji animated films Don't trust the FB eye, warns Barry Web Mae a See ee Dae} 52 Workshop 1 Organise your music collection ZA Sy using Ashampoo Music Studio 54 Workshop 2 Create a multiboot USB drive 56 Workshop 3 | Use macros to automate your phone Teatea muttiboot USBstik p54 57 Workshop 4 L Detect changes to your folders Design and build your "58 Weekend Project ownwebsite p58 Build your own website, Part 1 64 Web User Masterclass Use hidden Chrome and Firefox tools | 66 Ask the Expert All your technical questions answered 69 Readers’ Helpdesk Solve other readers’ problems | 70 Readers’ Tips The best tips from our readers Esubscribe to Web User at subscribe. webuser.co.uk fdas ‘ta Se fee ee ‘tar owe Fost bey (etsy oe an eit an Fate tire Re ea tera ate exh fivaleme awe or, eomsensce (appt ees SeluSdeteate yon! over ono Copter Sep ae 3 acne toe como aos Pena aie Fee lasagne onsen Dee eserme nseoey srs Som s5 fiat sient ‘Sanna eres saree bros Shetty beta pam ames ar ‘on tap wero tn Vata Bere Surana sS5ohe re roti eee eye rare Pre su ee oe AaasSonest ah io arkonoady te intestate lahat ism esteem ea esos Fata seagate ewer tutte es Seinaesittarea Ooch, Seach WER? encinercreed cmt ae ‘ete ltitonipe cone {reer liens bed eat ‘ee ctmensotesn ie ane fre hort ete (si nme be oo (cot nema neem ti fee Wat cones set hae ene eye nate (ene enactment ees mates ferns res rnc ‘Matera spon Desh za ee ME DE (Groep nes ee eae oe aot Ete 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 5{3 What’s New Online Find and compare images faster in Google ‘oogle has redesigned the desktop version of its image search, making it easier to find relevant pictures and view Information about them. Now when you search for an image and click a result, it appears in a separate panel Con the right-hand side of the page and remains there while you continue scrolling, Google says this makes it easier to compare images without losing your place. Ifthe item you are searching for isa product that you can buy, the information below the image preview will include its price, availability and a retailer, along with two lines of description. The search engine also flags up any reviews, and you can share or save the Image with a single click. Google's aim is to get us to click > Bae through to relevant stores, and developers are being encouraged to ‘tako advantage of the feature. The redesign also gives smartphone users a new way to visit pages directly from Google Images. Select an image and, as long as the website supports. + ete Accelerated Mobile an. Pages, you'll see a How To Cook Moist eas Bottom aftr screen | Hitn rat | Sree Watch a personalised Instagram documentary bit-ly/instaae2 Interactive video storytelling usually involves choosing your own path at key moments, but /nstagramification, a new online documentary by the BBC, also takes mood and personal preferences into account, Powered by BEC R&D’s web-based StoryFormer tool, the programme asks you to complete a five-question survey to datermine the film's direction, The Beeb says future shows ‘could source information from your past interactions ‘As you watch instagramification, you can skip sections ~ which will be a relief if constant talk of "the gram" proves. too grating - and discover how your survey answers steer what you see. By viewing, you agree to accept the use of cookies. The BBC says it collects information about how you interact, soit can work on future programmes and Understand how much o litle filming is needed. on INSTAGRAMIFICATION | 6 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 Track your sleep patterns using Google Fit www.google.com/fit Google Fit has long been able to track your daily activity using an app on your phone or smartwatch, and now you can use it to monitor how well you're sleeping, too. The latest update lets you connect third-party sleep. apps and use their shared information to create charts of, your sleep patterns. You can also edit and add to the data, and enjoy the convenience of having it all in one place. (On top of that, iOS users can now get workout-route maps, which were once available only in Fit for Android These grab data from a Google smartwatch, Apple Watch and other connected apps to track your daily fitness. Finally, as is customary these days, Google Fit is getting a Dark Mode at last. IF you decide to check your fitness and sleep data late at night, you should find the app much easier con your eyes than the previously dazzling white version.What's New Online [J We pick the 10 best things you must do on the web this fortnight Learn the benefits of cycling to work bit.y/eycieas2 If you need proof that you can shorten your daily commute time by getting on your bike, check out Cycle Republic's beautifully presented Cyculater. Enter your start and ‘end points, and it uses data from Google Maps to compare your journey by bike, car ‘and public transport, before calculating the ‘annual time, cost and health benefits Turn Chrome into Flappy Bird flappy-windows.netlify.com Flappy Bird is an addictive side- scrolling game from 2013 that just — keeps coming back. We looked at a Battle Royale in Issue now this ingenious new iteration has been getting us in a flap all over again. Created by Charles Gerard over a weekend, this clever Chrome ‘experiment creates obstacles out of moving browser windows that contain images of pipes. Press the Spacebar, and another window containing the flappy bird rises, challenging you to avoid the ‘obstacles and stop your fleppy bird touching the bottom of the screen Relive the classic game Diablo bitiy/diabloas2 Role-playing action game Diablo was highly acclaimed when it was released for Windows, Mac and PlayStation in 1996. Fast forward 23 years and you ‘can now play it in your browser. You'll need to own the game if you want to ‘enjoy it in allits glory (it costs £7.89 from Gog.com), but you can access. the shareware version for free simply by selecting that option from the menu. This gives you a taste by allowing you to play the first two dungeons using the Warrior class. Just be aware that this Diablo retains some ‘of the bugs of the original game. Check Amazon’s best-selling books www.amazon.co.uk/charts ‘Amazon has started listing its top 20, fiction and nonfiction books. These are separated into two further categories. Most Read highlights popular Kindle ‘and Audible titles, while Most Sold accounts for books sold, pre-ordered or borrowed in paper, ebook or audiobook format. You can read a chapter or two of each entry, hear samples and check customer reviews, ‘a ‘i a — Frell us your favourite new things at twitter.com/webusermagazine NEW VOICE - COMMANDS — Listen to your messages Google Assistant can now °, ad tseagea Bent tibcroarey apps such as WhatsApp. With app notification access switched on, say © “Hey Google, read my messages”. @\ Delete your recordings |" apple contractors canno + longer listen to your Siri recordings, | and you can remove past data. Go to Settings, Sir @ Search, Turn off | the Ask Siri options, then go to | Settings, General, Keyboard and turn off Enable Dictation, O Ener 2 history podeast Historian Dan Snow's popular podcast attracts a million listens every month. Say “open history hit” | | and you can choose to listen to the > latest episode or pick a past one. t Check how your city’s temperature will change bity/tempaa2 The UK hit record temperetures in July, and the future i key to be joven warmer. Us this too! to search foracity, then view the projectec temperature rises through to 2100. Stop Amazon reviewing Alexa recordings bit iy/alexaae2 ‘Amazon listens to voice recordings from Alexa to improve its service You can stop this via the website or the Alexa app 90 to Settings, Alexa Privacy, Menage How Your Data Improves Alexa ond turn this of. Learn languages via Twitch wroritwitch tv/duotinge Duslinge has partnered with streaming platform Twitch to help viewers leara new languages. Verified streamers will encourage thors to practise languages in Twitch chat end expose them to foreign lingos in their broadcasts 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 7E) Need to Know Intel processors hit by another massive security flaw What happened? Yet another vulnerability has been discovered in Intel's processors, following the severe Spectre and Meltdown flaws that hit the hardware maker's products over the past couple ‘of years. Researchers from security firm Bitdefender who discovered the latest Flaw have named it the SWAPGS Attack, after the particular instruction it affects (bit. \y/swapas4a2). Bitdefender says any computer that uses an intel chip and runs Windows or Linux could be at risk. The SWAPGS Attack takes advantage ‘ofa system in Intel's processors called speculative execution, which guesses hich instructions will come next to help speed up processing. Some of those guesses tum out to be incorrect, in which case the system should set thom aside and ignore them. However, in some instances, the predicted instruction actually loads deta into the cache, where other processes in the system con read it. Ifattackers use that system to sneak into a machine, they can access the ‘computer's kernel memory and steal any data that has preloaded in this way, including passwords. The security flaw was actually discovered more than a year ago, but the researchers passed on their information to the companies affected to give them time to develop patches ‘and roll them out. Microsoft issued its patch in July, so if you have installed that update, your PC is protected Bitdefender discovered the SWAPGS flaw, ‘and has worked with Intel to patch it 8 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 cS How will it affect you? Security researchers discovered this flaw, which is good news because it means the companies were able to fxit before any problems occurred. While we can't know for sure that criminals hadn't also discovered the vulnerability there's no evidence to suggest that anyone has used it, so i's not something the average user needs to panic over. Indeed, theres litle most of us can do about such a hack, because it requires patches developed by the tech industry. That's what's happened here and ave Microsoft, ntl, Bitdefender and other companies time to work on a solution before details ofthe flaw were made public. n other words, if you keep your computer upto date and fully patehed, you should be protected from this particular flaw. In many ways, the onus on computer security has shifted from the user to the industry. Processortevel flaws aren't something @ home user can address, We stil need to be wary of phishing attacks and other scams that trick us into Glicking dodgy links or opening malicious downloads, and we stil need to keep our systems up to date and run security software, But beyond that there's litle most of us can do in the face of such vulnerabilities In short, this isn'ta flaw you need to do much about, other than - and well repeat this again - making sure you Install the latest updates for your operating system and software. If you de that, you'll gain the benefit of the year of work Microsoft, Bitdefender and Intel have put in to protect you against this flaw, What do we think? Intel has been hit by one vulnerability after another, but it's hard to know if that's a sign something is amiss at the chipmaker or it it's just the result of researchers paying processors more attention. The former would be very bad ews, given how widespread Intel's processors are, The latter is good news for all of us, however, because the efforts of security companies such as Bitdefender keep Intel and other tech giants on their toes, and point out where they slip up. It’s always worth remembering that although flaws like this sound serious, there's little for most people to worry about. There's no evidence that hackers abused the vulnerability, and it would bea difficult thing to do. it's important that we are told about problems like this, but you don't need to worry that you're no longer safe online. The real threats for most web users are the simple attacks, such as phishing, that pay off quickly and with less effort and skill than would be required to exploit this flaw. The headlines may sound scary, but the real threat lies elsewhere.Need to Know What we think of this fortnight’s top tech news stories and rumours, and how they affect you _Apple cracks down on DIY battery repairs | What happened? Apple is locking iPhones to | stop people repairing their vices themselves. That's according to repair specialists at iFixit Coit v/ ifixita82), who discovered | that insteling a new battery - whethorit's an official Apple part ora third-party product - triggers a message saying that the battery needs to | be serviced. This means you have to take the | ‘hone to an apple store be fixed According to Fixit, when you replace an iPhone's battery, the Battery Health [section of the iPhone's software shows an important battery message", saying that the ONT ee a ae) Discourage Repair device can't verity it, and refuses to show other battery health information, How will it affect you? This problem seems to affect only newer iPhones, including the XR, XS and XS Max. If you see this message after replacing a battery, it doesn't necessarily mean the battery is flawed or won't ‘work, but you won't benefit from the “battery health” information that’s available to other iPhone users: ‘Apple iPhones are notoriously difficult to fix at home, thanks in part to the ‘amount of glue that holds the super-thin smartphones together. t's not impossible, though, and anyone who has the confidence to crack open a gadget should be allowed to do the work themselves What do we think? Phones last much longer than their batteries, which have a lifespan of around two years. Sometimes, you'll get longer from a battery, sometimes less, but replacing the battery is ‘an excellent way to keep your phone going without having to shell out for a replacement. You may remember that battories were easy to replace in the early days of smartphones. You simply removed the back panel - a process that was designed to be simple. This should be the case now, too, and we should have the right to repair our devices in any way we see fit. I's 9 pity that Apple doesn't appear to agree. Huawei unveils its alternative to Android What happened? Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei revealed that it has been working on its own operating system, after Google suspended its licence earlier this year. Google's move followed US government ban prohibiting American companies from doing business with specific Chinese firms, including Huawei, amid a trade war Existing Huawei phones that already have Android installed aren't at risk, but Huawei’s next range of handsets will need a new 5. That's why the. company has developed its, ‘own, Called Harmony05, the software is designed to work across phones and other smart devices, including TVs and wearable technology. Like Android, it will be open-source (see our cover feature on page 40). How will it affect you? ‘The CEO of Huawer's ‘consumer arm said Harmony0S is ready to use now, but it's expected to be released in handsets at the end of this year. The company has already demonstrated the software running on a smart TV. The move allows Huawei to continue making phones despite the trade ban, but it's hard to know whether this will rescue the Chinese smartphone maker outside its own home market, Plenty ‘of mobile operating systems have come and gone before, including Microsoft's Windows Phone, Firefox ©, WebOs and BlackBerry, Huawei has long described HarmonyOs as a “plan B" that it would turn to only if Android ‘was no fonger an option. This suggests that the company will continue to negotiate with US authorities, What do we think? Making an operating system isn't easy, and plenty of firms have failed. We'll have to wait to soe HarmonyOS inaction ona smartphone before we ‘can pass judgement, but the A oiscuss web news at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine HarmonyOS lf trade war chaos around the company makes its devices a tough sell, especially when there are so many ther options. It may seem odd to make a smartphone buying decision based on US politics, but that's 2019 for you. Look out for an FAQ on HarmonyOS in our next issue. 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 9Need to Know WhatsApp flaw “puts words in your mouth” What happened? A flaw has come to light in WhatsApp that lets hackers fake conversations on ‘your phone. Researchers demonstrated ‘2 tool that exploits the flaw at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, where ‘experts and businesses gather to discuss trends in cybersecurity. Created by security company Check Point (bit lv/checkpoint482), the tool exploits ‘WhatsApp's quote feature, which lets users forward someone else's message {and add their own comments. Using the tool, hackers can alter the original text. (Oded Vanunu, one of the researchers behind the tool, said: “It's a vulnerability that allows @ malicious user to create fake news and create fraud. You can ‘completely change what someone says You ean completely manipulate every character in the quote. ‘The firm revealed two more problems with the Facebook-owned messaging ‘app. Hackers can potentially change how users are identified, allowing them to misattribute sources, while the third flaw tricks users into thinking group messages are private messages. Facebook claims to have fixed this problem, but the other vulnerabilities remain due to WhatsApp’s infrastructure limitations’. Check Point has defended its decision tocreate the tool. Vanunu stated it was the company’s “responsibilty” to reveal © FIRST LOOK Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus bit.ly/note482 ‘Samsung has just unveiled its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus, and it could be the company’s best handset yet. ‘The phone's most obvious feature is that it's massive, It's easily Samsung's, biggest smartphone to date, which is either a selling point or a problem. The screen is a near-unmanageable 6.8in, and we're not sure anyone has pockets big enough fort. IF you think that seems like overkill, you may be better off with the Galaxy Note 10, which has a mere 6.3in screen Despite its size, the phone is pleasingly light and slim: the Note 10 Plus weighs 1969 and measures 77 X 162X 7.9mm. Like its closest 10 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 vulnerabilities. He added: “There is a big problem with fake news and manipulation. t's infrastructure that serves more than 1.5 billion users. We cannot put it aside and say: ‘Okay, this is not happening’ How will it affect you? The fact that the world's most popular messaging app is riddled with bugs is concerning, but the forwarding flaw shouldn't affect you directly - as long as. Check Point's tool isn't leaked online However, now that Check Point has brought the vulnerabilities to light, they will be on every hacker's radar. That makes it more likoly that someone else will create their own exploits. Given the competitor, the new iPhone, Samsung's otherwise stainless-steel device has a delicate glass back so be careful not to drop it Inside, the handset packs the powerful new Exynos 9825 processor ‘and a generous 1268 of RAM, ensuring that ‘apps and games open instantly. So far Samsung has confirmed 25668 and 51268 versions, but the latter won't be ‘available in the UK at launch. However, the 25668 model, which also features wireless charging, has more than enoush internal storage for most users, and iteven supports microSD cards up to TTB. For those who want access to the fastest mobile data networks, 2 5G version is on its way. A nature of the tool, it appears that potential hackers would have to exchange messages with users ~ so a simple fix for now is to avoid messages from unknown numbers. What do we think? Perhaps it's no surprise in the age of the. deep fake that you can now create false messages to lie to oF confuse users. What is surprising is that this is possible on a hugely popular app with end-to- tend encryption. WhatsApp users have Fight to expect security. If Facebook can't fix the problem, ithas a duty to Inform everyone about the vulnerability and offer support. This is a case where it pays to be vigilant ‘As usual with ‘Samsung phones, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a host of interesting features for photographers, such as the built-in image stabiliser, live video effects and five different cameras with ‘multiple lenses. You'l also find a video editor that supports the S Pen ‘accessory, which lets you ‘draw! and ‘write’ on the screen or control certain ‘apps at the click of a button. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is available Inbblack, white and a blue-to-white shade called ‘aqua glow’ Prices start at £999, s0 it’s very much a big phone with a big price.rd WHAT’S THE RUMOUR Is Google Play introducing a subscription? Google Play is the latest ina long line of online services that's rumoured to be Introducing a subscription. The ‘company confirmed it has been secretly testing the option for the Play store, and refused to rule out a full launch. Ever since Netflix went mainstream, ‘every company in the world seems to be chasing those lucrative subscriptions From video games to razor blades, no business is above trying to charge you a monthly fee for products you'd usually buy outright. Not content with earning megabucks flogging data about you to advertisers, it seems even Google wants a slice of thet subscription pie. The idea behind the service, dubbed Play Pass, is to charge mobile users a flat fee to download select ‘games and apps from the Play Store. A roal selling point, though, is that Google ‘won't bombard subscribers with ads or in-epp purchases. The move seems to be an attempt to rival Apple's identical service Apple Arcade, ‘which Is due to launch soon Leaked screenshots suggest that Google wants to charge $4.99 (around £4) per month. That’s not unreasonable, although given that this is 2 trial, the price may sky-rocket if the service ever rolls out to all Android users, ‘As with Xbox's Games Pass, subscribers won't own the games, This isa digital rental service, with an option to pay for the game if you want to own it, Expect paid-for games and apps to > Google Play Pass ply, no terrions. Access unre prem aops and gare. hae No purehasee A Noste 0 opp purchowes inches No onmitents Cancel anti Faia rotate in and out of the catalogue, to encourage those extra payments, LIKELIHOOD RATING IAASS | Werre confident that Google is planning teleunch «Ply store heedetieseasien wee fae Company won't quite edmit | yet. After all, every other major feck husnees eigen | Sinn ncoatng Govstere mala | Smartphone competitor Apple, | ott mates sense fr the search | Slant to oln the club and rake in | Site extra cash What’s new on Kickstarter felt Neptune 1 bit ly/spaceas2 | From £25 ee ie cea meer err 50 years after man first set foot on the Moon, you can now {90 into space yourself. Unfortunately, it's not quite one ‘small step, but rather one small sliver of your DNA. You ‘can think of the trip as a rocket-fuelled charter fl ht. To get on board, back the ‘project, send in some of your hair and next year i'l join thousands of follicles aboard the Neptune micro rocket. A unique tracking code lets you follow its journey from loading to launch and beyond! Sending your own hair into space ‘costs £25, while for £100 you can send the ashes of a loved one into the stars. bbiscuss web news at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine Need to Know t WEBOMETER ap inngie Maps ads AR-directions option Google Maps has added an augmented-realty feature called Live View to its Android ‘and iOS apps. This ‘ses your phone's camera to superimpose D arrows and other navigation details over live images of the real world to help you find your way around, A ? Discord introduces live game streaming chat service Discord is taking on Twiteh with 2 new feature called Go Live which lets users stream lve videos of their gameplay — ° our FAG on page 38 for more about Discord 4 Microsoft workers listen to Skype calls, Contractors working for Microsoft are to personal Skype calls made using the app's translation function. These ae) workers also review recordings of voice commands made to Microsoft's voice The popular gaming- to upto 10 people at atime. See reportedly listening assistant Cortana, Knives for sale on Facebook Anyone can buy knives on Facebook Marketplace without age verification, ‘even though the law requires buyers Sa to be over 18. The — Guardian was able to purchase four sets of knives through the service without any age checks, 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 11EJ Stay Safe Online News about the latest threats and advice from security experts Security flaws found in Nvidia graphics cards Five dangerous vulnerabilities, including one that could allow an attacker to execute malicious code locally, have been discovered in a host of Nvidia grophics cards, ‘Anyone who has an Nvidia GeForce, Quadro or Tesia graphics processing unit (GPU) in their PC is urged to update their drivers immediately, after the company published details of the recently discovered flaws The most severe vulnerability involves a flaw in a component of the Windows GPU Display Driver software. If exploited, it could allow ‘an attacker to install malware on a Vietim’s machine. Two other flaws affect DirectX drivers and would also let a hacker execute malicious code fF launch a denial-of-service attack. Although the vulnerabilities are rated ‘highly severe’ an attacker would need physical access to a device, so they're less likely to be a problem than flaws that can be exploited remotely Security patches that fix the flaws are avalable through Nvidia's Support site (it ly/patches482) and may also be rolled out by GPU hardware makers. bity/nvidiaas2, Google finds vulnerability in Apple’s Message app Security researchers are urging iPhone users to update their devices immediately after vuinerabilties wore discovered in Apple's Message messaging app. Google's bug-hunting Project Zero ‘team found five flaws in iMessage that could leave iOS devices open to attack ‘The researchers cald ane of the Vulnerabilities was so severe that the ‘only way to rescue a targeted iPhone ‘would be to delete al the data stored ‘on the device. Another flaw could be used to copy files from an iPhone ‘without the owner's permission. ‘Apple released fixes for the vulnerabilities after Project Zero reported its findings, but the researchers said they also flagged a sixth problem to Apple, which hadn't bbeen patched at the time of writing, ‘Apple hasn't commented on the specific Message flaws, but the company urges users to install the new version oF iOS. "Keeping your software up to date is one of the most important things you can do tomaintain your Apple product's security,” it said in a statement. bitly/imessage4s2 Security Helpdesk | Your questions answered by security specialists THIS ISSUE'S EXPERT: Alexander Eremin, security researcher at Kaspersky (www.kaspersky.co.uk) KASPERSKY How worried should we be about password stealing malware? Matt Jonkins, Twitter According to Kaspersky's data, the number of users targeted by password thioves rose from less than 600,000 in the first half of 2018 to over 12 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 940,000 during the same period of 2019. Password Stealing Ware (PSW) is a major weapon in the cybercriminals’ toolkit ‘This type of malicious software uses various methods to grab data from your web browser. Often this information is sensitive and includes access details for online accounts, as well as financial information such as saved passwords, autofil data and bank card details ‘Some versions of this type ‘of malware are designed to steal browser cookies, files from specific lecations, such as your desktop, and files from apps, including messenger services, money from them Because we use the internet to perform so many everyday tasks, our digital profiles are filing with data This makes them lucrative targets for criminals, who have various ways of making Kaspersky offers the following advice to ensure your passwords and other credentials remain secure: * Don't share passwords or personal information with friends or family, because they could unwittingly make them vulnerable to malware, ©. Password Stealing Ware (PSW) uses various methods to grab data from your web browser i § Don't post them on forums or social media channels either. * Always install updates and product patches to ensure you're protected from the latest threats, * Use a reliable security :00! such as Kaspersky Password Manager (bit y/ kaspersky482), which Is designed to securely store passwords and personal information, including passports, driving licences and bank cards, email us your security questions at [email protected]OG palicome Sales: 01270 898 104 E-mail: [email protected] Mignene eAeienCoe INTEL i5 COSMOS - £1099.99 INTEL i5 SBOOK - 6 Cores - 6 Threads (0.C 4.8Ghz) ASUS PRIME Z370-P Il CORSAIR 8GB DDR4 3200Mhz expertreviews: : SAMSUNG 256GB PMSBI M.2 SEAGATE 2TB Sata3 HDD cay os NVIDIA RTX2060 6GB acim PARR K COOLERMASTER Masterbox Lite 5 MICROSOFT Windows 10 or 10 Pro. expertreviews, PC of the Year 2018 AMD ABYSS - £699.99 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X expertreviews. ASUS TUF B450-PLUS CORSAIR 8GB DDR4 2400Mhz INTEL 512GB M.2 Nvme SEAGATE 1TB SATA3 - Gb/s AMD RX 570 8GB KOLINK Stronghold MICROSOFT Windows 10 or 10 Pro INTEL i7 NEBULA - £1549.99 INTEL i7 9700K - 8 Cores - 8 Threads (O.C 4.8Ghz) ASUS TUF Z370-PLUS GAMING CORSAIR 16GB DDR4 3200Mhz SAMSUNG 2 x 256GB PMS81 M.2 in RAID O C SEAGATE 2TB Sata3 HDD NVIDIA RTX2070 8GB PRO KOLINK Observatory MICROSOFT Windows 10 or 10 Proi eet | Johnny Cash wwwjohnnycash.com ened | Pant This revamp of the official site for ut) legendary singer-songwriter Johnny Cash walks the line of true excellence in its celebration of the Man in Black. ‘Whether you want to browse streams of his songs (via Spotify, Apple Music ‘Amazon, Deezer oF Tidal, all arranged into handy tabs) or simply meander through his vast and varied discography, you'll find tall hore. The ste includes a Complete tour history of 4.300 dates ~ many including set lists ~ as well as videos, books, movie cameos and awards, There's also lots of news and ‘photos, an invitation to submit images and a packed merchandise store ME TO JOHN milestones, divided into « ee Our rating 2 cinch Welcome to cars without | the faff. neces eS eee The Ticket Factory www.theticketfactory.com_ The Ticket Factory isthe official box office for Bimingham's Resor World ‘Arena and Arena Birmingham, but i also caters for other venues across the UK This clean redesign ofits once-cluttered vwebrite offers a much better showcame, for forthcoming events, so youre more Cinch www.cinch.co.uk Would you buy a used car from this website? Cinch, a new marketplace for car likely to find something of interest. It has dealers and supermarkets, hopes 50. It claims to sell motors “without the faff” by special sections for highlights hot tickets helping you find a car that suits your needs. Click “Help me choose” and Cinch asks _and staff picks, and we like the way it questions about your budget, the age and size of the drivers and passengers, the shows service, admin and postage fees types of road you drive on and the distances you travel, as well as your preferences. It beside the ticket price. Selecting dates then shows you recommendations and lets you click to see the available models, and times is quick and easy. You can filtering by location and spec. There's @ handy jargon buster too, and you can even _choose your seats on an interactive map, sell your own car, but this is through Webuyanycarcom, so don't expect atop price. _and the checkout is lightning fast. Our rating < Ourrating oko 14 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 Reviews by David CrookesWe review this fortnight’s best new and relaunched websites and rate them for content, design and features Oe as. eer rite Research Institute of Historical Research www.history.ac.uk By consigning its old website to the past, the UK's national centre for history is moving with the times. I now looks far less stuffy thanks to its use of bold images and a mobile-iendly design that ezchews tiny news headlines crammed into small boxes in favour of fleshed out explanations of projacts and resources (such a the crowd-sourced mapping project, Layers of London), There's much for history buffs to delve into from alist of upcoming seminars and publications toa search facity forthe institutes trary and links to online material Our rating J Ue cus Bundely www.bundely.com Any parent will tell you that children take Up alot of time. indeed, as the two mothers behind this new site believe, flogging kids’ items on existing selling sites can be too much hassle, instead, they hope parents will sell and buy entire lots of children’s clothes, shoes, toys and more in targeted bundles through free listings qwith payments for featured ads). Buyers can search by category or keyword and filter the results, but sellers have to arrange @ meeting because sales, are made in person on a cash-only basis. This limits you to your local area and may Ultimately prove more time-consuming Our rating ns ATell us about your website via [email protected] Birds and Debris www.birdsanddebris.com Rubbish has long been recognised as a ‘major threat to birds, because our feathered friends can become entangled In debris such as plastics. The University of the Highlands and Islands is examining the scale of the problem by asking members of the public to upload photos of troubled birds or nests full of rubbish and place them on an interactive map. ‘The hope is that ft will highlight hotspots s0 that future monitoring can be better targeted. You can view images that others have uploaded and read details of recently reported problems, browsing entries by country, species and date. Our rating to 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 15Eq Best New Websites Geel FOOTBALL Leyton Orient www.leytonorient.com Leyton Orient secured promotion to the English Football League in May after two seasons outside, but rather than follow 58 other clubs in allowing EFL Digital to ‘operate its website, its kicking on alone. ‘The result is pretty good. It immediately presents you with the latest news, and you're just a short scroll away from the recent results and upcoming fixtures. Games are accompanied by stats and a match report, and there are interviews {and an abundance of club info to get stuck into. OF particular note is the live ‘and on-demand video platform, Orient ‘TV. which will contain free highlights and full match replays for registered users. Jott: Our rating CREATIVITY Creative England www.creativeengland,co.uk PETS Our Family Dog ourfamilydog.co.uk The life of @ pet parent can be “ruff, so if you're a first-time dog owner, you might like to “paw-se" at this new hub for @ while. As well as advice on getting a doo = whether you're buying or adopting - it tells you about the different stages of a puppy's development, setling a pooch into your home and the basics of dog training, Most of the advice is toxt based, with copious links to other sections and suggestions for relevant websites to check out. Our favourite section, Stories, contains cute reports of doggy derring- do, tips and shared experiences. The fledgling forum is also nice to see, but it reeds to collar more members. Our rating Jobb: ‘This not-for-profit organisation supports England's creative industries, from TV and flim production te video games and digital media. You might therefore expect its new ‘website to ooze innovation but, disappointingly, i's perhaps a litle too conventional for our liking, That's not to say it doesn't look feat. From the moment its fast-cut ‘opening video started, it held our attention, The site certainly succeeds in promoting its activities and initiatives, with lots of information, stories and a series of video shorts that give storytellers a voice and showcase their work, The latter section is the ‘one that interested us most, highlighting England's great depth of creative talent. Our rating toto: 16 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 HEALTH Coeliac UK www.coeliac.org.uk Whether you suffer from coeliac disease or have some other type of gluten Intolerance, youl find plenty of support ‘and guidance here, The site offers 1077 gluten-free recipes which, thanks to its responsive design, look great on mobile pphones and tablets. There's also clear guidance on seasonal ingredients, chocolate and other food and drink, although these could be better promoted Con the homepage and perhaps given their own link. However, the site's main aim isto raise awareness of the ines and serve news, information and support. To that end, the FAQs are comprehensive {and the details on diagnosis enlightening, Our rating HERITAGE Malta Heritage heritagemalta.org The beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta has a rich cultural heritage stretching back thousands of years, but if you can't jet over and explore it yourself, this site aims to give you a virtual tour Its main attraction is an ‘abundance of content, with a page for each museum and 360-desree views inside many of the buildings, as well as a huge selection of photos, detailed descriptions and videos. Its biggest problem, however, is its frustrating loading times. Pages took far too long to appear, and we were close to giving up. It also suffers from formatting issues, Our rating okoWelcome to the BBC Genome Project Whats here BBC Genome genome.ch.bbe.co.uk What was on BBC One on the day you were born? In this writer's case, we can tell ‘you that it was Top of the Pops hosted by Tony Blackburn) followed by Are You Being Served?, while over on BBC Two later you could laugh at Dave Allen at Large. ‘Those are just some of the fun facts you can discover at the amazing Genome ‘archive, which provides BBC listings information from the Radio Times for the years 1925 to 2009. You can search the site for specific programmes, people and dates, or just browse by month and year, to discover what was broadcast across all BBC TV ‘and radio stations. Genome is an invaluable tool for researchers and telly addicts alike, and users can edit entries to add missing details | eI i) le JustWatch www.justwatch.com/uk (tie dovinside of having such 0 wide choice of viewing these days is that i can be hard to tel which fms end TV programmes are available on which streaming services, To save yourself snalesly channel hopping, hea to LlustWatch, which lets you search for ‘TV series and fms to rent, buy and watch for free across allthe malor ‘on-demand and catchup services, The website covers more than 30 providers inclicing Netf, Now TY, Prime Video, iPlayer, All 4, Sky Go and UK TVPhay, and iets you search by tile, actor and release date. You can create a watchist ‘of shows you'd ike to view later and Use JustWatch’s Android end iOS apps t0'set up price-drop alerts for specific rentals and purchases tWtropes TVTropes tvtropes.org You probably know that jumping the shark’ refers tothe point where a television series goes downhil, but what about yanking the dog's chain’ (hich is when 2 charactor suffers tnrelenting misery) or lampshading! Guten writers draw attention to a sily plot development. These and thousands of other televisual convontions ar catalogued in tmerllss detail by TV Tropes, a sprawling wiki that analyses TV shows Ges wellas fms, books, games and more to identify common plot devices and character types Its much mare fun than it sounds, and meny tropes such a5 EastEnders frequent use ofthe roaring rampage of revenge’ ~ wil have you nodding your heed in recognition. Fre us about your favourite TV sites via [email protected] Essential bookmarks LL URS ie Ue) Frinkiac frinkiac.com The Simpsons may be long past its prime as a TV show, but i's possibly the most popular source of GIFs and memes on the web, and most of them ow come from Frinkiac. This ingenious site has captured three milion screenshots, complete with subtitles, from the first 17 seasons of the animated series (t's about to start its 31st). This means you can search for words that were spoken during an episode, then recreate a favourite scene or quote by clicking Make Meme or Make GIF, and selecting the relevant pictures. You can then share or save the result. Frinkiac algo offers a Random option for instant Simpsons fun, TV Cream bit.ly/tvcream4e2 TV Cream has been a Web User favourite since the early days of the ‘magazine, and for the past two years, It's been running a fascinating weekly series on the history of ‘Saturday night television in the UK (revised and updated from a previously published version). This impeccably researched, 100-part piece traces the behind-the-scenes development of weekend telly from the 1960s to the 1990s (and counting), covering such popular shows as The Generation Game, Game For A Laugh and Blind Date, ‘as well as The A-Team, Robin of Sherwood and Baywatch. Perfect for a trip down memory lane. 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 17G5 Build a Better Site Specialist tips, top tools and practical help Tem eRmulnacaulculs _ Web-building Helpdesk Improve your HTML skills See WordPress stats more | I created a website using Wix Many readers of Build a etter —_ easily on your phone (www.warpoetry.uk) Site willbe familiar with Much of the joy of having a L to replace anather Hypertext Marup website comes from finding out | (www.warpoetry.co.uk) that Language (HTML who visits it, where they're = Was destroyed by hackers. = the basie from and which pages For 10 years my original waren building they look at. A recent | site was number one in blocks of update for WordPress | search results, with a peak every web sors has significantly | of one million page visits a year. The page), but improved the stats tool on new website isn’t even in the top 100. those who the mobile app, so you no David Roberts, Hurstpierpoint aren't may longer need tobe sitting find the at your PC to find out [As you've discovered the hard way, learning it rather Get the WordPress app from the site-bullding techniques is fraught daunting. Flavio Copes Goosle Play (bit iy/weand482) with danger All the respect your old site laviocopescom) has written and Apple Cit y/wpapn4s2) | gained from Google has been reset to zero. a freehandbook on the topic app stores | There are ways to minimise the impact of that's easy to read, accessible [this but most of them involve replacing ‘and very informative. You usually {domains and web pages gradually it you still have to sign up for hisnewsletier Deal of the Fortnight havea backup of your old site, we'd advise ‘which is free at bitiy/tenews4e2) Namecheap (wi.nameceap.c)i EJ youto reinstateit, then carefully follow to get it, but FreeCodeCamp ofeing 0% a saul osting £5 the guidelines at bitly/ooourtaa2 and ‘wwntreecodecamp org) has exkoes ing taste E bitiy/mozuriag2 published it without the need to paage downto 125 per month, ‘Andy Shaw, Technical & Reviews Editor _ sign up at bit y/htmihb 482, MINI WORKSHOP | Add column layouts to Wix websites Wix: www.wix.com | 10 mins | A Wix website ‘Many websites use an attractive column layout that breaks up the page and converts neatly when viewed on a smartphone. Here's how to recreate it on a Wix website en - re te eee SS occ aa en and scroll to the position where you {© Manage Columns. EV This lets you content. Double-click the various ‘want the new columns to appear. Click choose how many colurmns you want and elements in each column to change the ‘Ada, BI strip, Bland choose the style of arrange them in order. Now click the text and replace images. EV A context- strip you'd lke to insert. Don’t worry Layouts button. EB Depending on the _ sensitive control panel appears €¥ that ifitdoesn't have the right number of style of strip you've chosen, you may be _lets you change fonts, colours and so columns or sections, because we can able to space out your columns as you _on to ensure the new content is in step change that in the next step. Just like, and even change how much of the with the rest of your site, choose a desian you like. page each column takes up. ED 18 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 “Femail us your website building questions at [email protected]KEEP A LOW PROFILE. SK630, SK650 The SK630 and SK650 Mechanical Keyboards are all of the signature Cooler Master features lik RGB backlighting - also adding new Cher A reduced travel and actuation distance with extra-flat, that you get all of the precision and durability of a mechanical keyboard. All of this within a minimalistic slim stylish keyboard. Add ina refined brushed aluminium housing and understated LED ring, you have a keyboard that looks as good as it performs.‘| What To Watch Online Watch puppet prequel The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance From 30 August Netflix takes us back to the planet Thra in this new prequel to Jim Henson's beloved 1982 film, The Dark Crystal. The 10-part fantasy follows three young Gelflings as they fight to save their world, Like the original, Age of Resistance is a masterpiece of puppetry. "We won't be using CGI," director Louis Leterrier told a relieved Comic-Con audience last year. “It’s puppets, man. It's all puppets.” Judging by the first teaser (bit /« 2), it raises puppetry to breathtaking heights, aided by a generous budget ‘That budget also buys a knockout cast. Puppets are voiced by rising stars including Taron Egerton and Alicia Vikander, Brit-com royalty (Eddie Izzard and Simon Pegg), Game of Thrones alurnni (Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer, Nathalie Emmanuel) and serious Alisters (Mark Hamill, Helena Bonham-Carter, Sigourney Weaver). ‘The series is designed to appeal to people who haven't seen the film, but you can watch that on Netflix, too Cbit.\y/crystalfim482). ‘The new show's Netflix page (bit ly/darkcrystal482) has several trailers you can watch without a subscription, including @ peek behind the scenes (also on YouTube at bit ly/ery 82). For daily updates, follow @iarkcrystal on Twitter, |. Watch fantasy murder mystery Carnival Row From 30 August ‘Amazon's stunning new eight-part drama Carnival Row isa Victorian-style nneo-noir tale of murder, persecution and forbidden love n theofficial trailer Git y/carnivel42), refugee faerie Vignette Stonemoss (Care Delevingne) welcomes us to.a tense ghetto ful of mythological creatures flesing humans = including Vignette's lover, detective Philo (Orlando Bloom). Discover more about the star-crossed pair in their ‘Official Prologue’ videos 20 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 which are free to watch on Amazon at bitiy/c 2. Stream the ful first season from 30 August with a Prime subscription. Stream the new women's football season for free From 2 September = ‘Women's football got a massive boost from the recent World Cup, and now you can get your fix all year thanks to {a new streaming service from the FA. ‘The FA Player for web and mobile (bitly/tap482) is dedicated entirely to women's football, You'll be able to live-stream more than 150 domestic games across the 2019/20 season, and enjoy on-demand content including match highlights, previews and archive games, including _—) England Lionesses internationals. It's free, but you'll need to register ‘once the service opens on 2 September. Find out more at bit ly/faplayers8: Find out if Brassic is the new ‘Shameless From 22 August Michelle Keegan and Damien Molony play it for laughs in Sky's new comedy- drama Brassic. The six-part show ~ ‘which you can watch online in full from 22 August - certainly has pedigree. Creator and co-star Joe Gilgun cut his teeth on This fs England, and writerWe reveal what’s new Amazon Prime Video Danny Brocklehurst gave us numerous episodes of Shameless. Judging by Brassic’s trailer (bit ly/brassica82), it ‘may well live up to those predecessors. ‘Watch it online via Sky it you're @ subseriber (bit ly/brassicsky482) or via Now TV with an Entertainment Pass (€7.99 per month, bit y/nowent4a2) Maa eh rt seasons of Power and The Affair From 26 August It's final-season time for two long | running dramas set in | Now York. Season 6 of Power arives on | Netflacon 26 August, winding up the tale of nightclvb-owning dus Tord Jamos ‘Ghost St Patrick (Omari Hardwick). Wateh the latest trailer at bit y/ | powertraaea Down in sunny Long isiand, Dominic Wests back for the th and final season of The Affair from 27 August on a a a Now TV. Season 5 skips several years to meet Anna Paquin, who plays the grown: up daughter of Ruth Wilson and Joshua Jackson's characters, Watch the trailer at bit.ty/ affairtrail4a ITV's big new drama Deep Water, starring Anna Friel and written by Anna Symon (hrs Wilson), hasn’t yet reached episode 2 on the What To Watch Online |) on Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other streaming services Freeview has finally launched its free Android app, six months after the service arrived on iOS. Thanks to the new app (bit.!y/freedroid482), | Android users can now stream live shows and ‘on-demand content from the streaming services of all the major networks, Including BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, MyS and UKTV Play. Like its iOS counterpart (bit ly/freeios482), the app is free to download and has ne subscription fees or in-app purchases. Both apps include a TV ‘guide, search tool and customisable reminders for your favourite shows. There's no sign-up process, although you need to have the supporting services’ apps Installed on your device to stream content. You can download these from the new app’s ‘Start watching’ screen (pictured right). eeview app launches on Andri a Bi = FOUR Both shows unfold week by week, Which is annoying if you prefer to watch your episodes back to back. You could fil the time rewatching their earlior seasons - all of which are still available fon Netflix (bit.ly/powera82) and Now TV Chit ly/affair4s2) respectively. from the original novel by Jay Asher (wwwthirteenreasonswhy.com), and explores the killing of a student convicted of rape. Watch the latest trailer for free, and catch Up with the first two seasons ~ which have 13 episodes each zi telly ~ but you can watch all six episodes online now, via ITV Hub. Dip a toe into Deep Water's trailer at bit.ly/wateras2. ‘Watch 13 new ef of 13 Reasons From 23 August US teen drama 73 Reasons Why made headlines this summer, when Netflix removed a suicide scene from Season 1 (oitiy/I3scene482). The show is still a tough wateh, thanks to subject matter such as bullying, rape, self-harm and murder. ‘The new (and penultimate) ‘Season 3 takes the story further away isodes, y Now TV has stocked up on box sets to help you fi the longer evenings. It now has ll five seasons of Emmy-winning tech startup comedy Silicon Valley, all eight seasons of New York cop drama Blue Bloods, both seasons of US medical drama The Good Doctor and one season of Project Blue Book, starring Aidan Gillen as a 1950s UFO Investigator. Frell us your favourite new TV at twitter.com/webusermagazine with 3 Netflix subscription at bit ly/13reasons482, ‘Amazon Prime Video has launched several football related shows, perhaps to lure subscribers ahead of its Premier League games. Six-part documentary This 1s Football is now streaming inultra-HD 4K at bit.ly/ footballai482, while Peter Crouch’s chat show Back of the Net and Amazon Original film Inside Borussia Dortmund are also included with Prime. 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 21Vodafone Smart V10 Andy Shaw tests two new budget smartphones that are impressively powerful for their price T iesrstcs iat portato cto with menfocturers nd notwort alte tn Set thelr ohones nto your Peckets Al phones thle price bracket come with mpromies bu pou have to dave op tod ther tn thas to new budget toile The fs the Snort Vio.son own bond mo Irom Vodafone nd coast £108. On the coposte vio Price: £105 Buy from Vodafor bit.ly/voda482 15268 of memory ungradeo 868 via micoSD sot = tSmegapiels area = And 9.0 = 151xT0x822mm Sia screen 169 tobe FTES odo PERFORNANCE oie BSEOFUSE tok VAWUEFORHONEY socio A 22 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 page is the Realme 3 Pro, the first Android phone from this up-and-coming Chinese manufacturer to arrive here in the UK. The Realme 5 Pro is pricier at £178 but makes an impressive leap In features and performance for the comparatively smal jump in price, Design and screen Vodafone has pulled out all the stops to make its phone as eye-catching as models that cost far more. thas 9 Product Test We test and compare the latest products of scutf and shatter resistance, but it also means the display feels smooth and slippery to the touch and is ‘easy to koep clean, The Vi0's .9in sereen dominates around 80% ofits front, leaving a chunky area of bezel below the screen and a notch at the top that houses the selfie camera, It's an IPS 6G vodafone has pulled out all the stops to make the Smart V10 as eye-catching as models that cost far more 53 glossy plastic chassis and silver-tinted edges, and feels solid in the hand. Realme has also managed to make its phone look more expensive than itis. The patterned rear panel might nat be made of ‘lass, for instance, but it still looks great, with subtle lines sweeping from top to bottom that give it a stylish two-tone colour finish. Perhaps more important is the display, which is covered with a layer of Gorilla Glass 5. Not only does this ensure a modicum unit with a resolution of 1.560 x 720 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 291 pixels per inch (bpd. However, as you'd expect from a pricier phone, the Realme 3 Pro's screen is larger (6.3in) and has a bettor resolution (2,340 x 1,080 pixels), giving ita pixel density of 409ppi Performance ‘Tests with our colorimeter showed that the VIO has a {good contrast ratio of 1.4091 {and reaches peak brightness of 562cd/m®, which is good enough to see in strong sunlight. It also produces 86% of SRGB colours. The 3 Pro, meanwhile, managed an even more impressive 98% of sRGB colours, although its not as bright, reaching 465cd/m?. its contrast is better, though, with a ratio of 1,686: Both phones have great screens but you get a better, more detailed option if you pay a litle more for the 3 Pro. Manufacturers of budget phones often make their savings on the internal components, because they're less obvious than a sub- standard screan, However, Vodafone has squeezed in a relatively speedy 2GHz {Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 processor with an embedded ‘Adrene 504 GPU for graphics processing. This is backed Up by 3G8 of RAM for multitasking and 3268 of expandable storage Reaime goes a step further, with 22.2GH2 Qualcomm, Snapdragon 710 processor last seen powering the mid-range Google Pixel 3a ‘and 3a XL. In this phone it'sBudget smartphones Product Test {2} D Realme 3 Pro 71 Subtle lines sweeping from top to bottom give the Realme 3 Pro a stylish two-tone colour finish 55 Giepec phones pov) (Both cameras tal wood poited with a choie of ether 28ps onscreen nd 33fps__$400mAh battery. pictures for thei respective SGB or 6G ot memory. offscreen Tismneans the VIO. The VIO chrges over a__prces The diference between ‘Asyouderpect.the VIO sf forsimple 2D somes ricro-USB connection ncoad them wos more stark wen waste slower of thetwolhwithstandard graphics whle ofthe Realme's USB Type-C comparing the vdeo cameras urbenchmork tests scoring the Reaime 3 ro should cope port This limitshow quckly the 3 Pro can hen a 2367 in Geekbench 3 vethall but the very atest the IO can recharge while resolution ot 3Ofps of 1080p single-procescor test and and most demanding ttes. the Realme 3 Procango, et 6Ofbs, wherees the VIO tops 2510 the mul-core test frome charge t 100% in ut at SOfps and 1080p ‘The Readme, on the other Battery life and camera less than 90 minutes, . a . hand, scored 1,441 in the ‘The Realme 3 Pro has & ‘The camera is often a aE single-core test and a powerful 4045man battery neglected pat of budget 7 whopping 5.824 in the Soyouserpectitoleste Smartphones batthars noe Reale 3 Pro muti-core test. That's very longtime. Infact it sted 15 the case hore. Each phone has Belge: €199 Coround fasttoraphone tins pice. hoursara Stmmnutes nou tworearcameras Thevio” SV@)or GAGE: Graphics perfomance wos btteyrurdonntest The has etSmegonnelmodsl _gaga{around £225) simiarly eves inthe performance capabilities ot coupled with Smagapiel FON MZBGB GFXbencH GL Mantatton 3 theprocessorand screen deptivsencina ln for buttor i a test the VIO produced ®clanly take the tol, because portraits whiethe Reames | eB frames per second (fps) that’s only alittle longer than Pro has @ 16-megapixel cnecreen and Sips ofereen. theVedafone model Gsheurs camera witha Smegoobel = 6461 8 mon, Se Reatne SPro reneged end TZminites)desptethe depth sensor. ea Tee f ” es a cs = Tomegapixes camera ; = Color0S 6.0 based on Android 9.0. eit 157. x14x 8.3mm, 6.3in screen | So which phone should you buy? That Don't despair if you can’t afford such alg | depands Row much youve got to spend. ntury howevetAt long as you dort mind oI FEATURES iki PERFORHANCE —ciokcioA BISEOFUSE tokio VAIUEFOR MONEY cickaA- Anyone with a budget of more than £150 _using Vodafone's pay-as-you-go network, ‘would do well to push the boat out and get you can pick up the Smart VI0 for a very 5 the Realme 3 Pro, This aggressive Europe- reasonable £105. it may not offer quite wide launch is clearly designed to carvea__enough power to play the same games as ‘name for the company witha spectacular _phones that cost hundreds of pounds more, hone at a very reasonable price. but it performs amazingly wel for the price. Ao you agree? Let us know at webuser{@webuser.co.uk 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 23Product Test Amazon Echo Show 5 Amazon Echo Show 5 The Echo Show 5 has all the features of its bigger siblings in a cheaper and more compact package he Echo Show Sis, block using a privacy shield the 13th member of __—_= a switch that physically Amazon's Echo range. covers and disconnects the In effect, it's a smaller version camera, The small rectangular ‘of the company’s £220 Echo screen at the front is angled rowmulspctesane, erode wn, 6 The Show 5's big party trick sits pice, ‘and a camera for making you've commanded it to do, which is a barely believable £79.99. 53 Amazon Echo using services that lack video, Show 5 has a pair of This means that although Show 5 such as radio streaming, microphones on its top edge, its fine for use as a bedside Brice: £7999 | Performance vourmebutions Whe Show Sie best ton ‘Swipe left on the touchscreen disappointingly unresponsive. kitchen table, we found we »» Medialek MT 8163 processor and a new panel appears with While the Show 5 responded had to repeat “Alexa” and = 5.5in touchscreen shortcuts to core features - reliably to the Alexa wake raise our voices more often OUR VERDICT ‘compact speaker, which is usually bad news for sound quality. Surprisingly, though, «= byear waranty in many ways, the Echo eaTuREs [RUMI sicosonttotstentoot show ste nothing special. | PERFOMANCE ena R medium to low volume Tteounde acceptable bot | ESEOFIRE eek | | oe name (ash IRadowicaxvosd | tmierophoneanayiowt || Seat ennay Mega ‘a Allthe features of the Show 2 in balanced and full-bodied, very responsive and its a ees whether youre listening fo smart gisplay does nothing Thecreket on BBC RecloS | morethan those ofits prce of smartlsolays | Live Sports extra oF your predecessors its down toanafordable Rien AT favourite podcast ond you essential the same device level At £78.89, even Kocpatnaetegor tun the vou, the show | butemallor What door ith Rs Uniations tho Scan fila medium-sized do, however, is bring the Echo Show Sisa steal,” sensitivity room with sound, 24 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019ee (©) CYBERPOWERPC \ Has aS CUSTOM BUILD GAMING PCs MT eae aad ath eaten-ST BUYS eT Th Gre SCHOOL & COLLEGE 1 Pirie uss ere ve Pe iesesae evades theni RAUNnaus oie) tt) tie are eight products that shouldbe onevery iiyama GB2530HSU-B124.5in LCD monitor PRICE £170 nc VAT SUPPLIER Www.box.co.uk The yama GBas3oHSU-B124 SinLCD montorincludesan ergonamicheght-acjustabe stand that can otateintoportatt forworkingan documents and natingthat essay. Then, withthe ‘msresponse time, 75Hz and Custom Gamer modes, youcan rnaltyour foes with some fast-paced onine gaming Foes Speen] Cooler Master SK650 and SK630 PRICESK650,£n0 Inc VAT; 'SK630, £140 Inc VAT SUPPLIER www scan.co.uk TneSk6s0 andSK630 are slimmechanical keyboards thatofferthe pertectbalance of "work and play”. They feature Cherry MX low-profile switches that provide reducedtravel distance andactuation point withthe same signature durability andprecisionasa standardred switch 26 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019Advertising feature — yr Xelor S12] fed Saat tere eat Cea ee era eed Dynamode USB3.0 Peer tame reer Type-C Dock Station eee reer rca eres ee peter cation PRICE £4ainc VAT SUPPLIER www.scan.couk Bought atovety simtaptop only todscover hat tacks ports? Ths inexpensive daekingstation plugs intoaUSB-Csiotand gives you everything youneed,fromtwo od-styleUSB ports to an HOMiout from a physical Ethernetjackto a microSD sot Andthanks toapowerpassthrough, youcan use ito power vourlaptop atthesametime. Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 PRICE £599 inc VAT SUPPLIER wwe dell.co.uk ‘Abriiant everyday laptop that’s bath great-looking and practical withthe star ofthe show being high-quality 1o80p ‘inscreen. Thestylustuckedintothe chassismakesiteasy 0 straw downnotes classes orlectures, whileaCore 3 processor ensures Crome OS feels pp. Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G3 PRICE 32GB, £35incVAT SUPPLIER www ebuyer.com Putalock on your personal data with Kingston's Dataraveler Locker+ G3, Itsbatha safe and convenient way tosecire receipts, bank statements and ther senitve document sing hardware encryptionand password protection fora double ayer of data secury The Dataraveler Locker G3otferscloud backupas an optional featureto provide access o your data anytime, anywhere. No applicaioninstallationrequited (= USB2Cloud™ Philips 241B8QJEB PRICE £155 inc VAT SUPPLIER www.xmaco.uk Getyourbest work done with the Philps24InFullHD montor.Acrspand ‘vidhigh-resolution image gives you thespace and clart to see your work. Features suchasheight-adjustment Ficker-tree tech andLowlue mode make teasy onthe eyes. And you can switch easily between the DsplayPort, HDMI and'VGA connections thanks toPhilips SmartConnect, 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 271 Best Free Software MEDIA PLAYER 5KPlayer 6 Min requirements: Windows 7/8/10 ‘or macOS File size: 6.9MB, installer only) 5KPlayer is an Impressive modern media player that can handle any type of audio and video file natively. It uses hardware acceleration to make playback smooth, even with 4k and 8K HDR videos, The free software also plays DVDs ‘and can stream internet radio stations. You have a number of presets to choose from (BBC, Heart, Capital, Gold, LBC, XFM, Chill, Kiss, Magic and more), or you can enter the URL of a specific station, ¥ Player gsr 5kPlayer can also detect and play multichannel surround sound, and lets you download video and audio from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo and Facebook. It supports subtitles, allows you to rotate videos and can stream content to other devices on your network using Apple AirPlay and DLNA. The program's library section provides easy access to all your movies, music, YouTube videos, playlists and so fon. You can even edit videos, trimming clips and adjusting the look, speed and volume. When you save your edited file, 5kPlayer automatically uses the best available hardware acceleration - NVIDIA, AMD, Intel or CPU - to make the process more efficient. To access some of its features, such as, web video downloading and Apple AirPlay mirroring, you need to register the software and enter a code you receive by email, The software prompts you to do this the first time you eun it, but you can skip it if you don’t want to register. You won't be bothered again This new version fixes problems and Improves performance. There's also a new 64-bit version for smoother H.264, HEVC 4K and H.264 8K playback. and support for 10-bit HEVC HOR videos. Xe MINI WORKSHOP | Play and edit video files in 5KPlayer Drag a video onto the player to start it. You can rotate the clip, left or right Band open the list of chapters (if there is one). Ed You can also enable any subtitles Eland switeh to a different audio track Use the controls bar to edit the video, B take a screenshot [I and repeat or shuffle the clip or track ‘The Edit option works only with MP4/H.264 video formats. Use the sliders to cut out or trim part of the video. EI You can rotate or flip the clip, AL change its playback speed EI and adjust the volume. Gif the pleture quality isnt great, you can improve it by tweaking its saturation, contrast and brightness. E Click Save file. Pross F2 to open the Settings ‘menu. The General section lets you change your save locations Hl and configure the downloader. Edn the H/W Acceleration section EI you can choose a hardware acceleration type. Click Recheck to refresh the options. You can enable and manage the DLNA and! AirPlay EI options here too. 28 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019Best Free Software [J This fortnight’s top new software downloads to help you make the most of your PC, and they’re all FREE -—7 =— ANTI-MALWARE Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 7.4 bit.ty/adweas2 Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 File size: 738 ‘AdwCleaner removes toolbars, adware, hijackers and potentially unwanted programs (PUPS) from your web browser. This new release can also scan and. remove the preinstalled software bundled with new PCs (as opposed to programs Microsoft includes in Windows). This can improve your PC's performance, AdwCleaner creates a system restore point when it detects preinstalled software. Look out for a workshop on AdwCleaner 7:4 in our next issue, SEARCH TOOL SearchMyFiles 3 SarvoRnt Min requirements; Windows 7/8:/10 Fle sie: 138K8 Searching for files in Windows is fairly easy, but NirSoft’s ‘SearchMyFiles tool is a much more advanced way to do it You can search for items using a number of criteria, including the time they were created, modified or last accessed, their file attributes, file content ctext or binary search) and size, Wildcards have been added to help your searches, and this, new version can even find text in Microsoft Office documents = ‘and PDFS. It's now easier to find folders, too ARecommend free downloads at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine Files UWP — Preview bit-ly/tilesae2 File size: 42.58, This third-party file explorer was released through GitHub last year but is now available to download from the Windows Store, It'sa preview build, which means you may encounter some bugs, but it does offer a number of great features, such as a dark mode, tabs ‘and quick access to locations, drives and favourites. SYSTEM SECURITY Eusing Maze Lock 4.0 erasing Min requirements: Windows 7/8:V10 Filesize: 608K8 Locking your sereen (by pressing WintL) is good practice because it stops other people accessing your computer while you're away from it, Eusing Maze Lock lets you unlock your PC by drawing a pattern on a grid rather than typing in a | password. You can change the lock screen's background image and the size of the grid (8x3, 4x4 of SxS). The program also lets you lock your PC using a mouse click or a hotkey, or E set it to lock automatically after a period of inactivity 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 29 Rea ater Cn rE][J Best Free Software SYSTEM TOOL Photo Viewer Enabler ‘pxc-coding.com Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 File size: 2663 Microsoft replaced its old Photo Viewer with the new Photos app in Windows 10. While Photos has a more modern look and feel, the ‘old Photo Viewer was faster and better at displaying single images, and many people stil Sox] miss it. If you upgraded to Windows 10 from ‘Windows 7 oF 8.1, you probably stil have Photo \Viewer's components on your PC and can unlock it using some clever Registry trickery. A simpler solution, however, is to use Photo Viewer Enabler, which can bring back the old ‘viewer with one click and lets you make it the default app for photos. Be sure to decline the bundled junk during installation (AB Convertile (MPA -> MEV) Fle View Help Fl to convert: [E:Wew Desktop\imazing.mpe & Moco b[E:Wew Desktop\amerng.miey ae SYSTEM INFORMATION TOOL SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2020 www.sisoftware.co.uk Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 File size: 163MB Sioftware Sandra is a system information, benchmarking and diagnostic tool that has been around since 1997. A number of paid-for versions are available, which cost from $71.98 to $7,000, but most home users will be more than happy with the Lite version You can run it on individual PCs or over a network, and it won't bother you with adverts cor nag screens. Itincludes modules for benchmarks, hardware and software, as well as a collection of testing tools. ‘The 2020 update adds new neural-network benchmarks that cover Artificial Intelligence (AD and machine learning, as well as hardware support and optimisations for new processors. 30 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 MEDIA CONVERTER Convertilla convertilla.com Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 There are lots of different audio and video file formats out there, including MP4, FLV, MKY, MPG, AVI, MOV, WMV, M4V, 3GP, MP3, WEBM, AAC, FLAC and WAV. IF you have a ‘media file that your hardware or software player can't open, you can use Convertilla to convert it quickly into a format that it can handle. Just select the file you want to convert, pick a file type from the drop-down ‘menu and adjust the size and quality as. required. Specify 2 save location, then click Convert and Convertilla will get to work. ‘The latest update to the program includes full support for WEBM and ASF mediaBest Free Software [J Pc eae coc ..Not this one WinToHDD AppleXsoft bit.ly/wintoss2 Hard Drive Copy Min requirements: Windows Vista/7/8.1/10 www.applexsoft.com File size: 8.8M2 Min requirements: | Windows Vista/7/8./10 you need to instal or reinstall Windows | File size: 13Me, but you can't find your installation CD or DVD. WinfoHDD can help. This handy free toolean __ Despite its confusing name install the operating system from an ISO, WIM or ~a tool for cloning ESD image file, clone Windows to a new drive. | Windows with ‘pple’ in its Italso lets you create a USB memory drive that title - AppleXsoft Hard you can use to install different editions of the __ Drive Copy isa pretty good operating system. The latest version of | program that makes: a WinToHDD lets you "hot clone’ Windows migrating 2 hard disk or Woodwork without needing to restart the source partition to a new PC bit-ly/woodwork4e2 computer. Upgrading to the paid-for version _= straightforward. It even. Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 | for $29.95 (£24.76) speeds up the cloning wipes the source drive File size: $708 process and lets you copy more than one PC. = securely afterwards. <> | However, it's hard to The aim of this game is to use various [Dvr =| | recommend software that tools to build objects ~ such as a costs $49.95 (641.27). birdhouse or a table - out of wood. You can saw, chisel, dil, plane, lathe, sang, glue and paint your creations, and there are three challenge modes that help you construct a specific piece of furniture, ‘8s well as a free-build mode. The game is currently a very early prototype, but it's already worth investigating. SOFTWARE CHECKER Go64 bitly/go6 4-482 Min requirements: macOS 10.11 or newer File size: 3MB LINUX DISTRO Linux Mint 19.2 ‘Tina’ linuxmint.com = Min requirements: 1068 hard drive space File size: 1.968 With the release of macOs Catalina this autumn, Apple will: Linux Mint is one of the best - it not the best - Linux fend support for 32-bit Mac applications, which could mean _ distributions for home users. Based on Ubuntu, it comes in some of your older software will stop working. G64 is2 | a choice of three desktop environments: Cinnamon Useful free tool that scans your installed applications, and (recommended), MATE and Xice. Version 19.2 ‘Tina’ (all presents you with a lst of those that are 32-bit only, oF Linux updates have women’s names) includes 8 number of include some 32-bit code (the latter will probably still work bug fixes, updates to the included packages and Under Catalina). The program can help you remove or improvements to the Update Manager. I's available to Update any problem applications download in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Ett CRN Cae “Frecommend free downloads at www-facebook.com/webusermagazine 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 31(J Best New Browser Tools Delete hidden trackers from URLs Have you ever come across a dirty URL? These are wab addresses that contain data telling the site how you found its link. Companies use them all the time in online ‘ads, emails and sponsored posts to track your browsing activity and monitor the effectivenes of their campaigns. | -.un'iveico ss ‘CleanURL (bit ly/clear482) takes those fithy links and Sea sorubeanay the tacking code wo companies cant se their sneaky advertising campalans ere working Sta on lara UL ey ra sr “ool section ~ cick the spanner con and pasting ae Iman links as yu want nt the box Clan il pk them out the other side clean at «white, The tals sta workin progress and may not work on every nk, but the developers behind the extension are beavering = away to make Keven beter Lok out fora workshop on CleanURU in ou nxt coe Remove clickbait from es Highli ight anything on YouTube + the wel YouTube has a clickbait problem. e taitengate | One of Microsoft Edge's best features is the ability to ‘write’ on any web page using your mouse or device pen. You can then share your brightly coloured notes or save them for later, which is useful for students, professionals or anyone who wants to highlight something of interest on a website. Liner (bit. \y/liner482) brings a similar feature to Chrome. Select some text using the left mouse button, and a highlighter pen icon ‘appears beneath, along with a selection of colours. Choose the colour you want, then click the pen icon to highlight your text so it stands out on the web page or POF document. Click the text again to change its colours, add a comment Even a quick glance at the sidebar bombards you with False claims and wild ‘exaggerations, such as ‘Proof the moon landings were faked’, or ‘How learned rine million dollars in two days’. If you can feel yourself being drawn in, your best bet is to log off - or install Clickbait_ |__ Remover for YouTube (bitly/clicks®2), This add-on can’t actually remove these Irritating uploads from YouTube, but it lets you control how they appear. Clicking the extension's icon reveals ‘two options: ‘Where to grab the thumbnail image’ and ‘How to forrnat video titles’, with further options below. ‘These remove the enticing cover images that make videos seem so compelling. It also limits the impact of sensationalist headlines that grab your attention with aa liberal use of CAPITAL LETTERS. Twitter's redesign. Users are particularly or delete the highlighting, IF you bothered by the way the new filtering want to save your highlights so aca system works. When you click Latest, _ they reappear when you next Twitter tends to switch back to Top the site, you need to sign in Tweets the moment you're not looking. at getliner.com/login. But what if you're not interested in those supposedly popular tweets? That's where Latest Tweets First Coit ly/tweet482) steps in. With this, extension installed, you can scroll through Twitter and see tweets as they Get the latest tweets on happen. It's automatic, so you don't your timeline need to alter any settings, either in the Not everyone, it seems. is 2 fan of extension or on the social media site. 32 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019Best New Browser Tools [J This fortnight’s most useful tips and add-ons to help you get the most from Chrome, Firefox, Opera and more Plan trips on your new tabs We ove ads-one that make our ew tos more inerestng= whether | earn they smalyorovie the date, time and weather, a) orlat urate impromet = totes However Gulch Map yma Randy ortenson replaces bien abe rafal hat el ou plan a fourm by aoring a tating Ioction and destnalon, When you fst open Your new ta, Quick Maps cslays 2 search br (poweresby Bing) alin toe ate (poweredby Soom) and Satelite ms (powared by NASA) pop up eulomataly to set your course, Chooee which mop you art fouse Siro, Gooole and MapGuert ae al supported then chck Get Dictons to plan your next road trip. Check the accuracy of subreddits Reddit is one of the most popular social media platforms, and it owes much of ite success to it 1.2 millon dedicated subreddits, where users can post about everything from hot political topics to Star Wars memes. The problem is that its /politics subredlt isa hive of biased, incorrect or just made-up news. To combat this problem, Stopaganda it y/stop482) scans the news links ‘on polities, then decorates each post with two coloured badges. These let you see at a glance whether a source is typically accurate in its reporting, and which way it tends to lean politically. It'sa useful tool when you're looking for current affairs updates on the increasingly wild social network. CSE) GIS “Frell us your favourite add-ons at wwwfacebook.com/webusermagazine Get the old Twitter back Firefox users have had to put up with ‘Twitter's controversial redesign just like everyone else, Until now, that is, because @ new extension, Tweak New Twitter (bitly/tweak482), aims to combat Twitter's renewed focus on ‘engagement’ - or keeping you on the page to show you ads. Like Chrome'’s Latest Tweets First ‘add-on (see opposite page), this tool forces Twitter to display tweets in chronological order. It also shifts Retweets to a separate section, romoves the sidebar, ditches some of the less useful links on the left-hand side of the screen and shrinks the font size back to normal, making the site alittle more peaceful If that's not enough for you, try Twitter Tamer (bit |y/tamer482). This browser tool lets you hide just about every aspect of the site, from sidebar distractions to Likes and media, Cee Mesa) Capture any part of oO your screen Droplr (bit!y/drop482) provides an easy way to i screenshot or screencast any part of your sereen and share it. Click the toolbar button to choose between image or F video capture and decide whether ornot to save images | to the desktop. Switching on ‘Capture and Annotate’ lets you capture and save part of the sereen. If you have multiple tabs open, the extension captures them all. When the process is complete, you can choose the images you want to keep. Click the Share option to download 2 copy, or double-click to annotate your screenshot in a separate browser tab. ‘Summarise any web page The intornot's many distractions make itharder and harder to find time for everything we want to do. TLOR This Coty /tlr4 82) - which stands for Too Long, Didn't Rad’ ~is a clover tool that summarises long articles, texts and essays. With a single click, | this time-soving tool sumsup the contents of a web page picking out the most relevant Sections and feeding them to youin bulletpoint form. Wes useful forgetting the gist when you don'thavetimeto read an ontro essay. Tho i extension wale avilable for Chrome, Opera and Firefox 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 33[8] Best Free Apps @ App of the Fortnight PERSONALISATION Vectorify da home! bit-y/vectorityasz s Don’t be put off by the slightly silly name - Vectorify dda home! is @ handy little tool, particularly if you're ‘fan of stylish minimalist wallpapers. it lets you design your very own home-screen wallpaper for your phone or tablet. Choose from 2 selection of smartlooking material-design icons and backgrounds, then customise their colours so your wallpaper looks exactly the way you want. The interface is quick and easy to use (see our Mini Workshop, right for a step-by-step guide), Which allows you to create a smart wallpaper design in seconds. You can choose from dozens of icons - or, if you prefer a solid background with no icon, simply select the same colour for the icon and the background, and the icon will disappear. Vectorify turns your creations into live wallpaper, which allows them to update faster and keeps permissions to a minimum - live wallpapers don’t require storage permissions, for example. However, your custom wallpapers are static vector images | thence the ‘Vectorify’ bit of the name), which means they won't rain your battery as some standard live wallpapers do, IF we have one criticism, it's that the customisation options are somewhat limited. Icons always ‘appear in the middle of the screen, and you can't add more than one icon at a time, This may change in future releases, because the developers suggest they will add further features as the | ‘app evolves. The app is ~ open-source, too, see our cover feature on page 40), so you can follow, or even contribute to, its development at bit Iy/vectoritycode482, where the app's code is freely available. Our rating 34 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 MINI WORKSHOP: Create custom wallpaper with Vectorify da home! Launch the app and select one of the icons from the top part of the sereen, EI The selection isn’t limited to the handful of icons you can see in the strip under the main icon image I - swipe left or right across this strip to scroll through dozens more options. When you find an icon you like, pressit to select it To set the background (icon colour, press the Background or Icon button, then either choose one of the preselected colours, or swipe left to fine-tune the colour using either the RGB sliders B¥ or ~ if you know it = by entering the HEX colour code into the box above. B Tap OK. Alternatively, you can select Cone of the Preset colour schemes shown below the Background and leon buttons, You can undo your changes at any time by tapping the reverse arrow icon in the bottom-left comer of the main screen To see a fullscreen preview cof your wallpaper, tap the tick button cbottom right), To make further changes, press the cog icon. you're happy with your desion, tap Sot Wallpaper, Bihen select either ‘Home sereen’ or Home screen ‘and lock screen’ from the options that appear. EDBest Free Apps @ This fortnight’s top free and paid-for apps for Android and iOS phones and tablets FILE MANAGER ry | CAMERA WEATHER Files Space Weather [=== bit.iy/ Reporter googlefiles4e2 bitty spaceweatheraa2 Waa To celebrate the fact that Most weather 100 milion ‘apps are useful for people use letting you know Files every Night Vision when to pack a month, Google bity/nightvision4e2 brolly or slap on has updated its ® (varies) some factor 30, popular app. But what if you This excellent Ever wanted your own pair of night want a more file- management tool, which lets you _vision goggles? Well, this app could be _ interplanetary view of the weather? move, transfer and share files, as well the next best thing. Ituses the infrared, Space Weather Reporter draws on 2s free up space on your Android depth-sensing Time-offlight (ToF) | scientific data gathered by the device by deleting junk files and other sensorin your device's camera to see’. Database of Notifications, Knowledge Unwanted data, was originally designed inthe dark. i's coo! idea, but there __and information (DONKA) to provide for people who don't have much are two fairly big caveats First the app you with up-to-date information on storage space on their phones. The is stillat the Early Access stage, which all the latest solar flares, coronal latest version introduces two big new means stability and reliability aren't __ mass ejections, geomagnetic features: a Dark Mode guaranteed, and second, storms and other space and improved controls for [a]jRfa] only ahandulof devices aga] _ weather events nee playing video and muse have. compatiieToF Science buffs and space f when youre offine. fe not work on your device. BIB leave home without a Ourrating tock = Ourrating tokio: — Ourrating tok NOTE TAKING WEBSITE MANAGEMENT oo Post-it Squarespace T= aT) bit.y/postitdroidas2 bitiy/squaredroid4s2 7 #s i ——E—| The official Postit Squarespace is | a app finally makes another app that’s | 8" : its debut on been slow to arrive Android - only five on Android, having |e fae nae ak years after it beenreleesed tor | & launched on iOS. iOS last December. ne Seas eta For anyone without wsmoreorless |, | ate FoR IRE fan Apple device, this anobligstory \ i Orxerbame means you can now downioadit youuse |g remem | - capture ‘real world’ the website-building Postit notes (from service to manage your fridge door, your site. You can noticeboard and so publish content, ‘on) via your phone's camera and organise them into digital _ edit pages, update your site's settings and access boards on your device. Post-it lets you create new notes in Squarespace's customer support straight from the app, the app and combine them with those you've without the need for a fully fledged PC. Any captured. You can also edit notes, changing the [EJB] edits you make while offine are saved to your (aaa colour of Postits, drawing on them and erasing — device and uploaded once youre back on the 3 ‘or adding text, and share notes ina variety of —FRJEREBY internet. While the app itselfis tree, youneed a ae formats, from PDF to PowerPoint. Squarespace account to use it. Ourrating tokookr —(Ourrating Joho: Frecommend free phone apps at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 35[Bl Best Free Apps NEW APPS WORTH PAYING FOR OFFICE Retro Notepad Pro bitiy/retronote4s2 Price: £1.59 44 Take trp back in time toa simpler era ‘of computing with this note-taking app, Its functions are basic, while its stark design echoes the look and feel of early Windows PC applications TRAVEL Xenios bitly/xeniosas2 Price: £2:19 #s This app is a great travel companion for anyone planning a visit to Greece. It has ‘uides to hundreds of museums and archaeological sites, including details of ‘opening hours and ticket prices. GAME Doom bit.ly/doomdroidas2 bit ly/doomiosas2 Price: £4.79 (Android), £4.99 (108) es The granddaddy of al first- Reto Notepad Po eis Bee Install this app. Houzz bity/nouzzdroidaez bity/nouzzios4s2 ® (varies) @ you're planning to redecorate, refurnish co renovate your home and you need some inspiration, look no further than Houzz. On the one hand, the app acts as & a stylish digital equivalent to those glossy i home-improvement magazines, and is Jue bursting with images of classy kitchens and designer dining rooms. However, Houzz has a number of other handy rd features, too, such as links to the best local experts and professionals, an active forum for seeking out useful advice and the ability to annotate and share any images you find or save them instantly to your ideabooks’. 36 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 person shooters has been rereleased for iOS and Android (and other platforms) as part of the game's ongoing 25th, birthday celebrations. Ooom I! and 3 are also available. PHOTOS Camera HD Pro bitly/eamerahdpro4s2 Price: £4.89 Par ‘Want more control over your photos than your phone’s camera app can offer? Try Camera HO Pro, which lets you change the ISO, adjust the shutter speed, set the white balance and more. GAME Journey bit iy/iourney4e2 Price: £4.99 Following the release of ‘Sky: Childron of the Light’ last month, the ‘game's beautiful spiritual predecessor ~ and a highlight of the PlayStation 3 era has arrived on iPhone and iPad. Camera Po Journey x 2 DIY Home Improvements bitiy/aiyhomes82 ie) oe. | | a home, needs to be carefully and ax | {Sempre | continually maintained. | : The developers of DIY | ae | + 2 | Home improvernents | am have failed to keep their {app up to date, and now 2 | its content often falls to | | loadorisebseuredby | | full-screen ads. xE3 Take a Screen Break Give your eyes a rest by taking our fiendish fortnightly challenges. Can you solve our animated- film emoji quiz and guess our Wikipedia article? \Pys Px KES PemD the following clues refer to? GUESS THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE Can you work out which technology-related Wikipedia entry WIKIPEDIA “te was originally developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but hhas since been ported to more platforms than any ‘other operating system.” “iis one of the most prominent examples of free, open-source software collaboration ‘The source code may be used, modified and distributed commercially commercially” Its distributions have been created to provide hands-on experience with coding and source code to students, on devices such as the Raspbarry Pi” For years jes Dittos boon the platform of choice in the film inst. 27 The first major fir produced on its servers vas 1997 Titanie. Sine then, DreamWorks Animation, Pivar and industrial Light & Magic have migrated to it” COMPETITIONS WIN 10F 2 Ambeo Smart Headset Sennheiser’s Ambeo Smart | Headset has two omnidirectional microphones for producing 4 immersive videos with 3D-like sound recordings on your iPhone. The listener feels as if they are really there, making it ideal for vloggers and other content creators. To enter, email your address to [email protected] with ‘ambeo' in the subject line. For more details, visit en-uk.sennheiser ‘com and follow @Sennheiser_UK on Twitter. FFoliow us on Twitter at twitter.com/webusermagazine WIN 1 OF 3 itSound Diggit Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker ‘With a removable stake that’s easily stuck Into the ground, KitSound’s Diggit fsa versatile outdoor Bluetooth speaker. The stereo-psiring feature lets you connect, another speaker for impressive sound, and battery if is eight hours, To enter, e your address to webusercomp.} ‘couk with eiggit’in the subject line, For more info, visit wwve-kitsound.co.uk and follow ck (Sounduk on Instagram 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 372) FAQ : Our guide to Discord Still using Skype to chat online? David Crookes looks at a Everything you need to know about the most interesting new technology trends and events. tool for gamers that’s making waves with non-gamers too What Discord (discordapp.com) is a voice-chat ‘and messaging program that was ‘originally designed to provide gamers with a better method of communication. Launched in May 2015, it quickly singled ‘out the company behind it as a hot new start-up in Silicon Valley. The systern allows groups of practically any size to get together and discuss their passions in public or private using text, audio, video and images. So why haven't | heard of it? That may be because i's still a gaming related service at heart, but as gamers have invited friends and word has got round, Discord has grown to encompass, ‘2 wealth of other interests during its short life, I's the platform's versatility that has helped it attract more than 250 million unique users. The company says 56 million people chat on the service ‘every month, sending 25 billion messages. Little wonder, then, that it has been valued at $2 billion, What's the big attraction? Discord is described by its maker as an alternative to Skype and TeamSpeak - ‘snother ValP communication system for ‘online gaming. Not only is Discord free, however, but it lets players hook into a Discord was once exclusively for gamers but now it's taking on the likes of Skype as a general communication platform 38 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 central hub and explore their various Interests. If you play Fortnite with one set of friends and World of Warcraft with another, for example, you don’t need different accounts on multiple platforms, because you can use Discord for both ‘This makes the service very flexible, Is Discord easy to use? Yes, it's quite straightforward. You can Use its desktop program or mobile app, cor run tin your browser. You don't even need to rogister, which is perhaps why its popularity has grown s0 quickly. To use it simply enter a username and start chatting, although if you want to make your username permanent, you need to add an email address and password, then verify your account = otherwise youtl lose it wien you exit Discord. The Discord servers include separate private, password- It's easy to find servers of interest on Discord and jump into the chat protected and public channels, and users have different levels of permissions, so you shouldn't get overwhelmed or lost ‘The system is just as useful for smaller groups, too. Can | set up my own channel? ‘Again, yes. To set up o channel on Discord, whether its open, password- protected or invitation only, all you need is an account. t's as simple as clicking + ond ‘Create a Server’ entering @ name {and region, and clicking Greate. You're then given a URL that you can share with ‘thors, which is where it gets intorestina. The recipient only needs to click that link ‘and enter their username to join the chat ‘a process that takes literally secondsa ae ee sted | Discord offers a premium | service called Discord Nitro, | which has two levels. For | $4.99 (£410) per month or | $49.99 (£41 per year, Nitro | Classic gives you perks that enhance your chat, such as. higher-quality screen | sharing, larger file-size limits for uploads and the ability to | upload GIFs for animated avatars and emoji ‘The next level costs twice as much | but adds access to a library of old How do I find interesting servers? {As wall as keeping an eye out for invitations on social media, websites such ‘as Reddit and in emails, you can browse Discord's server directory by clicking the magnifying glass in the left-hand column ‘of the interface. Discord starts by showing you some popular servers and ‘communities you might consider joining, including details of how many members ‘each has and how many are currently ‘online. You can also search for a game, ‘e-sports team, artist or keyword. Hovering over a result lets you view the server and join it. Do all servers look the same? No. You can customise your server and give ita leg up by using boosts. Every Nitro subscriber gets one of these to use wherever they like (see the boxout above). A server with two boosts receives ‘an extra $0 emoji slots, 128Kbps audio ‘quality, a custom invitation background ‘and an animated server icon, Meanwhile, 10 server boosts adds more emoii slots, doubles the audio quality raises the flle- size limit from 8MB to SOMB and lets you ‘add a server banner. For 50 server boosts, Discord hands out an extra 100 ‘erngji slots, 384Kbps audio quality, a varity URL and a 100MB upload limit, Paying users can boost and customise Discord servers in various ways ‘games, such as Super Meat Boy, Limbo and De Blob. Are there third-party servers, too? ‘What? You want even more? Okay, try typing a search query into Disboard Gdisboard.org), and you'l see recommendations along with the ability to select tags such as music, art and anime. Users of this site even go so far as. to review servers, which can save you a lot of time, while anything deemed “not safe for work" (NSFW) is flagged. DiscordMe (discord.me) has a separate section for adult content, and people can also pay to promote their servers, which can push some “interesting” content towards the top. ey You can find further Discord servers using 2 third-party site such as Disboard Is there a lot of dodgy content? Discord isnt short of it, that's for sure. The service hit the headlines last month when a New York man nemed Brandon Clark murdered 17-year-old Bianca Devins and posted photos of her dead body on the messaging platform. BBC Radio 4's File on 4 programme also reveoled thot criminals use searchable code words to point to closed groups before using peer- to-peer encryption in servers to advertise stolen financial data, drugs and indecent images. On a political level, Discord has been popular with alt-right movernents Oh dear. What is Discord doing about this? Discord has shut down mony servers but it says those that violate its terms and conditions make up a tiny percentage. Poiscuss Discord at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine Discord @) ‘Not all Discord servers contain good, clean ‘chat, s0 it pays to be careful The sharing of non-consensual pornography is prohibited, as are Violent and gory images, and it has a “Trust and Safety’ policy that extends to ‘cyberbullying. The platform does allow ‘consensual pornography and content that It admits “might be ok for you but Unsuitable for others", however, which means that as with anything online, you need to tread carefully, Avoid giving away your private details ina chat unless you're comfortable with the people init. If you receive an invitation, take time to consider who sent it before you accept. Does Discord work with other apps? Anyone who sets up a server can also use a range of automated users called bots (discordapp comvstreamkit). Coded in JavaScript, these handy tools integrate with other big-name services such as Patreon, Twitch and YouTube. They can ‘also help with community and server management and let you keep an eye on ‘your Discord chats while you're away. Third-party bots are available from reputable directories such as discordbots org and bots.ondiscord.xy2. But how involved do people become? Like any social-media platform, Discord has many devoted fans who use the service every day. When a Cloudflare ‘outage crashed Discord at the start of July, one user took to Twitter with the message: "I'm too lonely for Discord to be down". Users must be T3 oF older. Popular servers such the PUBG game ‘channel! have 180,000 members or more 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 39TaD EG TSI Le USING! rams are ines TE TIREIN ALB) heal ane lkom Sod Some of the Geeta tees ly free at all. layn' Bey cove Mes Paton micolill dated piclaties 7 FEATUR ee flere eho alternal at all. This selfish, locked-down approach has led many developers and PC users to switch esent paying to open-source software, which offers greater freedom, for it. However, some programs are more ‘free’ than security and stability, as well as many other benefits. ‘others, and we don't just mean full programs rather In this feature, we round up the best free, open-source than free trials or demos. alternatives to proprietary programs and apps that seem Big companies control many of the most popular free _out of date and overrated in comparison, We also answer tools, which means they can use them to promote their _your questions about open-source software, including other products, abandon or sell them at a whim, and what the differences are between ‘open-source’ ‘Free release updates, security patches and bug fixes only when Software’ and ‘freeware’. 40 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019‘What does ‘open-source’ mean? ‘The term is actually fairly seit ‘explanatory. It means that the source code - the code written by the application's developers - is open for anyone to inspect and, if they wish, to modify or improve. If you find an ‘open-source program that you like but you think you could make better, you're free to use the source code to create your own version with adlitional features and then distribute it Similarly, if you find a bug in an open-source program, you can ficit yourself ~ provided you have the necessary programming skills, of course. Several different types of open- source licence are available Copensource.org licenses), some of hich inelude certain restrictions, For example, if you modify a program, you might be obliged to release the source code for it alongside your version of the application How does it differ from ‘free software’? Well first things first. There are actually two very different definitions of “free software”, The first relates to Free Software (note the caps). This term was coined by Richard Stallman, who founded the Free Software Foundation in 1996 (bit.y/tsF482), According to the Foundation: “Free software’ means software that respects users’ freedom ‘and community. Roughly it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, Free Software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ‘free’ as in free ‘speech’, not asin ‘free beer’.” Free Software and open-source are very similar but there are some key differences, Richard Stallman explains GNU Operating System What is free software? The Free Software Definition Tider eet poe Overrated software WHAT IS OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE? them at length in his post at bit. Iv/ stallman4a2, Some programs, such as LibreOftice, are described as Free ‘and open-source, meaning they satisty both camps The other definition of "free software" is freeware. This sa very different beast and refers to software that doesn't cost youa penny (although you might be encouraged to pay for an upgrade) but which probably has closed or proprietary code What is proprietary software? Proprietary software is another name for closed-source software, it means the developers dont let just anyone explore how a program is put together, and nor do they allow others to produce their own versions, The licence that comes with a proprietary program ~ Microsoft Office, for example - contains a lot more restrictions covering what you can and can’t do with it than an ‘open-source licence, Why is open-source important to developers? One benefit to open-source developers isthat they don't necessarily have to start thei projects from scratch - they can use code from open-source iraries. Fe creation is interesting and proves popular, other developers might want to contribute in various ways such as adding features, suggesting improvements or fixing problems. Writing open-source software encourages developers to focus on producing the best, most efficient code, becouse other developers can see what they've written including any “Ualy" code or potentially dangerous security shortcuts. Writing open: source software hes been described as lke working ina fishoow The official definition of ‘ree software’ may not be ‘exactly what you think How do open-source coders earn a living? Open-source doesn't have tomean free - developers The European Commission offers cash rewards for finding bugs in open-source tools can still charge for their software it they want to, but most don't. Instead they can earn money by placing adverts Cn their website, requesting tips or charging for help and support, which is how Linux developer Red Hat became a billion-dollar company before being acquired by IBM for a whopping $34 billion earlior this year. The European Commission also funds bug bounty programs for a number of open-source projects as part of the Free and Open-source Software Audit (FOSSA) project (bit. \y/fossa482) Rewards for discovering bugs in programs covered by the scheme range from €17,000 (£15,500) to €80,000 (€82,000), depending on the severity. Programs covered by the scheme Include 7-Zip, KeePass, Notepad++, ‘and VLC Media Player. ‘What are the benefits for users? Aside from the fact that you're likely to be getting software that’s genuinely free, without limited functionality and constant nagging to upgrade to a paid Pro version, the quality of the code should be very high, because more developers can examine it, and therefore spot and fix any bugs. When 3 program dies - because the original creator calls it a day, for example - there's a chance that someone else will Use the existing code to carry on the work. That's what happened when popular alternative Start menu Classic Shell was killed off in 2017. The craator made his work open-source, and last year a new developer brought the program back to life, albeit under a different name (currently Open-Shalb. 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 41ee aU ee SYSTEM CLEANER —— yy ccleaner www.ccleaner.com Ever since Avast acquired Piriform, CCleaner's developer, in 2017 the popular system cleaner has gone seriously downhill. The problems started when a hacked version served up malware to CCleaner users. Then Avast started bundling its own software and displaying intrusive adverts. In one CCleaner release, Avast even prevented anyone who downloaded the {ree version from opting out of data sharing. Users found they were unable to deactivate Active Monitoring ¢the ‘snooping feature simply switched itself bback on) and made the program Impossible to quit without terminating it by force using Windows Task Manager, Most recently, CCleaner was bundled with a buggy preview version of a web browser that wasn't ready for general use, and which changed file extensions so that users could no longer view PDFs. CCleaner may once have been an ‘essential system tool, but now it's way past its prime, CCleaner once helped solve PC problems, ‘but now it creates them BleachBit NUD ww.bleachbit.ors Like CCleaner, BleachBit removes junk files from your PC, frees up space and protects your privacy by shredding personal files so they can’t be recovered. To use the program, just select the areas to target - your browser cache, cookies and history, for example - click Preview to see the results and then click Clean to remove the selected items Bleachait lacks a few of the features found in CCleaner, such as the Registry cleaner and startup manager, but you don’t need the former anyway because Windows does a great job of managing the Resistry by itsolf, and you can control which programs start ‘automatically in Windows 10 by ‘going to Settings, Apps, Startup. 42 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 i BleachBit cleans your PC quickly and efficiently, with no bundled junk BleachBit has been in development for Il years and is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. There's no paid-for edition, so you won't see any adverts or rag screens while using it, and because the developers are all volunteers and don't make any other softwere, bundled junk isn't an issue either. It also comes in a portable version, PASSWORD MANAGER — Pt] LastPass lastpass.com LastPass stores your passwords securely online, and logs you in to any site from any device, anywhere. It can fill In forms automatically, store important personal data such as your eredit card details and analyse the security of your passwords to help you make them stronger. However, you have to upgrade to the Premium edition if you want, features such as emergency access and advanced multi-factor options, and that costs from £27.60 a year In the past, LastPass was affected by a zero-day vulnerability that left accounts in danger of being compromised, as well as a phishing flaw LastPass has suffered several security problems inthe past few years ‘that meant attackers could steal a LastPass user's email, password and more. Then four years ago an attack (on LastPass's network resulted in the thoft of omail addresses, password reminders and authentication hashes. Italso suffers occasional access issues (see bit Iy/downdas2 for details). Bitwarden SWITCH) bitwarden.com Bitwarden sa reable open-source password manager forall the maior Gesitop platforms (Windows, macOS and Linu», mobile devices (Androig and 109) and web browsers offers mony of the same features as LastPass but for free. To und the service, the developers ‘so offer a paid-for Premium version, which provides adltional features such 25160 of encrypted fe storage and two-step login wth Yubikey, FIDO U2E and Duo, uti’ very mich optional ‘and costs just $10 (£8.21) a year. Because Bitwarden is open-source, ‘any bugs and flaws in the password, manager are spotted quickly, 50 it shouldn't be affected by the sort of issues that have plagued LastPass Inrecent years. Password manager Bitwarden offers lots of ‘ree features and works across your devicesIMAGE EDITOR TTT] Adobe Photoshop Don’t get us wrong, Photoshop is an ‘excellent image-editing program. In fact, it's easily the best software of its kind. It’s also very expensive, however, ‘and you can no longer buy it as a single program - you have to commit to paying for an Adobe Creative Cloud ‘subscription. If you only do some ‘oceasional image-editing, buying a subscription really isn't worth it~ ‘especially when even the cheapest ‘option, the Photography plan (which Includes Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and 2068 of cloud storage) costs £9.98 a month, or £119.76 ‘year. Like all advanced programs, Photoshop also suffers from quite a few problems caused by bugs and other issues, as you can see from the list at Photoshop Is too expensive and advanced or most people's everyday image editing GIMP The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMPy has long been viewed as a great ‘open-source alternative to Photoshop. It's available for Windows, Linux and ER Overrated software eeaTURE I GIMP sooms too complex for your creative projects, try Krita instead macOS and offers much of the same functionality as Adobe's software, including full layer support, colour adjustments, automatic image enhancement tools, customisable brushes, horizontal and vertical straightening and more, as well as plenty of effects and filters. It even supports third-party plug-ins so you can expand its foature set further. GIMP received a major update in April which introduced a number of new features, followed by a bug fix release two months later (including additional features). In the past, the biggest complaint about the program concerned its interface, which consisted of a confusing selection of floating windows. Thankfully, GIMP now has a standard interface that you ean customise to suit your needs. GIMP offers an incredible set of tools considering it’s free to use OR SWITCH TO Krita isa free, open-source painting program with a huge number of customisable brushes that also allows you to fix and improve your photos. It offers a decent array of fiters and is packed with features, including drawing assistants for working with straight lines and circles, and brush stabilisers that make sketching with the mouse easier. Krita's development started in 1999 when it was originally conceived as an image-editing tool to rival Photoshop and GIMP, but then in 2009 the focus switched to painting, It's now available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and nightly builds keep it up to date with the latest features and bug fixes. TEXT EDITOR Notepad Notepad may be a key Windows feature, but it hasn't changed much over the years. t's still a very basic text editor and lacks many of the features you're likely to need. Confusingly, Windows also offers a more advanced text editor, WordPad, but even that's not great. The latest version of Windows 10 (the May 2019 Update, or 1903) introduced a ‘Many Windows users think fondly of ‘Notepad, but it's very basic 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 43Notepad takes the built-in Windows tool and adds pluses to it number of improvements to Notepad, including new keyboard shortcuts and the ability to restore unsaved content, but there are many superior third-party replacements available (TI Notevades Our favourite Notepad alternative is undoubtedly Notepad++, which has a handy tab-based interface that lets you have multiple documents open at the same time, Other features worth mentioning include auto-completion, WYSIWYG printing, bookmarks, 3 200m tool and the ability to record macros and play them back, The program's interface is fully customisable, so you can make it look ‘and behave however you like. If you decide to switch to it permanently, you can use a special Windows command (found on the website) to set Notepad++ as the replacement for Notepad in Windows. Notepad++ is one of the programs included in the European Commission- funded bug bounty program announced in January, so you can be confident that there are no major problems with it VIDEO EDITOR 771] Adobe Premiere Elements bit y/prem4a2 Premiere Elements is another sophisticated tool from Adobe that ‘comes with several excellent features. The software offers Quick, Guided ‘and Expert modes, and can Adobe Premiere Elements is no longer cutting-edge and costs too much 44 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 ‘Openshot lets you edit your videos to perfection without paying a penny automatically create photo and video slideshows and collages for you using Sensei, Adobe's artiicial~ intelligence engine. Although Premiere Elements is a creat program, the latest update doesn't really add much in the way of new features. The Windows version doesn't work with HEVC and HEIF file formats (although the mac version supports H.265) and doesn’t support 360-degree VR video and multicam ‘editing either - you'll need to upgrade to the expensive Premiere Pro for £238 if you want those features. Hf all you want is a program for editing ‘and sharing videos recorded on your phone, the £86.56 asking price (or £130.36 if you want Photoshop Elements too) probably seems far too ‘expensive. You also need to create an Adobe account to use the program. (Ia) ovenshot COpenShot started life in 2008 as a free, ‘open-source video editor for Linux. I's now available for Windows and macOS too, and has all the features you're likely toneed for editing videos, including a drag-and-drop timeline, audio mixing and editing, a range of effects and transitions (with real-time previews) and more. You can have unlimited audio ‘and video tracks, and use the title editor and 3D animated titles to give your movies a professional finish Hf you have a phone or camcorder that shoots in 4K, then Openshot is particularly useful for editing the recorded clips and turning them into professional-looking movies. MUSIC STREAMING —— Spotify Desktop If you prefer to stream your music rather than buy it, there's @ good chance you Use Spotify, the service that brought streaming to the masses and transformed the music industry. While Spotify provides a good service, its desktop client has always been its weak link, with annoying adverts for free users, and several Features you're Unlikely to care about, such as the Friend activity panel that clutters up the already bloated interface. It can often be quite buggy too. Spotify’s desktop program Is the musie- ‘streaming service's weak link Xpo Music The deficiencies in Spotify’s official software have left plenty of room for Unofficial open-source alternatives to spring up, including our favourite - xpo Music. It was originally called Xpotity but that name got it removed temporarily from the Microsoft Store for legal reasons, hence the new titleER Overrated software epaTuRE pe Musie was released in April and made open-source two months later Xpo Music doesn't look dissimilar to the official desktop client software ~ which is probably because it’s based on the Spotity Progressive Web App (PWA) - but everything about it is better designed. Notable features include light and dark modes, 2 useful mini player that you can sot to float, above other windows, the ability to pin pages to the Windows 10 Start menu ‘and integration with Cortana. What's more, the software works with both Spotify Free and Spetify Premium ‘accounts. t supports a large number of keyboard shortcuts, too ~ see I 2for the fullist. To the surprise of many, E Microsoft ~ a company that built its entiro E business on proprietary software - has been embracing open-source for the past few years. It even joined the Open- Source Initiative (OSI) as {a Premium Sponsor in 2017, The software giant has released a growing £ number of tools under the open- source licence, including Bosque, a TypeScript-inspired programming language (bit-ly/bosq482), Windows Calculator (aka.ms/cale) and the original File Manager (WinFile) (bitly/wintlieaa2), If you've been using Windows since the days of Windows 95 and XP, you may remember Powerloys. 5 Microsoft open source initiative OFFICE Microsoft Office Even after all these years, Microsoft Office remains the most popular office suite and is used by pretty much every business around the world. However, it's pricey (£120 for the Office Home & Student 2019 edition, or £80 a year for Office 365 Home), and bloated. For years, Office has been packed with features no one really needs, and the ribbon interface isn't particularly easy to work with either, forcing users to hunt through the variaus tabbed sections to ‘These were a selection of ‘essential Microsoft utilities for the operating system, which included Tweak UI, ‘syneToy, Power Calculator and Background Switcher, © toname a few. In May this year, Microsoft announced at its BUILD developers conference that it would bring back PowerToys for Windows 10, but this, time as a collection of open-source tools. The first two utilities in development are ‘Maximize to new desktop’ (MTND) and “Windows key shortcut guide’ MIND shows a new pop-up button whenever you hover your mouse Proving that Bigger isn’t always better, ‘Microsoft Office 's now seriously overrated find the tools they want. The latest version, Office 2019, isnt all that different from its predecessor, Office 2016, either - which isa bit of a disappointment after three years, ibreoffice jww.libreottic Libreoffice isan entirely free open- source alternative to Micrasoft Office. It's available for Windows, macOS and Linux (there's also a LibreOffice Viewer for Android) and offers six comparable applications: Writer (word processor, Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentation and slideshow creator) Draw (@ vector drawing program for creating diagrams and flowcharts), Base G@atabase) and Math (@ mathematical equations editor). The program started life as a successor to OpenOffice.org and is fully compatible with Office's own file formats. You can open files created In Microsoft's suite without any trouble, and save new documents in any of those Formats, too, s0 your Office-owning friends and colleagues will be none the wiser. LibreOffice also has its own OpenDocument formats that you cen save your documents in i you prefer. pointer over the maximise/restore button on any window, Clicking this creates a now desktop and sends the app straight to it. The shortcut guide appears when you hold down the Windows key for longer than a second, and shows you every shortcut that's currently applicable. Microsoft also has a couple of Interns working on three more PowerToys ~ ‘Process terminate tool, ‘Batch file renamer’ and ‘animated aif screen recorder’. You can follow the project and download the free tools as they become available from the official PowerToys GitHub page at 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 45WER eearure Overrated software ‘Save money by switehing from MS Office to open-source alternative Libreoffice There are currently two branches of Libreoffice to choose from: an older but more stable one, and anewer release with additional features, such 18 a tabbed interface that looks a lot like Microsofts ribbon. This isn't (at the time of writing) enabled by default, but you can toggle it on by going to View, User Interface. Mit] Windows 10 If you're becoming increasingly disillusioned with Microsoft's latest ‘operating system, it might be worth switching to Linux and finally saying ‘goodbye to bugay updates, annoying Live Tiles and weird inconsistencies, such as having two separate places to configure the software - Settings and Despite Microsoft's billions, Windows 10 Still suffers frequent problems Control Panel. Even it you like Windows 10, it's hard not to get the impression at times that i's @ work in progress rather than a stable and well-polished modern ‘operating system. The October 2018 Update contained a flaw that deleted some users’ files, and there were so many other problems with the update that Microsoft was forced to withdraw it temporarily and ration who could install it once it became available again. Nasty. ‘Although you can sneakily upgrade to Windows 10 for free if you have a licensed version of Windows 7 er 8, paying for the Pro edition (the one with all the good features) will cost you an ‘expensive £219.99 (Home is £119.99) Linux Mint There are plenty of Linuxcbased operating systems (known as distros) to choose from, but Linux Mint is perhaps the best one for people switching fram Windows. t's based on Debian and Linux Mint is the epitome of open-source software and is very good to boot Ubuntu and is community driven, whieh ‘means many of the improvements are suggested directly by its users (unlike in Windows, where Insiders simply test Microsoft's ideas). All the software that comes with it - including Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice and Thunderbird - is free or open-source, but you're welcome to Install proprietary software if it's available. The distro comes with a very intuitive Software Manager that makes finding and installing the programs you want easy. All Linux Mint roleases benefit from Long Term Support (LTS), which means the most recent versions will be supported until April 2023. You also have a choice of three desktop environments (DES) - Cinnamon, MATE ‘and Xfce. If you don’t know what any of that means, simply select the Cinnamon desktop, because that’s the best and most popular choice. Like most Linux operating systems, Linux Mint can run froma Live dise, which means you can try it out before you install it. NEXT ISSUE DON’T PAY FOR 46 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 on sale Wednesday 4 September 2019 OR es SHRED ANDROID DATA Make sure files you delete on your phone can't be recovered @PATCH YOUR OWN PC. Don't wait for security Fixes — install them manually ‘SPEED UP WINDOWS Replace siow built-in tools with portable software ‘SUBSCRIBE TO WEB USER ATG Who’s blocking YOU online? Are you being secretly snubbed on social media? Robert Irvine explains how to find out & FACEBOOK To find out if someone has blocked you on Facebook or merely tunfriended! you, search for their name using the main search box. Filter the results by clicking the People tab at the top of the page. If you can't see that person, it's ikely that they've either blocked you or closed their Facebook ‘account. if you can see them, you may Just have been unfriended. Click the All tab, and it’s possible that your former friend's name will appear, even if you're blocked. Try clicking their photo. If you can see any of their profile, they've only Unfriended you, but if you're blocked, you won't be able to access anything, (Other ways to check include searching the Friends list of a mutual friend - if you can't see the person there, they've probably blocked you ~ and reviewing old Facebook messages you exchanged, If you're blocked, you wor't be able to click your ex-friend’'s name to view their profile, but if their account has been closed, their name will ‘appear as ‘Facebook User’ Facebook User . 1 Facebook calls an old friend ‘Facebook User’, they've deleted their account (3) WHATSAPP WhatsApp makes it easy to block pests, but what if you suspect that someone thinks you are a messaging menace? Open a chat with that person ‘and look for the ‘ast seen’ time under their name. If there isn't one, they may have blocked you or simply turned this feature off in their privacy settings. For further evidence, send them 2 message, It you see a single grey tick instead of two grey (delivered) or blue (read) ticks, your message wasn't delivered. Next, try calling them via WhatsApp to see if the call connects. Ifit doesn't, the Not authorised to add this contact. 0K. When you can’t add a contact to a chat in WhatsApp, it means you're blocked situation looks suspicious, although they ‘may just have changed their number. Finally, to check that they're nat just offline, create a group chat and add the aloof person as a participant. If you can add them to the group, it means you haven't been blocked, but if WhatsApp says you're “not authorised to add this contact’ it's time to admit defeat y TWITTER It’s easy to tall if someone has blocked you on Twitter just visit their profile page and youll see amessage telling you you're blocked. But what if you want to see everyone who's blocked you? The only way to find this out is through the profile of a Twitter user who follows or is follomed by people you think may be blocking you. Click the Following or Followers link below their name, seroll to the bottom of the page, then right-click an empty area and select ‘Save as... Save the web page as an HTML file and open it using Notepad (or Notepad++ - soe page 44), Pross Ctri#F and search for Blocks-you. Look a couple of lines above every instance of this term to see the username of the person who has blocked you. INSTAGRAM The giveaway sign that someone has blocked you on Instagram is that, even though their name appears when you search for it, you can't see any of their photos, even though their profile Indicates that they've posted some. That's unless the person has a private Instagram account, in which case they won't show up in searches There are several apps that monitor your Instagram account to tell you who has ‘unfollowed' you. This can also be an indication of who's blocked you, but it's not definite - they may simply have lost interest in your snaps. FollowMeter for Instagram (followmeterapp.com) is one of the most popular tools, and is available for Android and iOS. 107 2576 vcsme—{ Unfallowers)) 1 = Use FollowMeter for Instagram to see who's lost interest in your wonderful life 130 WHO’S BLOCKING YOUR EMAIL: Hf someone blocks you on Gmail, your emails go straight into thelr Spam folder rather than bouncing back to you with a ‘not delivered’ message. If you suspect this is happening, you can use the E Chrome extension Mailtrack (bit ly/mailtrack482) to track your message and notify you when the recipient opens it. Bear in mind, however, that an unopened message A biscuss who's blocking you at wwwfacebook.com/webusermagazine “ i doesn’t necessarily mean you've been blocked ~ the person may simply be ignoring you! 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 47Slash the cost of online subscriptions Managing multiple plans for web services can prove expensive and confusing. Robert Irvine explains how to save money and time by streamlining your subscriptions Share subscriptions with friends and family f you and your partner, children, lodger or anyone else in your household subscribe to the same services, it makes financial sense to share your accounts and split the cost. Many online services offer dedicated plans for this purpose, which give each person a separate account within the main one, so they can buy, stream and download whatever they want without the other users knowing. Here are three ‘of the best-value shared plans. SPOTIFY Spotify’s Premium for Family plan gives you and up to five other people living at your address unlimited access to its music-streaming service for £14.99, per month. When you consider that six separate Premium accounts cost £59.94, that's a real bargain and could reduce your monthly subscription to £2.50. Anyone who already uses Spotify can transfer all their saved music Why get Premium for Family? ‘Share Spotify with your kids and they can ay you back when they're older 48 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 playlists and recommendations to their Family account. Apple Music offers a similar Family subscription for the same price (bit ly/apple42), Spotify is currently testing a shared plan for couples, Premium Duo, in several countries including Ireland, but hasn't confirmed when this will be coming to the UK. AMAZON PRIME At £79 per year, an Amazon Prime subscription isn't cheap, so why not split yours with your nearest and dearest? Set up an Amazon Household (bit ly/ household 482) and you can share Prime benefits including next-day delivery, Prime Video streaming and Prime Reading (formerly Kindle Unlimited) with one other adult, as well as ebooks, apps and games you download. Your Household can include up to four children, but they're (wisely) prevented from buying anything. ‘Amazon also offers a Family Plan for its Music Unlimited service (bit lv/ This happy couple just saved £59.50 each ‘on an Amazon Prime subscription ‘4 rmusic482), which lets you divide the hefty £14.99-per-month cost between six family members. NETFLIX [Although Netflix doesn't have an official shared plan, it lets you add up to five separate profiles to your account, s0 family members and friends can have their own personalised watch lists and recommendations, and split the monthly subscription cost. Depending fon your plan, you can stream TV shows and films to more than one device. With the Standard option (£8.89 per month), you can watch on two devices at once, while the Premium plan (£11.89 per month) lets you stream to four different screens simultaneously. Note that all Users log in using the main account holder's details, but can then choose their own profile. Similarly, Now TV lets you add six devices to your account and watch fon twoat the same time. Track all your subscriptions in one place hen you subscribe to lts of colina siicon i ouny to is track of how much you're paying and when. Youmay even forget youre stil subscribing toa particular service until ttre money i taken fom your bank fccount, Fortunately, his is now such 2 common problem tht there are plenty of tools avaliable to help you manage your subscription coats, though many are US-only.bean Find, trackand ‘manage your bills nd subscriptions Bean helps you save lots of beans by ‘cancelling subscriptions you can't afford The best option for UK subscribers is Bean (usebean.com), which connects ‘with your bank or credit card account (using 256-bit encryption and read-only ‘access) to analyse transactions from the past 12 months and identify recurring payments. If you then opt to cancel an unwanted subscription, Bean contacts the company on your behalf. It also alerts you to upcoming payments, price changes and contract renewals, and offers free Android and iOS apps. Bean makes money by recommending services from its partners, but you can opt out of receiving these, Ifyou're nervous about granting @ third-party tool access to your bank, TrackMySubs (www.trackmysubs.com) Wer — um Oem ” om ° TrackMySubs lets you manage up to 10 subscriptions without adding yet another Slash the cost of subscriptions lets you compile a list of all your subscriptions, including details of their cost, frequency and auto-renewal, to receive email reminders when they're {due and view the total amount you're forking out. TrackMySubs is free to use for up to 10 subscriptions cwith no need to enter any card details), and from $5 (€4.10) per month for more. ‘Alternatively, you can manage your monthly payments from your mobile device using an app such as Subby for Android (bit Iy/subby482) oF Bobby for 108 ¢bit.y/bobby482), Downgrade your subscription plan father than ditching a service ‘completely, you can often save money by downgrading your plan to one that better suits your needs. For example, if you listen to Spotity Premium only occasionally and aren't bothered by ads, offline playback or Luntimited skips, you can still stream 50 milion tracks (aside from certain new roleases), and save £9.99 a month, by moving to its free tier. See bit |y/ spotify482 for details Netflix recently increased the cost of all its plans except the Basic, £5.99-per- month subscription, but if you only stroam to one screen at a time and don't mind standard-definition quality, you Cancel Your Membership? ‘Cancel’ your Netflix membership if you want to stop paying for a few months CANCEL YOUR TV LICENCE Ifyou watch all your TV on Netflix, Now TV and Prime Video these days, and only use the ITV Hub and All 4 catch-up services, you can save £154.50 a year by cancelling your TV licence. However, you still need a licence to watch anything ‘on BBC iPlayer, live TV on any channel or service, and programmes you record at 5 the time of broadeast. This applies to any device, including your phone, tablet, games console or Hbiscuss online subscriptions at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine ‘set-top box such as Sky+ or Virgin TV V6. See the TV Licensing website for more info (www-tvlicensing.co.uk). Live TV on any channel ‘Switch to amonthly Prime membership ‘before Christmas - then cancel it! can save £36 a year by switching to Basic from the Standard plan, or £72 from Premium, Alternatively, if you're geing on holiday or have watched everything you want to see for the time being, Netflix lets you suspend your subscription by going into your account settings and clicking Cancel Membership. You wor't be billed until you resume streaming, and your viewing preferences will be saved for 10 months. If your £79 annual Amazon Prime fee Is looming, consider changing to the £7.99-per-month plan, then cancelling after a few months ~ preferably just after Christmas! You can do this by Visiting your Managing Your Prime Membership page (bit y/prime482) and choosing the Monthly payment option. ‘Amazon will tell you when your new subscription begins (and your annual one ends), but remember that if you forget to cancel, you'll end up paying a total of £95.88 in a yoar. Subscribe through a mobile contrac! ‘ther than paying separately for your phone contract and a streaming service, shop around for a deal that combines the two. Many UK mobile providers offer plans that Include a ‘free’ subscription to Spotity, Apple Music, Prime Video, Netflix or BT Sport, although there's usually a catch, ‘This could be that the free trial ex after a few months, is limited to high-data tariffs ors available only to new customers. Still if you're thinking of shopping around for anew contract, it's worth seeing what's on offer. ‘SIX MONTHS OF APPLE EE customers can claim a six-month ‘free’ subscription to Apple Music 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 49Best free Wi-Fi network scanners Network scanners let you check which devices are connecting to your router and find out if anyone is hijacking your internet. Steve Clark looks at six tools that tell you who or what is using your Wi-Fi Advanced IP Scanner | www.advanced-ip-scanner.com | kA FEATURES scrkic PERFORMANCE tekiokk EASE OF USE kekick What we liked: Despite billing itself as an‘advanced' tool, Advanced IP Scanner (AIS) doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, Itisn't loaded with unnecessary options that most users will never use, but focuses instead on ‘scanning your network for any connected devices. It's fairly quick, ‘especially compared with rival Windows programs, and its interface is clear and ‘easy to understand, making it as suitable for beginners as itis for advanced network administrators. Having completed a sean, AIS shows you a lst of devices, with details of each ‘one’s name, IP address, manufacturer, MAC address and current status. That's no more than you'd expect of any network scanner, but where this tool really comes into its own isin its ability to gain remote access to devices. It {does this using RDP and Radmin VPN, ‘which require a separate free download. Once you've installed the extra software, you can take full control of 3 device on your network or even shut it down directly from AIS. This option is ‘especially useful if you're suspicious of a particular device or you want to control your entire system from a single 50 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 computer. You can also locate @ PC fn the list and double-click to jump straight to shared folders or the device's File Explorer. How it can be improved: AIS isn’t quite as advanced as it says it is. That's no bad thing, but it may be misleading for anyone who wants an all-in-one option. Taking remote control of devices isa fantastic addition, but we found that it wasn't always reliable ~ and having to download additional software to make it run feels old-fashioned. The | network admin’ | use and an excellent option for developers should integrate the entire set-up ina single download OUR VERDICT Billed as “the fst choice for every his tool is easy to anyone who's curious about the devices that connect to thelr WI-FI When it works, the remote access. feature is exceptional, and there's a portable version of AIS, too.ing | wwwing.com | ack: FEATURES sockhii PERFORMANCE kick EASE OF USE tick What we liked: Fing is a rare beast a mobile app that outperforms equivalent desktop programs, Available for Android and 105, it's a smart tool with a clean look that’s perfectly suited to mobile use. When we connected tivo mobile phones, asmart speaker, a ‘games console and & ‘computer to a network, Fing Instantly recognised each device, giving its name and allocating it an appropriate icon. Tap the thres-line icon to reorder your devices based on their status, filtering by category, and tweaking notifications for new and existing ‘connections. You can then export all the details in a format of your choice. Customisation doesn't end there. Select a device to check the ping ‘quality and connection history, as well ‘as rename or ‘favourite’ it. You can even User set up alerts to your phoone when the device connects or disconnects, How it can be improved: Despite an otherwise mobile-friendly interface, getting back to the home screen after browsing 8 device's various options is a pain. If you check a device, view its history, check the ping and find ‘open ports, you'll need to cycle back through row | all these screens. A dedicated “home’ button ‘would be welcome, ‘OUR VERDICT Fing is the perfect mobile network scanner. It lacks a few of the extra | features you find in some desktop PC tools, but it gives you everything | youneed to perform a quick, thorough network check without having to boot up your computer. Wireless Network Watcher | www.nirsoft.net | dokaay FEATURES sorkisi: PERFORMANCE itkiokt EASE OF USE tbo What we likes Wireless Network Watcher koops things very simpla, and that’s fine with us. Click the Play button to run a scan and see every device thet's connected to your network ‘along with the usual information such as its IP and MAC address. The ace up its sleeve, however, is that it notes the first and last time a device was detected, and keeps an overall Detection Count, which is sure to please ‘anyone who worries about unauthorised devices using their internet connection. ‘As well as scanning and viewing your devices, you can tweak a few settings, such as editing the IP address range or setting a beep every time a new device connects or disconnects. If you're technically minded, you can also set ‘executable commands for connections ‘and disconnections. How it can be improved: While many users wil appreciate Wireless Network Watcher's simplicity, ‘others will baulk at its overall lack of features. Even the scan report is nothing more than an HTML file, which refused to.open when we tried to view it. The fact that the software performs so efortiossly makes us interested to find out what it's really capable of doing, | OUR VERDICT ‘Wireless Network Watcher is a simple utility that’s ideally suited 5 to the casual, curious user, but it lacks power for those who need | advanced features. Its a great F tool for checking what, and who, is connecting to your network, but that’s about its limit. Hbiscuss wi-Fi scanners at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine Wi-Fi network scanners Sa Angry IP Scanner angryipora We're not sure what has made Angry IP Scanner so cross, but dluring the time we spent with the too! we found it tobe thoroughly pleasent Scanning networks is quick and the results page is fairly clear ~wihen the results ae in, the tool even tells you how long it took and how many hosts are ‘alive’. Elsewhere it's less intuitive, but I's unikely to put off advanced users, for whom we'd suggest the tool is realy designed Dipiscan worwdipisoft.com Dipiscan is another streamlined network scanner in the same vein 2 Wireless Network Watcher. Its attractive layout feels a lot more modern, and we lke the dedicated Export button, which lets you save a toxt filo ofthe results Performance is excellent, and you won't struggle to find your wey around the too! ~ although some of the tabs gathered along the top border on the advanced Network Analyzer bitly/network4s2 I Fing isn't your thing, try Network ‘Analyzer. This Android app has many of the same features packed inside. The interface can seem confusing at first, so to get started, tap the three lines and select LAN Scan, then press Scan. Unlike Fing, tapping into each listed device lets you check ping, route, ports, Whois and DNS for each individual device. The only real downside is the way it displays results, which feels needlessly cluttered, 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 51 i otePractical User Rip, edit and organise your music What would yo Ashampoo’s sophisticated suite of tools for [zoho music lovers originally cost £25, but now you can eee download it for free. Here’s how to use it Seaton hamp Studio 2019: bit.ly/mustu4s2 | © 2t s | £7 7,8 Usie-streaming services such as It can also design CD covers, generate Spotity ae incredibly popular, playlist, produce mix tapes, record but many people prefer to own audio and extract sound from videos. their music s0 they won't risk osing it Ashampoo Music Studio 2018 originally just because a service shuts down or cost $50 (around £25) but is now hikes its prices. Ifyou like to collect CDs__complately free, although you need to or digital tracks, Ashampoo Music Studio sign up for an Ashampoo account to use has all the tools you need torip, burn, _ it. This sends you adverts for other ‘edit and organise your music collection. Ashampoo products from time to time. Play ee er ey se ig Ashampoo Music Studio has 3 Music Studio reads the CD and lists simple tiled interface. Click any. all the tracks on it. You can edit the component fo aunch if. Hovaring track information tags) and selct or your mouse over Rip & Burn Bor deselect any track. E The software also Modify B reveals additional options. downloads album art El (which you can Torip tracks from 3 CO, insert the csc, change), and fis in detalis for artist, then click the Rip option. Ed album, genre and year. E3 You can make a playlist under Extended Settings. Click Next, then select a format for ‘To write music tracks to dise, open ‘You can rename batches of songs D your ripped tracks - MP3, WMA, the Rip & Burn menu. EE Music Studio = in Organise. Click its tile and, in the (OGG, WAV or FLACE- and the quality can create or copy audio CDs,Eas_ window that opens, add some files EB you require. You can adjust the sample well as MPS dises, EI WMA dises and or folders. @ Once you've added your rate El and bitrate Bhusing the sliders, _mixed-format discs, El On the next tracks, click Next and confirm the ‘and select mono or stereo, Choose an screen, add your media and set the copying options. Click Next, choose ‘output folder and naming format, then _lenath of the gap between tracks, then an output folder, then select the fle let the software get to work select the target drive. naming style you prefer. 52 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019Studio 2019 ac ike to do? B Rip & Bun eee ene PT ivene RECORD) Rete eo bray reece] een a curacy yen) ro aoe cua Beisel Ashampoo Music Studio can't rip ‘audio from YouTube videos but it ean ‘extract sound from videos saved to your hard drive. Click the Video-2-Musie ti, ‘then click the option to open a video file, Highlight the part of the soundtrack you want BB and use the tools to make any agjustments. El Click Next, location, Se td Tools cr =] \ ize fa rend bilesy Create a playlist of favourite songs by clicking Playlist Generator. Add some tracks and choose a playlist format. BD ‘The program shows which media players the format is compatible with, El Using the Mix Tape tool, select some music, ‘choose the type and quality, and the too! stitches the songs into a single track. Asubscribe to Web User at subscribewebuser.co.uk NORMALIZE: Dee Cees geht} eres anes c Cre ncuS emcee tara) eve More econ) ie ee on cS useful for playlists SM lee SNe fe ean) eae ee eae eee ee Eakins sets Celene nem oe) eeu a i) (ou aaa ‘The Modify option El contains music editor and a tool for splitting ‘uci files, I You can edit a song's tat (such as title, album, artist and relea date), El convert and analyse files, Gland normalise the volume. BL 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 53Workshop 2 oo] Z Create a multiboot USB memory stick Easy2Boot: www.easy2boat.com | (40 mins | £¥ Windows 7, 8, 10 Ys PC isn’t limited to running Windows. f sual you use a portable USB memory stick, you ‘can boot into all manner of operating, Andy Shaw says systems, from Linux to specialised security tools designed to fix problems that standard tools can't reach. With s0 many different options to try, you could end up using a lot of memory sticks if you want to keep a variety of options available, Many 1SO files work with this systern, ‘and while not all of them have been tested, a phenomenal number have, Go to bit iy/compat482 to see the ful list of supported ISOs, Some need to be Unless, of course, you use Easy2Boot . altered or saved in specific ways, i This tree software lets you create a menu-driven % youhave a fevourte, it's worth checking bootable USB memory stick containing as many \ here first, particularly if you want to run a ifferent operating syst can squeeze 4 V1 Linux instatation as a ‘persistent’ image itn you boot am the dence handy mona lets Wy = inother words, one that lets you save ‘you choose which one you want to run. The ee ee ‘en ou boot em he devo ey mena es t! \ Double-click it, allow the software to make changes to prepare the drive, Easy2Boot asks you if you're sure you your system and install as usual. It runs straight away. want to erase everything from the drive, Eso make sure Select your USB stick from the list at the top EB and your you're happy to do that before you start. When the process has language from the side menu. EB When you're ready to prepare _ finished, the blue window turns green. Press any key. the drive, click the big red button. ED 1 Download the self-extracting file from bit y/e2bdiae2. 2 ‘A command prompt opens EV and the software starts to files on it already but the most important folder is the you want to use, copy them into the most appropriate ISO folder. EI This is where you put the ISO files of any folders on the US® stick. We downloaded Linux Mint software you want to run. Double-click the ISO folder to \(inuxmint.com), for example, so we're copying it to the ‘access the next level LINUX subfolder. EB 3 (Open the USB drive in File Explorer. The drive has lots of A ‘Assuming you've already downloaded the ISO files 54 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019If you want to check that the software is working, click the Test with GEMU" button. EB This launches the boot menu ina simple emulation Window BJ so you can see that it works. We found this very slow on our PC, but don't panic ~ the finished version will perform much better. Shut down QEMU ‘and load your other ISOs. um Specific Help ted rive om De Tetuark Bot from Ete £1909 os eel te vo their total. J Before you can boot your PC from a USB drive, you may need to change the boot order. This is @ setting in the BIOS or UEFI, Look out for a message telling you how to tenter this when you reboot your PC ~ it usually involves pressing a function key such as F2 or F8. Find the boot order section fl and make sure USB or Removable Devices is first. BL 6 cee eee rece ete ee Petes Poertcsnrs We went straight to the Linux option to test Linux Mint. Because Mint was the only option in the Linux menu, it booted straight away, displaying the standard Linux Mint menu. El From here we could choose to start the software immediately FGet more practical advice at www facebook.com/webusermagazine Sy EASY2BOOT/) We also added the Kaspersky Rescue Disc (bit kosp482) I by dragging end dropping it into the Antivirus folder. This is a particularly useful tool to have on any multibooting system because you can use it to scan a PC for viruses without having to start up the infected operating system. EASY2BC Now when you reboot your PC with the USB device connected, it takes you to the Easy2Boot menu. El Here {you can use the arrow keys to navigate to the option you want. Alternatively, skip to the option using the number keys El or open the menu using the shortcut. EDF takes you back to the main menu, he ‘The developer's website has a thorough guide that can help you if you get stuck, although it's spt over several pages and can get a bit bogged down with Jargon I's worth exploring if you have problems though, Look Out for the quickstart guide, (bitly/e2bqs482) BI the ‘Primer page (bity/e20prima82) and the FAG (ot.y/e20faq482), 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 55ey Workshop 3 Automate any task on your Android phone acroDroid is an automation app for Android that M ‘demands experimentation. The basies are easy to ‘grasp, but you can then use it to automate just about any task on your phone by creating macros. These are automated scripts that perform an action in response to a trigger Building macros is easy, particularly if you'e familiar with IFTTT ~ but you'l find a lot more useful system settings here. MacroDroid: bit.ly/macro482 | ©10 mins | Android 4.2 + ‘To get the most out WL eitscseaiies into your Android settings and search for accessibility. Under ‘Download services’, select MacroDroid EB and toggle the “Use service’ switch to On. A pop-up will appear, warning you that MacroDroid wil ESSE | ‘Observe your actions’, which it needs to do to activate triggers and perform tasks, Click OK to confirm, ED se Maciooris? erent [cs] The same principles apply whatever macro you build, so for our example well create a macro that launches Spotify when ‘we switch on Bluetooth. Under Triggers, BI tap Connectivity, Bland choose Bluetooth Event. El The app asks you to select what triggers the action. In this, ‘case, choose Bluetooth Enabled and tap Ok. Noxt, swipe over to Constraints. @ These force the macro to start ‘or stop when certain ‘conditions apply. Ed Try to avoid using these unless you really need ther, because they interrupt the automation ‘flow’. If you need to add @ ‘constraint, such as preventing actions when the battery is low, tap the appropriate category Eland follow the ‘on-screen prompts. a5 56 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 Qe bern byl ‘adda om the hone screen. B Alternatively, ovioad unc. Swipe across to Actions. Bror our example macro, woll solect Applications, EI then Launch Application. El On the next screen, choose Spotify - or whichever app you want to open. Select ‘Force new’ to ‘open a fresh instance of the ‘app, and ‘Exclude from recents' if you want to keep It out of the recently used apps list. Tap OK BE ‘Tap the tick icon to Geerece sno ‘and save it. Use the drop-down to add it toa category, BI then tap OK. Saved macros include details of every Trigger, Action and Constraint. B Tap each section to reconfigure the macro, add further actions and more. Use the master switch El or individual toggle switches to switch each ‘macro On oF Off. BB siuctooth Enabled BB Leuncn spotiyWorkshop 4 Perform specific actions when files change ‘ewFileGo is 2 useful Windows tool that keeps an eye This could be as simple as backing up_ ‘on your folders for you. something happens to the your photos when you transfer them to folder, such as the addition of a file ora change to an your PC or opening your Downloads ‘existing one, the software performs an action of yaur choice, folder when a new file appears. NewFileGo: bit.ly/nfgo482 | 10 mins | £7 Windows 8, 10 [A folder selection window opens. Locate the folder you 1= ‘Add new Watcher’. EI The software keeps an eye 2 ‘want to monitor, then click the Select Folder button. OF con any folders you choose and, if something changes, ‘appears in the box. Ed We're monitoring forall types runs a specific action. We're going to monitor new files that__of new file, so we can leave the other options in the Files to arrive in the Downloads folder, so click the folder button. 9 _monitor’ section set to the defaults: New Files Eland "=. command every time the software detects a change, or it. We want File Explorer to open the Downloads folder run once using all the new file names as parameters in a when a new file is detected, so enter explorer command. The Examples button offers a few predefined /n,C:\Users\usernane\Downloads. EI For help, see actions, including Run File and Open with Notepad, EB ‘Winaero's guide to Explorer commands at bit lv/expemd482. Using this menu, El you can choose whether to run the: 4 ‘The best way to get the command you want is to write enable it, right-click it in the list and choose the Enable/ click in it and select New, Ed Text Document. EIA new Disable option, El You can tell if a command is enabled File Explorer window should open to show the or disabled by its icon. A coloured icon Blindicates an active Downloads folder, following our rule. As well as new files, you command, while a grey icon EY means i's inactive. ‘can set the software to watch for changes in existing files. When you first add a new command, it's disabled. To 6 the setup, open the Downloads folder right “Aet more practical advice at www.facebook.com/webusermagazine 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 57Create your own website from a i scratch (PaHéliDEsign the site) In the first of a two-part series, Wayne Williams explains how to work out a design, use templates and get to grips with web-building tools What you'll need There are plenty of web-based drag-and- drop designers that let you put together ' 9o0d-1ooking sit in minutes and check that it displays properly in every possible browser combination, Many even offer to host the finished site for free ~ or unt you buy 8 domain and hosting packane Of your own, For this Fist part ofthe project. though, wel look at how to build ' website using the excelent BlueGrffon 58 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 (biuegritfon.org), This lets you design. your website offine, a it's ready for when we start looking at domains and eb hosting in the second part of this project next Issue. Ifyou haven't heard of BlueGriffon, it's a free advanced website creator built ‘around Gecko, Firefox's rendering engine, It offers all the editing features you'd expect, and a wizard-based template you can use to get started. I's ideal for web designers of all abilities because you can Quickly switch between WYSIWYG and Source (HTML) views. We'll show you how to get started in our Mini Workshop, opposite. ‘Some features, such as the responsive design tool (which changes the site's layout dynamically to suit the display you're viewing it on), are available only in the paid-for edition. If you decide you need these features, you'll have to payBlueGritfon's Dual View Is @ good way to start learning HTML €90 (around £81 for a basic licence. BBueGriffon also charges for its Instruction manual (€9 ~ around €8), Before you start ‘You may be tempted to launch the software and start creating your site straight away, but i's worth sketching some designs on paper frst, becouse ths lets you play with different ideas and explore your options Have a look at other websites and note what they do well Don't be afraid to steal avout ideas from other sources ~ but don't copy someone else's design entirely. Instead use it as a template, and think up ways you could alter ‘or improve it. Changing the colour scheme makes 2 website ook very dlfferent t00. The choice of colours BlueGriffon can look daunting at first, but getting started is easy. Click File Hl and select ‘New wizard’. ‘The wizard then asks what type of document you want to create. El if you're not sure which language to use, HTML 5 (the default option) Is fine. Click Next. you use is important - you want to pick hues that complement one another rather than clash, There's no need to design your site entirely from seratch - youll find plenty of free templates online that you can customise as you wish. Free Web Free Web Templates has nearly 4,000 designs on offer c | Create a simple page using BlueGriffon Give your document a title, author name, description and keywords, then click Next again. You can now choose colours for the background, text and links. The Document Background screen lets you upload a background. image fl and adjust its position. On the next screen, choose to ‘Apply a predefined CSS layout’. Esubscribe to Web User at subscribe webuser.co.uk Preview your site in a web browser to help identity any problems Templates (wwvi.reewebtemplates.com) isa great resource and well worth visiting. We show you how to import a template into BiueGriffon in our Mini Workshop on page 61 Understanding the site code BlueGrifon's Dual View mode makes it ‘oasy to work out what the aifforentlinos of code do. Click an eletnent on the WYSIWYG side and the program highlights the code frit on the Source side. f you meke a change to the code Gsuch as altering the text or changing the namo of location ofa photo, for example) its reflected on the preview side. Once you know a few snippets of HTML and CSS, you can quickly make wholesale changes to your site Optimise your images Reducing the size and quality of the images on your site ensures that it loads duickly, whichis good nows for anyone ‘When you click Finish, the sample page loads, ready for editing You can change the name of the site By typing over the text. The buttons at the bottom let you switch between the WYSIWYG Bland Source (HTML) views. Elf you prefer, you can choose Dual View Gl and see both views side by side, 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 59BY Broadband Deals Call FREE on 0800 083 2357 to switch your broadband Cots err pas CHEAPEST aoe £16.99 18 11Mbps v ENERGY Fast Broadband months avg. speed untntes £19.95 18 11Mbps © 2 TalkTalk mes | ce | Ea | es aor Siem oor £20.00 18 11Mbps co 3 Yy ee ee eae, months v9. speed urine . Winmecatiganse «£33.00 12 108Mbps 4b Tre Sons tae months. «sag. apeed etd WD“ Ticeacar Seon) Teams & Condon apply - 8 tes for deta “aleusage or econ fic pe ean Froatans Gen hose Oata apply 7 amet nt Aug 2018 Conwered oat Dp te Oeor acted saci sree TRE Ae *WHYYOUMUSTBUYAMINIPC —- IDENTIFY PROGRAMS THAT ARE , y *GOOGLE’SBESTSECRETTOOLS = SECRETLYUSING YOUR Allnew and completely free INTERNET CONNECTION v = CLEVER WAYSTOUSE YOUR PLUS: QUICKLY TRANSCRIBE 7 WINDOWS LOCK SCREEN LONG AUDIO RECORDINGS 7 Onsale Subscribe at www.getcomputeractive.co.uk Weds 4 dy, he ceCY-ToYeTeToNC TSN z Wax allows you to bulld a basie website simply by answering a few questions, ‘and ean even host it for you for ree whe tries to view it using 2 slower connection. Where possible, you should resize your photos to the exact height ‘and width you want them to appear. Use GIF or PNG files for diagrams land logos, and JPEG files for photographs. Reducing the JPEG quality to around 70 per Cent removes some of the image data from the photo ‘but makes the file much smaller, without significantly affecting its quality. Alternative site builders ‘There are other ways to build YyOUF site online, Win (ri ‘com) is a simple tool that puts together a site based on your anewers to a handful of ‘An easy way to get the site you want is to download a template you like from Free Web Templates (ww freewebtemplates.com). Unzip the downloaded file, then open BlueGriffon and go to File, EI Open. Navigate to ‘the folder containing your template, select index.htm! El and click Open, ‘then OK. El The template will load. C MIN | Import and customise a template Wordpress offers a couple of ways of creating a site, including the option of hosting it yourself ‘questions. You can then customise the results in any way you like, picking and choosing from thousands of advanced design elements. Wixis free to use, Edit elements directly in BlueGritfon's WYSIWYG mode ) You can now customise it. This box |S contains some placeholder text B and an image. El To change the photo, double-click it and use the Insert an Image’ box to locate the photo you want. El Give ita title BB and To change the text, select it and type over it. Apply Italics or bold using the ‘emphasis buttons. Esubscribe to Web User at subscribe webuser.co.uk BlueG ‘comes with free hosting and lets you create as many sites as you like, For more advanced features, including connecting your own domain, you need to upgrade toa Premium package from £3 a month. ‘Another option well worth considering Is WordPress (wordpress.com), which builds a site in front of your eyes based ‘on the answers you give to questions. You can buy a domain for it as part of the creation process. WordPress is also available as a self-hosted platform that ives you full contro} over your site and lets you add plugins and adverts. This is available at wordpress.org (note the slightly different address). Finally, when you buy a domain or hosting from somewhere like 1&1 |ONOS Gwwwionos.co.Uk) you can use its own builder to put your site together. ee = To change the typeface and text size, select the text, then go to the Panels menu and choose Style Properties. Expand the General section Band click the plus button Eto add a font family, then select it and set the size you want. EI Expand the Colors section El to change an item's foreground or background colour. sages Part 2: How To... Get a domain and host your website 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 61Subscribe to [glia today and save on the single issue price. Each issue of Web userwill be delivered directly to your device each fortnight. ‘SEE NEXT PAGE FOR SET-UP INSTRUCTIONSee ets ..on an iPad or iPhone KEE Retuto the Web user [EEX choose your subscription term and tap twice on the 'price’ box EEEEES Choose whether to create an optional account GEEZ Enter your to confirm ..on a Kindle Fire Kindle Fire subscriptions come with a ‘one month trial. (GERI Chose your subscription term from the drop down menu on the popup that appears Ea "in the Web user! ia the Zinio app EEG Search for Web user via the search box in the | sre? BENS button EEX Choose whether to create an optional Zinio account EEE Enter your toconfirmWeb User Masterclass Discover secret features and settings in Chrome and Firefox Ce Access hidden browser settings : i ll web browsers have settings A thet you cen secers ond eorftgue a OSE i arebrooar Ua moni ek oi Sees | though - there are lots more hidden in. Sea Samal ana SoS ATI eee ieee yecc i ata ins Saget ceed sad eat ee Ruaiatien sg eearcaam Roeatoernrnena i eeevereerecre me Sac insene ee Werica coos | however, there are some great tweaks that Experiments 7 ‘apply many of the Chrome changes to (Opera from opera: //flags. The new | Edge will also be based on Chrome, so if you're testing it, type edges //flags. Clean up web pages Web pages are often teeming with clstracting elements, suchas ‘adverts, menus, pop-up messages and $0 on. Chrome has Hidden feature that removes these distractions to present a eon. ad-free article that's easier to Feod and print. Go to chrone://flags tnd look for Enablo Reader Mode. I's isabled by default but selecting Enoble end elaunching Chrome edds 3 Distil page" option to the men Remove al the clutter from web pages with Chrome’s Reader mode 64 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 let you customise how the browser works. sn. a These tips may work in other browsers, | too, because many are based on the same encase | two core systems. Opera uses the seme : engine as Chrome, for example, so you can mena Experiment with advanced browser features using Chrome flags when you want to read an article on the web, open Chrome’s menu and click ‘Distill page’ to strip out everything except the text and images. This only works on articles, not home pages, forum pages and so on. 6 Manage Chrome extensions Managing your Chrome extensions from the menu i fir straichtforward, but you con make iteven quicker and easier by adding a button to the toolbar. Open chrome: // flags, enable Extensions Toolbar Menu and relaunch Chrome. The new toolbar icon looks like @ tigsaw piece and opens anew menu when you click it. From here you can enable or disable extensions and go to the extensions manager. The Extensions Toolbar Menu button lists every extension that’s enabled in your browser, and clicking the three dots beside each one opens a menu for that extension. One option lets you unpin the extension from the toolbar. This removes the toolbar icon but leaves the extension running, so it’s a 00d way to clean up the browser Interface if t starts getting cluttered. The new menu also shows extensions that are cunning but hidden, and you can pin them to add their icon to the toolbar. It’s a good way to find out if you have any hidden extensions running in your browser. Download files faster The ‘Parallel downloading’ flag accelerates file downloads by opening ‘multiple connections. It can make a significant difference when you're If you see words that look like ‘they've been typed in a typewriter, follow the instructions and type them exactly as they appear, paying close attention to spaces and punctuation.downloading very large files, but is barely noticeable for small downloads H's not always easy to tell what the default setting is for many Chrome flags. |s ‘Parallel downloading’ enabled by default or not? Set it from Default to Enabled to make sure it's on. Improve Firefox spelling Search for spelicheck in about :config and double-click layout speiicheckDetault. & value of 0 stops Firefox spelichecking as you type. ‘The default value is 1, which checks multi-line text boxes, sueh as comments. Setit to 3 to spelicheck everything. Enable tab previews When youhave several tabs ‘open, it can be hard to remember what's in them, Enable tab previws to 500 2 thumbnail image of the page when you hover the mouse over a tab. Open Chrones//ELage and type hover into the search box. Enable the two hover flags and relaunch the browser. Open a few tabs and lat tho mouse hover over them to see the thumbnails: Enable Hover Cards and see previews when the mouse hovers over tabs Focus and get more done Ifyou find it hard to focus whon muitiple tabs are open and seeking your attention, enable Focus Mode. Open chrome://lags and set Focus Mode to Enable, then relaunch Chrome To focus your attention on ust one tab, right-click t and select Focus this tab! This opens the tab ina nev window that looks lke an app. The browser interface is hidden, s0 you can't see the laddress bar, tabs, bordors and so on Minimise Chrome and focus on tis tab Ws great if you need to work online = weting emails er working in an online office suite, for example ~ and don't Want to be tempted by other tabs. Chrome's distraction-free Focus Mode hides most of the browser's interface | in chrone: | setting. This can solve video | problems, but Enabled is the better Web User Masterclass TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL More ad anced tips Make Firefox faster Animated menus, icons and so | on look nice the first time you see | them, but they create extra work for your PC. If you value efficiency over | fancy visual tricks, switch them off. Type about :conf ig into Firefox | and search for ‘animations’. There are several animation settings, but toolkit.cosmeticAnimations enabled | stands out as one we can live without, | Double-click to change it from true to | false, then restart Firefox Select a scroll style Most web pages are bigger than a browser window, which means | we have to seroll to see all the | content. Scrolling can be smooth or Jerky, and the Smooth Scrolling setting in chrome: //flags lets you choose between the two, Enable Smooth Scrolling, relaunch, | then try scrolling up and down a web page. Then disable Smooth Scrolling and try It again. With an older, slower | PC, you may find that disabling this makes scrolling a litle faster. Improve video playback If you have trouble playing | video on web pages, try changing Hardware-accelerated video decode’ /£lags to the opposite option if your PC supports it Configure Firefox tabs To seca list of settings | that let you configure tabs in Firefox, type about :config, then type tabs into the search box. Look for browser:tabs.closeTabByDbiclick ‘and double-click it to set it to true or | false, With the option set to true, you can close the current tab by double~ | clicking it anywhere, which is easier than clicking the close button, When you close the last tab, do you | want Firefox to quit too, or would | you prefer the browser to remain ‘open? Double-click browser:tabs .closeWindowWithLastTab to switch | between true and false. Try both | options to see which you prefer. When you open tabs one after [erenetmemaecn cies (ee ee | tulg, eather ee Whats your ‘minimum acceptable size? Double~ Fsend your tips to [email protected] click browsertabstabMinWidth and ‘change the default value from 76 to 90 or 100 if you prefer bigger tabs, or to 50 or 60 if you want smaller ones. Fix bad internet connections Ifyou have a poor internet connection that sometimes leaves your PC offline for aminute or so, you might lke to adjust the chromey/flag that reloads pages automatically when a lost connection becomes available again. With Offline Auto-Reload Mode ‘enabled, Chrome tries repeatedly to reload a page so that it appears when your internet connection is back. It's ‘enabled by default, but you can disable itif you don’t want pages to reload automatically f you want only Visible tabs to reload, enable Only Auto-Reload Visible Tabs. Customise the address bar When you start typing into Firefox's URL (address) bar, the browser makes suggestions. Go to about: config and search urlbar for settings. Double-click browser urlbarmaxRichResults and enter 2 number up to 15 to change the number of suggestions it lists. Double-click browser.urlbaropenintab to change this from false to true, then click a suggestion to open it in 2 new tab instead of the current tab. The browser-uribarsuagest bookmark flag shows or hides suggestions from your bookmarks When set to true or false, while browser uribarsuagest history does the same for your browsing history. Clicking in the URL bar selects all the text inside it so you can replace it simply by typing, If you want to be able to edit it instead, double-click browseruribarclickSelectsAll and set it to false : oS e-(aboutconfighs = ‘Search Firefox about :config for urlbar to configure the settings 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 65Ask the Expert Roland Waddilove, computer programmer and PC journalist since 1981, answers all your technical questions. Email us for help at [email protected] GENERAL PC Reinstall LibreOffice after a Windows 10 update ‘A couple of weeks aco, | Gownloaded and installed a large Windows 10 update. Until then ''d had no problems with Windows Updates, but this time it seems to have deleted Libreorfice (www. libreoffice.ora), The office suite is no longer listed in the Start menu, the desktop icon has disappeared and the list of programs in the Control Panel ‘mentions only a LibreOffice 6.2 Help pack, I've checked my Documents folder, ‘and all my letters and other documents are still there, but their icons have changed to W for Microsoft Word. When | open them, they look as if they're trying to open for a couple of seconds, then they disappear. ™m very annoyed, to say the least. If! download a new version of Libreoffice, do you think my documents will change back to the way they were before the update? ve tried to find a system restore point, but | can’t see one. Linda Vears, via email, GENERAL PC Switch email accounts | used to have @ Freeserve email ‘address but was forced to switch to ‘Outlook when the service closed down. Now when | want to check my email, have to click to sign in, then sign out and bback in again using my Outlook details before I can access it. "ve tried to change the old address in Settings by creating an alias, but Outlook won't let me because it's a point of ‘contact in case Microsoft wants to inform me of any problems with my account. Microsoft has my details and must surely know that Freeserve no longer ‘exists, so why can’t I change it? Paul Kelly, via email 66 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 Ransomware protection Brotct yur fee agsnst theese such a rancomure ard see ho Controlled folder access ‘Some programs don’t work in Windows 10 when ‘Controlled folder access" is switched on changes by uniondy pps. Ransomware data recovery Yeu maybe ble to vecover les in heee accounts in Thank you, Recuva is now ready to search for your files After the search ic complete you wil see a ist ofthe fles Recuvahas found. Simply check te fies you would ike to recover and ick the Recover button. She th bx f preva cas have ale fo fd ou may take over an hour on a large ve, Cc Start to begn the seerch, a Find and recover deloted files using Recuva to search for thom went wrong. | saw the photos in Explorer, so I selected them and used cut. Then | navigated to a folder on my computer's hard drive (@ subfolder of Pictures) and tried to paste them into it, but nothing happened. When | went back to the camera's storage the photos were no longer there, nie ine olGia melee PC crashing {ee © renee namo de Summers here and meena Qe Seminar but my computer is freezing! Naan Sometimes it freezes on the lock screen, and other times it gets to the desktop and thon |, freezes. ls the heat responsible |? i for this? I read that old PCs can |! 3 get clogged up with dust. Bill Gardener, via email 2 Your PCis freezing before it |? = fhashadtime to generate |? any heat, so it’s probably not temperature related. The cause is more likely to be something that loads with Windows, such as a hardware driver or a program that runs in the background, Search for and open Device Manager from the taskbar. Expand teach section all the way to ‘Print queues: right-click each item and 68 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 apy tg i Cap vn oe or — ar Maced pg pen Updating the drivers in Device Manager could ‘stop rogue hardware crashing your PC select ‘Update driver’ Then right-click an empty part of the taskbar and select Task Manager. Click the Start-up tab, select each item and disable it. Restart, and hopefully your PC will run normaly. This fortnight Roland has been keeping coo! in the heat thanks to a USB-powered fan plugged into his PC Where did the photos go and is there ‘any way of getting them back? Why did this happen? Sarah Thompson, via email When you cut files in Explorer by selacting them and pressing Ctrl4X, for example, Windows copies only the filenames to the clipboard. It doesn't delete any files at this point, Only when you move the files does it delete the originals, so it’s difficult to see how you could have lost your files this way. (One possibility is that you did move them but not to where you expected, Perhaps you accidentally selected a different folder and the photos ended Up there instead, They're probably JPEG images, so try searching your hard drive for that type of file, Select the C: drive in Explorer, then click in the search box. Enter +.4pg dates and select This week’ Last week’, This month’ or ‘Last month’ to show all JPEG images from within that date range. With any luck, your photos will be on the drive somewhere. You can also try to recover the photos from your camera's storage. Connect it to the PC and open an Explorer window as if you were going to transfer photos. Then run Recuva (bit iy/recu482) and scan the camera's storage for deleted files. The program should find them and let you recover them. If this ever happens again, remember that pressing Ctri#Z undoes the last operation in Explorer, such as restoring deleted or moved filesANDROID Sync your Google Photos on a new phone When | upgraded my phone recently, ‘was able to download most of my data, apps and so on from the cloud simply by signing inte Google. imagined ‘this would be the same for photos. However, while the Photos app seems to have my pictures, if I click the attachment icon in an email and navigate to the files, the photos are nowhere to be seen. Heather Jane Gregson, via email The first thing to do if you encounter this problem is to give it time. Your phone is probably still doing a lot of downloading and syncing in the background. if you stil can’t access your files, check that Backup is enabled. Open Settings, Goole and select the Backup option. The first thing to switch on, if it isn’t already, is Back up to Google’ Under this is @ button that lets you make 2 full Backup immediately Scroll further down the page to ccheck what the phone becks up, including Photos & videos’. Tap Into this section and switch on Back up & sync’, Next, go to Readers’ Helpdesk Can you help your fellow readers with their computer problems? Send your questions and answers to [email protected] ANDROID Combine your social media In Issue 480 (bit.ty/webuser480), Chloe Weston ‘asked if there were any Android apps that combine all social media accounts into one. I've tried a number of these apps for work, where I need to use additional accounts. My favourite, despite the adverts, is All Social Media (bit ly/social482) - or to give tits Full title, All Social Media Network Pro 2019 Social Vault. This app lets you connect to all the major social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Redait. It essentially works as a mult-tab browser, with links to sign in and save each account, There's even an incognito browser and an intruder selfie feature to help keep your profiles a litle safer 290 oo0 90 OOo All Social Media ‘keeps all your ‘accounts in one place Re ard ‘You can seek help or suggest solutions to other readers’ problems by emailing [email protected] oF via wwrw.facebook.com/ ‘webusermagazine oF twitter.com/webusermagazine. HARDWARE My laptop has been struggling with the hot weather we've had recently, ‘Are there any good ways to cool it ‘down and stop it churning out an insane amount of heat? Robert Schofield, via email Jonny Chianti, via email ANDROID. How do | translate web pages from other languages in Google ‘Chrome for Android? | can't see where I need to elick to magically turn ital into English! Damien Davers, via email ‘Switeh on these ‘Back up device folders’, where you can choose to back up folders such as WhatsApp Video and Screenshots. To check that it's working, head ‘Setuings to save into your Photos app ‘i your precious manonee A.message at the top should say ‘Backup complete’. fit isn't working, youlll see a loud icon with aline through it. Steve Clark, Features Writer, Web User HARDWARE Fix trackpad ur Windows 10 | finally upgraded my Windows 7 laptop to Windows 10. don't miss Fcan you help? Email [email protected] — win a Back Issues disc! the old operating system as much as thought | would, but | sorely miss the way my trackpad worked before the upgrade. Incredibly, the naw OS has completely ruined the trackpad, and I've had to resort to plugging in a USB mouse. What can Ido to fix this? ‘Nigel Kendall, via email Unfortunately, this isa known (though uncommon) issue when upgrading. The first thing to check is your touchpad settings, so type ‘touchpad into the taskbar’ search ‘box. Click the result and, in the next window, choose ‘Additional settings’ wihere you can make sure everything works and is set up as you like it. If you have a touchscreen laptop, you can also try right-clicking the taskbar and selecting ‘Show touchpad button’ to bring up an onsereen trackpad. If neither works, press Win+X and open Device Manager, Under "Mice and other pointing devices’, select the listed trackpad, then choose Update Driver. Steve Clark, Features Writer, Web User If your touchpad isn't working, dive into ‘Device Manager and update the drivers 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 69Your Top Tips Our pick of the best advice from our readers. Please send questions and answers to [email protected] BROWSERS Has anyone else tried the Picture: in-Picture Extension by Google (bit!y/pip482)? Id been looking for ‘away to watch YouTube and Netflix videos while browsing, and this fits the bill perfectly. Simply start playing your video, then press AlteP and the video is transported to the corner Of the screen. It stays on top of ‘everything, even other programs. ‘You can move the PIP anywhere con the screen, and adjust its size Just by dragging the corners. Just GENERAL PC Rearrange items on the taskbar Here's a quick tip: did you know that you can rearrange the order of the icons fon the taskbar by clicking and dragging them to the left and right? It works on ‘both the left-hand and right-hand sides of the taskbar Dave Robinson, via email MAPS Plan around roadworks and traffic incidents I tend to use Google Maps for everything, bbut when | opened the Windows 10 Maps ‘app recertly, | found that it's much better than it used to be, For example, if you click Road at the top and switch on ‘Traffic, Incidents and Cameras, the map shows roadworks and traffic incidents, such as accidents. Clicking the map ‘See traffic information in the Windows 10 Maps app before you set offon a road trip 70 21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019 Watch films while browsing in Chrome Google ‘Keep watching your favourite videos, ‘no matter what else you're doing don't close the video tab! RJ Leigh, via email symbols shows when the roadwork or incident i ikely to be cleared, it's a Useful tool for checking your route before you set aff on a journey. Rebecca Lee, via email GENERAL PC Slide to shut down l've found an odd and, | think, relatively unknown Windows feature called ‘Slide to shut down’. Right-click the desktop and select New, Shortcut. Type awindir’\systen32\, SlideToShutDown.exe, then click Next. Name the shortcut Shut Down and lick Finish. When you click this shortcut, the lock screen photo comes halfway down the sereen with a message that says ‘Slide to shut down your PC’ Click the arrow (or tap the icon and swipe down if you have a touch screen) to shut down your computer. Roger Stott, via em: GENERAL PC Cut back on notifications IF you have too many Windows notifications popping up in the corner of your screen, use ‘Focus assist to reduce the number. Ths tool is in the Windows 10 Settings app, so press Windowsti Click System, then choose ‘Focus assist Select Priority only’ and then click ‘Customise your priority ist. Now you can cheese which apps show notifications. For example, you can ‘add the Mail app to show new email Notifications or hide it to stop them. Cutting out unnecessary notifications makes Windows less distracting, and you can stil see them in Action Centre If you really want to. Jason Quinn, via email WEBSITES Toss a coin on the go if you're as indecisive a am, you've probably resorted to tossing 2 coin to elp'ye mie chokes now al hen “hs Houble i no one seers Ey sro change any more end fing & contactless debit card st que the Some Lucy vecently stumbled on justipaceincom. Visit the site to start 2 virtua coin sping, before rendomly landing on heads or tals Dont ike the result? Aust clek-Fip again” Scott Dreyfuss, via email Ifyou can’t make a decision, leave it to chance ~ or arandomising algorithm OFFICE Shrink Word's online toolbars | use the online version of Microsoft Word to write letters and documents. I's ‘not brillant but it's good enough, and ‘means | don't have to pay for the full version of Office, One irritation is that there's so much unnecessary clutter at the top of the screen: a browser bar, the address bar, a thick blue bar, a menu bar ‘and a toolbar, then the document. The ‘cursor is already halfway down thescreen before you've even started typing! It eeminds me of the old internet Explorer, which was laden with toolbars. There isa solution, though. Go to the ‘Chrome menu (this also works in other bbrowsers) and click the zoom control to shrink the page to 90%. Then click the 200m control at the bottom of the Word ‘web app to increase the document to 110%, This shrinks the blue bar, menu ‘and toolbar but keeps the document size the same. Gareth Richardson, via email GENERAL PC Do more with your touchpad wonder if many other readers know that you can do. lot more with your laptop's touchpad in Windows 10. | alteady knew that you could drag two fingers up and down or from side to side to scrall through a page. However, | didn't know that you can zoom in and out by pinching, ust like on a smartphone. You ccan also switch to anew desktop and ‘open Cortana. To get started, search the Start menu for touchpad settings, then in the new window, under “Touch ‘and go’, select ‘Learn other gestures’ to see what else you can do. Christian Mallory, via email BROWSERS Get Edge-style smooth scrolling i in Chrome Say what you lke about Edge, its scrolling is very smooth, IF you download SmoothSeroll (bit y/smooth482) from the Chrome Web Store, however, you can enjoy the same silky smooth scrolling in Google Chrome. There are plenty of ‘options to suit your preferences, and the

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