Magzter Gold (Sitewide CA)

Magzter Gold (Sitewide CA)

Digital Delivery

Windows Help & Advice April 1st, 2020 Digital Back Issue Cover

Windows Help & Advice April 2020 (Digital)

(0)

Single Digital Issue

April 2020

$3.99

Powered By Zinio

Zinio

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Instant Start

Also available on ZINIO Unlimited logo

Get unlimited access to Windows Help & Advice (Digital) + Back Issues & 5000+ other magazines

1-month free trial

Renews at $8.99/month after trial.
Cancel anytime.

Get unlimited access to Windows Help & Advice (Digital) + Back Issues & 5000+ other magazines. Renews at just $8.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Start Trial Learn more

69 Articles

Hello, and welcome to Windows Help & Advice issue 173. This month, we’ve got loads of tips on how to speed up using your Windows 10 PC. Starting on p48, you’ll find many tips and tricks, from those that require you to open your PC case and fiddle around inside, to those that only mean updating a few device drivers. There’s more speed on offer in the Explore section, where we show you how to use predictive text input shortcuts to speed up your typing. We also have advice on recording your own podcast with Audacity, creating an HDR image in GIMP, and avoiding all online snooping using the TOR browser. Elsewhere, you’ll find a group-test of 2-in-1 laptops, and reviews of a svelte ultrabook, mobile workstation, a 4G router for business, and…

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAG TODAY AND SAVE – TURN TO PAGE 20!

We pride ourselves on being the only magazine on the shelves to show you exactly how to get the very best from the Windows operating system, whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1. Also, don’t forget to take a look at how you can read the magazine on your laptop, smartphone or tablet. Don’t miss our NEXT ISSUE, when we will show you how to… Discover the secrets of the Control Panel Customise your PC Make your mouse and keyboard easier to use Back up your hard drive with File History Sign up for our newsletter at www.windowsmag.co.uk…

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAG TODAY AND SAVE – TURN TO PAGE 20!

Is get a whole new look?

“Prepare to wave goodbye to Windows 10’s animated Live Tiles” Prepare to wave goodbye to Windows 10’s Live Tiles. The animated icons, showing off the current weather and flashing up the latest news when you click the Start button, have been an iconic Windows feature for many years. They actually started as a part of Windows Phone 7 and were core to Windows 8 which, in its early days, didn’t have a Start menu at all – just a big, brash page full of Live Tiles, meant to be perfectly suited to touch screen devices as well as traditional PCs. Microsoft has since moved its focus away from the phone and reconsidered its design choices somewhat. The company hasn’t updated its Live Tiles in recent editions, and some have even stopped working…

Is get a whole new look?

If you want your new laptop to get noticed, look no further: the MSI Prestige 14 is about as pink as it gets. It may be saccharine-sweet, but it’s no slouch in the performance department, with a 10th-generation Intel i7 processor inside as well as a slimline and powerful graphics card. Naturally, that sort of muscle means it won’t be cheap (we’d expect the base model to start around £1,000) but, short of a spray-paint session, it’s the only way to go this pink.…

The Knowledge… Flywheel

Is this an exercise bike? It is an exercise bike. A smart one, capable of linking you to group riding sessions, and interactive training. Or, at least, it was. There must be a good reason you’re talking about an exercise bike. Don’t worry, there is: following a losing patent dispute with rival smart bike manufacturer Peloton, in which it was forced to admit copying the company’s sensor-based training and competitive leaderboard system, Flywheel opted to completely shut down its home bike operation, effectively cutting off training for all users who couldn’t make it to a gym. A fully functional smart device turned, in an instant, into a dumb one. That’s pretty bad. It’s not even the end of it. Users didn’t just wake up one day to find their bike a brick – they woke…

The Knowledge… Flywheel

The chain letter problem

Just as the (false) promise of saucy pictures of tennis legend Anna Kournikova once led hundreds of thousands of computers to be infected with a nasty virus, the threat of a nasty real-world virus has led to a rather infectious email. In the midst of the recent Coronavirus outbreak, many Ukrainian citizens received an email purporting to be from the country’s ministry of health, announcing several cases of infection within the country. The email did not come from the ministry of health (it did not even originate from within Ukraine) but it did lead to violent protests as Chinese evacuees were brought into the country. Email is not the only source of misinformation. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube et al have all been used to spread false news about the outbreak, either…

The chain letter problem

Download this…

Brave www.brave.com If you feel like a change, Brave could be the browser for you: it blocks dangerous ads and gives you the option to earn credits for viewing privacy respecting ones; it blocks trackers that follow you around the web; it offers a built-in privacy mode that routes all your traffic through the TOR network (see p34 for more on this), which means even your location is covered up. If that weren’t enough, it’s fully compatible with Chrome extensions which should make the transition between the two quick and easy. New for the latest version is integration with www.archive.org’s Wayback Machine, which stores snapshots of websites as they appear over time. If you follow a link to a dead website, Brave won’t just show you an error – it will dip…

THE 60-SECOND QUIZ

1 How much RAM did the Apollo 11 guidance computer have? A 2 kilobytes B 20 kilobytes C 2 megabytes 2 How fast did its main processor run? A 20 MHz B 2.3 MHz C 2 MHz 3 How much faster is an average processor from today? A 100 times B 1,000 times C 100,000 times 4 How many laptop PCs are aboard the International Space Station? A Around 10 B Around 100 C Around 1,000 5 Which of these manufacturers does not have a PC on board? A IBM/Lenovo B Alienware C HP 6 How fast is the internet connection to the ISS? A 1 Mb/s B 10 Mb/s C 100 Mb/s…

THE 60-SECOND QUIZ

Facts & figures

The number of PCs in the Necurs botnet, taken down this month by Microsoft with partners across 35 countries. One infected PC on the network was observed to send over 65,000 spam emails a day. 300 MILLION Facebook users could have had their user IDs, phone numbers and names exposed after a database breach orchestrated by cybercriminals in Vietnam. Of respondents to a PwC survey reported experiencing economic crime in the past two years, above the global average. 1.2 BILLION Windows devices get security updates from Microsoft every month. 52% Of people surveyed by Ipsos Mori think about avoiding having money stolen ‘a lot’ when they go online. 123456 Is still the most-used password in Britain, according to a survey b he National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).…

Facts & figures

PANOSETI £Astronomical setiathome.berkeley.edu The search for extraterrestrial life has often preoccupied the staff of this magazine, positioned as we are in an office next to the strange, slender, glowing beings that work on our sister title MacFormat. It was with a heavy heart, therefore, that we saw the distributed virtual supercomputer that is the SETI@home project, trawling through telescope data for signs of intelligence using your leftover CPU cycles, go into ‘hibernation’ at the end of March. The reason was that “we’re at the point of diminishing returns; we’ve analysed all the data we need for now”. Which is a shame, because we hoped it meant they’d found something. Elsewhere, though, we were overjoyed to see the search for little green men continues, with a new project from University of California San Diego, PANOSETI,…

10 FREE APPS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

Whenever we reinstall Windows, there’s always a collection of apps that we install as a matter of urgency. These programs are essential for a variety of reasons, and we’d like to share them with you in case any have slipped through the gaps in your PC knowledge. The ten applications we’ve chosen for this roundup are all free to install and use – some may have additional features locked behind a one-time purchase, but their core functionality (and the sole reason they’re in this list) is completely free to use. Turn the page and you’ll find our recommendations for such diverse activities as browsing the web, editing office-based files, editing video and listening to music. There are also tools for backing up, increasing your PC’s security, editing text files and improving your…

These days, Google Chrome reigns supreme as the desktop browser used by most, so why do we prefer to use Firefox? The pure and simple reason is choice: Mozilla Firefox is one of the few browsers left that uses its own browser engine (Gecko) to render web pages. Other rivals – Opera, Vivaldi and even Microsoft Edge – all make use of Google’s Chromium engine. Following a single standard is all well and good, but lack of competition inhibits innovation, which is why we say stick your colours to the Mozilla mast. It helps, of course, that Firefox is a capable browser in its own right – its rapid-release cycle means it’s constantly evolving (although if it changes too rapidly for your tastes, install Firefox ESR – Extended Support Release –…

Five essential browser add-ons

Whichever web browser you choose, consider the following three add-ons essential. First, Bitwarden (www.bitwarden.com) is our go-to password manager, ensuring all your online accounts are protected by strong, unguessable passwords – the browser add-on makes it easy to autofill logins and forms. Next, filter out potentially dangerous ads, trackers and malware sites with the help of uBlock Origin (https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock) – don’t forget to whitelist trusted websites. HTTPS Everywhere (www.eff.org/https-everywhere) ensures you always get a secure connection to any website that supports it and doesn’t automatically redirect you. Firefox users should check out two further add-ons courtesy of Mozilla: first, Facebook Container (https://addons.mozilla.org)blocks all Facebook trackers on third-party websites to prevent it from spying on your online activity. And secondly, Facebook Multi-Account Containers lets you create isolated ‘identities’ within Firefox. Each identity…

Five essential browser add-ons

Edit images like a pro

Everyone needs to edit images at some point in their lives, and while Windows ships with the Photos tool, it’s more of an organiser than an editor. At the other end of the scale are expensive tools such as Photoshop that come with complexity on top of the asking price. For most people, though, something in the middle is what’s required, and Paint.NET is that tool. It’s relatively straightforward to use – load an image, and you’ll find all the basic tools you need to crop, rotate, resize it and so on. There is a variety of selection tools for working on part of the image – including the magic wand and magnetic lasso for irregular objects. You’ll also find various correction tools, from brushes and erasers to a clone stamp…

Edit images like a pro

Add extra functionality to Paint.NET

1 Install browser Visit https://forums.getpaint.netand navigate to ‘Plugins – Publishing ONLY’. Open the pinned ‘The Plugin Browser’ thread and download PluginBrowser-Installer.zip to your downloads folder. Close Paint.NET, then extract and run PluginBrowser-Installer.exe. 2 Locate new plugins After installation, open Paint.NET and choose ‘Effects > Plugin Browser’ to view currently installed plugins. You’ll also see a keyword search tool: this can be used to search the plug-in index online to track down more plugins – just click a hyperlink to be taken to the relevant page. 3 Install new plugin Plugins are downloaded as zip files; if no installer is provided, simply extract the .dll file inside the zip archive to the relevant subfolder inside C:\Program Files\Paint.NET – this is typically Effects or FileTypes (note that you’ll need administrator access to do so).…

Add extra functionality to Paint.NET

Play any media on your PC

Video comes in all shapes and sizes these days, and VLC Media Player (www.videolan.org/vlc)is the player that can handle it all, whether you’re watching digital video files, streaming over the internet or wanting to enjoy a good old-fashioned DVD through your PC. The program has been designed to handle just about any format you can throw at it – which makes it the only video player you need. You can open a wide variety of files directly from the Media menu – choose Disc and you’ll see options for both DVD and Blu-ray. Note, however, that encrypted Blu-rays aren’t supported (we recommend LEAWO Blu-ray Player for watching Blu-rays on your PC – see www.leawo.org/blu-ray-player/). No such problem with DVDs though – you can browse menus and point and click. One tip:…

Play any media on your PC

Advanced VLC tips and tricks

1 Chromecast Open the Playback > Renderer menu, and if your Chromecast device hasn’t already been detected (in which case simply select it), click Scan to search for it on your local network. Then start playback in VLC – its screen will remain blank, and the video will appear through Chromecast. 2 Watch with subtitles If you’re watching a DVD, or your video file has embedded subtitles, switch them on via the Subtitle > Sub Track menu. You can also download subtitles directly into VLC via the View > VLsub menu – just enter your search terms if needed, then click ‘Download selection’ next to a match. 3 Build a TV playlist Selecting TV channels by frequency isn’t elegant: stop playback and return to the playlist where you can configure each mux as its own…

Advanced VLC tips and tricks

Foolproof backups

Put the right backup plan in place, and you need never worry about accidental data loss, system crashes or botched Windows Updates again. Windows’ own File History provides limited protection for key folders and files, but the only foolproof backup is a drive image – an exact copy of an entire hard drive or partition. The best tool for the job is Macrium Reflect Free (www.macrium.com/ reflectfree.aspx). Select the drive(s) or partition(s) to back up – choose Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows to protect your system – and then once you’ve chosen your backup destination, create a schedule that mixes full and differential backups (the Differential Backup Set is a good template if you’re pushed for time). Make sure you click Advanced Options to…

Foolproof backups

Get extra security

These days, even the built-in protection offered by Windows is pretty robust, but you can never be too safe. Whether you rely on Windows Security or go for more fully featured protection from the likes of Bitdefender, Avast! or Norton, you need Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (www.malwarebytes.com). The free version of the program allows you to periodically scan your PC for nasty intruders missed by your main package – MBAM excels in detecting potentially unwanted programs that fall into the grey area between safe, but annoying and outright dangerous. It’s simple to install and run – just get in the habit of launching it weekly to scan for potential threats. The Premium version (£29.99 a year) offers realtime protection to block threats before they get on to your PC – you can run…

Get extra security

Get a free office suite

Gone are the days when the only alternatives to Microsoft Office cost money, with no easy way to move files between platforms. Free office suites are ten-a-penny now, but many are limited to just the core three apps – word processor, spreadsheet and presentations tool – and are ad-supported. None of these restrictions apply to LibreOffice (www.libreoffice. org), however. Not only is LibreOffice ad-free, it offers replacements for Access (Base) and Visio (Draw) to provide database and drawing/flowchart functionality in addition to Writer, Calc and Impress, plus bonus tools in the form of Math (a formula editor) and Charts, a tool for producing pie charts and the like. Getting started LibreOffice’s components can be opened independently, or through a centralised launcher. This provides convenient access to each application as well as recently opened…

Get a free office suite

Expand LibreOffice’s capabilities

1 Find extensions Browse to https://extensions.libreoffice.org to browse through the nearly 400 available extensions via the Extensions tab. Use the navigation tools on the right to narrow the list by supported application or type (such as macro or dictionary). Click an entry to visit its own page. 2 Review, download Review any requirements and dependencies (some add-ons require additional programs to be in place), then scroll down to locate the download link and save the file to your hard drive or – if offered the opportunity – to open it directly in LibreOffice. 3 Install and run If saved to your drive, open your target LibreOffice application and press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [E] to open the Extension Manager. Click Add to select the file. The extension should appear in the list. Click Close >…

Expand LibreOffice’s capabilities

The ultimate free data recovery tool

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, data loss occurs. It may be as simple as accidentally deleting a file or as major as a partition or entire drive disappearing. Once upon a time, recovery involved expensive fees (and if your drive is physically damaged, you may still need to employ the services of specialists like Ontrack – www.ontrack.com/uk/ – to see if anything’s recoverable). Nowadays, though, armed with the right tools you can often get that data back at no cost. One of the most powerful free tools is DMDE, capable of all kinds of recovery – even from drives rescued from broken enclosures that have been formatted in such a way as to make them impossible to access when removed from their original housing. Download the GUI for Windows version from…

The ultimate free data recovery tool

Build a portable toolkit

Many of the apps we’ve covered in this feature are available as portable applications, allowing you to store them on a USB flash drive and run them from any PC – or simply use them in the knowledge all your preferences are stored in one convenient location easy to back up and restore after a Windows reinstall. They include Firefox, FastStone Photo Resizer, VLC, LibreOffice, DMDE, Recuva, MusicBee, Winyl, Openshot, EditPad Lite and Notepad++. The centrepiece of any portable toolkit has to be PortableApps (www.portableapps.com), which gives you a handy launcher tool for managing and running portable apps. After installation, launch this and choose Apps > Get More Apps > By Category to install direct from the extensive PortableApps catalogue. But you can also add portable apps manually too (look for…

Build a portable toolkit

Edit videos for free

After retiring the excellent Windows Movie Maker, Microsoft didn’t bother to develop a replacement. We’ve yet to see anything truly replace it, but for those looking to edit video in a professional manner – complete with fades, wipes, special effects and title sequences – OpenShot (www.openshot.org) fits the bill. Version 2.5 was recently released, and should address many of the performance issues in earlier versions, allowing you to focus on pulling together your raw materials – video, plus additional images and audio files – before compiling them into a professionally edited movie using OpenShot’s various tools. Movies in just a few clicks We covered the program in-depth back in the February issue, but the program’s simple drag-and-drop interface is as intuitive as things get. Start with your basic video tracks, then remember the…

Edit videos for free

Upgrade your text editor

A text editor does far more than provide the means to edit plain text files. It’s often used to edit code, from HTML web pages to configuration files used by programs to store preferences. Notepad falls short on several fronts, but those shortcomings are all fixed by EditPad Lite (www.editpadlite.com). First, it allows you to open multiple text documents at once in a single, multi-tabbed window. There’s a more powerful search-and-replace tool with support for regular expressions, and – a game-changer – recently added support for syntax highlighting when writing code. All you need to do is select the correct programming language, from HTML to Python or C++, via the Options > File Type menu, and you’ll see your code coloured according to its formatting to help ensure you enter code…

Upgrade your text editor

Boost your PC’s music player

With Windows Media Player slipping into obscurity, those who love to listen to music on their PC should install MusicBee (https://getmusicbee.com/) instead. Think of it as Windows Media Player on steroids with everything you need to build, organise and – of course – enjoy your audio collection. It even boasts native support for Groove Music. The app is also geared towards audiophiles with playback controls designed to fine-tune the sounds coming out of your speakers – including a handy graphic equaliser (10- or 15-band) with smart auto-select option to switch the settings depending on what genre of music is currently playing. Get started On first launch you’ll be prompted to select the location of your music. You can also opt to import tracks and artwork from either WMP or iTunes. Once done, click…

Boost your PC’s music player

Tag unidentified media in MusicBee

1 Add Gracenote By default, MusicBee only interrogates the MusicBrainz database for CD information – click ? and choose ‘Edit Preferences > Tags (2)’. Click the hamburger (three lines) next to tags, then tick ‘Gracenote’ followed by Update > Apply to improve your chances of finding a match for your CD. 2 Tag by album Click ‘+’ at the top, then use the File pane on the left to navigate to an album folder containing your untagged files. Press [Ctrl] + [A] to select all the files in the middle pane, then right-click and choose Auto-Tag by Album to open the Album Auto-Tagger window. 3 Enter search terms Type the name of the artist (Various if it’s a compilation) and the album name into the relevant fields, then click Find. Browse the results, selecting the…

Tag unidentified media in MusicBee

Every month in Explore you’ll discover some great ways to do more with your PC, whether it’s mastering the basics, or getting productive with all kinds of apps. This month, we’ll show you how to record your own podcast (p24); touch up portrait shots in Luminar (p27); use emoji in your writing, but maybe not to the bank manager (p30); speed up your typing with predictive text input (p32); use the same Microsoft account across multiple PCs (p39); update Action Centre and notification settings (p42); and prevent online snooping using the TOR browser (p44). Have fun!…

Our promise to you…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Discover new programs with our help From speed-up and…

Our promise to you…

Learn how to… Create your own podcast

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 A podcast is like a radio programme, but you download it or stream it rather than listening to it on an FM radio. If you’ve got a good idea for one it’s never been easier to make and publish your own. All you need is a PC, an app such as the free Audacity (www.audacityteam.org)and somewhere to upload your finished podcast to. Here, we’ll show you how to record, import and edit speech and music in Audacity. The app looks a bit scary but it’s really very easy to use. Although it’s possible to record a podcast using a PC’s internal microphone, we advise against it. The quality just isn’t good enough, and decent-quality USB microphones are good and…

Learn how to… Create your own podcast

Learn how to… Smooth skin in Luminar

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 We’re aware of the adage about not throwing stones if you live in a glass house, but sometimes, especially if preparing an image that’s going to get scrutinised, you need to improve a portrait’s skin tone. Many image editing apps will aid you in this, from the context-aware healing tools in Photoshop to the old-school sample-based cloning brushes that simply paint over imperfections from an area of skin you’ve chosen. Recently, though, Luminar included some new smart tools that tackle the issue of skin smoothing without any faffing around making manual selections or choosing sample points. A free trial of Luminar can be found at http://skylum.com/luminar (drop down the Luminar menu at the top) where you’ll also find a…

Learn how to… Smooth skin in Luminar

Learn how to… Use emoji when writing in Windows 10

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Emoji – those little smiley faces and other symbols used to express feelings and ideas in text messages and social media posts – have become part of modern language. While some people find emoji a little silly, most have fully embraced them, and use them to add emotion and a little pizzazz to what they write. But there is no need to limit your use of emoji to the likes of Facebook and messaging apps. You can use Windows 10’s emoji keyboard to add them to just about any application without copying and pasting. Microsoft hardly advertises the feature, but once you’ve tried it out, you’ll fall in love with it and start using it more than you might…

Learn how to… Use emoji when writing in Windows 10

Learn how to… Master text suggestions while typing

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 If you’ve ever entered text using an Xbox One controller or on a smartphone’s small screen, you’ll know the joy of text suggestions: they’re a kind of super-powered assistance that tries to guess what you’re typing as you type it. For example if we typed “Wi” there’s a pretty good chance that the word we’re going for is ‘Windows’; with text suggestions we could type “Wi” and then select ‘Windows’ from the list. It turns out that text suggestions are just as effective on fully-featured PCs as they are on Xboxes and touchscreen tablets. Unless you type with 100% accuracy at a million words per minute, we think you’ll find typing suggestions enormously helpful – so in this…

Learn how to… Master text suggestions while typing

Learn how to… Create HDR photos with free image editing apps

According to a large majority of digital camera users, the quality of photos depends on one thing and one thing only: resolution, in megapixels. If only things were that simple. In reality there are loads of facts and figures that differentiate a good camera from a mediocre one, but we’d like to think specifically about just one here: the dynamic range. In plain English, this is a measure of the difference between the dimmest and the brightest element in an image that can be recorded. You could find a range of up to 100,000:1 in some daylight scenes, while the human eye can cope with many thousands to one. The depressing fact is that cameras don’t come close to the eye, even though a good DSLR will perform better, in this…

Learn how to… Create HDR photos with free image editing apps

SINGLE-IMAGE HDR

Creating a proper HDR image requires several exposures but, if you only have the one, you might be able to go some way to replicating the effect. This is possible when some tonal differences are present in areas that look ostensibly uniform. The most intuitive way of finding out if this is the case in GIMP is to select Colors > Brightness-Contrast and try adjusting the Brightness slider to the left. If the result is that a uniform white sky simply becomes a uniform grey, then there is no detail in the sky, so it’s game over. Conversely, moving the Brightness slider to the right will reveal if there’s any hidden detail in apparently uniform dark areas. If you discover hidden detail in the light and dark areas, first reduce the…

HANDLING MOVEMENT

Any movement between exposures is potentially a problem. Clouds moving in the sky is a common example, although a city scene with moving people and vehicles is clearly much more of a challenge. While the two methods we’ve looked at here don’t produce exactly the same sort of HDR effect, the presence of movement might influence your choice of which of them to use. Unlike some other HDR software, Luminance HDR claims to handle movement. However, there’s a limit to how well this can work, and the result might not be entirely satisfactory. Nevertheless, in the case of scenes that contain large moving objects, there might well be no alternative. With the case of movement of clouds in the sky, the method of combining two images in GIMP may well give better…

Learn how to… Sign in to multiple PCs

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 MARK’S BEST TIP! Sign into Edge with your Microsoft account and you will be able to sync your web-related settings. START MENU A quick way to access information and settings relating to your account can be found in the Start menu. ADDITIONAL USERS If you share your computer, each user can sign in with their own MS account so their data can be synchronised. ACCOUNT INFORMATION Within Settings you can see information about your account including whether it is an administrator SYNC OPTIONS If there are some settings you would like to keep on a particular computer you can disable some options. ONEDRIVE Windows 10 will not synchronise files between computers, but you can use OneDrive to do just this. There are many benefits to signing into Windows 10…

Learn how to… Sign in to multiple PCs

Learn how to… Update notification and action settings

At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Notifications in Windows 10 let you get on with using your computer without worrying about missing out on anything. The Action Centre – found on the right-hand side of the screen – is where you’ll find a history of all the notifications generated by Windows, apps and websites. Rather than face a constant barrage of messages, Microsoft includes numerous settings that can be used to take control of the notifications you see. You can, for instance, opt to hide notifications from certain applications, or choose to mute notifications during office hours to enable you to concentrate on work. If you’ve been baffled by notifications, we’re here to guide you through how to better manage them so they are helpful…

Learn how to… Update notification and action settings

Learn how to… Stop all browser snooping with Tor

They’re watching you. They’re watching everything you do online. You’d think we were being paranoid, but it’s part of their mission statement: the UK government is part of the international Five Eyes group of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States, which have worked together since the end of World War II to collate and share intelligence, and that includes the internet use of citizens. In the digital age, that means intercepting, storing, and analysing all Internet traffic. Don’t be fooled into thinking that local laws can stop a nation state from spying on its own citizens. If you’re one of the Five Eyes, just get your buddy overseas to do the spying, then report back. Tempora, a UK programme, splices off the undersea fibre-optic backbone of the…

Learn how to… Stop all browser snooping with Tor

TOR AND HTTPS IN USE

Take a look at how much privacy protection Tor and HTTPS offer when used. Without either Tor or HTTPS at every step in the process, anybody with access to your connection can potentially snoop on all your activity, including the destination site, your username and password, your user data, and your location. Using HTTPS helps to protect your user data, and your username and password at all stages. Using Tor masks your destination site, username and password, data, and, to a certain degree, your location. Adding a VPN would further protect your location details, but we should point out that there could be government bodies directly accessing ISP data or the site.com services via unknown snooping © EFF.ORG, CC BY 3.0 US…

TOR AND HTTPS IN USE

While we might have talked about using ‘portable’ versions of Tor in terms of releases you can take with you on a USB drive that will run on any PC, what about mobile devices? The double good news is that, over recent years, the Tor Project has come on in leaps and bounds with regard to Android and iOS apps. Previously, it took a similar multi-tool approach to mobile as it did for PCs, but thankfully, it’s all now wrapped up in a single easily installed package called the Tor Browser – ignore Orbot, that’s the old release. Just download the Tor Browser and it works the same on your smartphone or tablet as it does on your PC. It’s available via the standard Google Play Store or direct as an…

CHASING YOUR TAILS

What happens if you’re out and about and want to access the Tor network, but on someone else’s PC? This could be at an Internet cafe or perhaps using a work system where you can’t install software. Say hello to Tails, an open-source OS project that integrates Tor. Based around a Linux distro called Debian, Tails provides an ISO disk image that you can install to a DVD or USB sick. This can then be booted directly by most PCs, and the OS runs straight off the drive. This gives you direct access to all the usual tools you’d like, alongside Tor browsing, but once you’re done, just power down and remove the stick, and all traces that you were ever there will be gone. To get started, head to https://tails.boum. org,…

CHASING YOUR TAILS

SPEED UP WINDOWS

With support for Windows 7 gone and Windows 8 bearing an ominous expiration date (albeit one that is three years from now), there’s never been a better time to make the jump to Windows 10. For our money, it’s the best operating system since the Old Faithful that was XP Professional. Actually, if you haven’t upgraded already, what’s holding you back? The 10th iteration of Microsoft’s flagship OS has been around for almost five years now. If you’re already a card-carrying member of the Windows 10 club, though, you probably want to squeeze the absolute best out of your OS, whether you’re using your computer for gaming, work, or just a spot of Netflix and chill. There’s plenty of ways to do this, mostly using tools that are built into Windows…

SPEED UP WINDOWS

Do you have a PC problem? Get in touch… Email full details of your problem to the support team and we’ll do our best to help windowsmagazine@ futurenet.com Windows SEARCH BOX IS BLANK Q The Windows Search box on the Taskbar is throwing up a blank screen no matter what I type into it. I’ve tried restarting Windows Explorer and my PC, but no dice. Gordon Urquhart Ian’s solution This was an issue plaguing virtually all Windows 10 users a month or so ago – if the search results haven’t magically reappeared by now, check Windows Update. If you’ve paused updates, then you may need to manually download any outstanding ones. The issue is linked to a problem with Bing integration, and another workaround is to disable this to restrict the Search tool to local files, folders, programs…

Quickfire questions

Is there some magic way I can quickly disable all nonessential services to speed up video-editing tasks? Gill Hubbins Try Razer Cortex: Gaming Booster (www.razer.com/ cortex/boost) – despite the name, it’s perfect for any resource-intensive process like video editing. Why does Notepad display text as gibberish on one of my PCs? Bill Stuart Select Format > Font – it sounds like the font has somehow switched to Symbol or a similar non-standard font. Choose a different font to resolve the problem.…

Quickfire questions

I really like OneDrive’s files-on-demand feature. Is it possible to get this functionality in Google Drive? Carl Young Google offers a package – Drive File Stream – that does this, but only to organisations. If you’re happy to pay a one-off fee, then Mountain Duck ($39, https://mountainduck.io/) offers this functionality via its Smart Synchronisation feature, which works will all supported accounts, including Google Drive and Dropbox. I’m trying to join multiple CD tracks together in iTunes, but the option doesn’t appear when I click the Settings button. Kathrin Schneider This happens when the tracks aren’t sorted by number – click the blank field heading above the number 1 and the option will return. How do I delete a stored (but now wrong) password for logging on to my network? Harry Johnson Search for – and open – Credential…

SEARCH AND REPLACE ACROSS MULTIPLE FILES

Q I and ve moved now none my media of my playlists folder, work because they’re pointing to the old folder. Is there a way to perform a search and replace across all my playlist files at once? Kevin Wilson Cat’s solution It’s possible to do this via the command prompt, Kevin, but we ve found a free tool that can makes the job much easier – the step-by-step guide reveals how to use it. 1 Download, extract, run Go to http://findandreplace.io/ – click the hamburger (three lines) button at the top and choose Download > FnR Zip Download. Once downloaded, right-click fnr.zip and choose ‘Extract All’ to extract the portable program. 2 Set target files Double-click fnr.exe to launch the program. It can work across all the files in a single directory, so click ‘…’ next…

SEARCH AND REPLACE ACROSS MULTIPLE FILES

There’s a new Windows build available for Fast Ring Insiders, bringing a new calendar app along with the latest bug fixes. It’s always worth installing the latest security and cumulative updates – the benefits outweigh any dangers, and problem updates can be rolled back. Big feature updates aren’t to be feared either, even if they can take a while to download. On p62 we find out how to reinstall Windows 10 from scratch, while on p66 we look at the options for resetting and refreshing your PC. Finally, p68 explores how to fix problems and avoid a reinstall.…

Master Snip & Sketch

There are eight different ways to take screenshots in Windows 10, but only really three that you need to know about. We take lots of screenshots here at Windows Help & Advice, and the move from the old Snipping Tool to the new Snip & Sketch app was not taken well by some users. The app is slightly too complicated for its simple needs, but there are easier ways to snap the contents of your screen.…

Master Snip & Sketch

BEFORE YOU REINSTALL WINDOWS

Reinstalling Windows 10 is a fairly trivial task. Put in the right media, boot from it, grind away the old OS, and replace it with the pristine bits of a shiny new install. This can be a painless, if time-consuming, procedure that leaves you with a like-new PC, or perhaps an even better one if you were unlucky enough to buy a PC burdened with preinstalled trashware. Before you do this, make sure you’ve checked off a few prerequisites, all of which are good practice even if you’re not planning to wipe everything and start again. “Dig out the product keys for all your crucial software and keep them safe, as you’ll need to reinstall that too” First, keep a record of your product key (if you have one – most likely if…

BEFORE YOU REINSTALL WINDOWS

Multibooting Windows 10

One of the factors that contributes to our pessimism surrounding reinstalling Windows is that we desperately don’t want you to lose anything. We’re kind like that. But there is another, slightly frivolous way to do a reinstallation if you’ve got working hardware to play with: you can turn one Windows installation into two. If you have a second drive that is able to support a Windows 10 installation, or enough access to your current Windows 10 installation (and enough free space) to be able to trim down its drive using Disk Management then create a new clean partition, you can install a second copy of the operating system alongside the first. Simply select a custom install, and then point Windows 10 at that spare disk space – it should do…

Multibooting Windows 10

REINSTALL WINDOWS 10

The act of reinstalling Windows 10 can feel daunting. Never fear: we’re going to step you through the entire process from booting from your Windows installation media to running carefully through the post-install setup options. If you’ve not yet done so, visit www.microsoft.com/en-gb/ software-download/windows10 and click Download tool now to download and run the Media Creation Tool. Insert a blank DVD, or plug in an unused USB flash drive (8GB or larger). After launching the tool, accept the licence terms, then choose Create installation media… and follow the prompts (use recommended options when asked) to create your flash drive or generate an ISO file. If you choose the ISO file option, click Open DVD burner at the end to write it to your blank DVD. Once your installation media has been…

REINSTALL WINDOWS 10

REFRESH, RESTART, RECYCLE REINSTALL

If you’ve gone to the trouble of creating new installation media for any version of Windows 10 past the Creators Update, you’ll probably feel a bit silly when you discover that Microsoft tucked a ‘fresh start’ option into its later Win 10 editions. “Windows 10’s ‘reset’ feature strips out all installed applications and drivers while leaving personal files intact” Using it takes any Windows 10 installation back to the basics of a Windows install, even removing any preinstalled software your manufacturer might have included, and stripping away all your drivers – and it doesn’t require any special media. It’s basically a clean install without you having to directly perform the actions of reinstallation. You’ll find it in a corner of Windows Defender Security Centre, aka Windows Security – select Device performance and…

REFRESH, RESTART, RECYCLE REINSTALL

Building better backups

Reinstalling is, or should be, a last resort – and if you ever come to the point where you absolutely have to reinstall Windows and don’t have copies of your files, it might be too late. A hardware failure, a cryptographic malware attack, whatever the case may be, you don’t want to be left stranded. We’ve talked about using Windows’ File History tools elsewhere, which is a good way to keep regular copies of your personal files, but Windows also includes a more thorough backup procedure in the form of Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Now, we can’t be entirely sure how long this is going to last, given its archaic name, but for now, it works, and we’d wager that Microsoft will supply a tool to restore its backups…

Building better backups

THE POWER OF ELBOW GREASE

“Keeping an eye on your PC’s actions isn’t particularly difficult, Windows 10 includes all the tools you might need” Many people look at a Windows reinstallation as a way to fix any and all ills. However, we consider it as being more of a last resort. It’s a little like dealing with unruly children. Before taking drastic action and shipping your PC off to military school, you should really do everything you possibly can to fix the problems you’ve got, and find out the cause of its misbehaviour, because you might just find that a simple solution works better. Heavy-handed metaphor aside, keeping a keen eye on your PC’s actions isn’t particularly difficult, because Windows 10 includes all the tools you might need at your disposal: There’s the Task Manager (which…

THE POWER OF ELBOW GREASE

Go virtual instead

We’re at the point in the PC’s evolution where the overheads of virtualisation are proportionately so small, and the technology enabling it so plentiful, that running an everyday OS in a virtual machine is entirely reasonable. You obviously won’t get 100 percent of bare metal performance from a virtualised instance of Windows 10, but it has a host of advantages. When you’ve got a system running just as you like it, you can take a snapshot, then quickly return to it at any point in the future. You can whip up a fresh copy of Windows in minutes, without any risk to your existing install. You can fire up other operating systems, and run them simultaneously on the same machine. If you’re the kind of person who loves to settle…

Go virtual instead

Our promise to you ...

You can trust our reviews Our reviewers are 100 per cent independent, with years of experience in the world of computing. Our rigorous testing procedures mean that only genuine, high-quality products are awarded high star ratings. If you see an item of hardware bearing a high score, you can be confident that it is an excellent product. We choose the best products Thousands of new PC products are released every year and choosing between them can be an impossible task. Our experts select only the best hardware and software to feature in this magazine. Even better, our star rating system makes it simple to find the best products, giving you a fast, trustworthy guide. How we review Our expert reviewers guarantee to test every piece of hardware rigorously and thoroughly, using only acknowledged experts to…

Our promise to you ...

The 2-in-1 laptop has never been better. While systems that combine elements of both laptops and tablets are nothing new, this last year has seen these ultralight devices reach new heights in both design and performance. While Microsoft might have fought to popularise the detachable keyboard with its Surface series of tablets, and Dell ventured into something unique and weird with the XPS Duo’s revolving display, it’s become clear that the optimum form for 2-in-1 devices is a simple convertible design, where the keyboard folds around to sit flush against the rear of the screen. This is what differentiates 2-in-1s from similar Ultrabook devices, which share the lightweight design yet tend to lack any kind of touch controls and a nifty ‘tablet mode’. What makes 2-in-1 devices so coveted? The answer is…

1 HP SPECTRE X360 13.3

HP’s Spectre series of laptops have always felt like high-end products, and the Spectre x360 is certainly no exception. Bringing the hybrid tablet element to an already excellent laptop line was a no-brainer, and the new model of the x360 we’re looking at here is the best version yet. That’s due primarily to the new processor, the Intel Core i7-1065G7. So there’s faster cores and improved connectivity, and there’s something new too: Iris Plus, Intel’s latest integrated graphics solution for mobile devices. Iris Plus is a huge improvement over the previous Intel UHD integrated graphics. Superior performance means that unlike older ultralight laptops, this version of the x360 is actually capable of some light gaming. It’s not going to run modern triple-A titles at higher graphical settings, but it can handle the…

1 HP SPECTRE X360 13.3

2 DELL XPS 13 7390

The 7390 2-in-1 edition of Dell’s dependable XPS laptop series is the baseline for convertible laptop performance. It’s not flashy like the HP Spectre x360, or unique like the HP ZBook X2. This is a 2-in-1 for those who want a good laptop and a good tablet, packaged into the same device. The XPS 13 has the same Intel processor as the Spectre x360, so performance is broadly comparable to HP’s sleeker 2-in-1. This XPS can handle a spot of gaming, as well as perform mid-level rendering and video processing tasks. In fact, it outperforms the HP x360 by a small amount in some areas, likely due to a superior thermal design that prevents CPU throttling. “The XPS 13 isn’t as flashy as the competition, but it oesn’t need to be” There’s plenty…

2 DELL XPS 13 7390

Let’s make this clear: the HP ZBook X2 isn’t winning any awards for value. None of these 2-in-1s are budget products, but the X2 costs more than the other two laptops combined. It doesn’t quite occupy the same mainstream convertible position as the other 2-in-1s we’re looking at here. While the ZBook X2’s appearance might superficially place it alongside products like the Microsoft’s Surface Pro, this is a powerful tool for professional creatives. HP initially marketed the ZBook X2 as a ‘detachable workstation’, and that moniker rings true. The X2 is a bit older than the Spectre x360 and the XPS 13 7390, and it certainly looks it: a chunky, weighty tablet with large buttons inlaid on the bezel. It’s strangely reminiscent of plasticky tablets from the mid 2000s, but has…

THE OVERALL WINNER IS…

HP SPECTRE X360 13.3 £1,799, hp.com WE LIKED: Awesomely sleek and aesthetically pleasing design; nifty built-in security features to help safeguard you and your data; 4K display looks bright, sharp and colourful; plenty of storage with super-fast internal transfer speeds and Thunderbolt 3 support; comes packaged with HP’s Tilt Pen; great all-around performance. WE’D IMPROVE: A bit pricey for an unspecialised laptop; fans can get a little noisy; plastic casing doesn’t feel super durable. THE LAST WORD: The Spectre x360 wins because it simply feels the best to use, with solid performance and a flexible design that also looks great. DELL XPS 13 7390 From £1,239, dell.com WE LIKED: Well-priced; makes the most of Iris Plus integrated graphics; good connectivity and battery life. WE’D IMPROVE: Display is only regular HD; SSD is decidedly unimpressive; no USB-A port for…

THE OVERALL WINNER IS…

FIVE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN BUYING A 2-IN-1

01 DOES IT USE INTEGRATED GRAPHICS? One of the first things to look for in any computer is whether or not it uses processor-integrated graphics (as opposed to a discrete graphics card, like the HP ZBook X2’s Nvidia Quadro GPU). The former is typically less powerful and puts more strain on the processor, but the latter will negatively impact battery life. If you need powerful graphics, a discrete GPU is the way to go. 02 HOW DOES THE MACHINE CHARGE? There are few things more frustrating than needing to charge your laptop but also needing that port for something else. The HP Spectre x360 and Dell XPS 13 are powered via a USB-C port, which bars use of that port while the device is charging. The ZBook X2 has a dedicated power port. 03…

Razer Blade Stealth 13

From £1,299 | $1,659 www.razer.com When Intel unveiled a new generation of laptop processors, equipped with powerful new Iris Plus integrated graphics, modern notebooks suddenly became more capable of gaming than ever before. It’s only taken a few months for a gaming-oriented manufacturer to jump aboard, and we’re glad it was Razer, because the new Razer Blade Stealth 13 might be the best gaming experience we’ve ever had on integrated graphics. The previous integrated graphics version, the Razer Blade Stealth 13 (2018), however, was a bit lacking. An 8th-gen Intel processor alone wasn’t enough to carry anything but the most basic games, so despite the lower power draw and quieter running volume, it wasn’t quite worth the asking price. Iris Plus has changed the game, though, and Razer has put it to work…

Razer Blade Stealth 13

Acer ConceptD 7

From £2,299 | $2,299 www.acer.com The Acer ConceptD 7 is the latest example of laptop makers using their expertise in creating thin, light and powerful gaming laptops to create stunningly-designed and powerful workstation laptops aimed at creatives – and directly challenging the MacBook Pro. Apple’s traditional dominance in mindshare is under serious threat from Windows laptops. This is largely due to Nvidia’s RTX Studio initiative, where the GPU maker works with laptop makers to create workstation laptops that feature Nvidia’s latest RTX graphics cards – which is what has happened with the Acer ConceptD 7. It’s a stylish and powerful laptop that’s squarely aimed at professionals and creatives who need plenty of graphical oomph – and with some of Nvidia’s latest and greatest RTX graphical tech on board, it’s not a bad choice…

Acer ConceptD 7

DrayTek Vigor2926Lac

£520 | $565 www.draytek.co.uk Aimed at business users, the DrayTek Vigor2926Lac is perfect for those who need excellent internet redundancy and network management options. The router comes in two models, one with and one without Wi-Fi, that are otherwise identical. We tested the Vigor2926Lac model, which is equipped with 802.11ac Wi-Fi. While the router is flexible enough to also work for prosumers, it’s most noteworthy for its ability to handle external VPN connections as well as managing other network devices such as wireless access points. Thanks to the 4G/LTE connection, it’s also well suited to providing internet in the field, or for use at shows or even in situations such as on tour busses. Hardware and design This model’s stand-out feature is definitely that LTE connectivity. The router includes a cellular modem, and takes…

DrayTek Vigor2926Lac

£1 350 | $1 500 www.motorola.com The new Razr is a great design concept, but its execution leaves several things to be desired. The ambition and potential are there – and perhaps it will be realized in a successor device – but for now, it’s tough to recommend the Razr at its current high price. On the plus side, it’s the first clamshell foldable to market, with an unprecedented format that halves the smartphone’s footprint and cashes in on nostalgia with a design that evokes the original Razr V3, while unfolding to reveal a modern smartphone display. But the drawbacks are equally apparent, with underwhelming specs and cameras, an older operating system (Android 9) out of the box, and questionable design choices that make the phone somewhat cumbersome to use. We’re looking forward to…

BIG 4K MONITORS

Bigger monitors are becoming far more accessible as prices are starting to come down. Offering picture quality that can compete with some of the best 4K TVs, the newest 4K monitors also offer High Dynamic Range (HDR). Their crisp image quality is great for lots of PC uses, including photo and video editing, or gaming. Stunning picture quality comes with a catch, however: 4K monitors generally give you lower refresh rates and slower response times. There are options out there that will offer you the best of both worlds, but you should expect a hefty price tag. If you don’t mind sacrificing a bit of performance for a pristine display, read on. 1 Predator XB273K £1,000, www.acer.com A seriously excellent 27in IPS 4K monitor, you get truly excellent picture quality, with terrific colour quality,…

BIG 4K MONITORS

THE BEST FREE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

1 Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2020 www.bitdefender,co,uk Bidefender tends to be reliable and accurate in its virus detecting, boasting web filtering to block access to malicious sites, as well as a secure browser that keeps your online banking and shopping transactions safe. Plus, there’s a password manager which auto-completes credit card details in web forms. It also scores high for its excellent anti-phishing module, which alerts you to malicious links in search engine results and blocks dangerous sites. That’s not all: there’s also ransomware protection that learns the behaviour of threats to keep you safe. There are one or two issues – it grabs more resources than average, and might conflict with some programs – but Bitdefender Antivirus Plus is still a likeable package which offers excellent detection rates, great performance, and more than…

THE BEST FREE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

In This Issue

Description

Details

Reviews

Recent Digital Issues Browse all

Recent Windows Help & Advice Digital Issues Browse all back issues

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription November 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) November 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription October 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) October 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription September 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) September 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription August 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) August 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription April 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) April 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription March 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) March 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription February 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) February 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription January 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) January 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription December 2nd, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Christmas 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription December 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) December 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription November 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) November 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription October 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) October 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription September 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) September 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription August 1st, 2019 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) August 2019: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription April 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) April 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription March 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) March 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription February 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) February 2020: $3.99

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) Subscription January 1st, 2020 Issue

Windows Help & Advice (Digital) January 2020: $3.99

Reviews