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4 9 - 22 August 2017
Contents
MARKETING
24 Best Buys Marketing Manager Rachel Hare
Marketing Production Manager Gemma Hills
Our pick of the best new products
MANAGEMENT
Tel: 0203 890 3890
50 Broadband Deals 71 Inbox Managing Director John Garewal
Find the best-value package for you Tell us your views and opinions MD of Advertising Julian Lloyd-Evans
Commercial and Retail Director David Barker
CFO/COO Brett Reynolds
51 Take a Screen Break 74 Page 404 Chief Executive James Tye
Company Founder Felix Dennis
Guess the artists from the emoji Porn-site checks put us all at risk
SYNDICATION AND USE OF LOGOS
Syndication Senior Manager Anj Dosaj-Halai
Tel: +44 (0)203 890 3816
pa 16 Email: anj_dosaj-halai@dennis.co.uk
Practical
Workshops, tips, projects and problem solving
ge
s
INTERNATIONAL LICENSING
Web User is available for licensing overseas.
Licensing & Syndication Assistant Nicole Adams
Tel: +44 (0)203 890 3998
Email: nicole_adams@dennis.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Tel: 0330 333 9493
Email: subscriptions@webuser.co.uk
52 Workshop 1 Encrypt your drive’s You can manage your existing subscription through
Pixlr Editor’s advanced tools www.ManageMyMags.co.uk. This should be your first
partition p54 port of call if you have any queries about your
subscription. A subscription to Web User for one year
54 Workshop 2 costs £42.99 for UK subscribers, £90 for Europe and
£146 for the rest of the world. Call 0330 333 9493 to get
Use VeraCrypt to create a secret the next issue, delivered free to your door.
partition on your hard drive PRINTING
Printed by Wyndeham Bicester, Oxon
56 Workshop 3 Distributors Seymour 020 7396 4000
A DENNIS PUBLICATION
68 Readers’ Tips Web User is published fortnightly by
Dennis Publishing Ltd, 31-32 Alfred Place, WC1E 7DP.
The best tips from our readers Company registered in England. Material may not be
reproduced in whole or part without the consent of
the publishers. ISSN 1473-7094
70 Readers’ Helpdesk
Answers from our reader forums WEB USER
PRINTED IN THE UK
6 9 - 22 August 2017
What’s New Online
We pick the 10 best things you must do on the web this fortnight
@007
Browse a 3D map Get free ebooks With a new James Bond movie on
@LefthandersIntl
bit.ly/trends429 bit.ly/ebooks429 Celebrate Left Handers Day on 13
As the Earth spins on this 3D map, you In what has August with this feed for southpaws
can see what people around the world become an
are typing into Google. The constantly annual @malala
updating globe displays trending event, Eric The Pakistani campaigner shot by
words – just select a country to see a Ligman, Taliban gunmen is fighting for girls’
full list of the top searches at any given Microsoft’s education
moment. You can click a trending term director of
to see how many times it’s been sales, is
searched for and read more about the giving
topic either on the map or on the away a huge number of free Quickly list items on eBay
Google Trends page. With options to computing ebooks. There are about bit.ly/ebay429
change the map’s colour and embed it 250 in total, with titles covering Save time when selling items on
on your own website, it puts the world Microsoft products such as Azure, eBay by using its new quick-listing
and its interests at your fingertips. Office, PowerShell and Windows apps. tool, which lets you copy details
Most of the ebooks cover developer from similar sold items, and drag
and professional topics, and each is and drop your images. You’re also
yours to keep forever with no strings given pricing guidance to help your
attached. Just browse the neatly item sell more quickly.
categorised list, click the format you
want – the titles are spread across
the PDF, EPUB, MOBI, DOC and XPS Use Google’s SOS Alerts
formats – and open the file to read it. www.google.co.uk
Alternatively, you can download all Google now provides helpful info
of them. following a natural or man-made
disaster. It issues an SOS Alert when
you search for an incident or
Street View
and maps of roads to avoid.
8 9 - 22 August 2017
Need to Know
What we think of this fortnight’s top tech news stories and rumours,
and how they affect you
FIRST LOOK
Vodafone Smart E8 oil-resistant coating on its display,
bit.ly/vodafone429 which means it picks up fingerprints
like nobody’s business. The screen
The Vodafone Smart E8’s SIM-free isn’t great, either. It’s dim and,
price of £49 may lead you to think combined with the fingerprints that
that that its design is as cheap as its inevitably accumulate, is tricky to see
price, but we were pleasantly outdoors, even under grey skies.
surprised. It’s quite chunky, measuring You can’t expect a fast phone for
9.2mm from front to back and £50, and the Smart E8 is indeed
weighing 169g, but it’s not pretty slow. In fact, the only positive
uncomfortable to hold and slips easily aspect of the Vodafone Smart
into a pocket, thanks to its 5in display. E8’s performance is its battery life,
There’s a 2-megapixel camera and which is pretty good. Its camera
LED notification light on the front and is typical of a £50 smartphone,
a 5-megapixel camera, LED flash and which is to say it’s not great.
a speaker grille at the rear. Pop off the Smart E8 is that it runs Android 7.1 The Smart E8 was never going to
rear panel to access a removable Nougat, and it’s a pretty clean provoke admiring gasps but it does a
2,200mAh battery, a nano-SIM slot installation with no custom Android skin decent job and we prefer it to the
and a microSD slot, which lets you or launcher to get in the way. There’s a Alcatel Pixi 4. If you’re on a strict £50
expand the phone’s internal 8GB handful of pre-installed apps, but it isn’t budget, buy the Smart E8, but if you
storage by up to 128GB. overwhelmed by undesirable extras. can afford a little more, opt for
One of the best things about the On the downside, the phone has no Vodafone’s Smart N8 at £85 instead.
10 9 - 22 August 2017
Need to Know
Our favourite new project on the crowdfunding site Sony to increase cost of
playing PS4 online
Sony announced that the price
The Terminator multimedia speaker of its PlayStation
bit.ly/terminator429 | From £240 Plus membership
will increase from
Do you find the design of the Amazon Echo a little dull? Then £5.99 a month and
feast your eyes and ears on this multimedia speaker resembling £39.99 a year to
the endoskeleton skull of ultraviolent time-travelling robot T-800, £6.99 and £49.99,
better known as The Terminator. Standing 45cm (18in) tall, this wireless speaker respectively. Users
combines a tweeter and subwoofer to produce crisp, clear sound and powerful will be charged
bass, and can be controlled using your phone or tablet. As well as offering the higher price automatically
built-in Alexa technology, the speaker’s glowing eyes include a high-definition from next month unless they
camera that records video. The creators hope to raise £135,000 by 27 August. cancel their subscription.
A
As with China, it’s not yet We’ve been very backdoor provides access
clear how the Russian vocal about the need to citizens’ private data,
What do you
Q
government is going to to keep people’s placing enormous power in
think about implement the ban from a private information safe and the hands of anyone who
Russia and China technical point of view. confidential. Government wants to take advantage of
banning VPNs? However, we at NordVPN will intrusion into private it, and the backdoor could
Nicholas Pratt, Facebook do everything within our communications may apear end up being used by the
power to enable our users to fight crime, but such very people that the
A
NordVPN doesn’t to continue enjoying the legislation is usually government wants to keep
agree with internet freedom of the internet. implemented by people who track of. The essence of the
censorship by any internet is to be a free
government and recent Backdoors bring new security holes space – it was not built to
moves by China and Russia and could result in even more crime have regulation, censorship
to outlaw VPNs are indeed or administrators.
NEW
COMPUTERS
Apple Machine
Learning Journal
machinelearning.apple.com
Apple’s famously minimalist design is put
NEW into effect on this site, which provides
SUSTAINABILITY Apple engineers with a platform to
Sourced by HuffPost explain how they create products for the
Cupertino-based giant. What it lacks in
sourced.huffingtonpost.co.uk razzmatazz, it makes up for in detail.
Aimed at people who want to live sustainably, HuffPost’s latest offering applies a stark The only ‘proper’ post currently on the
green tint to its daily news and features agenda. The site splits its content between site is more than 2,000 words long and is
news, interiors, grooming, travel, style and blogs, and seeks to cover issues relating peppered with academic-style
to the environment, recycling, poverty and more. Although the well-presented, easily explanatory images that show how the
navigable site isn’t updated as often as we’d like, the lively headlines tempt you to realism of synthetic images can be
click and you’re kept reading by the snappy writing style, which makes the serious improved. But it serves as an indication
subjects accessible. There’s no denying the passion behind each piece and there are of what is to come and Apple is also
loads of useful tips and insights, each accompanied by good-quality photos. inviting questions and feedback.
WATCH
Watch
replays,
interviews
and live
races
(subscribers
only) online
TIPS
Leading
racing
experts
share their
tips on the
big races
of the day
RELAUNCH
SPORT
ESPN Cricinfo
www.espncricinfo.com
ESPN wants to bowl over cricket fans
with the new mobile-first approach of its
relaunched site. This makes it easier to
RELAUNCH work your way through the large amount
FASHION of content, letting you quickly read the
Balenciaga news, look at the images, catch the latest
fixtures and results and get information
www.balenciaga.com/gb on players and grounds. Although the
Would you ever spend a couple of grand on a designer tote that looked like the huge Desktop site feels a tad messy, it looks
carrier bags you get at Ikea? Us neither. But as much as we’d reel at the prices asked fantastic on a phone or tablet. The menu
by Balenciaga, we fell in love with its simplistic approach to web design. Using little in particular impressed us with a set of
more than rectangular boxes, an Arial font and well-snapped images, navigating the icons for features, videos, statistics and
site takes a lot of clicking. But it’s unique and fun, giving its product range plenty of teams down the left and an updated
space to breathe and making great suggestions to complete your look. If you run out set of keywords on the right. We also
of patience with the site, you can always click the menu in the top-right corner to love the detailed data presented during
take a shortcut or else use the fast search engine. live games.
A
and store data, and link to buttons However, it’s not as widely Never forget that your visitors are
and other elements on a page. available or as easy to install as human beings. Try building a
If you know JavaScript, you can WordPress, so if you want to use grassroots audience, and find
even develop dynamic web tools. it, consider a host that specifically people who care about the charity and the
Wix Code is currently free but supports it. TSOhost, for example, cause. You should also nurture your existing
in beta, so you have to apply to offers the service for £2.99 per users. Let them know the good they’re doing
use it. Go to bit.ly/code429 and month at bit.ly/tso429. and they’ll help you spread the word.
click ‘Apply for Beta’. Speed is another key factor. A slow
website undermines all the other good
Deal of the Fortnight work you’re doing. Google has worked
With Brexit negotiations underway, you can out that fast sites keep people engaged
get great deals on domains with the suffix longer because they’re less likely to
‘.eu’. For example, 123 Reg (www.123-reg get bored and click away. Google’s
.co.uk) is selling them for £1.19. SEO algorithm rewards fast sites.
4
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3
2 1
3
4 2
Mid Mid
Low
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Optical Aux-in BLASTERX ACOUSTIC
FLEXIBLE CONNECTIVITY TRI-AMPLIFIED, ENGINE FOR PC
USB, Optical-in, Bluetooth 4.2, USB ONE-PIECE DESIGN Customizable enhancements for
flash drive, Aux-in, Mic-in, Headset For uncompromised clear, unprecedented levels of audio realism with
well-balanced, room-filling audio 7.1 virtual surround and clear cues
http://uk.creative.com/cs #GAMERSFORLIFE
Product Test
We test and compare the latest products
Seguro
Trongle S2
We test a great-value Android media player that you can plug
into your TV to stream all your entertainment from the web
S
mart TVs and set-top Interface and apps
boxes bring a range Seguro has taken Android 6.0
of features to your and overlaid its own skin to
living-room television provide a basic but functional
including viewing catch-up homepage. It’s not going to
TV, running media players win any design awards but it’s
such as Kodi and streaming slick and fast. The large icons
your own content from other on the homepage let you
devices. However, most of quickly launch the browser,
the big brands are tied into view installed apps and play
a particular service, such as local videos, music and
Apple TV’s dependency on photos. You can also add
iTunes or Amazon’s Fire TV shortcut icons to your
devices pushing its Prime favourite applications across
Video service. If you deviate the bottom of the screen.
from these giants, though, A basic infrared remote
you’ll find some media is included in the box.
streamers are compatible Navigating the main screen
with a broader range of is easy using the cursor keys
services and provide and Select button, but other
impressive specifications apps don’t work as well. Open
for a fraction of the price. the Google Play Store, for
One such example is the example, and it’s exceptionally
Seguro Trongle S2. For about hard to select the Search bar.
the same price as the latest You can get around this by
Amazon Fire TV Stick, you one quarter of the thickness. may not be fast enough for pressing the mouse button
get a set-top box running At the back, there’s an HDMI streaming the large 4K video on the remote to display
Android 6.0 Marshmallow port to connect it to your TV files that the device is capable a pointer on the screen.
that’s capable of outputting and a Fast Ethernet port for of playing. Rounding off the Using the remote’s cursor
a 4K picture (also known as connecting to a router or connections are two USB keys, we could jerkily move
Ultra HD) complete with HDR HomePlug. We recommend ports and a microSD card slot. the cursor up to the search
(High Dynamic Range – a new using this port if possible The latter could be very useful box to find what we wanted.
television technology that because the S2 only supports for expanding the S2’s Fortunately, the Trongle
gives TVs better contrast and 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, which modest 8GB of storage. is currently being sold with
colours). On the face of it, a wireless keyboard that has
that’s staggering value. a built-in touchpad, which
makes navigating apps and
Build and ports A £40 set-top box running Android 6.0 entering data a lot easier.
The S2 has a textured, plastic that can output 4K complete with HDR. On the Alternatively, you can bypass
casing that feels well made. the Google Play Store entirely
It has a similar footprint to an
face of it, that’s staggering value by using the web interface
Apple TV but is only about to send installation files to the
20 9 - 22 August 2017
Seguro Trongle S2 Product Test
PRODUCT INFO
Seguro
Trongle S2
Price: £39.99
Buy from Amazon:
bit.ly/tron429
SPECIFICATIONS
■ HDMI 2.0 video output
■ 802.11n (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi
■ 1 x Fast Ethernet port
formats
■ Works with iPlayer, My5, ITV Hub,
All 4, Now TV
■ 110 x 110 x 11mm
FOR
✓ Supports a good selection of
streaming TV and catch-up services
✓ Kodi-compatible
TP-Link Deco M5
As TP-Link joins the ranks of router manufacturers offering mesh
networking, Jonathan Bray puts its new Deco M5 to the test
T
P-Link is the latest similar price. The Google and
networking-hardware Netgear alternatives we’ve
manufacturer to jump reviewed are more expensive
on the mesh-networking and only provide two units in
bandwagon, following the their starter packs, although
lead of the Netgear Orbi Netgear now has some
(reviewed in Issue 415, bit.ly/ cheaper models with lower
issue415), Google Wi-Fi specifications, and it now sells
(Issue 423, bit.ly/ Orbi devices in packs of three.
webuser423) and BT Whole Although more units help
Home Wi-Fi (Issue 419, bit.ly/ spread the network further,
issue419). Mesh networks use devices like the Netgear Orbi
several router-like devices to create a dedicated
distribute Wi-Fi around your background network to link
home and tackle dead spots the devices and provide the
that regular standalone best possible connection.
routers can’t reach. TP-Link doesn’t have this but
TP-Link’s starter kit costs the nodes are cheaper, so you
£229.99 and comes with three can afford more of them.
identical ‘nodes’, the router-
like units you position around Performance and What makes the Deco M5 unique
your home to boost your software is its interesting software tools
network. This is similar to BT’s The Deco M5’s close-range
Whole Home WiFi, which also performance in our tests
comes with three units for a wasn’t all that impressive fall when adding extra nodes it will protect all the devices
(68MB/s), lagging behind the to spread the network, that appear on the network,
faster BT Whole Home Wi-Fi the TP-Link edged ahead so you don’t have to worry
PRODUCT INFO (99MB/s). We tested the Deco by 4MB/s. However, the about whether individual
TP-Link Deco M5 M5’s single-node performance differences are almost too devices are fully protected.
Price: £229.99 at long range, too, to get small to notice. It also has some fantastic
Buy from Amazon: a feel for how well it performs What makes the Deco M5 parental controls, which let
bit.ly/tpl429 at the edge of the network, unique is its interesting you take charge of which
and found it matched the software tools. For example, devices can access the
SPECIFICATIONS BT Whole Home Wi-Fi. it comes with Trend Micro’s internet and when (which is
■ Quad-core processor Google Wifi does even internet security built into the great for enforcing a bedtime
■ 400Mbps Wi-Fi on 2.4GHz and better, though. device, with three years of Wi-Fi curfew on younger
867Mbps on 5GHz Unsurprisingly, the Deco service included. This means gadget addicts).
■ 4 x internal antennas per unit performed best in the mesh
■ 2 x Gigabit ports per unit configuration it’s designed for,
■ 1 x USB Type-C port delivering speeds that OUR VERDICT ★★★★★
■ Bluetooth 4.2 matched BT Whole Home
■ 120 x 38mm Wi-Fi in the kitchen of our The TP-Link Deco M5 is FEATURES ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
22 9 - 22 August 2017
From Apple to Zeiss,
and everything in between
HARDWARE
SSD £500 PC
Samsung 960 Evo Mesh Home PC
£211.16 from bit.ly/s9e428 £499 from www.meshcomputers.com
Tested: Issue 428 Tested: Issue 426
It looks expensive on paper, but the Samsung 960 Evo is an The Mesh Home PC is compact and quiet, with a great
excellent 500GB SSD that came at or near the top of all our processor. It has a premium operating system in Windows 10
performance tests. It comes with Samsung’s Data Migration Pro and includes an SSD and a dedicated graphics card.
software to clone your existing Windows installation from
your old hard drive. KEY SPECS
Quad-core 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-7500 processor ■ 8GB
KEY SPECS memory ■ 120GB SSD, 1TB hard drive ■ 2GB Asus GeForce
250GB – 1TB capacity ■ AES-256 encryption GT710-2-SL graphics card ■ 6 x USB 2 ports; 2 x USB 3 ports
■ M.2 connection ■ 200TBW write tolerance ■ Samsung ■ Windows 10 Pro ■ Lifetime labour warranty, two-years
Provided you can find space for this bulky printer, you won’t Apple has reduced the price of its new
be disappointed, because it’s very reasonably priced, cheap standard 9.7in iPad, making this tablet the
to run and produces great-looking prints – especially photos. cheapest it’s ever produced. Battery life is excellent,
You won’t have to wait long for them to print, either. performance is swift and the screen and build are top quality.
Google Home is a remarkable home helper and This graphics card provides enough power to
we can’t recommend it more highly. It can already control make less challenging games run smoothly in 1080p
a variety of apps and services, with more to come, and has a resolution with high-detail settings enabled. It’s very cheap
good-quality speaker. It’s simply designed to enrich your life. and benefits from plenty of speedy stream processors.
24 9 - 22 August 2017
Web User’s Best Buys
Google Drive is easy to use and has lots of free storage, TO-DO LIST TOOL
and syncing files is like keeping them in any other PC folder. Todoist
KEY FEATURES Free from todoist.com
16GB free storage ■ Web-based office software ■ Works Tested: Issue 424
with XP, Vista, 7, 8+ and 10 ■ Chrome browser add-on ■ Todoist is the ultimate to-do list tool. Adding new tasks is
Android and iOS apps ■ Extra paid-for storage available simple, whether managing small projects or complex ones.
INTERESTED IN
MAGAZINE If so, IPSO, the regulator of magazines and newspapers, is looking for
people to join their Readers’ Advisory Panel. The panel – which will meet
STANDARDS? three times a year – will support IPSO’s work and give readers the
opportunity to share their views on media issues. No experience is
required, just an interest in editorial standards. IPSO will cover travel
expenses and pay you £200 for every meeting you attend.
9 - 22 August 2017 25
Best Free Software
CLOUD-BACKUP TOOL
Google Backup
and Sync
bit.ly/gbackup429
Min requirements: Windows 7/8+/10
or MacOS
File size: 1.1MB
MINI WORKSHOP | Back up your files using Google Backup and Sync
1
1
1
2
2
4
3
26 9 - 22 August 2017
Best Free Software
Sudoku Central
bit.ly/sud429
Min requirements: Windows 10
File size: 18.9MB
This app is a Windows 10 version of
the popular Sudoku puzzle game,
which lets you play six variants
including Killer Sudoku, Windoku
(Hypersudoku), Jigsaw Sudoku and
Diagonals. You can choose from
three different puzzle sizes.
BACKUP TOOL
Iperius Backup Free 5
bit.ly/iperius429
Min requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7/8+/10 File size: 28.1MB
An alternative to Google’s new Backup & Sync tool (see opposite), this program
provides everything you need to back up and restore your PC so your personal files
are kept safe. It can back up to various locations; run full, incremental, differential or Free Invoice Generator
scheduled backups; compress files to ZIP format; and much more. Getting started bit.ly/freeig429
is just a matter of clicking ‘Create new backup’ and then choosing what to include. Min requirements: Windows 10
The new version can back up your files to more locations and cloud services. File size: 12.53MB
This free app from Zoho lets you
quickly create and share invoices.
You can email the finished
document, upload it to OneDrive
or save a PDF version.
Landiskape
REGISTRY TOOL EMULATOR bit.ly/land429
RegistryChangesView Stella 5 Min requirements: Windows 10
bit.ly/rcview429 bit.ly/stella429 File size: 18.1MB
Min requirements: Windows XP/ Min requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7/ Landiskape is a drive-usage
Vista/7/8+/10 File size: 92.3KB 8+/10, MacOS or Linux File size: 2.3MB analyser that can show you where
all your free space has vanished to.
The latest portable free tool from the The Atari 2600 Video Computer System You can switch between displaying
prolific software developer Nirsoft lets (VCS) was the most popular games a tree or map views of your chosen
you identify changes made to the console of the late Seventies and early folders.
Windows Registry. You can take a Eighties, and you can relive its glory
Registry snapshot with the tool and days with this emulator. You’ll need
compare it against another snapshot. some ROMs (games), which you can get
Any changes can be exported to a REG from AtariAge (atariage.com). This
file and then imported into your latest version fully matches the original
Registry, which is handy if, for example, hardware and has a new phosphor-
you delete something from the emulation mode which is closer to real
database by mistake. TV output.
IMAGE TOOL
Fotowall
bit.ly/fotow429
Min requirements: Windows 7/8+/10 or Linux
File size: 10.1MB
IMAGE EDITOR
Luminar Beta
macphun.com
Min requirements: Windows 7/8+/10
File size: 201MB
28 9 - 22 August 2017
Best Free Software
UPDATED | New tweaks and fixes for your favourite free programs
30 9 - 22 August 2017
Best New Browser Tools
This fortnight’s most useful tips and add-ons to help you get the
most from Chrome, Firefox, Opera and more
F
FIREFOX OTHER BROWSERS
Download videos
Block inappropriate content from Vimeo
on YouTube
In last issue’s
controversial ‘Stop Using Google’
feature, we recommended
As we discussed in last issue’s Vimeo (vimeo.com) as our
cover feature, there’s a lot of favourite alternative to YouTube,
unpleasant stuff on YouTube, but we
and not just in the videos but in have to
the comments beneath them, concede
too. You can protect your that there
children, grandchildren or are many
sensitive spouse from some of more
this inappropriate content by third-party
scrolling to the bottom of any tools
YouTube page and setting Restricted Mode to On, then locking the mode in available
your browser to stop anyone bypassing it. For a second line of defence, a new for downloading videos from the
add-on called YouTube Safemode (bit.ly/safemode429) goes further than world’s most popular video-
Restricted Mode by disabling all comments sections on videos, blocking sharing site. That’s why we were
“known inappropriate” content creators and filtering videos that have been so pleased to discover Vimeo
tagged with or contain negative and offensive keywords. As with all tools of Video Downloader (bit.ly/
this kind, it can be overzealous, but we found that it worked surprisingly well. vvd429), which adds a
Download button to every
Vimeo video page. It lets you
Add useful features to Time how long you spend grab clips in a choice of four
Google Play on tabs quality settings, right up to the
Are you an Android user who prefers Time flies when you’re trying to avoid maximum 1,080p resolution.
Firefox to Chrome on your desktop boring tasks – such as working – Just remember to keep your
computer? If so, the good news is that by engaging in downloads for personal use only.
Mozilla’s browser now has its own less important
version of the excellent Toolbox for ones, such as Expand your
Google Play Store (bit.ly/toolbox429), checking downloads in Edge
as recommended in our ‘Secret hacks Facebook, Opera isn’t the only
for Google Play’ feature in Issue 420 browsing browser to get a new video
(bit.ly/ Amazon and downloader this issue, because
webuser420). watching Video Downloader Professional
This add-on YouTube. has just been released for Edge.
enhances the A new Firefox This useful extension for
Android app add-on called Microsoft’s Windows 10 browser
store by Time Speaks (bit.ly/time429) tells you lets you easily download and
adding several how long you’ve spent viewing each play videos from YouTube,
useful options tab you have open, so you can Vimeo and other sites. Also new
to each app’s identify where your procrastination and just as impressive is
page. These problems lie. As well as listing how GetThemAll, which lets you
include a many seconds each tab has been simultaneously download every
button for active, Time Speaks displays its stats media file – music, video, photo
downloading as a bar chart and lets you clear its or PDF – from a web page. Both
an app’s APK file to your PC, one that timings with one click. extensions are available from the
links to information on the alternative Windows Store (bit.ly/edge429).
app store AppBrain (www.appbrain
.com) and another that takes you to
coverage of the app on the Android
Police blog (www.androidpolice.com).
Toolbox also tells you if an app offers
a beta-testing programme that lets you
try the latest version before everyone
else. You can choose which options to
show or hide in the add-on’s settings.
32 9 - 22 August 2017
Best Free Apps
34 9 - 22 August 2017
Best Free Apps
Everybody’s favourite daydreaming This calculator that “dared to become Look at the screenshot above: if
beagle takes centre stage in this cute a game” achieves the impossible by you’re instantly thinking “sandwich”,
game, strategically popping coloured making maths fun. Hosted by a you’ll love this game in which you
bubbles to set Woodstock and his cheerful character called Clicky, the select letters to spell out a word that
avian pals free. Help is at hand from aim is to reach a numerical target in corresponds to the photo pairings.
other members of the Peanuts gang, the specified number of moves. It Some of the visual puns are very
including Charlie Brown and his kite, starts off easy – even we managed tricky so it’s just as well the letters are
and Linus and his blanket. As ever, to get 2 by tapping the +1 button provided. Correct answers win you
there are power-ups to collect, twice – but as things get trickier, you coins, as do other achievements such
obstacles to avoid and new worlds have to put all your mathematical as finishing a set number of puzzles or
to unlock, but it’s the adorable powers into play. You get a free hint watching a video ad, and you can
graphics and music, and every day, with more then use these to unlock
familiar environments available to buy as hints or skip tough
such as Lucy’s in-app purchases. It’s puzzles. It’s fun to play
Psychiatric Booth that extremely addictive and but some of the images
make this a winner. educational to boot. could be clearer.
Who runs these tournaments? Which games are involved? Overwatch League organises
The biggest organisation is the Electronic The games span a range of genres but the teams geographically
Sports League (ESL, particular favourites include first-person so that they represent
www.eslgaming.com) which not only shooters such as Call of Duty, cities. As such, there
operates professional international Counter Strike, Quake and are Overwatch teams
and national leagues and Battlefield, and sporting based in San Francisco,
tournaments, but amateur games such as FIFA Seoul, Shanghai,
competitions, too. Major games and NBA 2K. Fighting Boston, New York and
publisher Electronic Arts launched games including Street many other locations.
the EA Competitive Gaming Fighter and Super The hope is that fans
Division in December 2015, while Smash Bros figure get behind a team in
Take Two Interactive is set to highly and many players the same way as they Cheer your local
launch the NBA 2K eLeague Overwatch team
Overwatch is the gaming knuckle down for real- would a local football
to global victory
in 2018. The UK national body sensation that’s shaking time strategy games of or rugby club.
is the British Esports Association the eSports nation StarCraft or multiplayer
(www.britishesports.org). online battles within Where can I view live Overwatch
League of Legends and Dota. However, tournaments?
the big one to check out is Overwatch, Currently, only in an eSports arena in Los
which is attracting a lot of interest. Angeles, although it is possible to watch
streams of matches online. This has
What’s so special about proven to be a very successful model –
Overwatch? tens of thousands of people pack arenas
Created by games developer Activision across the world to watch eSport
Blizzard, Overwatch has grown into a competitors, viewing the action on huge
worldwide league of professional teams screens, while up to 320 million watch
battling to clear objectives and take tournaments online. In the UK last year,
down opponents. The difference is that the total eSports audience was 6.5
ESL is where all the biggest eSports gaming teams are not formed by players simply million).Matches have been screened by
stars come out to shine hooking up and competing. Instead, the BBC (bit.ly/bbcesports429), but
36 9 - 22 August 2017
eSports
W
ith so much h video
d content
availabble and a vast array y off
device es to view it on,, we’re
spoilt for choicece ffor entertainment
nowadays. DVDs Ds are on the h wane –
in fact, most mo odern computers no longer g r
even provide a built-in
b l drive
d – and d
although million ns off us still download
movies and TV showss from
f the web,,
recent reports show
sh that
h streaming g is now
the most popula ular method for f viewing g
digital content.
It’s easy to seee why.
hy Streaming live l
videos is now ea asier and faster
f than ever
before with less off the buffering
ff g and
freezes that used ed to make viewing g over
the web so frusttrating. g
e, we pick
In this feature, p the best content
you can watch liive online l – llegally,
lly
of course – rang gingg ffrom Facebook
and Twitter strea eams to webcams,b , llive
concerts, rockett llaunches, h 360-degree
d g
videos, live gam ming g streams, classic l
TV marathons and more..
We also expla ain hhow to stream video d
smoothly in the b best qualityl y possible, bl and d
recommend the h hardware
d you need
y d to gget
the most from yo your streaming g content..
38 9 - 22 August 2017
COVER E
Watch the Best Live Streams Online FEATU
R
There
est Live Streams On The Web
e e arre loads of sites that let you stream live video, many of which you may not
be
e awarre of. Here, we pick our favourite ways to stream content in real time
SOC L STREAMING
SOCIA
Watch
atch live
li e zoom in and out. Live streams are want to invite. The other person can
videos on marked as blue dots on the map and choose whether or not they want to join
Facebook clicking one opens a pop-up window in the broadcast. If you’re viewing a Live
Anyone
A can “go which you can watch the video. As with With stream from two people, you can
llive” on Face ebook. other Facebook live streams, you can watch it in portrait mode (for a picture-
Iff you want to see the number of people watching at in-picture experience) or landscape
stream some ething, the same time as you. mode (for a side-by-side display).
just
j tap the h Live
button
b under
der the Watch live 4K 36
360-de
degr
gree
gr ee vid
ideo
eo Catch live Instagr
gram
gr am vid
ideo
ideoss
status-upda date box on Facebook Instagram users can stream videos live
in the h Faceb book If you’re a regular Facebook visitor, as part of the platform’s Stories feature.
mobile
m b l app. When there’s a good chance you’ll have Followers are informed whenever
someone
omeone yo ou encountered live 360-degree video in someone goes live, so you can tune in
know
k starts broadcasting, you should your feed. The social network has now – although it’s possible to turn off these
see a messag age to this effect. made it possible to broadcast and view notifications if you don’t want to be
Iff you want nt to just watch live streams this live content in 4K, and it also bothered. Once a stream has ended, it
– not necesssarily from your own friends, supports this resolution in streams will disappear from the app, unless the
bbut ffrom aro ound the world – Facebook viewed on a Samsung Gear VR. person broadcasting the video has
h a dedica
has ated section that caters for However, you can’t yet use the Oculus tapped Save.
h In the
this. h FaFacebook app, tap the Rift – Facebook’s own VR device.
h
three-line l hamburger button in the
ha To find out more about Live 360 video, See 360-degree
ee live-
e-st
stre
ream
re amss
am
b
bottom-right ht corner and select the ‘Top visit bit.ly/360fb429. on Periscope
l
live’ option. You’ll be presented with a The Twitter-owned Periscope was one
scrolling listt of live streams, with the top of the first services to offer live
one playingl automatically (complete streaming on a social network but it
with h sound, d so be warned!). As you took until late December last year to
scroll ll down
d the list, the current video add live 360-degree videos to its
willll stop play laying and the next one will provision. Live 360 videos are marked
start. You ca an switch to full-screen for with a badge, indicating that you can
aany streamss that grab your interest. change the point of view by moving
your phone or tapping and scrolling
View
ie local strea
eams
eams on around the screen.
Facebook
k Live nds duri
nd
Chat with friend ring
ng
Facebookb k beg began rolling out live video live streams amss on You
am
Play live stream ouTu
ouTube
Tube
streaming to o all users worldwide last Viewing a live video on Facebook is Anyone with a verified channel on
year, and d wh hile this makes it a even more fun if you can watch it with YouTube can stream content live to their
fascinating
f re
resource for viewing a friend and chat about what’s audience. To find a stream to watch, visit
far-flung
f f loca
cations around the globe, happening on screen. Facebook YouTube’s Live page at bit.ly/ytlive429.
it’ss also
a usefful and entertaining to see recently introduced a feature called The myriad sections to explore include
what’s
h t’s hahapp
h pening on your doorstep. ‘Live Chat with Friends’, which lets you Live Now, Recommended, Mobile Live
Faceboebook
b ok k no ow provides an interactive do exactly that. You can talk privately Streams, Recent Mobile Live Streams,
map that
m hat d dissplays all the streams that about a live public broadcast and invite and Live Now Sports, Gaming, News,
you can n tune
tune e into live. Access the map friends who are already watching – Technology and Animals.
at b bit.ly/fb
/fbmap
/fb
/ map
map429 and use the controls or who you think might be interested Clicking or tapping Play All brings up
or theh scroll llwheel on your mouse to – to join your conversation. a playlist of live content.
book vid
bo
Join a live Facebo ideo
ideo
If a friend starts broadcasting a video
on Facebook, they can invite you to join
them in the stream – even if you’re in
totally different places. Called Live With,
this feature lets you and a friend share
the screen. Once the live stream has
started, your friend just needs to select
a guest from the Live Viewers section,
or tap a comment from the viewer they
9 - 22 August 2017 39
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORT
Watch live conce
certs on
ce Enjoy live sport
rt on Tw
Twit
itte
terr
te
Amazon Prime All the major social networks are
The many benefits of an Amazon Prime scrambling to offer top-quality live
subscription include free next-day video to their users, including Twitter
delivery and free streaming of TV, which recently signed new deals to
movies and music. Prime Subscribers stream several sports leagues. It’s so far
can now also watch performances from streamed Wimbledon highlights and
major artists such as Robbie Williams clips, a live weekly show from the
and John Legend and buy tickets for Canadian Football League and 19 games
these live events from bit.ly/prime429, videos since 2015, and introduced live for the 2017-18 season from the National
although they aren’t cheap. Tickets for 360-degree videos last year, starting Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), as
Blondie, for example, cost from £150 with music and arts festivals and well as American football and baseball
each, but the venues are more intimate sporting events. It’s now possible to games from the MLB. You can see
than your usual enormodome, so you’re stream these live immersive videos in what’s coming up and watch live
much nearer the performers than you 4K, which really takes you into the heart content at bit.ly/twittersports429.
would normally be. The performances of the action.
aren’t streamed live but you can watch
them for free afterwards. atho
at
Watch TV marat hons
ns on Tw
Twit
itch
ch
To avoid missing out on future live Twitch (www.twitch.tv) is best known
performances, you can subscribe to for streaming live gaming but it
receive news about upcoming events. occasionally features TV content on
its ShoutFactoryTV channel (www
.twitch.tv/shoutfactorytv). It streamed
a six-day Mystery Science Theater 3000
marathon (38 episodes) in June, and is
planning to stream 123 episodes of the
Eighties video-arcade gameshow rtss in vir
rt
Watch live sport irtu
tual
tual rea
eali
lity
ty
Starcade in late August. An Events Intel True VR, available free for the Gear
tab on the ShoutFactoryTV channel VR (bit.ly/intelvr429), streams US sports
keeps you informed about future live including Major League Baseball (MLB)
TV marathons. matches, live and direct to the Samsung
Gear VR headset. A deal with the
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
will allow Intel to stream live from both
Enjoy live conce
cert
certs an
and
d play
aylistss
ay the future winter and summer Olympics.
on LiveList
LiveList (www.livelist.com) lets you
know when your favourite band or artist
streams live, so you don’t miss their
performance.
It’s also a great Stream live game
mes on Mixer
me er
way to discover In an effort to compete with Twitch,
new music. Microsoft bought the Beam platform
Install the free in August 2016 and rebranded it Mixer
app on your (mixer.com). You can watch games Watch live new
ewss in virtu
tual rea
tu eality
ty
Android or iOS streamed live on the website and check Earlier this year, CNN launched CNNVR
device, and out up-and-coming streams. Microsoft (bit.ly/cnnvr429) – a virtual-reality
you’ll be able to says its streaming is closer to real-time platform within CNN Digital that covers
see what’s than those offered by other platforms, major news events in 360-degree video.
being streamed and gamers can stream directly from It can be viewed on the web, through
at any time. Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One. You can CNN’s iOS and Android apps, or on
You can create watch streams on the web, as well as on VR headsets such as Samsung Gear VR,
your own lists of Android and iOS devices, once you’ve Oculus Rift and Google Daydream.
favourites and search for specific live installed the free Mixer app.
concerts, then tune in when it starts
from wherever you are.
LiveList offers recommendations
based on the type of artist or channel
you follow so the more you follow, the
better the suggestions should be.
Stream 360-deg
egre
eg ree 4K vid
ideo
eos
eo
on YouTube
YouTube has supported 360-degree
40 9 - 22 August 2017
COVER E
Watch the Best Live Streams Online FEATU
R
9 - 22 August 2017 41
Improve Your Live Streaming
Nothing ruins a live stream like a poor connection that keeps buffering,
crashing or displaying video in such poor quality that you can’t see what’s
going on. Here’s how to ensure smooth streaming
Free up your bandwidth disable as many of these potential Go wired when streaming
These days, there are all manner of connection-leeching devices as Most of us access the internet over a
devices competing to use your internet possible, and don’t download (or wireless connection, but using wired
connection, including computers, upload) large files at the same time as Ethernet (where possible) will deliver
games consoles, phones, tablets, trying to stream content. faster streaming speeds and a more
set-top boxes, smart TVs, wearables and For UHD 4K streaming, you’ll need to solid connection than Wi-Fi. Most smart
any number of smart home devices. be able to comfortably download at a TVs and streaming devices, such as
When streaming content, make sure you rate of at least 25Mbps. Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, have
42 9 - 22 August 2017
COVER E
Watch the Best Live Streams Online FEATU
R
9 - 22 August 2017 43
Free WYSIWYG online
site builders
It’s now cheaper and
easier than ever to build
a website, and plenty of
services provide all the
tools you need for free.
Andy Shaw tests six free
WYSIWYG (What You
See Is What You Get)
tools to see which one
offers the best results
Wh we liked:
What
Wix is a veteran of
online site-building
tools and it’s also
the service that’s
putting the most
tim
me and effort into
in
innovation. Its most
recent addition – an app-building
tool – is still in beta, but you can
read about it in Build a Better
Site on page 18.
Wix provides two ways to
design a site: there’s an ADI
(Artificial Design Intelligence)
system, which designs a site based on click them, and the graphical icons make
your responses to a series of questions it easy to tell what each option does. adverts promoting Wix to visitors,
about your personal tastes; or you can Everything about Wix just works. though they’re far from obtrusive,
use its more standard Editor, which We particularly liked the blog creator, appearing as a small but ever-present
gives you more control over your site which doesn’t just create new text tag in the top-right corner.
but may take you longer to get started. pages for you to fill but sets up a
The site-builder is flush with tools but database of posts that can be easily
its excellent layout and organisation edited and organised. OUR VERDICT
ensure you won’t be overwhelmed. Wix occasionally taps you on the
For example, most of the elements on How it can be improved: shoulder to remind you of its
a page are contained in boxes: just click Wix offers a generous range of tools superior paid-for service, but the
one to display a row of buttons for for free but you’re reminded that free offering is generous enough.
editing and even animating its contents. there are premium versions available. Its site-creation tools are brilliant,
Page items such as text boxes can be The basic free site only comes with with loads of templates to choose
edited directly on the page, in full 500MB of storage and 500MB of from, and Wix’s continued
WYSIWYG style. The side menu monthly bandwidth (the amount of development puts it at the forefront
provides all the tools you need in a downloading that your visitors can do of site-building innovation.
series of trays that pop out when you on your site). Free sites also show
44 9 - 22 August 2017
Online site builders
★★★★
Jimdo | www.jimdo.com | ★★★★★ BEST OF THE REST
★★★★
FEATURES ★★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ EASE OF USE ★★★★
★★★★★
Yola
Wh
hat we liked: www.yola.com
Jimdo
Ji provides a Yola certainly looks the part and its
modest number of 16 templates ooze sophistication
templates for creating and simplicity. The free version has
a standard website, a tiny bit of Yola branding at the
web store or blog. bottom of the page, inviting other
Ho
However, there’s also people to use the software to make
a bl
blank template, which their own site for free, but we can
allows you free rein to create forgive the intrusion since it’s so
something completely original. subtle. When it comes to the
The free version of Jimdo crunch, though, it’s not as easy to
provides you with 500MB of How it can be improved: use as our three award winners.
storage space, 2GB of bandwidth Jimdo has fewer options and tools than
and a www.[yoursite].jimdo.com Wix, particularly in its selection of
website address. For a very reasonable templates and add-ons. This restricts
£5 per month, you can upgrade the your choices when designing and
storage to 5GB, the bandwidth to building your website, though it’s not
10GB and get extra tools for site missing anything essential.
statistics, search-engine optimisation
and widgets.
Jimdo’s system is genuinely OUR VERDICT
WYSIWYG. The workspace displays We love how Jimdo lets you edit DoodleKit
how your final page will look, your site as if you were making www.doodlekit.com
highlighting the element you’re changes to the page itself. Its black DoodleKit only offers 100MB of
editing by surrounding it with a black border system isn’t particularly storage in its free version, which is
border. The tool icons on offer vary attractive but you certainly won’t too limited. The Simple upgrade
depending on what kind of element lose track of what you’re editing. provides 3GB of storage but the
you’re editing. Clicking one lets you There’s a bit of a learning curve but price jumps to a monthly $10
perform its action – editing text, for it’s a clever, effective system. (around £7.67). Its website
example – directly on the page. templates have an old-fashioned
look and they don’t shrink to fit the
screens of mobile devices.
★★★★
Weebly | www.weebly.com | ★★★★★
★★★★
FEATURES ★★★★★ ★★★★
PERFORMANCE ★★★★★ ★★★★
EASE OF USE ★★★★★
Wh we liked:
What
Weebly is a well-
designed tool that lets
you edit directly
on the page you’re
de
designing. Simply drag
the type of element you SiteBuilder
want to use (text, image, map, www.sitebuilder.com
slideshow) to the page, then click it SiteBuilder’s clean design and many
to fill it with content. It certainly makes elements above or below other items templates make it look promising,
building your website very simple. is straighforward but it starts to get but there are lots of limitations in
The basic service provides 500MB of fiddly if you want them side by side. the free version that nag you to
storage and displays ads from Weebly. The charcoal-coloured buttons are upgrade. For example, it blocks you
You can get rid of these by upgrading functional but make the interface look from performing even basic actions
to the Starter package for a monthly $8 a bit gloomy and dull. such as clicking the mobile preview
(around £6), for which you get unlimited button to see what your site will
storage and a range of extra options, look like on a smaller screen.
including a bespoke domain name. OUR VERDICT
The free service includes a selection There’s lots to like about Weebly,
of templates, some of which are particularly if you want to produce
designed for businesses and others that a great-looking website in a
are more suitable for personal blogs relatively short space of time,
and other non-commercial sites. and are happy to simply fill the
blanks in a preset template. It’s not
How it can be improved: so great if you want to fine-tune
The drag-and-drop design is convenient your layout, though.
but it’s not always accurate: dropping
46 9 - 22 August 2017
Stop boomerang junk
48 9 - 22 August 2017
Play retro games on any device
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The iFi nano iOne is a Keyboard
convenient, high-quality Penclic’s K2 Mini Keyboard
digital audio hub that can lets you reclaim valuable
boost sound quality from all desk space and helps you
manner of digital devices, to adopt a more natural
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P
ixlr Editor is the advanced, more Although it runs in your web browser, with colours
sophisticated big brother of Pixlr you’ll be hard pushed to tell the taken from
Express and it won the Gold Award difference between this and a regular adjacent pixels
in Issue 427’s round-up of best free image-editing program such as
online image editors (bit.ly/webuser427). Photoshop Elements or Paint.net,
It offers a lot of high-end tools such as especially if you use full-screen mode.
levels, layers, masks and a spot-heal tool The downside is that it displays adverts,
that you wouldn’t ordinarily expect to but these are relatively unobtrusive and COLOUR SELECTOR
find in a free online image editor. you can close them if you wish. Change the brush colour. Pixlr
can remember up to seven
different colours at a time
2
5
1
3
1
2
5
3
4
4
1 1
2
2
2 3
3
52 9 - 22 August 2017
Workshop 1
HISTORY
Undo any previous step
or jump back to a point
in the editing process
by clicking a stage
in the History panel
TEXT
The Type tool lets
you add captions
or headings to your
images. Text is
added as a new layer
1
2
1
4 3
2
5
2
1
4
M
any tools that offer to password-protect partitions on your hard EXPERT TIP
drive won’t encrypt any data, which means your private photos,
To decrypt a partition,
documents and other sensitive files are left vulnerable to hackers
right-click it from This PC
and snoops. In this Workshop, we show you how to create a new partition
in File Explorer, then
using Windows’ built-in tools, then apply industry-standard encryption
select Format and Start.
to it using VeraCrypt. This protects your data against even the most
Doing this will delete any
advanced attacks, so you can be certain that (unless someone knows
files you have stored on
your password) your protected files won’t end up in the wrong hands.
the partition. To remove
For especially sensitive files, we show you how to go a step further and
the partition altogether,
create a hidden volume on the encrypted partition. Would-be attackers
right-click it from Disk
will have no way of knowing the hidden volume exists, even if they obtain
Management and select
the password to the outer volume. There’s no better way to store your
Delete Volume.
sensitive files and once you’ve created the hidden volume, accessing it
is as quick and easy as any other encrypted partition.
1
1
1 2
Click Start and type disk management, then click The ‘Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB’ box 1
‘Create and format hard disk partitions’. Right-click the automatically contains the maximum amount of space,
hard drive on which you want to create a partition, then but you should adjust this to a smaller number before
select Shrink Volume. 1 The wizard shows the total drive size clicking Shrink. 2 After making space for your new partition,
and the available shrink space. click the drive again and right-click the area marked
Unallocated before choosing New Simple Volume.
1 1
2
2
3 4
Follow the wizard to create a new partition. When it’s Leave ‘Create encrypted volume and format it’ ticked,
finished, run VeraCrypt and select Create Volume, then click Next and leave the default encryption options
‘Encrypt a non-system partition/drive’. Click Next, then selected 1 before clicking Next. 2 Click Next again and
Standard VeraCrypt Volume (not Hidden VeraCrypt Volume) enter a volume password. This can be shorter than the one you
before clicking Next again. Now, choose Select Device, 1 create for the hidden volume (see step 9), but should still be
then click your newly created partition 2 and OK. 3 unique and difficult for anyone to guess.
54 9 - 22 August 2017
Workshop 2
2
1
5 6
Click Next and Yes if VeraCrypt warns that your password Click OK twice, then select Exit. Select any drive letter in
is too short. Then select the appropriate options when the list, then choose Auto-Mount Devices. Enter your
asked if you intend to store files larger than 4GB on the password in the appropriate box and click OK. Once
volume. Click Next again, then move your cursor around on the mounted, double-click the volume 1 to open it in File Explorer.
Window to improve the strength of the encryption keys. 1 If you only want to create a password-protected partition,
Choose Format 2 and Yes. you can now start using this encrypted volume as you please.
1 2
7 8
To create a hidden partition, add some files to the outer Click Select Device, pick your new partition, then click OK
volume 1 (use files that appear sensitive/private but you and Next. Enter the password to mount the volume, 1
aren’t worried about someone getting their hands on). then click Next 2 three times. Choose the size of your
Select Dismount All, 2 then click Create Volume. Select ‘Encrypt hidden volume, allowing enough space for more files to be
a non-system partition/drive’, then click Next and Hidden written to the outer volume (in case someone tries to do this),
VeraCrypt Volume. Choose ‘Direct mode’, then Next again. and click Next again.
9 10
Now enter a very secure password 1 for the hidden Click Exit. To mount the hidden volume, select
volume – ideally 20 characters or more – and follow the Auto-Mount Devices, 1 then enter only the password
wizard as before, clicking Format when prompted. Click for the hidden volume (not the outer volume) and
OK, read the warning that explains not to write any more files click OK. If you’re ever asked to show someone the contents of
to the outer volume – to avoid overwriting content on the your encrypted partition, you can enter the password for the
hidden partition – and select OK again. outer volume and the hidden volume will remain hidden.
1 2
Install the app, go through Tap the red button to get
the setup procedure and to the recording screen.
sign in. The welcome You can either hold your
screen lets you scroll through phone up to your ear to start
its recommended collections of recording; or press and hold the
other people’s content by red Record button 1 to speak
swiping left. 1 However, if you into it like a microphone. The
swipe right, you’ll get to your menu along the bottom lets
‘station’. 2 you add music, 2 audio
interludes, and even phone
2 1 interviews, 3 where both sides
of a phone conversation are
recorded.
3 1 2
3 4
When you’ve finished, If you aren’t sending your
the audio will play back audio to social sites but
and you can swipe to add still want to share it with
a background track, if you wish. friends, tap the ‘Get listeners’
Press the Done button. Choose button, then choose an app 1
whether to add this to your to share the link to the recorded
station 1 as a standalone file. This and Step 3 provides
recording. You can add a 1 instant links to the file on the
2 caption to the recording 2 and, Anchor website. Use these
if you’ve registered your Twitter if you want to share your
3 or Facebook accounts, 3 recording immediately rather
automatically create a post with than recording more material
1 a link to the Anchor site. to gather into a podcast.
5 6
Individual recordings only Once you’ve made an
2 remain public on the site Episode, you’re given the
for 24 hours but you can option to convert it into a
make ‘episodes’ from several full podcast. Tap ‘Create a
recordings, which can be podcast’, 1 then choose a
accessed indefinitely. From your name and a description,
station, tap the Episodes tab tapping through the options
then tap ‘Create first episode’. using the Next button as you
Tick the recordings you’d like to make each selection. You can
include in the episode 1 then also add your own identifying
tap next. 2 Give the episode a image. Publishing a podcast
1
name, preview it if you want, can take up to 48 hours but
then Publish it.
1 you’ll be informed by email
when it goes live.
56 9 - 22 August 2017
Workshop 4
1 2
When you download, Tap the green
install and run Battery button to stop the
1 Life, it displays your background apps.
remaining battery time 1 Battery Life tells you how
on the main screen. 1 many apps it successfully
Under this, it shows you stopped 1 and whether
how much longer you any restarted. 2 Tap
can make the battery Details 3 to see which
last by stopping apps
2 ones. You’ll need to change
that are running in the Battery Life’s Accessibility
2 background. 2 Swipe settings if you want to
up to see which apps it stop these apps running
will stop, and untick any 3 in the background.
that you’d prefer to keep
running in the background.
3 4
Choose whether you Tap OK to leave the
want Battery Life to results page, and
always block apps the app will inform
that restart in future. 1 you that ‘Battery usage is
Next, choose which optimal’. If you stopped
restarted apps you want an app by mistake and
to stop and tap Turn On you’d like to let it run in
And Stop Apps. 2 On the the background again,
Settings page that loads, open the main menu and
swipe up until you see select ‘Favorite apps’. Tap
Kaspersky Battery Life. 1 Add and select any apps
Tap it and switch it On 1 you’d like to whitelist,
before tapping OK and then tap Add again.
Back.
2
1
5 6
You can remove apps By default, Battery
from the Favorites Life alerts you when
list by tapping the apps are draining
appropriate red cross. too much of your battery,
1 To configure Battery 1 with the exception of
Life to warn you when your favourite apps. To
lots of apps are running set the tool to warn you
1
in the background, tap when your favourite apps
to return to the app’s are also draining battery
main menu. From here, life, 2 enable this option.
select Settings and check
that ‘Too many apps are 2
1 running’ is switched on.
How to
... Improve maps of
your local area
Wayne Williams sets off to check the accuracy of his local maps and
shows how you can correct and embellish maps of your own area
H
andheld devices have revolutionised the way we case, Ordnance Survey maps do a better job and are
use maps, particularly when it comes to driving. available in various apps, but even these are often out of
Google Maps, for example, offers a brilliant service date, with services such as OpenStreetMap sometimes
with directions, landmarks and live traffic information. outperforming them, thanks to the input of individual
But when you get down to a local level, its data isn’t quite map enthusiasts.
as good. It can only know that a business has closed If you’ve ever looked at your local area on one of these
or a new one has opened if its users provide the maps and found something that isn’t quite right, this
relevant information, and it’s not much use for Weekend Project is about getting out and fixing it,
negotiating areas that Google’s mapping cars whether that means updating Google’s local information
can’t reach, such as footpaths. In the latter or editing a rerouted footpath on OpenStreetMap.
58 9 - 22 August 2017
Weekend Project
Select ‘Uncover missing info’, then find a place near you on Help disabled people know whether a location will suit their needs
Google Maps to add information about it by filling in accessibility details for it
To get involved, launch Google Maps information that you know or can find Google is keen to have people
and tap the three-line menu button in out, such as a phone number. If it’s a contribute photography for places that
the top-left corner. You’ll see a ‘Your place to eat, you’ll be asked details such aren’t currently covered by its maps,
Contributions’ option in the sidebar. as whether it’s child friendly, offers fun but that doesn’t necessarily mean
Tap this to open the Contribute page. things to do in the evening, is suitable for trekking to a remote South American
What you see will vary depending on people with dietary restrictions and is a jungle or a tiny tropical island, and there’s
your operating system and whether good place for a quick lunch or for food a good chance that locations on your
location history is enabled or not. on the go. own doorstep also need covering. To get
The ‘Check the facts’ option is available There’s also a new Accessibility section. involved, you first need to install the
to everyone and will give you the While it’s a legal requirement for all public Street View app on your Android (bit.ly/
opportunity to provide information about buildings in the UK to have disabled gsvan429) or iOS (bit.ly/gsvap429)
local businesses around your current access, there’s no guarantee that a place device. We’ll show you what to do next
location. Select a nearby firm and you’ll that allows entry for a wheelchair will also in our Mini Workshop, below.
be asked whether it’s still in business or offer suitable elevators or seating. And While that’s the easiest way to
permanently closed (the wording varies). what about wheelchair-friendly parking? contribute to Street View, it’s also
You can answer Yes, No or Not Sure. By providing accessibility information, possible to apply to Google to borrow a
If you answer yes or no, you’ll see a you’ll be helping disabled Maps users and Street View camera – either a Trekker
thank-you message from Google. Once may well save them a long trip to a place backpack or an app-compatible device
you’ve submitted an answer, you’ll be that doesn’t cater for them. – that you can use to properly capture
taken to another business and asked the 360-degree footage. This program is only
same question. You’ll also have the Improve Google Street View open to professional photographers,
option to rate and review places, such as Google Street View shows photographic travellers and organisations, but if you
local restaurants, and add your own images of an area, although sometimes plan to photograph areas of cultural,
photos to Maps. they can be a bit dated. You can use your historical or touristic significance, or the
Android users have an even more phone, tablet or a Google-friendly interior of a building, then Google will
useful ability to ‘Uncover missing info’. 360-degree camera to create your own consider your application as a non-
Tap this option and select a local Street View scenes that can be published professional. You can apply to borrow a
business. You can fill in missing to Google Maps. Street View camera from bit.ly/svl429.
1
1
2
1
2
Contribute to OpenStreetMap
Google Maps isn’t the only service that
wants contributions from the general
public. OpenStreetMap is created and
updated by ordinary would-be
cartographers and getting involved is
easy. Once you’ve signed up to the
service and watched the interactive
tutorial, you can begin making your own
contributions.
You’ll be presented with a large aerial
map and can add details of places,
including buildings and streets. The latter
lets you add elements such as a road’s
name, whether it’s one-way, the speed
limit and what type of traffic is allowed
on it (cars, pedestrians, bikes, horses or
all). If a road or pathway is missing, you
can add it, as well as any buildings that
haven’t yet been mapped. You can zoom OpenStreetMap has a History section that lets you browse changes made by other users
in and out of the aerial image, and pan
around. We’ll show you how to make from other GPS sources,
changes in our Mini Workshop, below. and making sure it’s smooth
If you don’t have time to make major and doesn’t jump all over
contributions, you can add a note to any the place.
map without even signing in – other To get started using GPS,
mappers will investigate the suggestion you’ll first need to install a
or make the change on your behalf. good-quality app for the
OpenStreetMap also lets you task. Go to the Software/
contribute GPS recordings to the map. Mobile page on the
While a GNSS Receiver with the ability to OpenStreetMap Wiki (bit.ly/
save your location (like GPS, Galileo or gpsapp429) and select your
GLONASS) is the preferred option, you operating system – Android,
can use your smartphone provided it has iOS, Windows Phone or
GPS. The problem with using a phone is BlackBerry. Scroll down to
that its accuracy can be variable. It’s Track Recording and find You can use your mobile’s GPS to create tracks to upload
worth checking your results with those a suitable app. to OpenStreetMap
3 1 2 3 4
2
1 1
On sale
NEXT ISSUE How To... Hack your keyboard Wedn
esday
gust
23 Au
Speedy benchmarks
U
serBenchmark (www.userbenchmark
.com) is a small tool that
benchmarks your computer in less
than two minutes. The 5MB program is
quick to download and doesn’t need
installing – just run it by double-clicking
it in the Downloads folder. Start the
benchmark and, when it has finished,
a browser window opens to display the
results. At the top, it rates your computer
for games, Windows applications and as
a workstation. More details are provided
below and it comments on how your PC
compares to others like it, the graphics
performance, whether there is enough
memory and so on. Scroll down for charts
and more detailed performance figures.
You can use it to find your PC’s
weaknesses and consider upgrading
those components if possible. UserBenchmark shows you the strengths and weaknesses of your PC
Prepare for benchmarking of the taskbar and selecting Exit or Quit. Don’t touch the computer while the
Before running a benchmarking Some icons are hidden in a pop-up tray, benchmark is running because this
program to measure the performance so open it and close those, too. could affect the results. On a laptop,
of your computer, you must first Some benchmarking software takes don’t run benchmark software when
prepare it. This is because speed test a long time to run, so make sure the it’s running on battery power because
results can be affected by a variety of computer doesn’t turn off the screen or the performance is deliberately
things and you need to make sure the enter Sleep mode. Right-click the limited to reduce the battery drain.
PC is ready to give its best performance. power/battery icon in the notification However, to see how much your
Wait at least five or even 10 minutes area and select Power Options. Select computer is restricted when it’s
after starting the computer, because the ‘High performance’ power plan running on its battery, you could run
Windows performs many tasks on because others limit the speed of the a benchmark program on battery
startup, such as checking for updates. CPU and other components. Click power and mains power to see the
Press Shift+Ctrl+Esc to open the Task ‘Choose when the computer sleeps’ and difference. You could also compare
Manager. On the Processes tab, wait under ‘Plugged in’ select None for benchmark results when the
until the CPU, Disk and Network values turning off the display and putting the computer is set to the ‘Power saver’
are low, preferably in single figures. computer to sleep. and ‘High performance’ plans.
Make sure no programs are running in You might be surprised.
the background by right-clicking on any
icons in the notification area to the right The ultimate PC test
How powerful is your computer? Is it
good enough to render special effects
for Hollywood movies? Maxon
If you see words that look like produces software that has been used
they’ve been typed in a for creating special effects in movies
typewriter, follow the instructions including Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of
and type them exactly as they Pi, Prometheus and others, but can
appear, paying close attention to your computer run it?
spaces and punctuation. Wait for the CPU, Disk and Network The company has a benchmarking
figures to drop before benchmarking app called Cinebench that tests
64 9 - 22 August 2017
Web User Masterclass
Search Google
for ‘test
internet
speed’ and
click the
button to test
your download PCMark 10 is a popular benchmarking This tool measures DNS performance.
and upload program. Can you beat this score? The shorter the bars, the faster it is
speed
HARDWARE
Use a large hard drive’s full
capacity
A This is a problem that affects old
computers, which are not fully
compatible with hard drives larger than
66 9 - 22 August 2017
Ask the Expert
INTERNET Ethernet connected, the Wi-Fi can be ‘Choose when the computer sleeps’
Connection problems ruled out. Testing the internet with and set it not to sleep. Leave it running
This fortnight Roland has been installing OS previews but he can’t decide: Fall Creators Update or MacOS High Sierra?
Mug
TOP TIP winner
GENERAL PC
68 9 - 22 August 2017
Readers’ Tips
I’ve been using Google Location command prompt window and open
History for a while, so I’m not sure if it’s Explorer. Click drive C: on the left, then
enabled by default but if you’d rather right-click the C:\Windows folder and
disable it, go to bit.ly/gtl429 and select click Properties. Compare the Size figure
the option to Pause Location History. with ‘Size on disk’ and you’ll see how
Ed Wright, via email much space you have saved. Windows
works just the same as it did before.
GENERAL PC M Berry, via email
A different type of backup
In Issue 427 (bit.ly/webuser427), Roland SOCIAL NETWORKING
Waddilove recommends using an View larger Instagram photos
external drive or cloud-storage service to I enjoy looking at photos on Instagram
back up your computer. This is, of course, but most phone screens are too small
good advice but I wonder what he thinks to do them justice. There are a couple
of my backup solution, which I don’t of ways to remedy this, one of which is
think I’ve seen covered in Web User. to use the service on a tablet. There’s
Use the Instagram app on your PC to see
I have cloned my C: drive (an SSD) to no Instagram app for the iPad, but photos on a big screen
another SSD of exactly the same size. It’s if you search for it in the Store app,
a perfect copy and I’ve tested it by tap iPad Only in the top-left corner, and looks great on a big screen.
swapping it with my existing drive – the then switch to iPhone Only, you can You can also share photos from your
machine started perfectly with exactly download the Instagram app for iPhone computer’s hard drive on Instagram. To
the same Desktop, documents, and run it on the iPad. Press the 2X do this, place some photos in the Camera
programs, files and so on. This must be a button in the bottom-right corner Roll folder in your Pictures folder, then
good way of guarding against corruption to make the app fill the screen. press the plus button at the bottom of
of the main drive, and you won’t have to Another way to make Instagram Instagram to add a photo. The photos
spend tedious hours copying your images larger is to use the Windows 10 won’t scroll on my laptop (which may be
backed-up files to your PC, because you app, which is available from the Windows a bug) but I can swipe up and down
can simply take out one drive and insert Store. This works the same way as the using the touchscreen.
the other. phone app but runs on your computer Chris Levey, via email
James Gourley, via email
Send your tips to webuser@dennis.co.uk – win a Web User mug! 9 - 22 August 2017 69
Readers’ Helpdesk
Our pick of the best solutions posted on our
reader forums. Visit forum.webuser.co.uk
– it’s friendly and free!
GENERAL PC
Does Windows 7
SOFTWARE
What’s the best document support large
format? memory sticks?
Q I’ve been using Microsoft Word for
a long time but something tells me
I’ve been saving documents in the wrong Q Is there a maximum size of USB
memory stick that Windows 7
format. At present, most of my files are supports? I have a 128GB USB 3
saved in the ODT format. Should I be Kingston stick, which works fine on my
using DOCX instead? Windows 10 PCs but doesn’t always
sjw, Web User Forums work on my Windows 7 PC. Does
anyone have any ideas, please?
70 9 - 22 August 2017
Inbox
You can let us know your views via:
webuser@dennis.co.uk, www.facebook.com/webusermagazine,
www.twitter.com/webusermagazine and forum.webuser.co.uk
Mug
Star Email winner
Why it pays to downgrade your connection
A
lot has been written recently on my router, but they can only run at
regarding internet speeds and their maximum speed of 100Mbps.
what we can expect to This means that I am paying for
achieve from our ISP packages. a 200Mbps service that, in theory,
I have been enjoying I can’t use. Of course, I could easily
200Mbps from Virgin Media for connect my laptops via a LAN cable
the past few months but last and enjoy the top speed, but this is
week I decided to halve my a bit cumbersome with all the
package and downgrade to messing around involved. If I do
100Mbps – for two reasons. upgrade my gadgets for devices
The first, most obvious reason that can use the full 200Mbps,
is to shave a few quid off my I can just call Virgin Media to
monthly Virgin Media bill. The upgrade my package back to the
second reason is that, me being speed it was.
a little tech-savvy, I have two So I say to other readers: have a
laptops that both connect look at what you’re paying for and if
through Wi-Fi. However, they can you’re not using the full potential of
only connect to my router’s 2.4GHz potential 200Mbps.I also have an your superfast fibre connection it
network (they are getting on a bit iPhone and an iPad, and so does my might be worth downgrading until
now) so the maximum speed they can wife. These devices are newer and you can.
enjoy is 50Mbps, a far cry from the happily connect to the 5GHz band Simon Mellor, via email
Thanks for the battery- All encryption ciphers are text, font and colour were hard to read!
charging advice breakable Although a cipher may be secure, it
Our two-week holiday is approaching No doubt you have received many will not be unbreakable. When PGP
and, among the many preparations, replies regarding your encrypted (Pretty Good Privacy) was first
I’m ticking off various precautions that ‘challenge’ on the cover of Issue 426 demonstrated, it was claimed to be
I need to take with my electronic (bit.ly/webuser426), to which the answer unbreakable, yet they continued by
devices. One of these is to ensure that was: “Web User is the only magazine you saying how many years it would take to
my laptop will be secure. need”. It was a simple substitution cipher break! It was assumed that a would-be-
Then, in Issue 427 using a reversed alphabet. Using a breaker would start at the beginning and
of Web User (bit keyword often adds to the difficulty, but step through all possibilities – but the
.ly/webuser427), the most difficult part here was that the first ‘guess’ might work, of course.
I saw that the
Masterclass
offered advice
to ‘Prepare
Quiz Answers: Issue 428
your battery WINNER!
before going 1 Hamlet Ne il Hall was the
on holiday’. first to email
Thank goodness 2
Measure For us the correct
I read it through! I Measure answers and
was intending to charge wins a Web
3 King Lear User mug
my laptop’s battery to 100%, shut it
down and leave it in its hiding place.
Wrong, said Masterclass: charge it to A Midsummer
4
100%, then use it until you run down the Night’s Dream
battery to about 50-70%, otherwise WORD PUZZLE
I could come back to problems. 5 The Winter’s Tale
Many thanks Web User! For me that’s Ethernet
advice well worth the price of the
6
The Comedy
magazine on its own. Of Errors
George, Web User Forums
Of the 60 or 70 So if you read and write text all The new issue arrived today and the
common types of day, Windows 10 may give you cover feature is about not using Google.
cipher, all are eyestrain, and will make a £500 So I had to smile when on page 6 you
‘breakable’ using desktop monitor look as bad as recommend using Google Earth and,
methods generally one costing £80.” on page 46, it says “Gmail is one of our
known. Substitution So, Microsoft has shafted all favourite webmail providers”.
may be easiest, and those desktop users who On a separate note, on page 71 the
transposition can be originally made the company all answers to the quiz in Issue 427 are
attacked with its money. Can I sue Microsoft for given. Even with these answers, I cannot
known methods. a faulty operating system? work out the films from the emoji.
Sorry, I shouldn’t Michael Chappell, via email However, the mag looks to be an
go on so! enjoyable read, so no complaints.
Wilf, via email To stop using Google FratPark, Web User Forums
would be oxymoronic
Microsoft’s meddling Do you know what an oxymoron is? Web User says: Thank you for your
messed up my monitor According to the Google dictionary, it’s a comments on our ‘Stop Using Google’
Since performing an update to Windows figure of speech in which contradictory cover feature in Issue 428. As we point
earlier this year, I’ve noticed that screen terms appear in conjunction. Well, this out in the introduction, we don’t seriously
fonts look terrible and jagged on my two can be applied to the great oxymoron expect Web User readers to abandon
rather expensive monitors. I have tried that is Issue 428 of Web User (bit.ly/ Google, but wanted to explain why you
different fixes that I found on the net and webuser428). In its cover feature, you list might consider doing so, and to reveal
have also installed a brand new graphics all the reasons why we the best alternatives to its
card, all without any luck. I have also shouldn’t use Google’s most popular tools. But yes,
noticed this on another Windows 10 services. Then you list we realise, the oxymoronic
machine. It looks so bad that it reminds lots of handy workshops, nature of the idea!
me of the type of display we had in the tips and other articles Regarding the emoji quiz,
Eighties and Nineties. about... Google’s services on this occasion the emoji
After many months, I found the and how great they are! provided plot details of the
following advice on a Windows forum: Let’s start from the films rather than word clues!
“It has nothing to do with your beginning...
graphics card or anything else in your On page 11, your Tor is overkill for
hardware. Microsoft changed the way Webometer lists the new everyday browsing
Windows smooths the edges of screen YouTube previews as a I had to laugh at John
fonts. As a result, text looks blurry and/ “We Like” feature, but Lockett’s letter in Inbox,
or jagged on desktop-sized monitors. To you seem not to like Issue 428, ‘Tor is no shield
be precise, they changed the anti- YouTube on page 41, against ISP spies’. He says he
aliasing method for fonts from RGB even going to the point only uses torrent sites to find
subpixel rendering to greyscale subpixel of calling it “yucky”. On page 25, you list “out-of-print books”, but claims he needs
rendering. And there is nothing you can the best Online Storage option as Google to use both Tor and a VPN to stop anyone
do about it. Microsoft’s position on this is Drive, all while criticising it and knowing he does so! Perhaps Mr Lockett
that greyscale anti-aliasing looks fine on recommending others on page 39. On doesn’t realise that torrent programs are
very high-resolution displays on phones page 30, you list new tips for Google not illegal to use, but are an acceptable
and tablets, and they refuse to do Chrome (or Crummy Chrome, according and useful means
anything about it for desktop users. to page 43) filling an entire page, with of downloading
other competitors earning smaller boxes. large files.
On page 33, in the lower right-hand Yes, if you use
corner, you advertise your guide to them for obtaining
Android, claiming we can “unlock the full copyrighted
potential of our phones”, while on page material, then you
42, you label it Arrogant Android, listing will risk getting in trouble – as Mr Lockett
all its flaws and promoting rivals such as found when he received a letter from his
OxygenOS and Tizen. On page 44, you ISP because “another person downloaded
award the YouTube Editor a Gold Award a certain film”. But to use both Tor and a
in a mass review of online video editors. VPN merely to find public-domain books
And finally, on page 56, you give a seems like overkill to me.
tutorial on getting Google’s Pixel On the other hand, I also disagree that
Launcher on Android, which you, again, a VPN such as CyberGhost is ineffective
criticise heavily on page 42. at stopping your ISP seeing what you’re
Phew! That was a lot of oxymorons. doing online. My VPN works very well,
Bro Shack, via email but then I pay for a subscription. Perhaps
72 9 - 22 August 2017
Inbox
unimportant THIS A GOOD OR A BAD IDEA? Pay to read headlines like ‘You need to
As usual, Barry is right in his column, on stop THIS now’? I would never pay to
this occasion when he writes about the Bad. It invades people’s privacy and read such misleading trash.
unreliability and unimportance of increases the chances of blackmail. Andrew Wakeman
broadband speed tests. There are so Kids will find sites that don’t have age
many different variables to consider – the checks With false news the norm these days,
time of day, your distance from your grumpyboy @grumpyboy it wouldn’t interest me. Facebook
broadband exchange, the number of should concentrate on improving the
other people in your area with the same It’s education of children and their whole site and making it crash-free.
internet provider and the quality of parents that’s required. Marty A Lderton
service, among other factors – that we Iain Loudon
shouldn’t take published speed figures at Of course not, bearing in mind that
face value. As Barry says, they can either The UK has gone crazy with its nanny there is news out there for free, and
be far too high or far too low. state. Is this to make up for the fact it’s aimed at grown ups.
My daughter lives in Chiswick and she that parents are not checking what Richard Morgan
often complains that her broadband their kids look at online?
speed is very slow, yet her home is in one Heather Hear @heather_hear Certainly not. There are lots of free
of the nicer parts of London. When we news streams available. Facebook
checked online, it said the average Age verification by credit card won’t makes billions from advertising as it is.
broadband speed for Chiswick is about work. Kids will steal or borrow cards Brian Brown
50Mbps – hardly what I’d call slow, but without parents noticing.
I have no reason to doubt my daughter’s David Brown @therealzedman
judgment!
Likewise, I’m sure there are people S HOULD BOSSES BE BANNED
FROM LOOKING AT THE
living in Ryedale and Purbeck who get
perfectly fast broadband, but the latest
Which report says they’re living in a
G OOGLE GLASS IS BACK
(bit.ly/glass429). WILL IT
CATCH ON THIS TIME?
SOCIAL-MEDIA ACCOUNTS
OF POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES?
Porn-site checks
will leave us all exposed
I
remember the first time we tried it, clear. Which is why the government attempting to steal their user databases.
like it was yesterday. Rumour had it plans to force porn sites to introduce Because what better means of blackmail
that the old boy who ran Candy compulsory age checks from as soon is there than an email demanding £100
Stores wasn’t too fussed about ID, as next April. Any smutty site not to keep your spouse or boss from
so long as you actually paid for his bothering to verify the age of its visitors knowing which sites you visit?
top-shelf mags rather than stealing them. will be added to Even if you’ve
So my mate Taff, the tallest among us a blacklist that never visited such
and with the faintest of five o’clock ISPs will be What better means of sites, some people
shadows creeping across his 14-year-old forced to block. blackmail is there than an email will pay up to avoid
face, reached up to the top shelf, It all sounds fair any potential
whipped down a copy of Mayfair and and reasonable,
demanding £100 to keep your embarrassment:
proffered the £3.50 in loose change that until you get to spouse or boss from knowing people such as
we’d pooled together outside. the tricky issue teachers, social
“Alright, son?” the newsagent asked. of how visitors
which sites you visit? workers and police
“Want to put that back or should prove they’re 18, officers whose
I deliver it with your mum’s Daily Mirror where it falls apart faster than Taff’s careers could be threatened if they are
in the morning?”. Taff passed on Mayfair, Mayfair shopping spree. exposed for viewing porn sites,
advanced to Go and none of us set foot One gobsmackingly stupid idea is that especially at work.
inside that shop for the next six months. visitors to porn sites will be forced to Another bright idea is to verify your
If only internet porn sites had Mr Patel enter their credit card details. This is age via your phone, because your
guarding them. Instead, they’re an open Christmas come early for fraudsters. network knows how old you are. So the
door, the most demanding of which ask Those that aren’t setting up fake porn next time you visit SaucyGirlsWithWhips
you to tick a box to prove you’re 18, sites to steal credit card details will be .com [note to subs – not an actual porn
an obstacle even a five-year-old could hacking the ‘legitimate’ porn sites, site], you’ll enter your phone number
and receive a code by text, which you
enter in the site to proceed.
Not only will this mean thousands of
websites have databases of British
mobile users waiting to be stolen and
blackmailed, but the mobile providers
will also have millions of records of Brits’
filthy viewing habits, too. How long will
it be before BT, Vodafone or O2 are
hacked and millions of people are
getting text messages demanding
payment to keep their dirty little
secrets? I’d give it less than six months.
Illustration: Andrew Torrens