Computeractive 2016-10-26

77 Pages·2016·10.99 MB·English

by  Daniel Booth

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ISSUE487 ❘ 26OCT–8NOV20166
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Welcome
From the Editor
EDITORIAL
GroupEditorDanielBooth
FeaturesEditorMikePlant
TechnicalEditorSherwinCoelho
ProductionEditorGrahamBrown Ittookmealongtimetoacceptthatmy
ArtEditorKatiePeat
Sorry,notechnicalorbuyingadvice. previouscomputer–anXPmachine–was
readytobeshutdownforthefinaltime.I
ADVERTISING
Advertisementsales&mediapack carriedonusingitformuchlongerthanI
02079076799
AdvertisingDirectorAndreaMason shouldhave,andwasrightlymockedby
AccountManagerKathrynMcCabe mybrother,whodidhisbestJohnCleese
DeputyAdvertisingManagerAlexaDracos
impersonation:“ThisPCisnomore!Ithas doesn’tjointhebleedin’choirinvisible.
MARKETINGANDCIRCULATION
SubscriptionsRachelEvans ceasedtobe!Ifyouhadn’tnailedittothe Bytheway,thankstoeveryonewhohas
MarketingProductionManagerGemmaHills deskit’dbepushingupthedaisies”. takenour2016ReaderSurvey.You’vegot
Forsubscriptionenquiriesring01795592926
Thethingis,IknewIcouldhaveadded until8Novembertocompleteit,andentera
PRODUCTION
GroupProductionManager yearstoitslifehadIperformedessential drawtowina£50Amazonvoucher.Just
StephenCatherall
healthchecks.Youcanavoidfeelingasimilar visit:www.snipca.com/21984.
ProductionController
MaisieHarvey senseofregretbytakingthe11-steptestin DanielBooth
MANAGEMENT ourCoverFeature.It’llmakesureyourPC [email protected]
ManagingDirectorJohnGarewal
MDofAdvertisingJulianLloyd-Evans
CommercialandRetailDirectorDavidBarker
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ChiefExecutiveJamesTye
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HowmuchTalkTalk Topspeedwegot intoyourbrowseraddressbar,then
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PrintedintheUK year’shack–p11 five-starrouter–p23 thecorrectwebsite.
26October–8November2016 3
Contents
•
26Oct–8Nov2016 Issue487
Inthisissue… When Will YoFECPAuO5TV0UERRrE
50
WhenwillyourPCdie?
PutyourPCthroughour
rigoroushealthchecktofindouthow
longithas–andhowyoucangiveita
newleaseoflife
57
Isitworththemoney?
MalwarebytesPremium
58
ArethenewWindows10
appsanygood?
Moreprogramsarebecomingapps,but
isitachangeforthebetter?
60
Whatyoucandowith
Take our 11-step Essential Health Check
thenewOutlook.com
Microsoft’sonlineemailservicehas
to find out
beenrevampppeeedd––hheerree’’sswwhhaattyyyooouu
needtoknow
Windows111000’’ss
newapps
p58
Outlook.com:
thenew
featuresp60
Ineveryissue…
6 News 33 Competition
WinaPackedPixels
11Questionof portablelaptopscreen
theFortnight
WhywasTalkTalkfineda 49What’sAlltheFuss
measly£400,000? About?Kodi
12 Letters 64 ProblemsSolved
14 Consumeractive 70 FastFixes
MicrosoftEdge
16 ProtectYourTech Daft
73 JargonBuster keyboards:
18 BestFreeSoftware nolaughing
Firefox49 74 TheFinalStraw matter
KenRigsbyhammers p74
30 BuyIt! illogicalkeyboards
4 26October–8November2016
Subscribbee
NOW!
Seepage62
forourspeciall
subsoffer
Reviews
20 AcerAspireS13
BUYIT!
Acer’snewlaptopislightandfantastic
★★★★★
21 KoboAuraOne
Kobo’slargerebookreader–startof
anewchapter?
22 LenovoYoga500(14in)
Aconvertiblethatfailstoconvertus
23 TP-LinkArcherVR2600
Arouterforthosewithaneedfor
speed
24 AmazonEcho
CCCCLLHHHooorrriiizzoonnpp22555 Amazon’snewsmartspeakerwill
haveeveryonetalking
25 CCLHorizon
TTPP--LLiinnkkAArrcchheerrVVRR22660000ppp222333 AAmmazon
AnimpressivePCthatevenmakes
EEccho
roomforimprovement
pp224
BUYIT! 26 LGSpirit4G
★★★★★ Abudgetphonewithlittlesubstance
28 SonyXperiaXZ
Animpressive,ifhardlyunique,phone
29 KingstonSSDNow
AdecentSSDtogiveyoudrive
Workshops&Tips 2015
BBBAAACCCKKKIIISSSSSSUUUEEECCCDDD
14pagesofbrilliantworkshopsandexperttips
W!
O
N
ALE
S
35 CleanWindows10deeper 42 MasterGoogle’snew ON
thanever messagingapp
38 Force-removefilesthat 43 Readers’Tips
won’tdelete FixnewWindowsUpdatefault
40Stopyourharddrives 44PhoneandTabletTips
crashinngg BoostyourAndroidphone’s
performance
46 MakeWindowsBetter
UseEdge’snewextensions
47 MakeOfficeBetter
CreateemailtemplatesinOutlook
BUYITNOWFROMAMAZON
48SecretTipsFor…iOS10
atwww.snipca.com/21619
26October–8November2016 5
News
Thetopstoriesintheworldoftechnology
Not so fast, BT! ‘Misleading’
broadband ads banned
T
hreeBTbroadbandadverts COMMENT
havebeenbannedafter
theAdvertisingStandards
DidVirginreallythinkthrough
Authority(ASA)ruledthat
thiscomplaint?Inraisingit,
theymadefalsespeedclaims.
didthecompanynotrealise
Theadverts,which
thattheASAwouldpointout
appearedonTV,onlineandin
thatitscheapestbroadband
newspapersandmagazines,
isslowerthanBT’s(albeit
boastedthatBT’sInfinity
notbymuch)?Wecanonly
up-to-52Mbpsservice
assumethatVirginthought
provides“thefastestfibre
thiswasanacceptabletrade-
speedsasstandard”.
offforBT’sintegritytaking
TheyfeaturedHollywood
ahit.Butit’scertainlyoneof
actorRyanReynolds,whose
fast-pacedlifestylewasused fasterspeeds.Infact,theASA Fewerconfusing thepettiercomplaintsabout
topromoteBT’sspeeds. saidthattheISPsBTcompares broadbandads broadbandadvertsthatthe
ASAhasinvestigated.We
VirginMediacomplainedto itsspeedstointheadverts–Sky, Therulingcomesjustweeks
mayseecasesonsimilarly
theASA,sayingthatthe Plusnet,TalkTalkandVirgin beforenewregulationsare
trivialgroundsasISPslook
advertsweremisleading –allofferslowerbroadbandin enforcedtomakebroadband
forloopholesinthenew
becausetheyimpliedBT’s theircheapestpackages. advertseasiertounderstand.
regulations.
cheapestdealoffersafaster ButtheASAalsosaidthat From31OctoberISPswill
speedthananyofthecheapest therewereother,smallerISPs havetoshowallmonthly
dealsofferedbyrivalinternet whosecheapestpackages costs–suchaslinerental–in contractlength,installation
serviceproviders(ISPs). advertisedspeedsfasterthan advertsthatincludeprices. costs,andwhatthelong-term
TheASAagreed,although 52Mbps–insomecases Advertswillalsohaveto pricewillbeoncethediscount
notbecauseVirginitselfoffers “significantlyso”. showprominentlythe periodends.
Yahoo’s U-turn over email forwarding
YahooMailonceagainlets whowantedtoturnonthis services.Itletsusers becausetheywere
youforwardyouremailsto optionwereunableto. tryanewservice worriedaboutthe
anotheraccount,afterthe Inablogpost(www.snipca. whilestillreceiving securityrisksof
optionhadbeendisabledin com/22152)thecompany emailstotheir signingintotheir
earlyOctober.Manysuspected apologisedforthe oldaddress.For Yahooaccount.In
Yahoohaddonethistomake inconvenience,andsaid example,aYahoo September,Yahoo
itharderforuserswhowere thatdisablingtheoptionwas Mailusercouldset admittedthatthe
angryabouttherecenthackto partof“upgrading”Yahoo upforwardingtoanewGmail detailsof500millionusers
switchtoanotheraccount. Mailtoimproveitssearch, address,sothatemailssentto hadbeenstolenin2014.
•
Emailforwardingstill andtomakeitworkacross theformerareredirectedto We’llexplainhowtoswitch
workedforuserswhohadset multipleaccounts. thelatter. andcloseyourYahoo
itupbeforeYahooturnedit Auto-forwardingisavailable Manyusershadsetupemail accountsinournextissue–
off.Butforaboutaweekusers onmostpopularemail forwardingsincethehack outWeds9November.
You’lllikethis… …butnotthis
Googlehasreleasedafreefontforanyone Britishbanks‘hidehackstoavoidbad
touse(www.google.com/get/noto) publicity’(www.snipca.com/22150)
6 26October–8November2016
Use an HP printer? Install this
INBRIEF
update to use cheaper cartridges
NEWCHROME
TOMAKEPCsFASTER
Googlehassaidthata
HPhasreleasedits newversionofitsChrome
promisedfirmware browserwilluselessof
updatethatletsOfficejet, yourPC’sRAM,makingit
OfficejetProandOfficejet runfaster.Thecompany
ProXprintersusecartridges saidthatinsomecases
madebyothercompanies. Chrome55,dueforrelease
Theseareoftencheaperthan on6December,usesupto
thecompany’s‘official’ 50percentlessmemory.
cartridges. You’llnoticethedifference,
Theupdatereverses particularlywhenbrowsing
HP’sblockonthird-party damageandhacks.The needthis,soselect‘Download thewebwithmultipletabs
cartridges,whichcameinto company’schiefoperating only’instead. open,andwithprograms
effecton13Septemberand officer,JonFlaxman,saidHP Formoreinfoontheupdate, runninginthebackground.
wasresultinginerror shouldhavemadecustomers whichis23.2MB,clickthe
messages.Thousandsof moreawareofthis. blueDetailsbutton.Itsays: ANTI(cid:8)SCAMWEBSITE
printerownerswereangered Toupdateyourprintervisit “Thisfirmwareupdateremoves NEEDSVOLUNTEERS
byHP’sdecision,forcingthe HP’scustomersupportweb previoussecurityfirmware Anewwebsitehopesto
companytobacktrackand page(www.snipca.com/ thatmaypreventtheprinter highlightthedangersof
apologise(readitsstatement 22137),thenenteritsmodel fromworkingwithcertain scams,includingthose
atwww.snipca.com/21987). numberunder‘EntermyHP inksuppliesthatcontain perpetratedonlineandby
Initially,theHPhelpdesk modelnumber’.Onthenext non-HPsecuritychips”.The email.RunbytheNational
(http://support.hp.com)told pageclicktheFirmware messagealsowarnsthatHP TradingStandards,Friends
frustratedusersthatthe heading,lookforanupdate “cannotguaranteethequality AgainstScams(www.
problemwascausedbyafault datedOctober12,2016and orreliability”ofcartridges friendsagainstscams.
withtheprinters.AnHP clicktheblueDownload madebyothercompanies. org.uk)listssessions
spokespersonlatersaidthat buttonbesideit(see Theupdateappearstowork. aroundtheUKthatraise
thisinformationwaswrong, screenshot). Computeractiveuseditonan awarenessoffraud.Itis
andthatthecompanyhad HPwillshowaboxwiththe Officejetprinterthathad askingforvolunteers,which
intentionallyblocked pre-selectedoptionto stoppedworkingwithunofficial itcalls‘ScamChampions’,
“untested”cartridgesto downloadtheupdateusingits cartridges,andfoundthatit tohostthesemeetings.
protectprintersfrompossible installationtool.Youdon’t acceptedthemagain. Thecampaignisalso
encouragingMPsandsenior
Shoplifter caught onStreet View publicfigurestobecome
‘ScamAmbassadors’.
Ashoplifterhasbeen Butshewouldhave
convictedafterbeing gotawaywithithadit Tomorrow’s
identifiedonGoogle notbeenforITworker
world
StreetView,despiteit PeterDarby,who
blurringherfaceto stumbleduponMcIvor’s
complywiththe crimewhilelookingon Googlehasprogrammeda
company’sprivacy StreetViewatplaces computertoreadtheLondon
policy. whereheusedtolive. Undergroundmap.Ittaught
On19June Hesaidthatitwas DeepMind,thecompany’s
TammyMcIvorwas obvioustherewas artificialintelligence(AI)
photographedbythe identifiedherfromher something“abitstrange” technology,tounderstand
StreetViewcarsleavingthe distinctivewhiteoutfit,which abouttheimages.“Youcould questionslike“Howdoyou
discountshopSaversin shewaswearingbothinthe definitelytellshewasuptono getfromMoorgateto
Middlesbrough.Shewas StreetViewimages,andwhen good,”headded. PiccadillyCircus?”.This
carryingabagthatcontained shewasarrested. Google’sStreetViewcars showsthatDeepMindcan
£60worthofwashing-up McIvorappearedatTeesside areequippedwithcameras rememberdetailsforever,
productsshehadstolenfrom Magistrates’Courtwhereshe thattake360-degreeimages thenapplythemlaterwhen
thestore. washandedayear-long ofcities,townsandvillages readingothermaps,say.
Imagesshowherbeing communityorder,which acrosstheworld.Itfirstadded ReadmoreontheDeepMind
chasedbyamemberofstaff requireshertoundergodrug imagesoftheUKin2009,and blog:www.snipca.com/22141.
(seeimage).ClevelandPolice rehabilitation. hasupdatedthemregularly.
26October–8November2016 7
News
Don’t like W10 apps? Now
INBRIEF
it’s easier to remove them
GOOGLETO‘FACTCHECK’
NEWSSTORIES
Googleisfightingagainst
inaccuratearticlesinGoogle Microsoftlookssettomakeit
Newsbyaddinglinkstofact- easiertouninstallWindows10
checkingwebsites.Thesewill appsthatarebuiltintothe
bemarkedwitha‘FactCheck’ operatingsystem(OS),an
label.Clickingthelinktakes optionthatmanyusershave
youtoanalysisfromsites beencallingfor.
includingFullFact(https:// Arecentpreviewversionof
fullfact.org),aUK-based Windows10–Build14936–
fact-checkingcharity.See letsusersclickan‘Uninstall’
moredetails:www.snipca. buttontoremoveMicrosoft’s
com/22144. apps(seescreenshot),
includingMailandCalendar,
AMAZONBANS Calculator,GrooveMusic, Youwerestillabletoremove insider.windows.com),which
REVIEW‘BRIBES’ WeatherandMaps.Toseeit, apps,butonlybyusing isaschemeforuserstotry
Amazonhasmadeitharder clickSettings,openthe non-Microsoftprogramssuch newversionsoftheOS.
forcompaniestoofferfree Systemsectionthenclick as10AppsManager(www. The‘Uninstall’optionis
anddiscountedproductsto ‘Apps&features’ontheleft. snipca.com/22142),orby expectedtoappearinthefull
customersinexchangefora Inpreviousversionsof usingaPowerShellcommand. versionofWindowsaspart
review.Fromnowon,such Windows10this‘Uninstall’ ToreceiveBuild14936you’ll ofthenextmajorupdate,
reviewscanonlycomevia buttonwasgreyedout, needtosignuptotheWindows codenamedRedstone2,due
Amazon’sVineprogramme. meaningyoucouldn’tclickit. InsiderProgram(https:// nextMarch.
Arecentstudyshowedthat
…BUTHERE’STHEBADNEWS
shoppersweremorelikely
toleavepositivereviews
foritemstheydidn’thave Windows7and8.1users weredeliveredbyMicrosoft’s KB2976978for8.1)suggest
topayfor.Amazonsaidthat maysoonberevisitedbyan ‘GetWindows10’app,which thatthecompanymayresume
these“so-called‘incentivised oldannoyance–messages satinthetaskbarof7and8.1 promotionforWindows10.It
reviews’makeuponlyatiny fromMicrosofturgingthemto desktops.Microsoftdisabled saysthatthese“compatibility
fractionofthetensofmillions upgradetoWindows10. thisappinSeptember,but updates”willcheckwhether
ofreviewsonAmazon”: Thesemessages,called nowtwonewupdates(KB computersarereadytoreceive
www.snipca.com/22146. ‘nagware’bymanycritics, 2952664forWindows7and furtherupdatesofWindows.
NHSransomwareputspatients’dataatrisk
Cyber-criminalshave inewspaper:“Inall
targetedatleast28NHS reportedcases,effective
Englandtrustswith andswiftactionwas It’softensaidthatyoucan
ransomwareinthelast taken”. buyanythingonline.Well,
12months,leaving Securityexpertssay here’stheconclusiveproof:
millionsofpatients’ thatthehealthsectoris for$24youcanordera
dataatrisk. attacksonorganisationsand seenbycriminalgangsasa candlethatgivesoffthe
Thefigurescomefroma businesses. lucrativetarget.Theycansell odourofanewApple
FreedomofInformation(FoI) Headded:“NHStrustsare medicalrecordstoother Mac,whichapparentlyisa
requestbycyber-securityfirm beingincreasinglytargeted hackersforalotmoremoney combinationofmint,peach,
NCCGroup.However,no andanylossofpatientdata than,say,bankingdata. basil,lavender,mandarin
ransomwaseverpaidandno wouldbeanightmare.Like LastmonthUSsecurity andsage(www.snipca.
dataeverlost,accordingto everyoneelse,theyneedto firmMcAfeerevealedthat com/22111).Willweseea
NHSDigital,thebodywhich applyrobustcontrols”. inthefirstthreemonthsof Windowscandlenext?After
overseescyber-securityfor NCCdidn’tnamethe28 2016hospitalsaroundthe all,asShakeessppeeaarreeaallmmoosstt
thehealthservice. trustsattacked,which worldhadpaid$100,000to said,acommppuutteerr
OllieWhitehouse,technical amountsto14percentofthe ransomwarehackers.It byanyotheerr
directorofNCCGroup,saidit totaltrustsinEngland. identifiedattacksintheUK, namewoulldd
hadseena400percent NHSDigitalsaidthatsuch Germany,theUS,Canada smellasswweeeett..
increaseinransomware incidentsare“rare”.Ittoldthe andAustralia.
8 26October–8November2016
Draw on your screen using new
INBRIEF
Microsoft Paint
DRUGSANDGUNS
SELLINGONFACEBOOK
Ahostofillegalitemsare
Microsoftisworking availableasan beingsoldonFacebook
onanewversionofits installableappfrom Marketplace,thesite’s
long-standingPaint theWindowsStore, newservicethatletsusers
programthatwilllet notadownloadable buyandselltoeachother.
youdrawonscreen, program.There’sno WithinhoursofMarketplace
add‘stickers’and releasedateyet,but goingliveintheUSinearly
create3Dobjects. moredetailsare October,peoplewereselling
Thesewouldbethe expectedatanevent drugs,gunsandprostitution.
mostadvancedtools inNewYorkon26 Thecompanyapologised,
everinPaint,but October,whenthe sayingit“encountereda
Microsoftinsiststhat companyisdueto technicalissue”thatstopped
anyonecanusethem, withatouchscreenpenona unveilanewSurfacemodel. itdetectingitemswhich
regardlessof“age,abilityor SurfacePro,Microsoft’s Someexpertsthinkthe violateditsstandards.
ambition”. laptop-tablethybrid. revampedPaintwillcomein Marketplaceisnowavailable
Leakeddetailssuggestthat The3Dcreationsshedraws thenextmajorWindows10 intheUK–readmoreat
thecompanyisplanningto highlightthelimitationsofthe update,codenamedRedstone www.snipca.com/22094.
completelyredesignthetool, existingversionofPaint,in 2,dueinthefirsthalfof2017.
andaddnewfeatures.Itwants whichyoucandrawonly Thechangescouldproveto GOVTSETSUPNATIONAL
Painttobeseenasamore simpleimageswithvirtual bethemostsubstantial CYBERSECURITYHQ
seriousrivaltoimage-editing paintbrushesandpredefined improvementssincePaintfirst TheGovernmenthas
softwarelikePaint.NET(www. shapes. arrivedonPCs,aspartof announceditslatestinitiative
getpaint.net)andGimp(www. Inanothervideo(www. Windows1.0,backin1985. tofightcybercrime–the
gimp.org). snipca.com/22103)Microsoft’s Atthetimeyoucoulddraw NationalCyberSecurity
Ademonstrationvideoon ‘artistinresidence’,Paul inonlyblackandwhite. Centre(NCSC).Oneofits
YouTube(www.snipca.com/ Kercal,transformsavaseof aimsistomakeiteasierfor
What’syourfavouriteimage-
22102,seescreenshot)shows flowersfrom2Dto3D. editingsoftware?Letusknow: businessestogetadvicefrom
anartistusingthenewPaint It’sthoughtPaintwillbe [email protected] securityservices.It’shoped
thiswillhelpcompanies
Hackerscanreadinfosenttopolicewebsites bolstertheirdefencesagainst
hackers.TheGovernmentwill
alsoworkwithsomeofthe
ManyoftheUK’spolice “significant biggestcompaniesintheUK
websitesfailtoevenencrypt vulnerability”inhow tosetupagiantfirewallto
personalinformationsentby peoplesubmitteddata, filtermalware.
membersofthepublic, includinghttps://ceop.
leavingthematriskofbeing police.uk,thewebsite SAMSUNG:STOPUSING
interceptedbyhackers. oftheNationalCrime OUREXPLODINGPHONES
AreportfromtheCentrefor Agency’sChild Samsunghasstoppedselling
PublicSafety,anorganisation Exploitationand itsGalaxyNote7phones,and
that“seekstopromotepolice OnlineProtection toldownersnottousethem,
andpublicsafetyefficiency”, Centre(CEOP,see asitcontinuestoinvestigate
saysthat73percentofpolice screenshot),which reportsthatthebatteriesare
websitesprovidesuchpoor tackleschildsexabuse millioninITinfrastructurein catchingfire.InSeptember,
securitythatthey“should ontheinternet. 2014/15,butwasfoundto theSouthKoreancompany
beconsideredacausefor Thereportgradedpolice haveinsecureconnectionson recalled2.5millionphones,
concern”. websitesbasedontheir itswebsites.Constabularies replacingthemwithdevices
Italsosaidthat24percent implementationofTransport inDover,Durhamand itinsistedweresafe.But
ofsiteslackallsupportfor LayerSecurity(TLS)and Warwickshire,meanwhile, therearefreshreportsthat
secureconnections,which SecureSocketsLayer(SSL), achievedtopratingsdespite thesenewphonesarealso
meansthatdatasubmitted whicharecommontechniques relativelymeagreresources. catchingfire,withpotentially
onlinebythepublicisat forencryptingdata. Thereportgradedwebsites catastrophicresults.Inthe
greaterrisk.Muchofthisdata Awebsite’ssecuritydoesn’t fromA(best)toU(worst). USadomesticflightwas
–oftendetailsofsuspectsand necessarilydependonits Findouthowwellyourlocal evacuatedbeforetake-off
criminalactivity–isofa budget,thereportclaims.For policeforceperformedby afteranewNote7started
highlysensitivenature. example,theMetropolitan downloadingthereport: emittingsmoke.
Around1in10siteshada Policeinvestedover£110 www.snipca.com/22104.
26October–8November2016 9
News
JJaanneeHHoosskkyynnputtstthhebootintotechvillains,jargon-spoutingcompaniesand
softwarestuffedwithjunk
WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
Junkoffender: extension’,butWebAdvisorgottheparty
McAfeeWebAdvisor startedanywayandinvitedanoldfriend.
What’sMcAfeebeenupto
lately?Hardatworkimproving IE,you’reback
itsantivirus(AV)suite,McAfeeInternet I’veneveropenedInternetExplorer(IE)
Security?Trouncingcriminal onmyWindows10PCandwasn’t
masterminds?No,it’sbeenelectingUS planningto,butWebAdvisorhadother
comedianAmySchumertheinternet’s ideas.ItopenedIE,covereditshomepage
mostdangerouscelebrity(www.snipca. McAfeeWebAdvisorpromptsInternetExplorer inMcAfeeregaliaandaddedaboxthat
com/22073)inasurveytopromoteits toopenandthenhijacksitssearchengine wanted‘tochangemydefaultsearch
browserextension,WebAdvisor(www. providertoTheSearch(thesearch.net)’.
snipca.com/22069).Theextension, WebAdvisorattachesitselftoyour TheSearch.netisaknownbrowser
formerlycalledSiteAdvisor,issupposedto defaultbrowser(Chrome,inmycase), hijacker(www.snipca.com/22074),and
blockmaliciousdownloadsofthekind forcingarestartandthenopeninga infectingPCswithitisnotthekindof
thatusepoorAmyasbait.ButI’vefound pop-upwindowcontainingalistof behaviourI’dexpectedfromMcAfee.
itfarmoretroublethanit’sworth. permissionsthatsoundlikehostage Ifyou’reusinganup-to-datebrowser,
Inits10yearsasSiteAdvisor,McAfee’s demandsfromabrowserkidnapper: firewallandAV(suchasMcAfee’sproper
toolgotareputationforblockingsafe ‘Readandchangeallyourdataonthe product,InternetSecurity)youdon’t
sitesanddramaticallyslowingyour websitesthatyouvisit’,‘Manageyour needanextensionlikethis,andindeed
browser.Icouldn’ttellyouifWebAdvisor downloads’and‘Communicatewith you’rebetteroffwithoutit.Don’tlet
isstillguiltyofthis,becauseitinfuriated cooperatingnativeapplications’.Ifound companieslikeMcAfee,AVGandAvast
mesomuchIuninstalleditwithinminutes. theseintrusive,soIdidn’tclick‘Enable conyouintodownloadingthisjunk.
What arethey Jane’s villain of the fortnight
talking about? Romance fraudsters
Whattheysay Conmenareemptyingthebank
InternationalData accountsofinternetdatersatan
Corporation(IDC, epidemicrate–andreadersofthe
www.snipca.com/22062):“The DailyMail’swebsitereckontheyknow
waveofavailabledevicesonthe why.“They(thevictims)aresadold
marketcontinuestoincreaseand bats,”says‘Erinjaeger’.“Womenover
isaccompaniedbyinterestamong 40aredesperateforattention,”reasons
enterprisesfortheadoptionof ‘whinewhine’(www.snipca.com/22075).
detachables,asthemobileformfactor I’mnotsurewhatupsetsmemore, AccordingtoActionFraud(www.
perfectlyfitstheirmobilitystrategies.” thescamorthevictim-blaming–and actionfraud.police.uk),thisso-called
notjustbecauseI’maweb-loving ‘romancefraud’istheUK’sfastest-
Whattheymean divorceeonthe“wrong”sideof40. growingcrime-andyetitgoeslargely
We’reusingmore Theseconartiststargetwidowsand unreported,becausevictimsare
mobiledevicesand othervulnerablepeople,andthen ashamed.Thetrollswhoattackthem
fewerbigcomputers. extortthousandsofpoundsbyexploiting arecomplicitinfuellingthecrimewave.
Neverunderestimate theirkindness,trustandlove.Several
tthheaabbiilliittyooffresearchanalyststo victimshavelosttheirhomes;atleast
Wanttonominateavillainofthefortnight?
expresssimpletrendsingobbledygook. onehascommittedsuicide. [email protected]
10 26October–8November2016