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Companies like Amazon and Google are so powerful that their rules can feel indistinguishable from the law itself. So when they ban actions such as sideloading many users might assume it’s criminal. But it’s not just perfectly legal; it’s also essential for getting the most out of your phone, tablet and streaming devices. I understand why it seems risky, though. You have to venture into unofficial app stores and fiddle with your device’s settings. You also need to know what APK files are. But we exist to demystify such daunting tasks so you feel confident at every step. Robert Irvine’s masterful Cover Feature does just that. He answers all the questions you might have about sideloading, then explains how to do it on every type of device. He also reveals…

NordVPN, our favourite paid-for VPN, has added email scanning to its Threat Protection Pro security service. When you open an email in a browser, it checks the URLs in the message and warns you if any of them lead to malware or a scam. Any potentially unsafe links are marked with a red shield (1 in our screenshot, partially obscured). Hover your cursor over this and NordVPN will explain why it’s considered risky 2. If you find it produces too many false positives you can turn it off in Threat Protection Pro’s settings. Threat Protection Pro is available in NordVPN’s Plus and Ultimate plans, which cost £2.89/£4.79 a month, but not in the Basic tier (£2.29). As well as email protection it blocks malware, adverts and web trackers, and offers a…

Given the doomladen predictions of exorbitantly expensive PCs in 2026 (‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 726, pictured), maybe this year will see an irreversible change in purchasing trends to prefer refurbished computers over brand new ones. It might follow a similar pattern to the rise of charity shops in the high street. It’s become a running joke in our family that the quality of clothes in charity shops is now so high that we hardly ever need to buy them new anymore. They’ve become more professional too, and I’ve also noticed prices creeping up. They’re always packed though. Shoppers no longer feel a stigma about buying secondhand clothes. There’s surely more caution about buying a second-hand computer, even if it has been expertly refurbished. It’s a bigger outlay after all,…

There are plenty of websites selling printer cartridges, so it must be a highly competitive market. Prices seem to be about the same everywhere, so the difference is often in customer service. And in my experience Cartridge King (https://cartridgeking.co.uk) excels in this area. When I first bought cartridges for my Epson printer I accidentally ordered the wrong type of ink. I phoned them up an hour later and they switched my order to the correct ink before it was sent. Whenever I have managed to order the correct ink the cartridges have always arrived within 48 hours. Only once has a cartridge not worked properly, and that was with my HP printer. I phoned them up and they apologised and sent a replacement the next day, which worked fine. Anthony…

This sounds like a Facebook group for Superdrug staff, but it’s far more sinister. Run by Osvaldas Novikovas (pictured left), SocialPharma used the dark web and the ultraprivate Telegram messaging service to supply drugs and counterfeit pharmaceuticals across the UK. Business had been good since forming in 2018, raking in at least £4.3m in Bitcoin payments. One gang member Jordanas Avizienius (right) had boasted about laundering £2.5m through his own account. But they were eventually tracked down by the Cyber team in the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), and brought to Kingston Crown Court in December where Novikovas, Avizienius and two other members (Marius Sutrinavicius and Javed Afzal Khan) pleaded guilty to various drug-supplying crimes. Between them they’re now serving 47 years in prison.…

TABLET | £319 from OnePlus www.snipca.com/57541 With any mid-range tablet, there’s an expectation that some big compromises must be made in order to keep the price low. Yet while the OnePlus Pad Go 2 comes in between the mighty OnePlus Pad 3 (our current Buy It choice) and the cheap and cheerful Pad Lite, we’ve honestly struggled to find one. “Arguably the best Android alternative to Apple’s iPad 11in” 2023’s Pad Go was already a great mid-ranger, but the Pad Go 2 upgrades it in meaningful ways. The original’s 8,000mAh battery has been switched for a whopping 10,050mAh battery. Out goes the 11.3in screen in favour of a 12.1in display with a higher resolution and a faster 120Hz refresh rate, for sharper visuals and smoother scrolling. There’s now the option…

MONITOR | £319 from Currys www.snipca.com/57487 The Acer Predator XB273K V5 packs in some fairly high-end gaming capabilities for a monitor at this kind of price. Its standout features are dual resolution and refresh rate. Typically, it will run at a 4K resolution with a 160Hz refresh rate, but you can switch up at any point to a Full HD 1080p resolution and boost the refresh rate up to 320Hz. You’ll need a powerful PC to reach those rates and this is definitely aimed at competitive gamers rather than casual players. All the same, if you want fluid motion in your graphics, the Predator will provide it. Image quality is fantastic, with sharp details, fantastic clarity and eye-catching colours. In our tests, it covered 100 per cent of the sRGB…

CHATGPT Research products you want to buy ChatGPT has a ‘shopping research’ feature that provides information and advice about products you may want to buy. It asks questions to determine exactly what you’re looking for, provides up-to-date information from reliable sources and lets you refine the results. To use the feature, click or tap the new Research button below ChatGPT’s initial response to your shopping query (1 in our screenshot below), then select ‘Get started’ 2. ChatGPT will begin a more in-depth conversation about the product you want to buy to help you find the best deal. This may include price and availability details, the pros and cons of each recommendation, and relevant buying advice. POE Start group chats with friends In our ‘In the Club’ section in Issue 726…

Wayback Machine Free Android www.snipca.com/57442 iOS www.snipca.com/57443 The mobile version of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine lets you view old versions of websites that have radically changed over the years or disappeared entirely from the web. Enter a URL, tap View Recent Version and select a date. You can also view the first archived versions of sites and manually archive web pages yourself. Best For Viewing old websites Open Library Free Android www.snipca.com/57447 Open Library lets you browse, borrow and read ebooks from the Internet Archive’s huge collection of over three million digitised texts. It’s free, once you sign into your Internet Archive account or via Google, though you’re expected to return books after you’ve read them. The app opens your mobile browser to display content. Best For Borrowing free…

‘Free for a moment?’ emails I keep getting emails from random people from apparently genuine addresses claiming they need help and can’t talk because they’re suffering from a health condition – sometimes tonsillitis, sometimes more serious. They always ask whether I’m “free for a moment” but never say why. The emails are short and correctly spelt, with no company names or logos. If I reply I’m sure I’ll be lured into some ridiculous scam where the person will give me a sob story and ask for money. They’re not sophisticated or especially clever, but presumably enough to make vulnerable or gullible people fall for them. Warn your fellow readers about scams at letters@computeractive.co.uk…

Sky has finally upgraded Mark Hazell’s broadband after he was stuck on 20Mbps for far too long (see Issue 723). When he left BT for Sky last year he signed up for 67Mbps. But Sky then said he couldn’t get more than 20Mbps because of the old copper cables in his area. Had that been the case then it shouldn’t have taken Mark’s business, but Sky’s claim was complete nonsense. Mark told us that Openreach had recently upgraded the cables to fibre and an engineer had told him he could get much faster than 20Mbps. He also told Sky this, but to no avail. Mark would have been within his rights to cancel his contract with Sky without penalty because it wasn’t delivering the promised speed. If it had tried…

What’s the best simple alternative to Audacity? Q Inspired by Issue 726’s How To on replacing the complicated GIMP with the easier (and now free) Affinity Photo, I’m seeking a similarly simple alternative to Audacity (www.audacityteam.org). I need to edit loads of audio files (music and spoken word) for a genealogy project, but Audacity baffles me. What’s a good replacement that’s easier to use? I might also need to record my own voice into the program. Brian Stanley A We think you’ll like Ocenaudio, which has essential features and a waveform editor but without Audacity’s cluttered toolbar and confusing menu. Editing audio files is much easier, whether you want to remove sections, adjust the volume or fade the track in or out. Download Ocenaudio by visiting www.snipca.com/57355 then clicking the…

MINI PC | £576 from Lenovo www.snipca.com/57440 It’s a surprise that it’s taken so long for a major brand to build a mini PC around Qualcomm’s energy-efficient Snapdragon X chips, but Lenovo has finally done it with the IdeaCentre Mini x Gen 10. With its compact, low-profile design (just 43mm high) it’s arguably the closest thing the Windows world has produced to a Mac mini, only with greater upgrade potential. “Lets you keep dozens of browser tabs open and multitask across several programs” The design is simple and hardly eyecatching – a 195mm x 191mm plastic and aluminium box you can lie flat or stand vertical inside the supplied desktop stand (as pictured below). The top and bottom plastic panels slip off, allowing you to upgrade the M.2 SSD that’s…

Q I’ve been browsing Amazon Renewed (www.snipca.com/56830) every day since you recommended it in Issue 723’s ‘Ultimate hacks for Amazon’ Cover Feature. I’m particularly interested in buying a a fairly cheap refurbished Android phone that gives me basic web access and lets me send unlimited texts and make calls, but I don’t need all the fancy specs. Can you recommend something under £100? David Bowyer A Amazon Renewed and Resale have some fantastic deals on older phones, though check they still receive security updates. It might be fine for basic browsing, texts and phone calls, but you could be taking a risk. We recently saw a Samsung Galaxy A13 for just over £100 (www.snipca.com/57509). This is a solid Android phone with a 6.6in screen and 4GB RAM. We also spotted…

Winner of a Recommended award in Issue 724 (page 28), Pure’s Classic Aura is a stylish portable Bluetooth speaker that creates atmosphere with light effects, and delivers impressive sound around the home. Its stereo speaker packs a mighty 40W of power, and there are three equaliser options to let you customise the sound precisely how you want. There are 10 atmospheric light patterns to create a party vibe or keep it soft and soothing. The 30-hour playtime ensures the music will keep going all day and into the night. It uses Bluetooth 5.3 and has an AUX-in port as well as one for USB-C charging. The Classic Aura is protected by an IPX2 splashproof design, making it perfect for the kitchen, bathroom, garden or balcony. To enter this competition, answer…

SOFTWARE Add albums to iPod without iTunes In your answer to David Duncan’s question (‘How can I play music on my old iPod?’, Issue 725, page 68) you suggested downloading an older version of iTunes (10.6.3) from www.snipca.com/56921. I still use a sixth-generation iPod but for various reasons I don’t want to sync it with iTunes. This year I discovered the free CopyTrans Manager program (www.snipca.com/57480, pictured left), and it has allowed me to add additional albums to my iPod without the need for iTunes. George Chappell APPS Reorder the Met Office’s forecasts I hope the Met Office’s redesign of its phone app (Issue 725, page 44) doesn’t remove the ability to reorder how the forecasts appear on the home page. This is handy if you don’t like the default,…

OmniTools Free Android www.snipca.com/57425 This brilliant new app combines dozens of useful tools in one place. These include a compass, bubble spirit level and barcode scanner; converters for measurements, time and money; and calculators for fuel cost, BMI and quadratic equations. All these options can be accessed from its home screen, or you can browse by category. iFixit Free Android www.snipca.com/57429 iOS www.snipca.com/57430 Popular device-repair site iFixit now has a mobile app, so you can browse its extensive library of how-to guides on your phone or tablet. Just search for the device to fix to find step-bystep instructions and answers to frequently asked questions. The app also includes an AI assistant, called FixBot, and a batteryhealth check. NotebookLM Free Android www.snipca.com/57432 iOS www.snipca.com/57433 The mobile version of Google’s AI-powered research…

WINDOWS 11 Set how long Voice Access waits before responding Microsoft recently updated Voice Access to let you set how long it waits before responding to your spoken command. This helps if you speak slowly, pause mid-sentence, or don’t like to rush commands. You can make Windows react instantly, or add a short delay so it doesn’t jump in too early. Search for and open Voice Access in Windows, then click the top-right cog icon and select ‘Wait time before acting’ (1 in our screenshot below). Now choose from Instant (0.1 seconds) to Very Long (three seconds) 1. WINDOWS 11 Turn off the Drag Tray Earlier this year, Microsoft added what it calls a Drag Tray to Windows 11 that appears at the top of your screen when you drag a…

What is it? A new type of ultra-durable storage that might be able to preserve data for longer than the current age of the universe. How many years is that? A mere 13.8 billion. It can also survive extreme heat (up to 190 degrees Celsius), radiation and even physical degradation, potentially outlasting us all. So it’s not a simple hard drive? No - those are rated to last only three to five years. SSDs can last longer, but their flash memory slowly degrades over time. In contrast, 5D memory crystal stores data in a glass disc (pictured) -potentially up to 360 terabytes in a five-inch design, according to scientists at Southampton University. What’s that in gigabytes? 368,640GB. So quite a lot. Currently, the most durable consumer storage option is M-DISC,…

Microsoft has updated File Explorer so it stops checking the same files and folders twice when you search for them, producing faster results and using less RAM and processor power when searching. This process, called duplicate file indexing, is part of Windows Search Indexer, which is the tool File Explorer uses to search files. File Explorer still relies on Windows Search, but Microsoft has found a way to stop it checking duplicates. The change is only available on computers signed up to the Windows 11 Insider programme. It’s part of Preview Build 26220.7523, released on 19 December, and should be added to full versions of Windows soon if it doesn’t cause problems. Other changes include more options for choosing how Windows Narrator describes items such as buttons, tickboxes, links, sliders…

USE 5G NETWORK ON EE PAYG DEALS New and existing EE customers on pay-as-you-go (PAYG) deals can now use the company’s 5G network. It started contacting customers about the change in December and confirmed the upgrade on its website (www.snipca.com/57570). Both 5G Calling and Wi-Fi Calling are also now available on PAYG. WATCH 10 NEW DISNEY SHOWS ON ITVX ITVX has announced the next 10 Disney+ shows it will make available for free, including the first series of The Full Monty starring Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy, and the Ed Sheeran documentary The Sum of it All. The two channels have been sharing content since July 2025. See what else is new at www.snipca.com/57569. WAZE ADDS TRAFFIC LIGHTS TO MAPS Waze is testing icons for traffic lights in its road…

Can Argos refuse to take back tablet because I opened it? Q In November, I ordered a Lenovo IdeaTab tablet (pictured) from Argos online, collecting it in person from my local store. Once I’d opened it and turned it on, I decided the screen was too big, so I returned it. Argos has refused to give me a refund, saying it can’t accept it because it can’t be resold as new. Can it do this? Jonathan Baxter A We don’t think it can. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (CCRs) you’re given 14 days to reject an online purchase for any reason. This law exists because when buying online you can’t examine an item as you can when shopping in a store. This law still applies in Jonathan’s case, even though he…

SYSTEM TOOL Windhawk 1.7.3 www.snipca.com/57554 What you need: Windows 10 or 11 Windhawk is a brilliant free program for customising and improving Windows using over 100 ‘mods’ (modifications). We wrote a Workshop about it in Issue 710 (buy a back issue from www.snipca.com/57557), and this new version makes it even simpler to use. For starters, Windhawk has changed how its mods are applied. They were formerly compiled locally on your PC, but it now downloads pre-compiled mods from Windhawk’s server, which makes them faster to install and update. It’s now easier to browse for mods when you click Windhawk’s Explore button. Each mod includes more details of what it does to your system, and when you hover your cursor over its star rating you can see a breakdown of how…

SOFTWARE WARNING! HD Camera’s dubious ‘Enhance’ tool Nothing makes me more suspicious than an app I’ve never heard of shooting into the Google Play Store top 10. That’s where I found HD Camera (www.snipca.com/57478), made by Hong Kong developers Callershow, which at the time was the eighth most popular free app and had been downloaded 10 million times. It claims to “capture stunning high-definition photos and videos”, but I couldn’t see how it could do so any better than the built-in app on my (or anyone else’s) phone. The developer’s email address also seemed like it was created when their cat walked across the keyboard (x5g0w8ire5pa2@gmail.com). Yet maybe the 10 million users were right and I was wrong. So I downloaded it with an open mind and opened the Enhance…

What are they? Dual In-line Memory Modules (pictured below) – aka sticks of RAM. Each is a printed circuit board with connectors on both sides at the bottom, and a row of DRAM chips on the front and (less frequently) the rear. How do they work? Each DIMM adds more RAM to your PC, connecting the DRAM chips on the surface via the connectors to the Memory Bus on your motherboard, which transfers data to and from the CPU. Most motherboards have two to four DIMM slots, allowing you to connect up to four DIMMs. What are the specs? DIMMs come in two basic formats: DIMMs for desktop PCs; and shorter, wider SO-DIMMs for laptops and mini PCs. Beyond that, there are different generations, with DDR4 DIMMs running at slower…

EDGE Search across your tabs Edge 143 (released in December) adds a new ‘Search tabs’ button to the top-left corner of the browser. This replaces the old ‘Tab actions’ menu and looks and works like the same feature in Chrome. Click the down-arrow button (1 in our screenshot below) and enter a keyword in the search box 2 to look for matching results in the titles of your open tabs. You can also view a list of your recently closed tabs, and select one to reopen that page. Edge’s ‘Search tabs’ feature goes further than Chrome’s by including options to switch to vertical tabs and organise your tabs into themed groups. If you don’t find it useful, remove it by right-clicking its icon and choosing Unpin. BRAVE Add custom skills to…

ANDROID & iOS Use Google Photos’ new video-editing tools The video editor in Google Photos has been redesigned and added lots of useful tools. This brings it closer in line with popular video-editing apps such as CapCut. To access the new editor, open a video in Google Photos and tap Edit. The video will load with a timeline below the media player and a row of editing tools in a bottom toolbar. The new Auto option uses AI to enhance the quality of your video with a single tap, or you can press Stabilise to fix shaky camerawork. Tap ‘Adjust’ to manually tweak the brightness, contrast and colour, or Filters (1 in our screenshot below left) to apply a range of effects. These are the same as Google Photos’ filters for…

LIBREOFFICE CALC Convert a block of cells into a column LibreOffice 25.8, released in August, adds the TOCOL function to Calc, letting you instantly turn a block of cells into a single column. Click where you want the column to start (D1 in our example), then type the following formula where XX:XX is the range of cells you want to convert into a column: =TOCOL(XX:XX). In our case we type =TOCOL(A1:C3) (1 in our screenshot below) – note that the curly brackets (or braces) in the screenshot only appear when you press Enter to create the column 2. Both Excel and OnlyOffice already have the TOCOL function. MICROSOFT WORD Change the underline colour in documents By default, when you underline text in a Word document it appears in the same…

1080p High-definition video: 1920x1080 pixels. 2K A screen with 2048x1080 pixels. 3G/4G/5G Technologies that deliver faster mobile broadband. 4K Video with a resolution of at least 3840x2160 pixels. Adobe RGB A wider colour space than sRGB, extending into richer cyans and greens. APK Android Package Kit. The file format Android uses to install apps. ARM Processors that are more energy-efficient than those made by AMD and Intel. Aspect ratio A measurement of the shape of a screen. Audio fingerprinting A way to identify audio by analysing its unique sound pattern. Bandwidth A measure of how much data can be transferred through a connection at one time. Basic A simple programming language. Benchmarking Comparing products with an accepted standard. Bitcoin A digital currency not controlled by governments. Bitrate A measure of…