Innehållsförteckning för Vol 3 2022 från Windows User

STOP Over the next year there is a 69% CHANCE you could be HACKED! 80% of all cyber crime attacks originate from Russia, China and North Korea 77% of small businesses don’t regularly back up important data 75% of the health care industry has been infected with malware.* 73% of US citizens have fallen victim to some form of cyber crime 64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks 61% of malicious websites are genuine sites that have been compromised Social Media Users 50% Haven’t changed their password in the last year 20% Have never changed their password A member of the public is HACKED every: Devices hacked in LESS THAN: RANSOMWARE ATTACKS on BUSINESS every: 250,000 NEW VIRUS threats EVERY DAY GLOBALLY: COST PER PERSON 6 MONTHS* FIXING Malware ATTACKS LOST to…

Social engineering is the new modern way of manipulating people to give up their personal and confidential information. It comes in many guises and under different sub-headings, such as Phishing and the like, but it’s essentially all a form of social engineering. Essentially, the scammer will take your human nature and responses and turn it against you for their own gain. The kind of information the scammer is after does vary, depending on the type of scam being used, but for the most part they’re usually after your passwords, bank and credit card details, or login information in order to gain any sort of financial data. You’re probably more familiar with social engineering that you suspect, even if you’re new to the term. Recall the emails from someone, usually based…

Understanding Security Trying to understand the digital security world can be hard work. There’s so much to take in, that it’s easy to become lost in the quagmire of acronyms and homophones. Hopefully we can help you out with these ten FAQs. “Do I need an antivirus program?” Without a doubt, yes. Windows uses the built-in Windows Defender program to help protect you online. It’s more than ample for most users but often better security is required. “Viruses and malware are only on dodgy sites, right?” No, sorry. Even legitimate websites can be infected with a virus or some other form of malware. Remember too, a computer virus can enter your system in other ways, not just online. “Is online banking safe?” Online banking is remarkably safe and utilises the…

Are You Secure? Remarkably, despite having an antivirus client installed, some users aren’t even aware of the default Windows security features. Here’s a quick ten step process to check everything is working as it should. STEP 1 Start by clicking on the Windows Start Button or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard. Enter security into the search bar and click the first option that appears in the results, Security and Maintenance. STEP 2 This will open the Security and Maintenance section of the Control Panel. There are two main sections within this page, click on the Security section to expand it. Ideally all the options within the Security section should be displaying On, with the exception of Internet Security Settings which will display OK. STEP 3 Should any of…

Safer Surfing Securing your web browser isn’t too difficult. There are plenty of options available, including some third-party add-ons you can use to improve security. For this tutorial, we’re using Chrome. STEP 1 Start by opening Chrome and clicking on the three vertical dots in the top right of the browser window. This is the link to the available options; from the list choose Settings STEP 2 It’s generally recommended that you sign into Chrome using a Google account, as this can greatly improve the overall security of the browser. For example, when you sign in, under the Sign In section in Settings, click on the Advanced Sync Settings button, the first option available. STEP 3 With the Advanced Sync Settings box open, select the option for Encrypt all synced…

Wi-Fi, Lock and Key A lot of the standard tips on protecting your Wi-Fi merge with those of protecting your wired network. It’s common sense mostly and keeping an eye on what’s going on in your own network. ADMIN PASSWORD All routers come with a generic username and password. Depending on the model and manufacturer of the router, it’s surprisingly easy to get hold of the username and password. For example, view www.routerpasswords.com and choose your router. With that being the case, change the administrator username and its password. ISP PASSWORD ISP supplied routers tend to have their own set of usernames and passwords. Although these are more secure than that of the default set, they are still obtainable from the more dubious quarter of the Internet. A potential hacker…

Encryption Galore Here are ten different encryption tools for you to consider that work well with Windows, and some previous versions too. Some are free, others cost but they’re all good in their own right. BITLOCKER Available only for users of Windows Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise and Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate versions. If you’re running the Home versions, you’ll need to upgrade via the Microsoft site, or from the Windows Store. In short, BitLocker offers full disk encryption with 128-bit or 256-bit AES standards. VERACRYPT This is a free disk encryption program that’s based on the popular TrueCrypt. It offers enhanced security, lots of levels of encryption and support for UEFI drives. It’s available for Windows version 7 onwards as well as Mac OS X, Linux and…

Encryption Galore Here are ten different encryption tools for you to consider that work well with Windows, and some previous versions too. Some are free, others cost but they’re all good in their own right. CYBERGHOST CyberGhost is our favourite VPN. It offers 256-bit AES military grade encryption, no logging, access to 27 countries and hundreds of servers, protected browsing, ad blocking, access to fast servers, unlimited traffic and bandwidth and an anti-fingerprint system. All for around £5.83 per month for up to five devices. HMA Despite its colourful name, Hide My Ass VPN is considered to be one of the best services available. Along with the usual secure 256-bit encryption connection you get blistering speeds, access to over 300 locations, anonymous email use, a free web proxy access and…

If you are looking for something different for your favourite device, this is the perfect place to start. Each issue, we take a look at some of the best and worst gadgets, games and software for all major platforms. Hardware Reviews FRITZ!Box 4060 WD My Cloud Home 6TB AGON Pro AG324UX Hubble for tablet Backbone One smartphone Controller iXpand Flash Drive Luxe Kensington StudioDock Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Multiroom Kit Software Reviews DxO PureRAW 2 UUByte ISO Editor Carbon Copy Cloner 6 StaffPad SpyBuster AltTab Radio Garden Games Reviews Total War: Medieval II Cut the Rope: BLAST Mokoko X Anomaly Warzone Earth Another World 20th Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Dragon’s Lair 30th Anniversary…

You can use this double-ended flash drive to transfer files between devices, and back up your photos and videos from your tablet or smartphone. Available in 64GB, 128GB or 256GB capacities, it has a USB-C 3.1 plug on one end, and a Lightning connector at the other. You can only copy media and contacts from an smartphone or tablet, using the iXpand app, but plug it into a Mac and you can copy any file. Transferring files to the flash drive is super speedy; it’s certainly faster than its predecessor, the iXpand Flash Drive Go. The iXpand app is easy to use too. It’s a great way of getting more from your mobile device’s internal storage, without clogging it up with things that could be stored elsewhere. Info// SanDisk www.westerndigital.com…

An ISO file, or image if you prefer, is a computer file that recreates the contents of an optical disk. It’s ideal for backing up CDs and DVDs, and also for downloading a disk image and burning it to a disk or onto a flash drive as bootable media. These are the tasks UUByte ISO Editor is built to do, as well as managing and organising files on an ISO, or even creating one from scratch. It’s easy to use. From the Home page, you can opt to Burn (make a bootable disk or USB flash drive from an ISO), Extract (access the contents of an ISO), Create (make a new ISO), Edit (add, delete and rename an ISO’s content), or Copy Disc (make an ISO from an optical disk).…

Rogue hackers have infiltrated cyberspace, spreading disinformation and trying to influence votes. Data that passes through unsecure servers is potentially compromised too. Did you know telecom providers have to store the content of voice calls, data, images and text messages on these servers for six months, and their metadata such as: time, location, message sender and recipients, for 3 years? Worrying, isn’t it? SpyBuster, a free security app from Kyiv-based developer MacPaw, identifies applications, services and sites connected to potentially unfriendly countries, and blocks them if you wish. It also analyses app behaviour on the fly, scanning connections in real-time and alerting you if any are compromised. You can then choose to disable them, or place them on a whitelist for those you’re happy to allow. SpyBuster is a great…

Do you remember a little green monster who lived at the bottom of your smartphone’s screen? He was just about the cutest little monster ever. Om Nom was his name, and he was rather hungry; famished, in fact, and if you didn’t feed him up pronto he might just waste away. You didn’t want that on your conscience, right? I certainly didn’t, and I wasn’t alone. Om Nom and his Cut the Rope series went from strength to strength, not only on the App Store. Cartoons, toys and the usual merchandise turned heads for a while until the series’ mainstream appeal waned, returning the series to its gaming origins. Fortunately, the game itself was brilliant! It was 250 levels of rope-swingy, physics-based puzzle gameplay that kept you well entertained. The…

Part game, part interactive movie, when Another World was first released for the Amiga it was more than just another game. It was a real interactive experience. Rather than falling into one of the established genres of the time, Another World was neither a puzzle game, a shoot-’em-up nor a platformer, but it was all of these and more. Playing it now it’s easy to forget how revolutionary it was at the time. The spookily realistic sprite animation still looks very nice, but it was gob-smacking in 1991. The game begins with a scientific experiment gone wrong, which transports the main character to a strange, dream-like world and so begins the adventure where you take on challenge after challenge as you try to stay alive and figure out a way…

Major franchises tend to have an instalment that fans consider a misstep. A few (un) popular examples; Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier, Super Mario Sunshine, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, any Star Wars movies that don’t have Part 4, 5 or 6 in the subtitle… The list is endless and, of course, 100% personal. But what about those games or movies that were largely ignored or disdained despite being not bad at all? With that in mind, let’s head back to Liberty City, albeit in a way you’ve never seen before, or again. Launching with very little fanfare in 2009, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was the first original instalment in the monster franchise developed with the handheld market in mind. Retaining the core of the current 3D console…

Here Be Dragons This isn’t a definitive list of the possible threats available for the Windows user but here are ten modern risks that you face every time you power up your PC. 01 Viruses Viruses have been around for as long as computers. They’ve moved on from simply displaying the name of the coder on the monitor, a kind of virtual vandalism, and now can disable and wipe the data off a hard drive in mere seconds. 02 Ransomware Earlier in the year the UK was gripped in the clutches of the WannaCry ransomware infection. This particular infection exploited a vulnerability in Windows, and quickly spread throughout the NHS and other organisations, locking and encrypting the data on a computer until money was sent to those who unleashed it…

Ransomware is a particularly nasty form of malware and digital threat. There’s usually some kind of ransomware headlining in the news around the world and those who are the victims are often at a loss as to what to do next. Essentially, ransomware will infect an individual computer and one of two things can happen: first, it locks the computer, stopping all access to it from the keyboard, then it starts to search for data and encrypt the contents of the hard drive. Lastly it infects the boot sector of the computer and displays a message detailing the type of ransomware and how the individual will pay for the release of the data; the message can even have fake FBI warnings included with it. Alternatively, and the second thing that…

So what exactly is pharming? In short, this is the criminal act of producing a fake website and redirecting the victims to it. The website could be anything from a reasonably popular online shopping store, to one of the well-known high street banks. The victim, unaware that the web site is fake, as the front end apes the real thing, even down to the small print at the bottom of the page, will login with their details. After the user has logged in several options are available to the ‘pharmer’. They can collect the username and login details and simply leave the victim with a blank web page; this is usually a method used by an amateur pharmer or those who want a quick username and password grab before disappearing…

Weakest Links In terms of digital security, you’re only as strong as the weakest link in your security chain. You can tick all the security boxes but if you don’t know what to look for in the first place you’re still vulnerable. PASSWORD CHANGE A good sign of a breach in your digital security is the sudden changing of a password. It can be for a random site, webmail or just something small to begin with. Sometimes a hacker with a keylogger in place will test the water before accessing your bank, in which case you need to virus scan your PC immediately. PERSONAL SPAM We all receive spam emails of some form or another. However, if you suddenly start getting emails of a more personal nature, then you need…

Update, reboot, update, reboot Updates may well be the bane of the modern computer user but they are there for a reason. It’s not the 8-bit era anymore, we need those updates to help protect our security. Here are 10 reasons why they’re important. PATCH VULNERABILITIES Windows updates patch recognised security holes in the core system. Many of the viruses around today exploit a vulnerability in the Windows code that hasn’t been fixed yet. So when an update comes along, that potential flaw will be ironed out. EXTRA SECURITY In addition to potential security glitches in the code, often an update can contain an extra level of security that’s been programmed in by the developers. For example, the code that handles remote desktop requests has had a security patch but…

Network Protection Without being too paranoid, it’s remarkably easy to get into a neighbour’s home network. If you live in a block of flats or you use powerline adapters, you may need to consider these ten steps for better network protection. ROUTER PASSWORD The most common entry point to gain access to your network is via the router. The router from your ISP may well be offering the latest forms of encryption but it doesn’t take a genius to trawl the less reputable sections of the Internet to obtain a list of passwords. Therefore, change the default username and password to access it. MAC ADDRESSING Most routers these days come with a form of authentication called MAC (Media Access Code) address filtering. Every networkable device, computers, tablets, games consoles, come…

Kryptos Communications To better understand encryption it’s worth taking a moment to learn about its origins, how it’s been developed over the years and how it applies to our modern communications. The word encryption comes from the ancient Greek word Kryptos, which means hidden or secret. Interestingly, the use of hiding messages from others can be traced back to early Egyptian scribes who inserted non-standard hieroglyphs within other communications in order to hide the message from casual viewers. According to historians the Spartans used strips of leather with messages engraved. When the strips were read they were meaningless but when wrapped around a staff of a certain diameter the characters would be decipherable. Of course, the modern forms of encryption are far more advanced but the overall core concept has…

Virtual Private Network Using a VPN can help hide your online presence. Whilst this may seem like an ideal way to get to illegal content, it’s actually designed to help fight for your basic right to Internet and digital privacy. Essentially, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a server or group of servers in a remote location that you can connect to through a client. The VPN servers then hide your Internet-bound IP address with their own, so if you connected to a VPN that’s located in Australia then your IP address would be as if you were actually sat at a desktop down under. The benefits of this are many but mainly a VPN will allow you to access region restricted websites, protect you from tracking and shield your…

CyberGhost We’re going to use CyberGhost as the example VPN for this tutorial. You’ll need to purchase one of the available packages to begin with, Premium is £3.74 per month, while Premium Plus is £5.83. STEP 1 We won’t use the free option in this instance, as the paid for services offer a better set of features with which to display the VPN in action. Start by navigating to www.cyberghostvpn.com and clicking on the Pricing link in the upper portion of the main CyberGhost site for your regional and latest pricing. STEP 2 Assuming you’ve purchased one of the options, click the yellow Free Download button located in the top right of the main page. This will, after a few seconds, automatically initialise the download of the latest CyberGhost client…

Unlike most of AVM’s range of wireless routers, the FRITZ!Box 4060 lacks a built-in modem. This means regardless of how your network interacts with the Internet, you can use the 4060 by connecting it to your existing modem, which was probably supplied by your ISP. Whatever your type of Internet connection (be it ADSL, fibre, cable or mobile data), even if your Internet Service Provider forces you to use their own modem hardware, you can switch off the router section of your ISP-supplied device and connect the FRITZ!Box 4060 instead. But what advantages does this bring? As you’d expect, the router’s wireless capabilities include compatibility with the new Wi-Fi 6 protocol, which gives faster speeds, and is much better at dealing with multiple, simultaneous connections. If you’re working on your…

The tablet has really come on as a go-to machine for both business and leisure. Today’s tablet is so versatile it can replace your notebook when you’re out and about. It’s with this in mind that Birmingham, Alabama startup Fledgeling built the Hubble for tablet. Available for the tablet Pro 12.9” and 11”, and the fourth-gen tablet Air, the Hubble connects to your tablet’s USB-C port. It’s not available for any tablet with a Lightning port or 30-pin dock. It greatly expands the tablet’s connectivity options, offering (from left to right): a headphone socket, HDMI port, SD and microSD card readers, a USB-A port, two USB-C ports (one for charging and one for data), and a travel switch for saving energy when you’re not using the tablet. The whole truth……

This handy, mains-powered device is more than just an tablet stand. Sure, it can hold your tablet Pro (2018 or later, either size), or tablet Air (2020), in Landscape or portrait mode, so you can watch media, draw with your Apple Pencil or type comfortably by connecting a keyboard and mouse. But it’s also a wireless charger for your smartphone and/or AirPods. Just place them on the pad at the foot of the stand. You can also buy an optional Apple Watch charger that fits on the side of the device. The stand connects to your tablet’s USB-C socket, and you can plug in peripherals using the ports at the back. There’s three USB 3 ports, a HDMI port and an Ethernet port. There’s an SD Card reader and headphone…

Sites that collate Internet radio stations aren’t exactly thin on the ground, but Radio Garden does it differently. Instead of listing broadcasters by genre or country, it locates them on a globe which you can rotate on the screen, and zoom in and out of for a better view. Every shining dot on the map is a radio station (or for pedants, an Internet streaming broadcast). Click on a dot, or drag the globe until it’s in the centre of the circle in the middle of the screen, and that station plays. Using the controls at the foot of an smartphone screen and in the bottom-left on an tablet or Mac, you can play and pause the stream, or move to the next or previous local station. Tap the heart…

The latest release of the popular Carbon Copy Cloner backup software offers several major advances over previous releases, but the app has gained a major drawback; thanks to changes in macOS rather than any failing on the application’s part. The Carbon Copy Cloner user interface has had a major overhaul. It now offers Dark Mode, as well as a smaller, tighter window with clearer controls. While a cloning is in progress, you now get a detailed visual indicator of what’s going on, including data transfer rates and an estimated completion time. The menu bar app has been overhauled too. As well as starting, stopping and monitoring your backup tasks, it now also tracks the disk usage consumed by snapshots. Built for speed… Perhaps the most impressive update is a speed…

We all love the macOS App Switcher; hold CMD and tap the Tab key and you can cycle through the apps that are currently open on your Mac, switching from one to another quickly and easily. But if you’ve previously used a PC, you might miss the Windows switcher. That’s where AltTab comes in. With this free app installed, two new keyboard shortcuts are added. The first lets you cycle through all currently active windows, not just the apps that created them, and the second does the same for all windows associated with the app you’re currently using. So if you have, say, three different Safari windows open, you can use AltTab to get straight to the one you want. Unlike the macOS App Switcher, it opens windows that have…

Remember Mokoko, the awesome Mac game that drew its inspiration from arcade classics such as Volfied, Qix and Gals Panic? Remember how you patrolled the perimeter of the gaming area, nibbling away at the central, silhouetted area until you’d captured a given percentage of the screen? Remember how the enemies would maraud around, causing you to die if they touched or shot your trail while you pressed on into enemy territory? If you completed the game but would welcome more of the same, developer NAISU has released a sequel; Mokoko X. The new game offers 32 levels in total, comprised of 24 levels with unique bosses and minions, and eight mega-levels where you fight three bosses from the previous levels at the same time. There are eight different anime-influenced girls…

As a retro gamer I love the fact that Apple’s mobile gear is creating a new platform for classic games, and Dragon’s Lair 30th Anniversary (a subtitle which I will now ignore as it essentially screaming “YOU ARE SO OLD” in my face!) is one of the best to join this trend. In the arcades, the game used a laser disc at the core of its technology. You had to press the joystick or the button at the correct time to cause the disc to skip to the next section. Press the wrong direction or take too long and the disc skipped to one of the many comic-book death sequences. This version of the game is just like the original, but with all the crisp, hand-drawn animated graphics preloaded on…

Being on the end of a successful hack has been likened to having your house robbed. There’s a feeling of invasion, that someone has rifled through your personal belongings and stolen what’s yours. “You’ve been hacked!” WARNING Monetary Motivation As with most hacks the world over, money is the driving force behind an attack. A hacker will want to enter your system through various means and obtain your bank or credit card details in order to get access to your money. It’s plain and simple theft. Personal Information Personal information can be extremely valuable to a hacker. Those who manage to obtain information about you, from date of birth, address, social security number and countless other trivial details, can then use your identity to open bank accounts, start a loan…

Just to give you an idea of what the future could hold for the computing world, here are the top ten most destructive viruses unleashed over the last decade into the digital domain. “Digital Destruction” 1 Storm Worm Storm Worm was released in 2007 and was rumoured to have hailed from Russia. It came in the form of an email link, usually with an important headline to grab the victim’s attention. When the victim clicks the link the code is inserted and payload with a backdoor into the system is opened. It infected over 10 million computers worldwide. 2 Conficker Conficker was a 2008 worm that infected an estimated 15 million Windows computers worldwide. The French Navy, UK Ministry of Defence, hospitals and local police forces were affected. It was…

Security leaks, holes and flaws in development code appear all the time, for every operating system. Windows has the bad luck of being at the top of the security flaw news pile. However, here are ten reasons why it’s actually a secure OS to use. ”Windows Security Improvements“ Virtualisation-based Security VBS is an improvement to the core Windows security, it stands for Virtualisation-based Security and uses a mixture of hardware and software enforced developments to create an isolated, hypervisor restricted subsystem for securing the OS core data. Nothing unsigned by Microsoft is allowed to be injected into the kernel or executed. Secure Booting Secure Booting utilises the new UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), the replacement for the older and more vulnerable BIOS, along with Windows Trusted Boot code integrity and…

Better Protection A third-party security suite offers much than virus scanning. With one of these, you’re covered against most, if not all, digital threats. Here are ten security suites worth considering if you’re serious about your digital protection. BITDEFENDER Bitdefender Total Security 2019 is the latest security suite from one of the world’s leading security specialists. This version offers unrivalled levels of protection and performance for Windows, macOS and Android platforms. There’s even an advanced ransomware protection element to help protect your folders. MCAFEE McAfee Total Protection offers a 100% guarantee of virus removal, or you get your money back. There are three main versions available: Antivirus Plus, Total Protection and Livesafe, each has its own particular twist, but all offer excellent security features and benefits. SYMANTEC Norton Security Premium…

Keeping Up To Date Whilst it’s easy to update Windows, there are elements that can be missed. We’ve already mentioned that it’s not only Windows that needs updating but also software and drivers. STEP 1 The first port of call is undoubtedly Windows Update. Click on the Windows Start button followed by Settings, the cog icon just above the power icon on the strip to the side. This will open the Windows Settings interface, locate the last entry, Update & Security and click it. STEP 2 By default Windows Update will automatically check for, download and install updates for the core Windows files. You can check for any on the spot by clicking the Check for updates button; and you can see what’s already been updated by clicking the Update…

WEP, WPA, WPA2, IEEE… Amid the confusing acronyms lies a logical progression of wireless encryption and security protocols. Whilst at first they seem bewildering, it’s quite interesting to learn of their history. The technology behind delivering a wireless network has evolved over the last couple of decades and so has the ways and means in which to secure it all. It’s not just simply down to choosing a password that no one is likely to guess, you need to make sure that data and connection to a wireless network is encrypted to the highest possible standard. These standards are always moving forward and like most elements of the technology industry they come with a bewildering cocktail of acronyms and meanings. Encryption and all things security can be a confusing topic,…

Windows, Under Lock and Key We’re going to encrypt a 2GB USB flash in this example, purely for ease of use and to demonstrate how you can encrypt your entire laptop hard drive(s). STEP 1 Encryption doesn’t affect the core data, other than making it impossible to read without the decryption key but it’s always worth making sure you have a backup of all your data prior to any system related changes. If you store your work or data in the Documents folder, then start by opening it in Windows Explorer. STEP 2 Press Ctrl+A to highlight all the files, then press Ctrl+C to copy them to the clipboard. Next, choose a suitable backup location such as an external or network drive and when ready, press Ctrl+V to paste the…

Security Beyond Anonymity It’s a good question: how can a VPN improve Windows security? Whilst the privacy side is well catered for, there are some good security enhancements and features a VPN brings to the table. BROWSING ACTIVITY This doesn’t happen often but an ISP can become compromised and details of user activities leaked or stolen. Using a VPN can hide your browsing activity from trackers and even your ISP, enabling you to browse with freedom of fear of having your details leaked or accessed by others. ANTIMALWARE Many VPN providers utilise a level of antimalware into their security layers. This enhances your security by filtering any downloads through the VPN first. Should there be a virus present, then it can be removed or stopped at the VPN before it…

Start Me Up! Here’s something you never saw at a Steve Jobs keynote. Back in 1995, during a promotion event for the iconic Windows 95 operating system, the Microsoft executive team got on stage and danced to The Rolling Stones’ ‘Start Me Up’, which had been a hit back in 1981. Why? Because the song was considered perfect for Windows 95, which started up without any DOS prompts. Legend had it that Bill Gates was inspired to use the song by the Windows ‘Start’ button, and asked Mick Jagger personally how much it would cost to licence it. Jagger, seeking to put him off, quoted something in the millions, but Gates was not deterred. Microsoft eventually paid $3 million for the song. Was it worth it? Definitely. At the time,…

Western Digital’s My Cloud series of network attached storage (NAS), drives are highly respected. With support ending for older versions of the My Cloud operating system, and therefore My Cloud NAS drives that cannot be updated beyond them, it might be time to update to a modern release, such as this My Cloud Home single-drive device. It’s available in capacities from 2TB to 8TB, or 4TB to 20TB if you opt for the dual drive version. Here we’re reviewing the 6TB model with a single hard drive. The idea behind a NAS drive means instead of connecting it directly to your computer, you attach it to your network. As is typical for such a drive, you connect it to your router using the bundled Ethernet cable, after which you can…

We’ve all seen these devices before – gaming controllers that sandwich your smartphone between two sets of controls, effectively turning it into a mobile console. But the Backbone One is a controller with a difference. As well as being compatible with your smartphone games, including those downloaded with Apple Arcade, it also supports Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Google Stadia and GeForce Now. Subscribers to these services can stream games directly to their smartphone without needing their console or PC to be on. It also supports Xbox Remote Play, PS Remote Play and Steam Link, so you can stream your purchased games from your console or PC too. Backbone One is compatible with all smartphones running iOS 13 or later, and you can even connect a cable to any USB-C screen…

Netatmo’s Smart Video Doorbell has been around for a couple of years now, but thanks to two new transformers, designed and built to accompany it, the doorbell can now be installed in a wider variety of situations. These transformers, sold as separate items or in a pack with the doorbell, come in two varieties: a plug-in transformer that simply needs a wall socket, and an in-wall transformer that’s a little more demanding regarding installation. If you’re not a talented DIYer, you’ll need a professional electrician for the latter. Whichever transformer you use, the video doorbell can be used with or without a chime. When someone rings the bell, you get an alert on your phone. If you wish, you can also have it ring on your smart speaker. It’s compatible…

PureRAW 2 is designed for serious photographers. Harnessing the power of DeepPRIME learning, the app corrects errors and blemishes that can reduce the quality of a photograph taken as a Raw file; the photo format favoured by pro snappers with quality cameras. According to developer DxO, over ten million photographers use the Raw format, and 90% of them also use Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. DxO’s PureRAW 2 is designed to work hand in hand with Adobe’s apps, and can be used as a stand-alone app or as a plug-in for Photoshop or Lightroom. As professional photographers know, Raw is a lossless photo format with the absolute minimum of processing, as produced by the camera’s image sensor. PureRAW 2 analyses a Raw photograph and removes distortions such as mosaicking and noise.…

Musicians rejoice! StaffPad is built for composers, and it’s an amazing piece of software. With StaffPad, you can write and edit musical notation in your own handwriting, using your finger or better still, with an Apple Pencil. Handwriting is converted into a typeset score, and it even makes corrections where necessary and lets you know if you put too many or two few beats in a bar. After putting together a composition, you can have the app play it back to you. You can play, import, record and edit audio too. The core library, bundled with the app, includes over 55 instruments. If you need more, StaffPad has partnered with sample library producers such as Cinesamples, Orchestral Tools, Spitfire Audio and others to compile extra sounds available as in-app purchases.…

Feral Interactive’s Mac and Apple mobile conversions of SEGA’s Total War strategy games have quite a following. Fans of the franchise have long lauded Medieval II as one of the best, perhaps the best game in the series; and it’s now available on the tablet and smartphone as a universal app. We wouldn’t recommend playing it on a regular-sized smartphone, though. It’s far too fiddly on the small screen. Set in the Middle Ages, the action takes place across three continents – Europe, North Africa and the Middle East – as 17 playable factions vie for supremacy. Six factions are available at the start; England, France, Venice, The Holy Roman Empire, Spain and The Moors. The other 11 must be unlocked by defeating them in the main campaign game, or…

The tower defence game is a staple of the App Store. The real-time weapons placement and short gameplay bursts seem perfect for a portable touchscreen device. While we’re big fans of this genre, we’ve found ourselves getting a little tired of the predictable gameplay. The setting and plot may change, but the concept of defending your base using various static weapons from waves of approaching enemies has remained the same. However, just as fatigue appeared to have set in, Anomaly Warzone Earth has blasted onto iOS and tabletOS and flipped the tower defence genre on its head. This time you take control of the attacking craft as they battle through the landscape, avoiding or destroying the enemy’s defences. Role reversal This role reversal is the key to the huge success…