Your PC Will Be Hacked

Not every security threat comes from the web. Wayne Williams reveals how your hardware may already have built-in flaws and explains how to fix them before it’s too late.

The last 12 months have been particularly bad for PC manufacturers – not only are sales down, but some companies have been exposed for pre-installing potentially dangerous and invasive software on their devices. This means that even if you’re very careful about what you download from the web, and where you get it from, your system could still be under threat from the ‘enemy within’ – built-in security flaws that leave it vulnerable to hackers and malware infection. In this feature, we highlight the worst of these hidden holes and explain how to fix them.

Over the following six pages, we explain how to check for (and remove) Lenovo’s Superfish adware, and secure the highly vulnerable Lenovo Solution Center. We also look at problems found on Dell and Toshiba PCs; explain how the Raspberry Pi isn’t as secure it should be; and look at problems that affect popular routers from companies including Netgear, TP-Link and D-Link.

Bitwalking

Have you resolved to get fit in 2016? David Crookes looks at an app that will encourage you to get walking by earning you money for every step you take

Is Bitwalking when you walk for a bit, then sit down?

No. Bitwalking (www.bitwalking.com) is a new digital ‘crypto-currency’ that allows you to generate money based on the number of miles you walk. Created by entrepreneurs Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi, it makes a direct, motivational link between health and wealth, and encourages people to be active by offering a financial incentive.

Zowie FK1

Painfully precise professional rodent

At first glance, this mouse may not look like much. It’s a far stride from the usual hyper-ergonomic, multi-colored, wireless, adjustable gaming mice we tend to feature. But that’s exactly what makes this mouse so special. It’s not about the glitz and the glam, it’s about making you the best damn gamer you can be.

So who is Zowie? Well, in short, it’s a tiny company, founded in 2008, with the distinctive goal of creating perfect gaming peripherals for pro-gamers. But that’s nothing we’ve not heard before, surely? Take a look at SteelSeries, Razer, and Logitech, and you’ll discover a similar ethos driving all those companies. What makes Zowie different from the rest is how it works as a company. It’s a brand that’s not seeking to become a market leader, it doesn’t answer to shareholders, and it's certainly not hoping to break any world records for the number of mice sold.

Lian-Li PC-08

1970s hi-fi or futuristic PC cube?

What can we say? Just wow. What a case! This is the PC-O8 windowed chassis brought to us by Lian-Li. Coming in at an incredible $390, this cube-like design by the world-renowned Taiwanese case maker follows the company’s long tradition of utilizing a full-aluminum chassis in conjunction with its entry point into the high-end premium market. And as far as cases go, it certainly doesn’t disappoint—although, would you really expect anything else at this price?

AMD Athlon X4 860K Black Edition

What’s the price of an integrated GPU? About 50 bucks, apparently

The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that this isn't a brand new processor. The AMD Athlon X4 860K was originally released about a year ago, but has suddenly become a far more relevant processor than when it first launched.

It’s all about the money, as usual, as the cost of this AMD chip was recently cut in half. That makes it a far better option for a low-end, budget-oriented gaming machine, and we reckon you’re going to start seeing your friendly local (and not so local) system integrators putting together a host of micro machines rocking this cheap little chip. After all, if it costs us $75 to pick up a single unit, imagine the bulk order discounts for PC builders buying a whole tray of inexpensive silicon.