Automatic updates are anything but convenient

Barry Collins is riled by apps that automatically ‘update’ themselves into obsolescence

There are three weasel words in the tech world that are abused more than any others: “for your convenience”. It’s “for your convenience” that anti-virus vendors automatically scrape £40 from your bank account every year, ensuring you don’t go to the bother of investigating how much cheaper their superior rivals are (which is £40 cheaper, by the way). It’s “for your convenience” that Microsoft automatically updates Windows, always timing those “installing 1 of 3,465 updates” messages for when you’re already 10 minutes late leaving the house. And it’s “for your convenience” that the mobile app stores automatically upgrade your apps in the background, ensuring you always have the latest, most secure version.

Are you being spied on?

Is something nasty lurking on your system and watching your every move? Robert Irvine reveals how to expose hidden spies and remove them before it’s too late

Detect hidden processes that monitor you

Even the best anti-malware tools, such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (www.malwarebytes.org), tend to keep you waiting before they give you the information you want: namely, is something dodgy lurking on your PC or not? It can take more than an hour to complete a full scan of your hard drive (depending on when you last ran one), only to learn that everything’s fine and you needn’t have bothered. If you don’t have time to hang about, try a new tool called SpyDetectFree (bit.ly/spydetect388), which provides you with the answers to two simple questions: ‘Am I being spied on?’ and ‘Am I being monitored?’.

10 signs that your system is unsafe

Just because your antivirus program hasn’t reported anything strange doesn’t mean your system is safe. Here are 10 clues that could indicate an infection, and advice on how to tackle each problem.

PC is running slowly

If your PC is no longer as speedy as it once was, it could be a sign that you’re running out of hard drive space, but it could also be down to a malware infection. Run a good ‘second opinion’ scanner such as Reason Core Security (www.reasoncoresecurity.com).

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.