Delete What Websites Know About You

Worried about your privacy and the information websites have on file about you? We take a look at how you can remove the lot

We live in a world of sharing. Most of us post on Facebook, and lots of us tweet our thoughts and intricate moments of our day-to-day lives. We use LinkedIn to detail the intricacies of our CVs, we set up blogs, and we sometimes even reveal our real identities on forums, merging alter egos with real life. We’re more open than ever before.

Heavy Metal

GUERRILLA GAMES IS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON ITS RISKIEST PROJECT EVER. THIS IS HORIZON: ZERO DAWN, THE MOST AMBITIOUS PS4 GAME YET

There’s a small herd of deer grazing in a field. It is a quiet field, enclosed by towering trees and bronze autumn leaves that gingerly fall from their branches, floating carelessly in the wind. This enclosure ensures the docile creatures have just enough cover to let them stand idly by as a breeze rustles softly through the undergrowth, they are blind to the hostility of the world around them. Like clockwork they come here, the herd, simply content to brush through the lush green foliage undeterred, occasionally peeking their antlers towards the Dreamcast-blue sky that stirs above them; mountain ranges and wooden huts can be seen sat atop a distant horizon. But somewhere closer is a predator; the fleeting glimpse of a fiery red mane cutting through the grass is the only hint that this serenity is about to be shattered. It’s a natural, idyllic scene that you’d likely find broadcast in 4K on a new season of Planet Earth, narrated by the docile tones of David Attenborough. But reality this is not, for something far stranger than nature lurks in plain sight.

Watch This Space

Your destination: the Andromeda galaxy.

Your mission: find humanity a new home.

Welcome to Mass Effect: Andromeda. Bring guns.

Talk about a big bang. When word spread that Mass Effect’s long-awaited fourth instalment was to be set in a new corner of the universe, within a different stretch of time, light years removed from the scores of characters we’ve come to know and love, it sounded as though Bioware was boldly going, well, a bit too far. But the more we learn about Mass Effect: Andromeda, the more certain we are it’s blasting off in the smartest possible direction. Much like its heroes, the Ryders.

Why Do Fake Accounts Want To Follow You?

Sarah Dobbs finds out what’s lurking behind those fake names and faces

It’s always exciting when a notification pops up to tell you you’ve got a new follower on Twitter (or Instagram, or Tumblr, or the other social media platform of your choice). Whether you’ve got 50 followers or 50,000, attracting more feels like an ego boost – it means someone’s interested in what you’ve got to say! However, when you see that it’s just a weird account with a fake name and a stolen photo as an avatar, rather than a real person, it’s not very exciting at all. What’s more, rather than making you look and feel more popular, these fake followers can actually be harmful to you and your credibility.

So where do they come from, what are they up to, and what should you do about them? Let’s see…

How To Get Your First IT Support Job

David Hayward looks at some key points for how to get started in the industry

My first IT job was as a helpdesk technician at a university. I managed to get an interview based on the fact that I was a keen enthusiast and I had some experience, albeit at home, of building a PC from scratch. At the interview, I was required to build a PC from an assortment of components laid out on a table, which I did. After that was a chat with the IT manager, and I was offered the job on the spot.

It was generally a fun job to have; there were times when the workload was utterly tremendous, and I bore the brunt of everyone’s IT ire and frustrations. And there were times where things were pretty relaxed.

Times have changed significantly, though, and where getting into an IT role based on some loose homegrown skills was once the norm, these days the potential recruit has to hone their skills, qualifications and experience to a fine degree. I for one certainly don’t envy those starting off.

Top Tips For Using VPNs

Connecting to a public Wi-Fi hotspot on your laptop or phone carries risks, because the security may not be very good and it is possible that someone could snoop on your internet activity. A VPN (virtual private network) creates a secure and encrypted connection between you and the VPN server, bypassing anyone that might try to look at what you are doing, including the owner of the hotspot.

A VPN is especially useful for online shopping, banking and anything that requires you to log in, because it adds a layer of almost uncrackable security. Some VPNs such as Hotspot Shield (www.hotspotshield.com) will detect when you are using an insecure public Wi-Fi hotspot and automatically switch on to secure it. A VPN can be manually enabled, too – just don’t forget to switch it on!

Best free sticky-notes software

Is your workspace drowning in a sea of Post-It notes? Chuck them out and transfer their vital information to the Desktop of your PC. Andy Shaw tests six of the best tools to do it

Why Your Wi-Fi Is Still Slow

Don’t put up with slow, unreliable internet. Wayne Williams explains how you can identify the causes of a weak connection and quickly get back up to speed

Recent research by Ofcom (bit.ly/ofcom415) found that the average download speed for home broadband in the UK is now an impressive 37Mbps (although some rural areas struggle to get 2Mbps). But that doesn’t mean everyone enjoys superfast speeds all the time.

Running a test using a tool such as Ookla Speedtest (www.speedtest.net) may confirm that your connection isn’t as fast as it should be, but it won’t tell you how to fix the problem. In this feature, we explain the most common reasons for slow internet and reveal the secret tweaks that unlock extra speed.

Over the following six pages, we look at which hardware upgrades are worth the money, the router settings you should be using and the main causes of weak Wi-Fi and common network problems. We also explain how you can test your connection speed, so you can find out exactly where the dead spots are in your home and what improvements your changes have made.

Restricted Access: Internet In China

We've all heard news and stories about China's internet access, but what's the truth?

As with so many things in our daily lives, the internet is something we often take for granted. It's just always there, and whenever we want something, need to look up a fact or simply jump on Facebook or Twitter, we can. It's ubiquitous, and we're lost without it. Just ask anyone how desperate they feel in a power cut or when their ISP is having problems. You know, first-world problems. We need the internet, pure and simple.

Spare a thought, then, for the people who live in countries where the internet isn't so freely available, certainly not in the way we expect it to be. Some countries look on the internet very differently and don't see it as a simple tool for information, communication and entertainment, but instead see it as a potential way to bring chaos to the populace or campaign against the government.

Are you in danger of falling for Facebook’s Like farmers?

Sarah Dobbs investigates what's going on when a seemingly innocuous post attracts thousands of likes...

Quick, name a Facebook scam someone on your friends list fell for today. Got one? By now, most people have wised up to messages from foreign princes who just need your bank details to help them transfer their millions into the country. And most of us have also figured out that any app that claims it'll show you who's clicking on your Facebook account and reveal friends with secret crushes on you is actually just malware.

Train Your Brain

Give your cognitive powers a boost with brain training apps on the web, PC and mobile. Roland Waddilove shows what you need to think smarter

They say you only use 10% of your brain's capacity and that if you could use 100%, you'd be a genius that would make Einstein look dim. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could use more of our brain power? Brain training websites and mobile apps have all claimed that by using them you can build up your cognitive abilities, boost your IQ and become a lot smarter than you are right now. They say that they combat the effects of aging, make you better at work and help you become better problem solvers.

Steam Alternatives

Steam is the biggest digital storefront for games, but it's not the only option. We look at the alternatives

Valve is undoubtedly the major proponent of digital game delivery for PC and certainly the most successful. Its Steam platform was the first digital gaming distribution services, starting out life with the launch of Half-Life 2 in 2003. Over the last decade or so it's been around, Steam has revolutionised PC gaming and has had a huge impact on gaming as a whole, giving users an easier and more convenient way to grab their games. As it matured as a service. Steam began to offer more and more content and expanded into other areas, embracing more than just mainstream games.

Watching Illegal Content Online

You can watch sport, movies and television programmes illegally online but what is being done about it?

The 2016 UEFA European Championship in France has been watched by millions of people in the UK for free. That's okay, though, because under a deal struck with European football's governing body, the BBC and ITV have the rights to broadcast the games on free-to-air television - so for the four weeks of the tournament, there is no need to subscribe to a premium TV service, or seek out websites for an illegal feed. Come next month, though, many football fans will play a different game. The Premiership and the UEFA Champions League will be aired on subscription television channels, since forking out for Sky Sports and BT Sport could potentially empty the wallets of many a fan, a good number will seek less-than-legal, but free, alternatives.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Chloe and Nadine are doing it for themselves in this story expansion

Seeing an Uncharted game without Nathan Drake at the helm is like witnessing a Call Of Duty game without guns. It shouldn’t feel right. After all, his rakish style is a big part of what makes the whole series work. Turns out it might not be essential to it, though, as after the reveal of this long-gestating expansion, any doubts we have over his absence disappear faster than Rafe Adler’s inheritance funds.

Transform your mobile keyboard

Find it tricky to type on your phone and tablet? Jane Hoskyn recommends apps that will make it easier, whether you use Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS

Android users recently woke up to find a brand new default keyboard on their phones and tablets. Though the thought of Google tinkering with your phone when you’re not looking is perturbing, we think Gboard is one new feature that’s well worth taking the time to get used to. And here we’ll show you how to get the very most from it.

Gboard is far from the end of the mobile-typing story though, because there are plenty of new tools that make typing on a tiny screen a pleasure (yes, really). Here we reveal the best of the bunch.

Stop using Windows security

Our new antivirus group test reveals shocking Windows Defender deficiencies. Mike Plant reveals which free and paid-for antivirus protection you can actually trust to keep your PC safe.

There was a time when your antivirus (AV) simply had to keep your PC free of threats lurking on the internet to keep you happy. These days you have greater expectations of your AV. We receive as many letters from readers complaining that their AV is slowing their PC, as we do about how well (or otherwise) the software is protecting their computer.

We considered all these concerns when we planned our current AV test. The level of protection provided by each product is of course the main criterion, but we wanted to make sure the software runs smoothly, and that any extras - system cleaners, firewalls, etc - don’t have a negative impact on Windows and other programs. This is reflected in the ‘system-impact’ scores you’ll see throughout the feature.

Repair Things On Your Own

Repairing broken devices is a fun and resource-friendly activity. We’ll show you how you can revive defective hardware

Why throw away a smartphone that’s just two years old just because the display is cracked or the battery is worn out? Modern leaps in technology are no longer rapid enough to force you to have the newest model at all times. If the warranty has already expired, there’s nothing to prevent you from putting your craftsmanship to good use. In fact, repair instructions can be obtained quite easily from companies like iFixit or numerous YouTube videos. Online retailers such as eBay and AliExpress often obtain tools and spare parts from the same Chinese factories that supply the hardware manufacturers with their devices.

However, before you get started, you should take note of your limitations, as well as safety-related and legal aspects. Before you embark on complex repair operations, you should get a cost estimate from a specialist workshop. It would be worth it to carry out an amateur repair operation if you would be able to buy a used device for the sum quoted by the workshop. If you’re repairing devices for friends, you should mention the risks in advance.

Free Up Storage Space

If your hard disk is full up to the brim then there is no need to delete data. There is a compression tool hidden in Windows 10 which helps you gain a lot of GB storage space

Regardlesss of how large the hard disk and SSD become, they are going to be completely filled with data in due course of time. It is just a matter of time when Windows will you that there is no free space available. Many users then panic and resort to deleting data to free up some more space. But there is another option: In Windows 10, Microsoft has integrated a command line tool which compresses important system files if needed. Thus, you can quickly save several GB space with just one command line control.

Little Nightmares

After eight years working on LittleBigPlanet, Tarsier is exchanging dreams for nightmares

Tarsier’s brightly coloured, playfully decorated premises are exactly what you’d expect the home of a studio that’s spent the past eight years working closely with Media Molecule, on its LittleBigPlanet series, to look like. A hotchpotch of lampshades and rugs, a familial collection of framed photos of the team, and a range of stately looking furniture – we’re given the rundown of which chairs are the most comfy during our tour – make the space feel welcoming and homely. There’s fresh fruit in the kitchen, naturally, and not a single employee appears to be wearing shoes. Underneath this small company’s friendly exterior, however, something darker has been fermenting, waiting for an opportunity to bubble to the surface.

Vampyr

Dontnod’s first open-world game is more Dishonored than Dracula

Among the things we disliked about our first glimpse of Vampyr, Dontnod’s tale of occult predation in wartime London, was its combat – a graceless third-person mishmash of three-hit combos and pistol exchanges, peppered with crowdcontrol spells and teleport dashes. It was a shaky advert for a developer now wandering back into action-adventure territory after the success of episodic adventure Life Is Strange, but the addition of Teppei Takehana to Dontnod’s ranks goes some way towards addressing our misgivings. Hired as animation director in June 2016, he brings ten years of experience as an animator at Kojima Productions and Quantic Dream, whose games tread a similar line between motioncaptured plausibility and outright fantasy. While Dontnod doesn’t have any new combat footage to show during our visit to the studio’s Parisian HQ, Takehana’s matter-offactness is reassuring. “To make a responsive action game is really easy,” he notes. “To have a responsive action game that looks realistic is more difficult. This is our challenge.”

Prey

Arkane Austin is crafting a sci-fi yarn that wants to say yes

Hanging on the walls of Arkane Austin’s studio are reminders of Prey’s core design tenets. Styled like motivational posters, each features a game, and details the laudable qualities Arkane intends to learn from it. One, titled ‘Say yes to the player’, shows Just Cause 2’s Rico straddling an airliner. “It’s an instinct we try to cultivate, which is an instinct almost any gamer has anyway,” Ricardo Bare, lead designer on Prey, tells us. “When you’re playing a game and you hit an obstacle, you’re just naturally like, ‘I’m gonna try this, I’m gonna try this,’ and we try to, as developers, remember that instinct and say yes to it.”

Secret Tips For Google Search

Filter search results by date and country, exclude keywords, roll a dice and search a single site

BBC micro:bit

A tiny computer for play and more

The Raspberry Pi showed that a simple circuit board could inspire more digital creativity than a full-blown PC. Hobbyists, kids and professionals alike have been using the Pi for nearly five years now to program gadgets, games, robots and all kinds of video, music and automation projects. The BBC micro:bit serves similar purposes, but with some notable differences.

Lenovo Yoga 900S

The novelty’s wearing thin

The ‘S’ in the name might stand for ‘slim’: at 12.8mm, this touchscreen laptop-tablet hybrid is one of the skinnier options. It’s also light, shaving 300g off of the Yoga 900, Lenovo’s top-end model. This is the company that took over IBM’s laptop division, so although it’s become known for its endless variety of budget two-in-one hybrids, it also wants to sell durable mid-range systems to people who don’t mind spending a bit extra for quality. And quality is what you see when you open the box.