Say! Goodbye! To Yahoo!

After the massive hack in 2014 that saw millions of customers’ personal details stolen, has Yahoo betrayed your trust for the final time? Mike Plant explains what you need to do before ditching the email service for good

Yahoo has been in hot water of late. First, it admitted – after two years – that hackers had breached its security and stolen the account details of 500 million of its customers in 2014. Then there were allegations that the company secretly scanned its customers’ emails on behalf of US intelligence (www.snipca.com/22184).

These two calamities have seriously dented users’ faith in Yahoo – to the point where many are closing their accounts (www.snipca.com/22191). If you are a Yahoo customer and have decided you want to move to another email service you might be concerned that you’ll lose all your emails and contacts. You needn’t worry. Here we’ll explain how to close your Yahoo account, while transferring your emails, contacts and calendar entries to an email service of your choice.

Who's Hacking Your Wi-Fi?

Is someone secretly hacking your home Wi-Fi connection? Jonathan Parkyn shows you how to block the leeches and make your Wi-Fi hackproof

Have you ever checked your mobile phone while parked in front of your house, and noticed that you’re still connected to your home Wi-Fi network? The irony is that, even if you suffer from wireless black spots inside your own house, it’s often still possible to access your network from neighbours’ houses and gardens, or from outside on the street. And thatmeans somebody could be hacking into your Wi-Fi right now, without you ever knowing.

Refurbished Laptops Guide

How can you get the best deal on used systems?

Buying a refurbished system or refurbishing your own, is fairly simple when you’re talking about desktop PCs or simple consumer electronics like tablets and phones. But what about if you’re after a cheap laptop? They’re harder to repair and clean, and virtually impossible to outfit with new hardware outside of a few small elements. So what can you do, and what should you look for?

Over the next few pages, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about getting your hands on a refurbished laptop – and what you should expect to find if you want one.

Ultimate Phone Photos: Part 1

In the first of a two-part feature on phone photography, Mark Pickavance looks at taking better pictures and choosing the right phone

I remember when cameras first appeared on phones, and while most people were impressed that it was even possible, the results weren’t great. Early sensors had low resolution and very poor low light capability, and they were usually borrowed from cheap compact cameras that produced equally abysmal results.

But as new phone generations appeared they got better, driven mostly by social media, and the compulsion of capturing important moments to share with others. Soon phones had better sensors, then built-in flashes and eventually decent optics and image stabilisation.

Understanding Graphics Cards

If you’re thinking of buying a new graphics card, it pays to understand all of that jargon

One of the most high profile upgrades in the PC market has to be the graphics card. If you’re into games it’s an essential purchase, and one that requires inevitable upgrades as the technology and games become more and more advanced. Other users like graphic designers and animators also need good visual hardware, albeit often specialised, and not the same breed as most consumer models.