Protect Your PC With A Sandbox

Sandboxing is a great way to keep out malware and prevent bad software ruining your PC. Roland Waddilove digs deep into the subject

Sandboxing is a way of protecting the computer from viruses, trojans, spyware, adware and badly written software. All these things can seriously damage your computer, with the effects ranging from relatively minor freezes, crashes and changed settings to malicious applications that delete files, encrypt them using ramsomware and more.

The word ‘sandbox’ is said to come from the idea of a children’s sandbox, an enclosed area where kids can play with sand without causing a huge mess of your garden, house or classroom. The sand stays in the box, and everywhere outside is clean and tidy.

Can You Replace TV With The Internet?

With so many options for watching programs and movies online, can you finally ditch your TV and/or cable subscription?

If, like many people these days, you’re tired of complaining about how poor TV is, filled as it is with reality TV programs, cooking shows, decorating guides and repeats, you may wonder why on earth you bother with your TV licence or your cable subscription, if you have one. Even freeview, which is, erm... free, costs some money up front and also requires the aforementioned TV licence. Like it or not, in some fashion, you’re paying for TV, even if you don’t like what’s on it. It’s not great, and we’ve all wondered if it’s worth it at some time or another. Well, what if you could do away with TV altogether? With the internet and the vast growth of streaming and download services, this must surely be an option, right? Let’s have a look and find out if you really could ditch the boob tube and get your televisual entertainment online. First, a very brief history.

The making of Firewatch

How a pioneering team broke all the rules to tell a new kind of adventure story

Back in 1999, Cabel Sasser and Steven Frank, founders of Portland-based Mac software developer Panic Inc, decided they could do a much better job of designing the Mac’s interface than Apple had managed thus far. As part of their grand vision, the pair created Audion, a tool for playing CDs and MP3s that was originally intended to be just one component of a suite of focused apps, but which ended up being released in standalone form. The app took off and attracted developers keen to customise it, one going on to create skins that caught the attention of the Panic team. After reaching out, Sasser discovered that he and this accomplished designer shared other common interests – including an obsession with LucasArts adventure games – and through infrequent contact watched as his career developed. Fourteen years later, Sasser found himself listening to a videogame pitch from the guy whose Audion skins had triggered their friendship. The man was Jake Rodkin, and the game was Firewatch.

Watch Dogs 2: Renegade Master

Ubisoft Montreal calls on the power of the crowd as Watch Dogs 2 heads out west to San Francisco

Ubisoft is rarely topical. This is a company that prefers to safeguard its future by borrowing from the past, be it the historical tourism of an Assassin’s Creed or the prehistoric stylings of Far Cry Primal. Where it does dip a toe in more modern waters, it either does so by escaping the trappings of 21st-century civilisation, as in Far Cry 3 and 4, or by simply destroying it, as in The Division. Yet in 2014’s Watch Dogs the company was almost achingly current, its tale of surveillance paranoia launching mere months after Edward Snowden had laid bare the shocking extent to which modern governments spy on their citizens. The intervening two years have  yielded the Panama Papers, the mass sharing of celebrity photos that were meant to remain private, and the rebirth of the Snooper’s Charter. Drone warfare is ever more prevalent, while the rise of the Internet Of Things means that everything from smartcars to children’s toys are susceptible to attack. As our relationship with technology becomes ever closer and more complex, so too grows the likelihood of it being exploited. The more connected we are, the more vulnerable.

Chillblast Fusion Nitro Family PC

A nice-looking, good all-rounder

The Fusion Nitro is a good example of an affordable desktop PC, with its own particular set of benefits and compromises. Its tower case is eye-catching, with Star Wars styling and the obligatory LED-lit window in the side. Chillblast – one of the leading system builders in the UK these days – has filled it with components that will satisfy a tight budget and broad requirements.