How to get macOS 10.13 High Sierra now

macOS 10.13 High Sierra is packed with new features for your Mac, and the final version will be available later today. We explain how you can get the update right now.

At WWDC 2017 we got our first look at Apple’s next version of macOS, which will be released to the public later today. If you want to install High Sierra, the update will be available via the Mac App Store from likely around 6pm in the UK. If you can’t wait you can still install the beta, as we outline below, but given that there’s only a few hours to wait we’d really recommend you hold on until tonight.

Should I install the High Sierra beta?

Running beta software isn’t a choice you should make lightly, as by its very nature the code is still being worked on and bugs will appear – potentially big ones – which could cause you to lose data. If you are intending to put this on your main working machine as the only OS, then we’d strongly advise against it. Yes it’s cool to be on the cutting edge, but there are considerable risks involved when you use unfinished software.

A much better choice is to dual-boot your Mac, so that the preview OS is kept separate from your normal one. If you have virtual machine software such as Parallels or VMware, then that would also be a great way to sample the delights of macOS 10.13 without endangering your system.

As always you should run a complete system backup before starting any kind of operating system upgrade, as things can easily go wrong.

How to get the new macOS today

First, sign up to the Apple Beta Software programme.

You’ll need to sign in with your Apple ID, then click the link to the Mac App Store to download the High Sierra public beta.

The Mac App Store will launch in a separate app on your Mac and display the High Sierra download page. Look for and click the Download button at the top of the page.

If you want to wait for the final version, here’s the step-by-step guide to getting it:

  • Open the App Store
  • Click on the Updates tab
  • You should see “Software Update – macOS High Sierra”
  • Click ‘Update’
  • High Sierra will download and install – it will take a while
  • Wait while your mac restarts

How to install macOS on a dual-boot system

If you go for a version of the High Sierra beta, we recommend installing it into a second partition on your machine, or if you have a spare machine then feel free to wipe the existing OS and go it alone with 10.13. Remember that these are advanced procedures, and you proceed at your own risk.

To set up a dual-boot system you’ll need to do the following things. First of all open up Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility) and select the main drive (usually the top of the list in the left hand panel). Then select the Partition option in the main panel.

Now you’ll see a large rectangle with the heading Partition Layout. Currently it will be a single drive, so click the Plus button beneath it and then click on the new partition that appears.

To resize the partition simply drag the partition corners. The Size box on the right shows you how much space the partition takes up.

It’s a good idea to rename the partition so that things don’t get confusing – maybe call it macOS Beta Test. When you’re happy with the name and space allocation click Apply.

Now find the downloaded version of macOS 10.13 and click on it to begin the install.

When you see the option of which disk you want to install it on be sure to select macOS Beta Test (or whatever name you gave the new partition). When this is done click install and the rest should proceed automatically, with your Mac rebooting into 10.13.

From now on when you want to return to the previous version of macOS (or OS X) on your system, reboot your machine while holding down the Alt key. This will present you with a menu of which drive you want to boot from.

Deleting the partition

Once you’ve finished test driving macOS 10.13 you can remove it by reversing the process above. Restart your machine and boot into the previous version of macOS (or OS X). Launch Disk Utility, choose your main drive, go to Partition, select the Sierra partition, then click the Minus button below, followed by Apply.

Using Virtual Machines

Probably the safest way to try out any new operating system is to use a virtual machine. There are several excellent software offerings around, some of which are free (Virtualbox, for example). Others, such as VMware offer a free trial, but are paid-for products.

These create, as the name suggests, virtual environments on your Mac where the operating system can run as if it were installed on your drive. Performance isn’t quite the same as it would be from an OS that is actually installed, but it gives you a good chance to explore without the hassle of altering your machine in any way.

As each software package operates slightly differently it’s worth investigating the options available and consulting the relevant instructions. Our colleagues over at Macworld have put together this helpful guide to running Windows on a Mac, which covers using virtual machines.

Should I install the macOS public beta?

If the idea of creating and deleting partitions, having applications crash suddenly, or working out how to set up virtual machines has you a little worried, then we’d suggest waiting.

While all of this can be a lot of fun, and actually quite fascinating, for most people it would just get annoying rather quickly. macOS 10.13 is due to be released in a few months, and will be a much more stable and polished experience than the one you’d find in the public beta.

If you’ve always held to the Apple mantra of ‘it just works’, then we think you’d have a better time in the Autumn.

Laptop won’t turn on? How to fix a computer that won’t boot

If your laptop or PC won’t turn on, don’t panic. You might be able to fix it yourself for free by trying these five methods.

Here we’ll explain the possible causes and how to try and fix a PC or laptop that won’t boot up.

  1. Check the power supply

Laptops

This is one of the most common problems. There are various things that can go wrong, from using the wrong laptop power supply (delivering the wrong voltage) to a blown fuse in the plug.

It might be that your power supply has simply failed. First, make sure the battery has some charge. If you’re not sure, and there’s no power indicator on the battery itself, then remove it entirely and just use the mains charger.

Double-check, too, that the charger is the right one for your laptop. Many laptops – especially from the same manufacturer – use the same size plug, and if you own more than one, it’s not too difficult to plug in the wrong power supply, which might provide a different voltage or not enough current.

Other gadgets may also use the same tips, such as a battery powered speaker, and are unlikely to use the same voltage as your laptop, which typically requires 16-20V.

Second, check the fuse in the plug. Use a screwdriver to remove the fuse and install one that’s known to be good. If you have a spare power cable that will plug into your power supply, this is a much quicker swap to test that it isn’t the fuse at fault.

Check over the wire itself, as power supplies get beaten up, especially if you carry them everywhere. Weak points are at the ends where it joins the black brick and at the plug which connects to the laptop. If you can see the coloured wires inside the black outer protection, it could be time to buy a new PSU.

If you’re having problems with your laptop’s touchpad, also check out our top tips to fix it.

PCs

PC power supplies can also be problematic. Few people have a spare they can install and test, so the first check is the fuse in the plug. There’s also a fuse inside the PSU itself, but it will require you to remove it from your PC and then remove the metal case to check if that’s the problem.

One of the most common PC power supply issues is that the PC will turn off unexpectedly rather than fail to boot up at all.

If the LED is on showing that power is reaching it, make sure your power button is properly connected and working.

You can short the appropriate motherboard pins together (check which ones in your motherboard manual) to eliminate the power button from the equation.

  1. Check the screen

Laptops

Try disconnecting any external displays including projectors and monitors to make sure they’re not stopping your laptop from booting into Windows.

If your computer’s power LED lights up and you can hear the hard disk or fan(s) whirring, but there’s no image on the screen, then make the room dark and check that there isn’t a very faint image on the screen.

It’s easy to think a laptop isn’t booting when in fact, it’s the screen that’s the problem.

If there is a faint image – maybe the Windows logon screen – then it’s likely that your screen’s inverter has failed. This component changes the direct current (DC) coming from the battery or power supply to an alternating current required by the screen.

Replacing an inverter isn’t too difficult if you’re handy with a screwdriver, but it’s crucial you buy the right replacement part. As inverters aren’t exactly cheap, you can’t afford to get it wrong.

If your laptop appears to be booting fine, but there’s no image at all, the LCD panel could be at fault. Replacing a laptop screen is possible, but difficult, and screens can also be costly. If it’s an older laptop, it’s worth considering buying a new one.

PCs

There isn’t much you can do to fix a broken PC monitor, but it’s easy – or easier – to swap the power lead and video cable or even the whole monitor to see if that’s the reason your PC won’t boot.

  1. Remove any USB drives or memory cards

Assuming everything is ok with the power supply and screen, your computer may be getting stuck before it loads Windows.

A classic culprit here is a USB drive or memory card left inserted into a USB port or card reader. Typically you’ll see an error message such as “Operating system not found” which can lead to unnecessary panic.

For the majority of the time, it means the BIOS is set to try booting from removable storage drives (including cards) before the internal hard drive.

It could also be a disc left in the DVD or Blu-ray drive, so check those too.

  1. Try a rescue disc

If you’re seeing different error messages, or there aren’t any cards, external drives or discs causing the problem, try using a rescue disc.

If you have one, the Windows DVD can be used, but otherwise you can download (using another computer – obviously) a rescue disc image and either burn it to a CD or DVD, or extract it to a USB flash drive. You can then boot from this and attempt to fix the problem with Windows.

  1. Boot into Safe Mode

Even if you can’t boot into Windows, you might be able to get into safe mode. Press F8 as your laptop is starting up and you’ll get a menu offering to boot into Safe Mode. Here’s how to enter safe mode.

  1. Check for faulty or incompatible hardware

If you’ve just installed some new memory or another piece of hardware, it might be preventing your computer from booting. Remove it (reinstalling the old memory if necessary) and try again.

If your motherboard has a LED readout showing POST codes, search the manual or online to find out what the code shown means.

Often it can be tricky to get a newly built PC to boot. The best tip here is to disconnect everything except the bare minimum needed to boot to the BIOS:

  • l Motherboard
  • l CPU (with heatsink attached)
  • l Graphics card (if there’s a graphics output on the motherboard, remove any plug-in graphics cards)
  • l One stick of memory (remove any others, and leave the single stick in slot 0 or whichever the manual recommends)
  • l Power supply
  • l Monitor

All other hardware is unnecessary: you don’t need a hard drive, optical drive or any other components for the PC to start.

How to factory reset Windows PC, laptop or tablet

Restoring your computer or tablet to the state it came out of the factory can be handy for a number of different reasons. Perhaps you’re having problems with performance, it’s picked up a virus, or you simply want to sell it on and remove all your programs, files, passwords, and other sensitive information.

If your device is just running slowly, you might only need our guide to speeding up Windows, but for more serious performance problems, a full reset might be in order.

It’s a little more difficult than a smartphone or a tablet but we’ll show you how to do it step by step. The process is slightly different depending on which version of Windows you have, because Windows 10 handles factory resets differently to previous versions, so we’ve split this guide up accordingly.

How to factory reset a Windows 10 computer or tablet

In Windows 10 the process is pretty easy, thanks to a built-in tool for resetting a PC. Open the Start menu and select Settings (the cog wheel). Now type ‘reset’ in the search bar and select ‘Reset this PC’ on the left when the results appear.

Under the Recovery section of Update & Security you can now hit ‘Get started’ to begin the process. During this you can select if you would like to keep files or do a full reset.

The process is identical for a Windows 10 tablet, because the operating system is almost identical across computers and tablets.

How to factory reset a Windows 7 or 8 computer

Factory resetting a computer running an older version of Windows is a little trickier, because there’s no reset tool built into the operating system.

Some computers come with recovery discs, which is a fairly easy way of performing a factory reset – you can just insert the disc and follow the instructions. Just remember to back up your files first!

Windows 8 computers will sometimes have a recovery application which is launched from within Windows, rather than from a disc, so check your app menu.

If you didn’t get any discs in the box, and don’t have a preinstalled recovery app, then there’s a good chance your PC or laptop has a recovery partition instead.

This is a hidden part of the hard drive which safely stores a complete copy of Windows, drivers and extra programs. You can use it return your computer to the exact state it was in the first day you had it – and it will perform just the same, too.

Backup any data which you wish to keep before performing a factory reset. You will probably want to copy everything from your user folders, including documents, photos, music and videos. The factory reset will delete all these along with any programs you’ve installed since you got your laptop.

  1. Start up or reboot your laptop.
  2. During the start-up process, hit the appropriate F key or key combination which we have listed below for your manufacturer.
  3. You should see instructions on the screen explaining how to proceed. Different manufacturers use different software to restore the ‘disk image’ from the recovery partition, so we can’t provide specific guidance. However, the process is almost always automatic once you’ve confirmed you definitely want to proceed.

It might be a case of waiting for 30 minutes for the job to happen in one go, but some systems restore Windows first, and then install drivers and programs automatically when Windows first boots. If that’s the case, don’t try to do anything until you see a message saying the restore has finished.

How to downgrade iOS 11

If you’ve upgraded to iOS 11 and got cold feet, it’s possible to downgrade, but only if you’re quick.

There are two main ways to do it, one of which requires you to have a backup and the other which – fortunately – doesn’t. Here we’ll explain how to downgrade iOS 11.

How to downgrade iOS: Method 1 – no backup needed*

* You may lose your text messages, but all other settings and apps will remain after the downgrade

  1. Download the appropriate IPSW file for your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Make sure iTunes on your computer is the latest version. If not, download and install it.
  3. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer and then click on your device when it appears.
  4. Under the Summary section, click the Check for Updates button while holding Shift (Windows) or Option (Mac).
  5. Now navigate to and choose the IPSW file you downloaded.
  6. Your device will be ‘updated’ to iOS 10.

As we said, the process will downgrade your phone or iPad without deleting all your stuff, but you will lose any text messages. So next time you upgrade, either make a full backup or don’t upgrade!

How to downgrade iOS: Method 2 – using a backup you already have

Not unreasonably, Apple doesn’t encourage downgrading to a previous version of iOS, but it is possible.

Currently Apple’s servers are still signing iOS 10.3.3. You can’t go back any further, unfortunately, which could be an issue if your most recent backup was made while running an older version of iOS (even version 10.3.2).

Let’s be clear: you can only restore a backup which was made while your phone or tablet was running iOS 10.3.3.

Our Macworld UK colleagues have a great guide to how to back up an iPhone, here. The key thing is to make sure you always have an up-to-date full backup, which is why it’s best to do a full password-protected backup via iTunes. You can also back up to iCloud to get a second chance of recovering your contacts, photos and other things.

Step 1.

To reinstall iOS 10 you need the relevant .ipsw file for your model of iPhone or iPad. Older versions won’t work as they’re not being ‘signed’ – or approved – by Apple’s servers.

(Mac users, if the ipsw file is stored on your Mac hard drive you can find it by following the path youruserfolder/Library/iTunes/ and then within a folder called iPad Software Updates, iPhone Software Updates or iPad Software Updates.)

If you can’t find the latest one on your Mac, or your a PC user, simply run a search for ‘download ipsw’ and select and download the appropriate file for your device. There are plenty of sites to choose from, including https://ipsw.me/ which helpfully tells you which versions are currently being signed.

Step 2.

Note: If you’re reading this after the final version of iOS 11 is release to the public you will have only a short time to downgrade (in past years as little as one week after the initial release date – not the date on which you upgraded) before it becomes impossible without a jailbroken phone.

Disable the Find My iPhone/iPad feature on the device if you’ve enabled it. You’ll find it in Settings > iCloud.

Plug in to your PC or Mac your iPhone or iPad. Launch iTunes. Click on your device in the iTunes interface and select Summary. Now hold down the Alt/Option key (Shift on a PC), and click the Restore iPhone button.

Now navigate to the IPSW file on your desktop and click Open. Your PC will now reinstall iOS 10.3.3 on your iPad or iPhone. Or it should…

Go into Recovery mode

If iTunes says you’re already running the latest version of iOS on your device, you may need to use Recovery mode. Completely power off the device, plug one end of the syncing cable into your computer and hold down the Home button on the iPhone/iPad while you connect the cable to it. When the ‘Connect to iTunes’ screen appears, release the Home button.

Restore your backup

If you have managed to go back, you’ll have a near-blank iPhone with none of your stuff on it. That’s where the backup you made comes in.

In iTunes click the Restore iPhone… button and choose the appropriate backup. It may take an hour or so, but your phone will be back to the way it was when you made the backup.

If you have no backup, you’ll have to sync music, videos and other content from iTunes or iCloud. You can then go to the App Store and download anything you’ve previously purchased after logging in with your Apple ID.

How the Internet of Things is changing privacy

In a world where almost every device connects to the Internet, and life without the web is inconceivable, privacy is a luxury we can no longer afford. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to enjoy everything the Internet has to offer yet still enjoy some privacy?

Recent studies indicate that the sheer number of AI-enabled virtual assistants will surpass humanity by 2021. Wearables, smart-home devices and smart TVs are expanding their share rapidly amid the increasing diversity and versatility of AI. Four years from now, this group alone will count roughly 1.6 billion devices. But the proliferation of smart devices comes at a heavy cost – one we’ve been paying willingly, for the sake of their services: privacy & security.

Digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri are constantly listening for user input, and learning, to deliver their invaluable contextual services. Biometric hardware like smart bracelets and smart watches store copious amounts of information about our physiology. Smart TV’s now come equipped with cameras. It only takes a piece of malware like Mirai to make one realize just how easy it is for hackers to grab control of these devices and peek into our private lives.

Consumers today are practically surrendering their privacy with each new dumb device they upgrade. Those who go to the trouble of reading the privacy policy / data collection policy for each smart device they use can be considered a minority. Or, to make them justice, an elite. A Pew Research study from 2014 revealed that half of online Americans didn’t even know what a privacy policy was.

Worse still, the cultural understanding of the “privacy policy” label among many consumers is that it “protects” your privacy, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“The general sense among marketers is that people understand that their data is being used, but we’ve found in our research that people don’t truly understand how data mining works,” according to Joseph Turow, who studies privacy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. “They may realize that one or two pieces of their information are being given out; what they don’t realize is that those one or two data points can be linked with other sources to uncover information they would have never given out in the first place.”

In other words, users are unaware that by giving away different pieces of information to different services, someone with access to that data can connect the dots and make a more complete profile of the user.

Experts warn that privacy challenges will, in fact, worsen as wearables, smart cars, smart home appliances and other members of the IoT family become linked together. Anticipating this trend, Bitdefender created BOX, a central hub that protects an entire household of connected devices, from smart TVs to Wi-Fi thermostats to gaming consoles.

As for smartphones, tablets and laptops, even connected on public networks they are secured as they were at home – protected from malware, data theft, fraud, phishing, spying and online threats. The iOS/Android BOX app keeps users informed on network events and offers access to parental controls. Users can push updates, locate lost devices, perform system tune-ups, even limit international data roaming or mobile plans.

IoT proliferation has the potential to infringe on basic human rights and Internet principles by collecting data with an unprecedented level of detail. Instead of crippling services for the sake of preserving our privacy, BOX works proactively to secure our data and enable smart devices to work as intended.

The best gaming laptops for 2017

Your guide to the latest and best gaming laptops of 2017. Check out our latest reviews and buying advice on the top gaming laptops for this year.

What’s the best gaming laptop you can buy in the UK?

  1. Asus RoG G752VM

The Asus ROG G752VM is a terrific gaming laptop for those who want top performance in a form designed to handle that power with ease. It doesn’t get overly hot or loud, even under a good amount of pressure, making us confident that even the step-up model with the Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU will also be a joy to use. As the prices of top-end style laptops like the MacBook Pro and HP Spectre 13 increase, the Asus ROG G752VM starts to look like an even better buy than last year’s models. And, as hoped, the latest 10-series Nvidia graphics cards blow away what came before. Despite being two rungs lower, gaming performance is not all that far off the former top dog GTX 980M, and similar to that of the desktop-grade GTX 970. In other words, it’s perfect for 1080p gaming. There are just a few issues. A textured glass (rather than plastic) trackpad would have been appreciated and we’d like to see Asus put a little more work into the sound quality of the speakers, rather than just trying to make them as loud as possible.

  1. Asus ROG Strix GL702VM

We have just one issue with the Asus ROG Strix GL702V: its trackpad does some strange things, most likely because of driver issues. Operating under the assumption this can or will be fixed, this is a great gaming laptop. It’s not incredibly expensive by today’s standards but still gets you desktop-grade gaming power, a good display, solid build and fair battery life. Thanks to the great power of Nvidia’s latest laptops graphics cards, this could well be the only gaming machine you need. And this particular one is hundreds cheaper than some others using the same GPU.

  1. Alienware 15 R3

The Alienware 15 R3 is a gaming laptop that is hard to beat. It has as much power as any of its mainstream rivals, and has lighting that is both eye-catching and customisable, but can also be switched off when you’d rather let you laptop slip into the background. It’s very well-made, the keyboard is great and the frame has some connections you sometimes only see in a laptop dock. However, its omission of a memory card slot is odd, the fan system is fairly loud and while hardcore gamers may appreciate the use of (in some models) a TN display it doesn’t do pure image quality many favours. As usual with an Alienware machine, you can find similar specs for less money from value-driven alternatives from, for example, PC Specialist and the HP Omen range. Its price is competitive with its direct rivals, the Acer Predator and Asus RoG series, and this is easily the slimmest and classiest-looking of the trio.

  1. Alienware 17 R4

There’s no doubt that the Alienware 17 R4 is one of the most capable gaming laptops we’ve seen, making easy work of our CPU and GPU benchmark tests and providing generally smooth gameplay. The design is eye-catching too, sporting a flurry of customisable LEDs across the body of the laptop, although it’ll never look as sleek and attractive as a MacBook Pro.

But while the Alienware 17 R4 is a powerful beast, it’s not perfect; it gets hot and loud fairly quickly, it’s heavy at over 4kg and we feel like it should feature one or two more USB ports, especially when boasting VR compatibility. And while it is incredibly powerful, our build was incredibly expensive too.

  1. MSI GL62-6QC 065UK

The MSI GL62 looks like a pretty plain entry-level gaming laptop at first, but it has a few neat tricks up its sleeve. Not everyone’s going to love the SteelSeries keyboard, but its mechanical key-inspired feel is something different, and its display colour saturation is impressive at the price, even if the screen won’t blow you away in other respects.

This isn’t a laptop for hardcore gamers or performance snobs, but it is a solid machine with the right level of future-proofing and a display that makes a punchy first impression. Plus, it’s much more affordable than the latest gaming laptops with the fastest graphics cards.

Huawei Mate 10 latest rumours: Release date & UK pricing

Huawei’s Mate 10 is coming on 16 October, but the company may have already given us a look at one of the three upcoming versions. We reveal the latest rumours on what you can expect from the new phone, including the price, design and features, and newly leaked photos.

Huawei started 2017 with a bang: after announcing that the high-end Mate 9 would go on sale in the UK, it showcased the gorgeous and colourful Huawei P10. But in true Huawei fashion, the company isn’t done yet. In fact, Huawei is due to announce the bezel-less Huawei Mate 10 – and Mate 10 Pro – later this year.

At IFA 2017 in Berlin CEO Richard Yu announced details on the upcoming phone’s chipset: the 10nm Kirin 970. An innovative HiAI mobile computing architecture will deliver 25 times better CPU performance and 50 times greater energy efficiency, claims the company.

When will the Huawei Mate 10 be released in the UK?

Looking back at the November 2016 launch of the Huawei Mate 9, it’s safe to assume that the Huawei Mate 10 will launch around the same time in 2017. While there’s nothing official from the company just yet, a recent Huawei leak may have confirmed the date and location of the announcement.

The confirmation comes from an official invite with the tagline “Meet the device worth waiting for” scribbled on a backdrop featuring the number 10, suggesting it’ll focus on the Huawei Mate 10.

The invite claims that the launch will take place on October 16, 2017 in Munich, Germany. While it’s a little earlier than the launch of the Mate 9 last year, it also took place in Munich, leading us to believe this is the real deal.

At IFA 2017, RIchard Yu, CEO of Hauwei has confirmed during a keynote that it is indeed the Mate 10 that will be launched on 16 October. He also revealed the processor that will be in the phone – see below.

We’ll update this section when we know more, but it’s safe to assume we’ll see the announcement of the Huawei Mate 10 on 16 October 2017.

Evan Blass has suggested the Mate 10 Lite and Standard models will ship later in October, with the Mate 10 Pro coming in December.

How much will the Huawei Mate 10 cost?

While we won’t know the official UK price of the upcoming Huawei Mate 10 until it’s announced in October (and maybe not even then, judging by previous Huawei announcements), we can look back at the launch of the Huawei Mate 9 to hazard a guess.

Back when the Huawei Mate 9 was first launched, it set UK consumers back £599. While that may seem a little steep, it was filled with high-end tech that also made its way into the Huawei P10 months later.

Now, if the below design and feature rumours are to be believed, Huawei could either be extremely smart and stick to the £599 price point and make its bezel-less display a true Galaxy S8/LG G6 competitor, or it could charge a little more and compete directly with flagship smartphones. Some rumours suggest it could cost more than $1000 (around £725).

We hope it’s the former, but we’ll have to wait to find out for sure.

How to protect your PC from CCleaner hack

How to ensure your PC is safe following an August CCleaner attack that affects 2.27 million users.

CCleaner has been hacked, it has emerged, putting some 2.27 million PC users at risk. CCleaner is a clean-up utility, so the last thing users would expect it to do is add malware to their computers.

The malware, which has been present in the software for the past month, sends various data such as the computer name, IP address, and lists of installed and active software and network adapters to a server in the US.

Piriform, the company behind CCleaner, is adamant that no sensitive data has been targeted, and confirms that it has now shut down this server before any known harm could be done.

How to protect your PC from the CCleaner hack

The good news is that Piriform has already fixed the vulnerability, taken down the server and, for those running the Cloud version (1.07.3191) of its software, the update has been automated.

However, those running the standard version will want to ensure they have updated to the latest version, particularly if they downloaded it in the past month.

The affected software is CCleaner 5.33.6162 (32-bit). Users should ensure they are running version 5.34 or higher.

You can download the latest version of CCleaner from Piriform’s website.

If you would rather uninstall CCleaner from Windows 10 go to Start, Settings, System, Apps & Features, then find it in the list and select Uninstall.

How to move to SD card on Android

We explain how to move apps to an SD card, and how to store files and photos on a memory card in an Android phone or tablet.

Many cheap Android phones come with a paltry 4 or 8GB of storage, and even 16GB isn’t really enough for lots of apps, high-resolution photos and videos, plus a music library. Fortunately, the vast majority of Android phones have a memory card slot, into which you can slot an inexpensive microSD card.

What you need to know about microSD

Before you buy one, check what capacity your phone will support. Flagship phones tend to accommodate 128GB or higher, but many cheap Androids accept only 32GB. To be fair, 32GB will be enough for most people. We’ve tested and rated all the best microSD cards.

Once you’ve got the microSD card, it’s easy to set things up so that it becomes the default place for new apps, photos, videos, music and more. You can switch the storage location within your camera settings or Google Play Music settings, for example. But what about the stuff already clogging up your phone’s internal storage?

How to move apps to SD card

First, let’s clear up something important: not all apps can be moved to microSD, and some phones won’t let you move apps to SD at all. This means phones with just 4- or 8GB of internal storage can still run into problems even with a microSD card if you download and use a lot of apps.

Whether or not an app can be moved to microSD is down to the app developer and, sometimes, the phone manufacturer.

The Galaxy S8 is one of several phones that does allow you to move apps to SD, but you should note that those apps won’t be available when you remove the SD card. The screenshots below have been taken on a Galaxy S8 and may look a little different to what you’re seeing on your own phone, but the process should be largely the same.

To move an app to the SD card select it in the Settings > Apps menu, then tap on Storage. If you are able to move the app to SD you will see a ‘Change’ button next to Storage used: Internal shared storage.

Here we’ve selected BBC iPlayer, which was not preinstalled on the phone and can be moved (preinstalled apps often cannot be moved). Also note our screenshot of Bixby Voice, however, which lacks this Change button and therefore can’t be moved.

To move an app to SD tap the Change button and select the SD card option in the pop-up menu. You’ll see a screen offering to export the app, warning you that you shouldn’t remove the SD card while this is in progress. Tap Move. The transfer will then take place.

It’s worth pointing out that many free apps are available that offer to automate this process for you. If you’re concerned about storage then adding yet another app probably isn’t the best idea, but you can always uninstall it once it has done its job.

Move to SD card greyed out

In older versions of Android you may find the option to Move to SD card will be greyed out, as is the case with the Amazon Music app that is preinstalled on this EE Harrier Mini. These apps cannot be moved to microSD.

Format SD as internal storage

Note that some phones require you to set the SD card as internal storage first, before you can migrate any data. The HTC U11 is an example so you’ll need to find the microSD card in the storage section of the settings menu and ‘Format as internal’. The process will be similar on other phones.

How to move photos, video, music and files to SD

The easiest method of moving files to SD is browse to Settings > Storage on your Android phone or tablet, then look for an option to ‘Transfer data to SD card’. Not all Android devices have this option, and if yours doesn’t you’ll need to manually move the files.

The second easiest way to quickly move photos, video, music and other files to a microSD card is to do so using a PC or Mac. Hook up the phone to your computer via a USB cable, then open a new window to browse its contents.

You should be able to see the phone’s internal storage and SD card as two separate storage devices. We’re using Android File Transfer on a Mac, which shows the Internal storage and SD card on separate tabs.

How to speed up Windows and make your computer faster

If Windows seems sluggish, you can restore good performance using these simple techniques. Here’s how to make your laptop or PC faster.

When you get a new laptop or PC, it always starts up and responds quickly. But as you install apps, games and fill up the hard drive with music, documents and photos it can slow down and even take minutes to start up. There are many things that can make Windows slow, but you should be able to restore most of its original speed without spending any money at all.

But if your laptop or PC has a traditional hard drive rather than a modern SSD, then it can be well worth spending some money and buying an SSD: it’s still the single most effective performance upgrade for most people.

Regardless of your computer’s hardware, there are various things you can do to speed up Windows, and here are our top tips.

Get rid of startup programs

Part of the reason well-used PCs take so long to start is because of all the applications and utilities you’ve installed. Many automatically run when Windows starts up, yet most of them don’t need to and should only use up resources when you actually need to use them.

At the right side of the taskbar, click the upwards-facing arrow to display the notification icons. Each is a program that loads with Windows. Some are essential – antivirus software for example – but others may not be. Right-click each one and if there is a Settings menu, select it and turn off the option to start automatically with Windows.

Some programs, such as Google Drive, can be manually started when they are needed instead of running all the time.

To disable all the other programs and ‘helpers’ apps that start with Windows, press Windows+R, type msconfig and click Ok. Select the Services tab, tick ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ and see what’s left.

There may be services you can live without and clearing the tick box prevents them from running. For example, Firefox works perfectly well without the Mozilla Maintenance Service.

On the Startup tab (use Task Manager – right-click on the taskbar and choose Task Manager in Windows 8 and Windows 10 to find this) are lots of programs that start with Windows. Knowing what to disable isn’t easy, but you can use Google to search for items and see if they are necessary, useful or neither of those.

Check for malware and other nasties

It’s advisable to run a system scan to ensure that there are no erroneous pieces of software causing harm and slowing down your machine. If you rely on Windows Defender for your security then you’ll need to go to the Start Menu>Settings>Update and Security>Windows Defender then in the right hand panel scroll down until you see Open Windows Defender.

Click this and then in the next window on the right hand side there are options to run a Quick, Full, or Custom scan. Make sure you won’t need your PC for a little while and opt for the Full version.

Then click on Scan now. If Windows finds anything untoward it will let you know and suggest ways to deal with the issue.

If you use another antivirus package, such as AVG, Norton, McAfee, or similar, you’ll need to launch the program and find the option to perform a system scan. They are usually very easy to discover.

Tame the visual effects

Windows 10 is quite a pretty operating system, with various animations used throughout. While these visual effects afford a sense of style they can also be a source of ponderance on machines that are a little older. Thankfully they are easy to turn off.

Open the Windows Start Menu and type advanced system settings and select the top result. In the window that appears there is a section marked Performance, with a button for Settings.

Click this and a list of the various visual effects will appear. You can either untick the ones you think might be problematic, or simply select the Adjust for best performance option at the top. Remember to click OK to save the changes.

Reinstall Windows

The ultimate speed-up technique is to reinstall Windows. This removes all unwanted software that slows down the PC, erases adware and other malware, clears out junk files and so on.

A Windows disc is needed for old versions of Windows, but Windows 8 and 10 have a built in Refresh option that makes the job easy. In Windows 8 bring up the Charms bar on the right side of the screen and click Settings, Change PC settings.

Click Update and recovery, then Recovery. Under Refresh your PC without affecting your files, click Get started.

In Windows 10, click the cog icon on the Start menu to bring up the new Settings app. Click Update & security, then choose Recovery from the menu on the left. You’ll see the ‘Reset this PC’ option on the right.

Free up disk space

Your PC’s hard disk slows down as it fills up and uninstalling software helps to free up space giving more room for Windows to work faster. Disk space can be freed up in various ways, and we’ve written a full guide to finding and deleting large and duplicate files.

You can delete files manually, or install a utility (we recommend some in that guide) to do a deeper search and make the job quicker and easier. There’s a right way and a wrong way to use these programs, though.

Select just a few items and clean them, making sure the app backs up the changes. If the PC is working OK, go ahead and clean a few more items, but if it isn’t, restore the backup. Do not clean everything in one go because if something goes wrong you won’t know where the problem is.

Upgrade your hardware

All of the techniques discussed so far for speeding up the PC take you only so far. They restore the original PC’s performance, but this may not be sufficient. An old PC might not be capable of running the latest game or other software you want to use. A five year old model will struggle with the latest games, apps and operating system. For this reason, a hardware upgrade may be required and this will boost the PC’s performance beyond its original specification and narrow the gap between your current PC and the latest ones.