Our Best USB-C Chargers of 2024: Your Ultimate Buying Guide

If you are torn on the idea of picking up a new PC because yours is getting old and slow but don’t want to spend the money on a brand-new computer just yet, another great option is looking at some physical upgrades for it.

SSD Upgrades

Our most popular improvement is an SSD upgrade. This is taking the old hard drive (HDD) in your computer, where everything is stored, and transferring it to a new solid-state drive (SSD). Almost every new computer you buy will come with an SSD and now we are able to bring your computer up to the same level. On paper it is 2x faster than your old HDD, but we have recorded improvements of over 3x the speed on booting up and opening applications, and with prices starting at £80 for a 500GB SSD, including data transfer and fitting, this is the first upgrade we suggest to people when their computer is running slow.

RAM Upgrades

Another enhancement we have seen performance benefits from are RAM upgrades. We often see older computers with 2GB-4GB of RAM which is fine when they came out but with applications becoming a lot more resource intensive, we suggest 8GB as an adequate amount. The price of RAM has dropped over the years as well, so prices start at £60 (fitted) for 8GB of DDR4 RAM which makes this a very low-cost solution to an out-of-date computer.

Health Checks

If a physical improvement is not necessarily what you are looking for, then maybe a health check would be better. This includes a full service of the computer, diagnostics, updates and clear out of unneeded system files. Bringing your computer in for a service doesn’t just speed it up though, it will keep it clean, up to date and give it an extended life as well. But not every computer comes in for its service and then straight back out, just like your car, there can be issues we find with the computer, but the service gives us the opportunity to catch it before anything catastrophic happens like a failing hard drive. Just having a chance to look at the computer will allow us to spot any problems starting to arise and can either fix them or suggest a replacement before it’s too late and you end up with all your data lost. With Health Checks costing £48 it is worth contacting us and getting your computer in, so you can browse with the confidence that your computer is healthy and secure.

Still time to buy a new computer?

If none of these options interest you and you have still got your heart set on that new shiny PC, we can also help you out there. We sell new and renewed computers so if you tell us your needs and budget, we will be able to find you a PC that fits you perfectly. Whether you need a fancy custom-built PC, a new Fujitsu laptop for work or a renewed* HP computer for home use we supply it all and if you buy through us, we move your data from the old machine to the new one for free.

*Our new ‘renewed’ range of computers are really showing their worth at the moment, not only are they a fraction of the price of a new computer but they are also more eco-friendly by keeping the amount of tech trash down and creating a new life for these computers. If you would like to find out more about these watch our YouTube video here explaining what we have on offer.

Contact us

If you are interested in any of these services and would like to book in a time to upgrade, or even if you would just like some more information on it, call us on 01553 776937 or email support@rlscomputers.co.uk

Before getting into the comparisons, there are a few technical words that you need to be aware of.

• 2 factor authentication (2FA)– This is quite a new concept but has taken off very quickly and your more than likely already using it. 2FA is the process of typing in your password and then still having to do something else on another device or account, the most common one is entering a code you got as a text.

• Biometric login– This one is pretty simple, this is using your fingerprint and facial recognition to login, most smartphone have this built in nowadays.

Now below are some of the best password managers for the web, that we have evaluated and are available to the public. These are the first ones you come across if you’re looking for password managers, so they have been broken down and tested so you don’t have to.

Dashlane

If you are looking for password managers, then Dashlane is one you will come across straight away. Overall, it is a very good option with few setbacks, If you pay for the premium experience then you will have unlimited access to all the features but the free version is definitely not to be over looked.

Pros

• 2FA
• Biometrics login
• compatible across all devices and browsers.
• Bulk password changer to enforce regular changes.
• Easy to use
• Importing of old passwords
• Dark web monitor to check if any details have been involved in a breach (premium)
• Ability to save bank cards, IDs and notes as well, all securely.

Cons

• Free version can only be used on one device.
• Premium is $3.99 (£3.46) per month per person or $5.99 (£5.19) for 6 users
• Had issues receiving 2FA email

Summary:

After using Dashlane for a little while, I can see its uses. However, it can be a bit over the top with wanting to save details. The prompt to save passwords will come up quite a lot, even when you haven’t logged into anything, and I have also had it make some mistakes saving details with the 2FA number I put into the website. Despite this I could see Dashlane as a password manager I use permanently in the future.

1 Password

1 password is another safe bet when it comes to password managers. There is no free version, however there is a 14-day trial so this isn’t the end of the world as the premium is still at a very reasonable price compared to its competitors’. With costs being $2.99 (£2.60) per month per user or $4.99 (£4.34) for 5 users. It has a few more features than Dashlane as well, which are listed below.

Pros

• 2FA
• Lots of security features
• 1GB of secure document storage
• Compatible across all devices and browsers.
• Unlimited devices
• Password Sharing

Cons

• No free version
• User interface not as easy to use compared to other password managers

Summary:

After some use of 1 Password, I have found it is not as easy to use as other password managers, the user interface in the site dashboard is a lot harder to use and navigate to find your passwords. It also has no free version, so a 14-day free trial is all I got. The prompts for entering and saving passwords are nowhere near as big and in your face which I like, however I wouldn’t say this makes up for its outdated look.

LastPass:

LastPass is another good option despite its recent security concerns, where no passwords were compromised according to the verge. It is easy to use and has complete sync across mobile and desktop devices.

Pros

• 2FA
• 1GB of file storage
• 1-to-1 sharing
• Unlimited passwords
• Compatible across all devices and browsers

Cons

• Security reputation
• Only available on one device on free version
• Premium $2.60 (£2.23) per month per person or $3.40 (£2.91) for 6 accounts

Summary:

LastPass was relatively easy to use, it had a better user interface than 1 Password, however I did have some issues using the links to websites from in Lastpass. Some wouldn’t work and some took me to the wrong websites. This isn’t the conventional way of getting to websites so I wouldn’t worry too much but it may be an issue when it’s trying to find passwords for certain websites.

Browser Managers

Browser Managers are ones that you will be using every day without realising. When you sign into a new site on the internet you sometime get a box come up asking if you’d like to save the password, this is your password manager.

Pros

• Completely free to use
• Most modern browsers have them built in
• Can be used in that browser no matter the device, as long as your logged in
• 2FA (depending on browser)

Cons

• Passwords saved in one browser can’t easily be used in another
• Not as secure as actual password managers

Summary:

I have been using browser managers for years now and have never had a problem with them however they are very simple. You get no special features that tell you if your password needs changing or if it has been compromised but if you’re looking for something quick, simple and free, they are the way to go.

Overall Summary:

In summary all the password mangers have pretty much the same features, what is comes down to is the price and the ease of use. I have used them all to find the one I prefer, and I would suggest you do too, all have some kind of free trial so you are able to find the one you find easiest to use.

Hopefully, this has helped you understand password mangers and how to get the most out of your IT. If you need any further advice, please get in touch. 01553 776937 or email support@rlscomputers.co.uk

*Prices correct at the time of publishing

Software Links

https://www.dashlane.com/ – Dashlane

https://www.lastpass.com/ – Lastpass

https://1password.com/sign-up/ – 1 Password

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95606?hl=en-GB&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop – How to find and mange passwords in Chrome

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-remember-delete-edit-logins – How to find and mange passwords in Firefox

After more than twenty years of using Quicken for our household accounts, even after the 2006 issue proved to be the last for European customers, I decided enough was enough and I should make an effort to move into the modern age. I thought I must be one of the last dinosaurs, but since so many current budgeting programs give help for migrating Quicken users, accepting their data as HAZ files, there must be plenty of us still roaming around.

So which to choose? I initially picked Home Accountz v3 — and found myself struggling in a bog of trouble. I had that solid rock of support, Rob, at my back to help me import my old files, but straightaway even he had surprises: for instance, we had to import all accounts, the data files, in one go, regardless of whether we still wanted them or not, nor could we use one as a trial run.

In setting up my imported files, my biggest mistake was to assume the account names (eg “Credit card”) implied a group description into which your individual accounts would fit, so I entered all of them under that title. As a result, my three credit card accounts, for instance, all merged into the one “Credit card” account, and our two ISAs became one “Savings” account, so I had to delete them all and start again, entering them as separate files in their own right. Then I was foxed by the fact that the Balances columns bore no relation to either the imported data or bank statements, in spite of all of them being reconciled in the past. (More of that later…)

Standing Orders were Automated Transactions, operated as Recurring Transactions, which I found best to enter manually as automated, and definitely not to “Enter Now”. But all these were just minor details compared with trying to use the program at all.

For a start, it was not just agonisingly slow, but repeatedly stuttered to a complete halt. It was impossible to know when it was simply thinking very, very, slowly or had given up altogether. I was always having to start again. Was it me, was it my computer? Rob downloaded it and had a go in his lab, and lo, it crashed his computer! At that point, I gave up.

Rob did some searching around for me (bless him) and found Home Accounts 4, from EZPZ software, and — mostly — it’s been bliss. It is simple, perfect for domestic use. It has a massive (117 pages) User Guide, which, being anxious and cautious, I printed out, and it is one of the most comprehensive and helpfully accessible guides of any program I’ve come across. You can also use their forum, or even personally email for help, which their advice-guy, John Beachill, answers impressively quickly.

We were able to import only what we wanted, it was easy to set up accounts, and to work with them. BUT. I’ve met the same old problem of weird balances, which seem calculated utterly anew from the original file, in spite of all the contributing data coming through exactly. Since our accounts date from the beginning of time, the total figures are gigantic. I was so puzzled by the first bank account I examined that I simply turned it into a dormant one, and started again from the current date with an opening balance. Then I realised that some at least of the problem might lie in the fact that transferred transactions (for example, paying into a credit card account from a current account) were omitted. Why? They were all there in the imported data. When importing accounts I had carefully not ticked any entries that had been marked as duplicates — had I got that wrong?

I searched the users’ forum without success, so I asked for help. John replied: “When importing transactions the file contains the transactions for a single bank account. If there are bank to bank transfers involved then these would be added from the first file and should then not need to be duplicated when transactions for the other bank account involved in such transfers are imported. So no, you weren’t wrong to untick the duplicates.”

That didn’t really help, so I repeated that no transfers seemed to have gone through, and got this advice: “I see, so none of the transfers between accounts have been imported. Did our software fail to pick them up or did you not tick them to include them?

“Make a backup in case you need to go back to your current position. Try importing again from the same file. Transactions that have already been imported should come up as matched to reduce the risk of importing them twice. Concentrate on any transfers you spot. Based on the account you are importing the transactions into, think about whether the transfer will be paid in or out for the bank account. You should then be able to select the other bank account, assuming it already exists, from the Category dropdown. You can then just tick those transfers and import them.”

Simple, yes? I offer this to anyone who has the same problem, but at the moment, I can’t face re-importing everything. It may be lazy, but for purely personal, domestic records, it seems to me easier to repeat my first solution, and start the accounts again with a correct opening balance. I won’t have lost any information other than balances (dates, what bought where, memos etc), and that’s my only reason for looking back.

It’s still a mystery to me why both the programs provided weird balances (because presumably other people must be managing all right!) But apart from this, I’m quite happy to battle on with Home Accounts. Wish me luck.

The lovely chap who runs RLS Computer Services seems to think a few notes on the journey taken by an ordinary, non-expert PC user, while coming to grips with Windows 8.1 in a new computer, might be of interest to someone. So here goes.

Some of the changes still strike me as bizarre. Why do we have pretty pictures in boxes (yes, I know — apps) lurking in a “Start” that in my mind actually feels not like a start area but somewhere in the back of my computer, instead of plain old program names listed easily where one can see them? Even now I haven’t found an “All Programs” (surely it’s somewhere?) although the Windows Help pages assume there is still an initial “Start > All programs” instruction.

Most of my problems are due to my being blind or silly, and I solve them eventually myself. The “Mail” email program was a pain — for example I couldn’t print an excerpt, only a whole email — so we swapped that for “Windows Live Mail”. At first I raged against the loss of the old “address book”, and fought my way through the complicated process of searching, editing, copying (I couldn’t) addresses through “Start > People” etc , until one day I suddenly realised “Contacts” was right there on the bottom left of my screen. Duh. On the other hand, so is “Recovered items” — and that baffles me. I had been thrilled to find it: occasionally while writing an email I have touched something mysterious (I’ve never known what) and the whole thing has vanished in a flash. Gone! Where? Aha, maybe this is where I can find it, except that there are only files with a date and a strange number that I can’t see a way to open. I’ve combed through the online Help sites without success — so far.

Similarly, I missed having the old “Undo” arrow, until discovering I should know about Ctrl+Z. But why not simply include it in the quick access toolbar? I can no longer prompt Send or Receive, but have to wait for the program to do it. What is the difference between “Sent” and “Sent items”? Is “Sent” the old Outbox? And what is “Trash” versus “Junk”? Is Trash something I should be using for my own purposes? These seem to be questions that are too simple to appear on help pages. But some of us are simple.

A newcomer will probably find their way easily through all this “progress”, but to us older users (who have managed to evolve from manual typewriters through an awful lot of changes that would once have seemed pure magic) some of the innovations feel more, not less, complicated. For example, when copying from a removable disk I always end up using “location of choice” because I now find it hard to pin down the particular folder I want in my PC Documents and not in “OneDrive”, where it always wants to go. And why can I no longer see an option to send (or cut or copy) a web page, either as a page or a link?

I’ll get there. Many changes are rather nice: the layers of mail pages at the bottom of the screen, the panel that floats in from the top corner (if you get your cursor just right) that allows you quick access to help on the web. It’s just that there are moments when I spend more time working out how to tackle a detail than actually getting the job done…

 

Mrs S Hamilton, King’s Lynn