Make windows better

NirSoft, one of our favourite independent developers, has launched two tools measuring how long it takes your computer to boot and shut down. BootPerformanceView (www.snipca. com/55145) shows the boot

It’s always exciting to discover a free PC program that offers advanced features you usually have to pay for. It’s also interesting to try new open-source tools from independent developers on GitHub (

Can I create a keyboard shortcut to paste my email address? Q Can I create a keyboard shortcut that inserts my email address? Ideally, it would involve pressing no more than two keys. Robert Garbolins

I used to save everything to my Windows desktop – files, documents, software, the lot. I thought it was the only way to know where they were, but it made my desktop a complete mess. What I do now Now

System Restore has long been Microsoft’s most useful safety net, letting you roll back Windows to a time before something (often an update) messed it up. Now it has quietly lowered and narrowed that n

What you need: Screenbox Media Player Time required: An hour We’re big fans of VLC Media Player, but that’s made the wait for version 4.0 all the more frustrating. Version 3.0 arrived in 2018, and the