Your views and feedback from email and the web
Ultimate advice
Your review of Avast Ultimate (see issue 355, p84) reassures me that I have no need to think about changing my antivirus software.
In the final column of the review, you mention your entirely reasonable annoyance at banner ads that prompt users to purchase additional apps such as Avast Breach Guard and Avast Driver Updater. Users can disable such pop-up ads in the configuration menu for Avast Premium Security. Head to Menu | Settings | Personal Privacy | Offers and then just untick the two boxes in that section, as shown in the screenshot.
Simples!
Raymond Dalgleish
Second-hand thinking
Have you ever featured an article on buying second-hand computers and components? As a budget-conscious PC user, I am often tempted by second-hand PCs and parts but am unsure if buying such makes sense. I like the idea of recycling and reducing landfill, but not at the cost of productivity and reliability. What are the positives and the pitfalls of used machines and parts? An article on this topic would be most helpful.
Simon Unwin
Editor-in-chief Tim Danton responds: The simple answer is yes, and as luck would have it Lee Grant covers the pros and cons of buying refurbished PCs this month (see p34). (To anyone suspicious about such things, no, Simon’s letter is not a plant!)We also wrote a feature about buying second-hand PCs back in 2019. If you subscribe, you can access it via the apps or at magazine.pcpro.co.uk. Head to issue 299, turn to p28, and you can read further tips on buying a second-hand PC.
Every little helps
I’d like to offer Farley David and Peter Sherwood some help in making their supermarket shopping easier (see Readers’ comments, issues 354 and 355 respectively). The Tesco smartphone app has a facility for searching for a particular item and, alongside the item, it displays which aisle you can find it in. Also, there’s a Shopping List section where you can choose items to build your list – at the top of the list is a toggle for “Sort shopping list by aisle”. So to claim that no stores have offered a technical solution for making your shopping easier is not quite right – it’s here!
John Clifton, Smile IT Ltd
Just the business
I’ve been using consumer Netgear mesh Wi-Fi systems for a few years, but where I’m now living in France presents some problems. My office is in a different building to the house, a gîte, some of the walls are two-foot th
