Computer Shopper - UK (2020-05)

LETTERS

ISSUE387|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MAY2020 7

In the next issue

COMPUTERSHOPPERISSUE388ON SALE IN NEWSAGENTS FROM 9thAPRIL

Theyear of

the laptop

Thenext generation

of laptops will be more

innovative,connected

and flexible than ever,

as manufacturers

take tips from the

smartphone market

to createall-in-one

machines forwork

and play

Machine

thinking

Artificial intelligence

(AI) is quietly

enteringall aspects

of ourlives.We

explore howsmart

machines now are,

and the dangers of

biased AI systems

Spec your

perfect PC

The best

processors, RAM,

motherboards,

storage and more

to build your

dream machine

personaldetails.Thisworksfineata
personallevel,notonlybecausemyelderly
friendsknowtheycantrustme,butalso
becausetheyknowthatatmyageIwon’t
rememberthedetailsanyway.
However,asweall get older and society
becomes ever more digital,wemay all
cross the Digital Divide at some time and,
just to survive,may be driven to seek the
help of younger,more technicallyliterate
people, whomwe maynot knowwell,or
even at all.
To avoidcreatingagolden opportunity
forscammers and fraudsters, Isuggest that
an official, free to use,walk-in or visiting
Digital Advice Bureau should be established,
wherepeopleneeding to access online sites
could be guided through whatever digital
servicetheywanttoaccessbytrusted,
vetted and highly competent Digital
Assistants operating under total discretion
with rigorous safeguards and mandatory
severe penaltiesfor any abuse.
This shouldbecomplemented by some
formof highly secure Digital Help Access
ID card forthose usingthe service,inorder
to store details that theholder maynot be
able to recall.
Such aschemecould offer atempting
businessopportunity forthe banking
industry to help recover its reputation as it
would be of obvious financial benefit, but it
would also require financial support from
thegovernment, sinceitwould be of
equallyclear social benefit.
Simon Battley

What ’s up,WhatsApp?

Here’s onefor yourResident Paranoid,

Mel Croucher.Mybrother andsister

owed me asmall amount of moneyfor a

donation I’d made.The easiestway to pay

(for me) was direct bank transfer.However,

sending bank details via text or email is a

no-no,sothe obvious secure systemto

useisWhatsApp.Icreated atemporary

broadcast list with their addressesinit(I’ve

successfully WhatsApp’dbeforetoboth of

them).Icreatedthe following message:

My bank details are

Sort code xx-xx-xx

Account number xxxxxxxx

Account name

Theydidn’tget the message. Looking back,

the message only got one tick.

Itried againaweek later, copying the

original message to the same broadcast

group.Still just one tick.

Ihavenever known aWhatsApp

transmission to fail. The complaint from

lawenforcement agencies wasthat,

because WhatsApp hasend-to-end

encryption, theycouldn’t see all sorts of

illegal practices going on, including,

presumably,details of bank accounts that

could be used formoneylaundering.

Can someone nownot only monitor

secure WhatsApp transmissions but

intervene to prevent delivery? Who and

how? Or amIjust being paranoid, andit

was just oneofthose (crazy) things?

IanHemmings

AccordingtoWhatsApp,therehavebeenno

changestoitsencryptionprocesses.Here’s

whatthefirmhastosayonitswebsite:

“WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption

ensures only you and the person you’re

communicating with can read what is sent,

and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp.

This is because your messages are secured

with alock, and only the recipient and you

have the special keyneeded to unlock and

read them. Foradded protection, every

message you send has its own unique lock

and key. All of this happens automatically: no

need to turn on settings or set up special

secret chats to secure your messages.”

Youcan also run an extra security check

foreach individual contact in any WhatsApp

group (though not the group itself). Click the

contact’s name and select Verify Security

Code from the popup list. Youcan then scan

the QR code if you’re near them, or send

them the 60-digit number to check you both

have the same one.

Make a

VPN router

We show you how

to createasecure

Wi-Finetwork to

protect yourself

from trackers

and hackers