Home Tech FAQ

For most home users on Windows 10 or 11, Defender is enough. You do not need to pay for Norton, McAfee or similar.

It is built in, scores consistently well in independent testing (see AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives), and does not nag you. Keep Windows Update on, keep SmartScreen enabled, and be careful what you click. That covers what a normal home user needs.

Defender plus a bit of common sense beats most paid antivirus. The common sense is free too, though sadly you can't install it from a download page.

No. A second antivirus on top of Defender adds very little and can cause conflicts and slowdowns.

Installing a third-party product normally switches Defender's real-time protection off anyway, so you are swapping, not adding. Free versions also tend to push upsells and extra bundled software. If you want an extra opinion, a manual on-demand scan with a reputable scanner is fine, but you do not need a second one running all the time.

Use a password manager, give every account a unique password, and turn on two-step verification wherever it is offered.

Reusing passwords is how one breached website turns into a hacked email account. A manager such as Bitwarden has a solid free tier. Start with your email, banking and Apple/Google/Microsoft accounts, because anyone who controls your email can reset everything else.

The NCSC's top tips for staying secure online are worth reading too.

No. Do not pay for them, and be wary of the free ones.

Registry cleaners do not make modern Windows faster and can break things. A slow PC is usually down to too little RAM, an old hard drive instead of an SSD, too many startup programs, or a full disk. Those are real fixes. A "cleaner" is mostly a scare screen that ends in a payment page.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different types of storage, with one copy somewhere else.

• The original on your computer.
• A copy on an external drive you disconnect when not in use.
• A copy offsite, such as a cloud backup service.

Test a restore at least once. A backup you have never restored from is a hope, not a backup.

Not really. It is sync, and sync copies your mistakes as well as your files.

If you delete a file, overwrite it, or ransomware encrypts it, the change syncs to the cloud. Version history and recycle bins give you a limited window to recover, but that is not the same as a separate backup. Use cloud sync for convenience and keep a proper backup alongside it.

Possibly, if you do not have the recovery key. Make sure you know where it is saved, and that it is not only on the same computer.

Windows 11 can switch on drive encryption (BitLocker) automatically, often during setup, without making a fuss about it. Since version 24H2, Microsoft has widened which PCs qualify, so more machines do this than before. It is good protection if a laptop is stolen. The catch is that if the PC is damaged, repaired, has its motherboard replaced or the drive is moved to another machine, you may be asked for a recovery key. Without it, the data on the drive is gone. A spilt drink on a laptop is a classic way to find this out. Microsoft cannot retrieve or recreate a lost key for you, and the only fix is to reset the PC, which wipes your files.

• Check it is on: Settings, Privacy and security, Device encryption. On Pro editions, search for "Manage BitLocker".
• Find your key: if you sign in with a Microsoft account, the key is normally saved to it. From another device, go to aka.ms/myrecoverykey and check it is really there. If someone else set the PC up, it may be in their account.
• Local account only? Microsoft's documentation says the drive can be encrypted without a key being backed up to an account. Back the key up yourself before you rely on it.
• Store it off the PC: in your password manager, printed, or on a USB stick kept somewhere else. A copy saved only on the encrypted drive is no use.
• Or turn it off: you can switch device encryption off in the same settings page. That is a reasonable choice for a desktop that never leaves the house. For a laptop, I would keep it on and save the key.

Encryption is not a backup. Whichever you choose, keep a proper backup of your files too (see the question above on backups).

Reviewed 15 October 2026. Windows setup behaviour changes between versions, so check what your PC does. See also Microsoft's guide to finding your BitLocker recovery key.

Move to Windows 11 if your PC supports it. If it does not, plan to replace the machine.

Windows 10 stopped receiving free security updates on 14 October 2025. Microsoft offered a one-year extended security update option for home users, which runs out around now, so check Microsoft's current guidance before relying on it. Use the PC Health Check app to see whether your machine can upgrade. An unsupported system on the internet is a growing risk, especially for online banking.

Reviewed 15 October 2026. This one changes, so check the date.

Yes, on your computer, phone, browser and router.

Most successful attacks use flaws that already have a fix available. Updates are annoying for ten minutes and cheap compared with cleaning up after a compromise. Restart when prompted, because many updates do not finish until you do.

No. Put the phone down. Microsoft and your broadband provider do not cold-call about faults on your PC.

The same goes for browser pop-ups showing a virus warning and a phone number. They are fake. Close the browser (restart the computer if it will not close) and do not call the number. If you already let someone in, see the next question.

Disconnect from the internet, then act quickly on your money and passwords.

• Turn off Wi-Fi and unplug the network cable, then close or uninstall the remote tool (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, QuickAssist and similar).
• Phone your bank from a different phone or by dialling 159, and tell them what happened.
• Change passwords from a different, trusted device, starting with email and banking.
• Have the computer checked or reset before you trust it again.

Do not click the link. Go to the company's app or website yourself, and report the message.

• Forward scam texts to 7726 (free, run by the mobile networks).
• Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk (NCSC).

Parcel delivery fees, "unpaid toll" notices, HMRC refunds and "your bank account is locked" messages are common ones. Urgency is the giveaway. Real organisations rarely demand action within the hour.

Install apps from the Google Play Store only, keep Play Protect on, and keep the phone updated.

• Leave Google Play Protect switched on (Play Store, profile icon, Play Protect).
• Avoid sideloading APK files from websites, messages or "free" app sites. That is how most Android malware gets on.
• Review app permissions now and then. A torch app does not need your contacts.
• Delete apps you do not use.

You do not need a third-party antivirus app on Android. Play Protect is built in, and most "cleaner" or "booster" apps are the same scam as their Windows cousins.

Age does not matter. Security updates do. Once the phone stops getting them, it is time to replace it.

Check in Settings under About phone, then Android version, for the date of the last security update (the exact wording varies by brand). If it is more than a few months old, or the manufacturer has confirmed the phone is no longer supported, plan a replacement. An unpatched phone holding your banking and email is the risk.

Support length varies a lot. Budget Android phones often get two to three years. Recent Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy flagships promise seven. Under the UK's PSTI Act (in force since April 2024), manufacturers must publish how long a phone will get security updates, so check the listing before you buy.

Reviewed 15 October 2026. Support periods change, so check your manufacturer.

Yes, where a site offers it. A passkey replaces your password with your phone's fingerprint, face or PIN, and it cannot be phished.

A passkey is a login that lives on your device and only works on the real website, so a fake site cannot trick you into handing it over. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal and many banks and retailers now support them. You can set one up for your Google account at g.co/passkeys.

• Passkeys sync through your Google, Apple or password manager account, so you can still sign in after switching phones. Keep that account secure.
• Keep a password manager anyway. Not every site supports passkeys yet, and you will still need strong passwords for the rest.
• Keep the recovery options on your main accounts up to date.

A PIN of at least six digits, plus fingerprint or face unlock for convenience.

Swipe-to-unlock and short or obvious PINs (1234, a birthday) are not locks. Pattern unlocks are easy to read over someone's shoulder or from smudges on the screen. Biometrics are fine and make a long PIN painless to live with. Also set a PIN on your SIM card if you travel or lose phones a lot, so a thief cannot just move it to another handset.

Lock it remotely, then contact your network to bar the SIM, then change your key passwords.

• On another device, use Google's Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) to locate, lock or erase it. On iPhone, use Find My.
• Phone your network provider to bar the SIM, so nobody can run up charges or receive your texts and codes.
• Change your email and banking passwords, and sign the lost phone out of your accounts.
• If it was stolen, report it to the police and give them the IMEI (dial *#06# on a working phone, or find it on the box or your account).

Set up Find Hub, the screen lock and your backup before you need them. Doing it afterwards is the hard way.

For general home use, aim for 16GB RAM and an SSD of at least 256GB (512GB is more comfortable).

Avoid anything with 4GB RAM, and be cautious with 8GB if you want it to last. Avoid eMMC storage, which is slow and not upgradeable. Screen quality and keyboard feel matter more day to day than a headline processor name. Buying from a retailer with good UK consumer rights also matters if something fails.

Often yes, if it is a slow hard drive or not enough RAM. Often no, if it cannot run Windows 11 and the repair costs more than a third of a replacement.

Swapping a mechanical hard drive for an SSD is the single biggest speed-up for older machines, and it is cheap. Adding RAM is the second. If the machine is unsupported by the operating system, a repair just keeps an insecure computer running.

Change the default admin password, use WPA2 or WPA3 for Wi-Fi, and keep the firmware updated.

The router your provider supplied is fine for most homes and updates itself. Do not leave remote administration switched on unless you know why you need it. If you replace it with your own, make sure it is still supported and receiving updates.

Back up what you need, sign out of your accounts, make sure the drive is encrypted, then do a full reset.

• On a phone, sign out of your Apple or Google account first, then factory reset. Modern phones are encrypted by default.
• On a Windows PC, make sure device encryption or BitLocker is on, then use Reset this PC and choose the option that cleans the drive.
• If the drive has been faulty, or the data is very sensitive, use certified data erasure or physically destroy the drive.

Dragging files to the recycle bin or a simple quick format does not remove the data. Recycle through a proper WEEE route, such as a council recycling centre or a retailer take-back scheme, so it is disposed of legally.