Blog

Tips, guides, and things I've learned fixing computers in St Helens since 2008.

July 2026 Windows Update — 570 Fixes and 2 Zero-Days, the Biggest Patch Tuesday Ever

Microsoft's July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes a record 570 vulnerabilities including 59 Critical and 2 actively exploited zero-days. Install it now.

15 July 2026 4 min read

UK Scam Alerts — July 2026: Digital Wallet Theft, Fake Currys Emails, and Holiday Booking Fraud

Criminals adding your card to their Apple Pay, fake Currys order confirmations, dodgy parking texts, and bogus holiday booking sites. Four scams doing the rounds in July 2026.

9 July 2026 10 min read

What PC Specs Do You Actually Need?

SSD vs HDD, how much RAM, processor generations — what matters when buying a laptop or PC, which specs to stretch on if you want it to last, and what to avoid.

2 July 2026 7 min read

Do You Actually Need a VPN?

An honest take on VPNs: what they do, what they don't, when they're worth having, and which ones to trust — without the YouTube-ad spin.

19 June 2026 6 min read

June 2026 Windows Update — Known Problems and Fixes

Issues tracked so far: missing folder icons, HP boot failures, BitLocker lockouts, network drops, OneDrive breakage, system freezes, broken Office integration, a Recycle Bin naming bug, Intel hybrid-core laptops crawling at 100% CPU, slow startups with service timeouts, and the June 23rd preview update. Here's what's affected and how to fix it.

11 June 2026 16 min read

June 2026 Windows Update — 200 Fixes, 3 Zero-Days and a Wormable Flaw

Microsoft's June 2026 Patch Tuesday is the biggest ever — around 200 fixes, 3 zero-days and a wormable kernel flaw rated 9.8. Install it now.

10 June 2026 4 min read