PC Magazine

approach to computing, but it carried us through the As the
dot-com era and helped usher in the internet-connected multithreading
world of PCs we enjoy today.
project raced
Intel certainly wasn’t the only semiconductor maker toward
racing to implement multithreading technology on
consumer PCs, but it had a lot to lose if another completion,
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competitor in particular was likely furrowing the brows was brewing
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enjoyed a commanding share of the PC processor much potential
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So, in addition to the pressures that Intel engineers

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project on time, they were undoubtedly aware that
their research could have an impact on Intel’s position
in the semiconductor market for years to come.

TRUST AND ANTITRUST Intel Pentium 4 chip
As the multithreading project raced toward completion,
a legal storm was brewing that had just as much Photo credit: Wikimedia / Konstantin Lanzet
potential to impact Intel’s dominant position in the

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of Intel. Europe’s competition regulator had received

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Intel was unfairly abusing its dominance on two levels.

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second was potentially more serious: It posited that
Intel’s agreements with PC makers and retailers—in

which the company would pay rebates based on the Top: Andy Grove,
percentage of PCs shipped with Intel processors— Robert Noyce and
violated antitrust rules. Gordon Moore (1978)

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that the rebate issue wasn’t itself a problem but was
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not dominant,’’ a Commission spokesperson said.

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throughout the company at a time when another tech
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of its antitrust compliance program to anyone who
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who had overseen the transformation of Intel into the
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marketing, business development, and sales people to
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Intel’s answer was to simulate antitrust investigations
at regular intervals, according to Grove. The
company’s legal department would seize the records
of a random management employee and even stage
a mock deposition, as though the manager were
under a real investigation. Surely this would be
enough to discourage any kind of illegal
anticompetitive behavior.

INTEL PULLS AHEAD

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the events of September 11 diverted the
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processors in early 2002 was a success.
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technology, PC Magazine in July 2002
recorded performance gains approaching
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the server could handle, as well as total
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that the technology is free: Intel did not
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speeds, but now the number of cores and threads was shaping up to be just
as important.

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processors that didn’t compete directly with Intel. In seemed to have
2006, the company made a momentous acquisition: the
graphics-processing company ATI, a major player in the little effect.
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chips eventually found their way into the Sony but remained
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processors as superior to Intel’s Pentium counterparts. Intel continued
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processor is the one that completes the task in the least commanding
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company’s market share gained a bit but remained
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enthusiasts, who are most likely to upload their benchmark scores. So the
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THE INTEL INVESTIGATION
GOES WORLDWIDE
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superiority and market-share wins in the
early 2000s, its legal troubles did not quietly
disappear, as Andy Grove might have hoped.
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technical complaints from 2001, but it
continued to investigate the rebate payments.
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competition authorities around the globe—in
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centered on issues that were much the same as
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before the European competition watchdog.
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all the others.

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company would not even have to admit to any wrongdoing. Intel took the deal.

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alleging the same anti- competitive rebate practices. Armed with the Japanese
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that Intel’s practices were also illegal under American antitrust law. This private
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any international cases thus far—and asked the court to dismiss the case. In
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in 2009.

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ensued, ensuring that the battle between the two silicon giants would be
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and added a few of its own. Intel had apparently abused its dominant position
in the market for PC processors, not only through rebates but also by paying
computer makers to delay or cancel product lines and selling server processors
below their actual cost of production.

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used several times since, most notably in recent of Cuomo’s
developments in the decades-long, Kafka-esque complaint with
pollution dispute between Chevron and the indigenous a giant tub of
inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest. popcorn handy.

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aforementioned emails that Andrew Cuomo presented
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cases came to a preliminary conclusion in 2009. Intel
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trove of damning emails to lend credibility to the
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today, but the messages have been made public—thanks
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If you’re a fan of legal wrangling, it’s worth scanning
the details of Cuomo’s complaint with a giant tub of
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technologically superior to Intel’s, but they thought
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make money. You’ll read about how Intel was allegedly
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Intel disputed the relevancy of the emails, claiming in a Damning
statement to The New York Times that the European details, billion-
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from lower-level employees that did not participate in dollar fines,
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not seek damages for many of the sensational scandalous
allegations in the suit, and it was settled by his emails aside,
successor, Eric Schneiderman, in 2012 for just the AMD-Intel
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European Court of Justice agreed with Intel’s
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back to the competition authority in a retrial
that is still ongoing. The second surprise is
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reviews and reassuring market-share gains.

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ecosystem of partners to produce current chips
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outsources almost all chip production. Still, once
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negative attention that Intel had garnered with its dramatic but
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competitive concerns. win for AMD.

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decade earlier, and you get a remarkable result: The
company’s market share is coming back from the brink
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benchmark database once more, it’s clear that the share
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trends are slightly less dramatic but still represent a win
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COVID-19 RESETS THE BATTLE Photo credit: Top PC vendors, according to IDC
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such a declaration would be premature, not only because the jury is still very
much out on Intel’s alleged anti-competitive practices in Europe. In fact, the
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technical superiority over the far-better-selling Intel chips in its advertisements
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Against the odds, the multithreaded desktop processor that originally pitted
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consumers once believed desktop PCs were a dying breed, taking a backseat to
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heat of battle, declining PC sales had vendors wringing their hands and trying to
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pandemic, as many white-collar workers and parents of school-age kids
worldwide realized that they might be working and learning from home for the
foreseeable future. Last year, PC vendors shipped 302 million units across the
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things into perspective, the last time the PC market saw annual growth of this
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Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images

research note. According to data collected by Canalys, global shipments of
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make it the highest Q1 shipment order since 2012, though some of that is
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quarter of 2020, which hampered shipments of everything.

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Apple and Qualcomm. These clients typically book chip orders months or even
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for new PCs.

Intel has faced production shortages as well, but the In other words,
output of its dedicated fabs has mitigated the situation. it’s too soon
Now, some industry watchers are predicting that the to declare
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combatants will open new battlefronts in the future. As
Intel doubles down on its manufacturing strategy, everyone wants
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hands. Loath to cede manufacturing prowess to Intel, chips fast
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³FHPHQWLQJ WKH FRPSDQ\¶V [ SURFHVV WHFKQRORJ\ will benefit
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one analyst.

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access, potentially reducing latency and speeding up
many applications. Intel is working on chip stacking
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headroom for future technical innovations.

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corporate leadership, once a stable succession of
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occupied the job for little more than a year before he
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production problems and many suspicious employees, Intel CEO
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attempted to improve internal communication and
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transform the company culture, pivoting it away from
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Grove in taking a more combative approach. Like
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decades working at Grove’s Intel, helping to
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indication that Intel will undertake a major shift
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reportedly told employees in January that Intel
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than any possible thing [made by] a lifestyle
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2020 decision to begin ditching Intel processors
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COULD THIS FIERCE RIVALRY FIZZLE?
Indeed, it is Gelisinger’s swipe at Apple that represents
perhaps the biggest change to the terms of the Intel-
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represents that could have a lasting impact on the way

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clients may no longer rely on the two semiconductor Facebook,
veterans for all of their chip needs. and Google
are spending
The Apple shift away from Intel is just beginning, and small fortunes
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transformation has been underway for years. Amazon, their own
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design their own server chips that can power everything that can power
from simple data cold storage to machine-learning everything from
algorithms. Their performance capabilities aren’t simple data
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to their own detriment. This is no longer purely a game
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requires no sales agreement and no middlemen. And
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to server customers.

Google tensor
processing unit

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profoundly alter the semiconductor industry at a time when its veterans are
facing protracted silicon supply problems. If that happens, a rebate scheme that
runs afoul of anti-monopoly rules would be a quaint anachronism rather than a
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budding silicon from the likes of Apple and Amazon already rival that of
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decade to come.

PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION I SUBSCRIBE I AUGUST 2021

TIPS & HOW TOS

VPNS

How To Install a VPN
on Your Router

BY DANIEL BRAME

T hese days, you need as much internet security as you can get. From
telecommuting to simply watching your favorite show on a smart TV,
the average consumer’s attack surface is three to four times the size as
it was when most of us had only one PC. That’s not only a worry—it’s also a
chore, since you need to install protective software on all those devices. But
while you can’t get around installing separate antivirus software on every
device, you can at least make your virtual private network (VPN) concerns less
aggravating by skipping the per-device procedure and simply installing a
blanket VPN on your router.

WHY GET A VPN? You’ve got a
VPNs are internet security must-haves for a number of scenario where
reasons. First, they make your computer appear as if it’s
in a geographic location other than where you actually your location
are. That’s because you’re logging into a server operated is hidden and
by the VPN provider and then running your web sessions your encrypted
from there. So when cookies or Big Bad Government traffic stream
Agencies try to locate you from your web activities, is ridiculously
WKH\¶OO ¿QG WKH 931 SURYLGHU¶V VHUYHU QRW \RX (YHQ
better, hundreds or thousands of people will be doing difficult to
the same thing using the same server. pick out.

But VPNs do more than anonymize your session—they
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anonymization, and you’ve got a scenario where your
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stream of encrypted gobbledygook is one of hundreds or
thousands of other streams of encrypted gobbledygook
pouring into and out of that same server farm.

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by installing a simple web client on your device and
making sure it’s active before starting any other web or
cloud session.

But if your home has multiple devices, especially if you
think some of them might be running connected
software that starts before you’ve even had a chance to
activate your VPN, something more constant might be
required. That’s when you opt for installing a VPN client
on your wireless router; anyone using your local network
to browse the web or access a cloud service will
automatically be using the VPN, because they can’t
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always-on hoop.

MANY KINDS OF VPN ROUTERS
Today, while some routers support connecting to VPN services via OpenVPN or
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feature on most consumer-oriented routers. It’s also not a lightweight chore to
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features, especially if the manufacturer is looking to sell them into small
businesses as well as homes.

Also, a few (growing) number of VPN providers have taken on the task of
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that below. But those clients usually aren’t universal, so you’ll need a router
from the VPN provider’s compatibility list. While that’s great, you’re probably
happy with your current router, and dropping the bucks for a whole new router
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7KLV OHDYHV \RX WR KXQW IRU DOWHUQDWLYH ¿UPZDUH WKDW¶OO VXSSRUW HLWKHU 2SHQ931
or your chosen VPN provider’s client. The most popular of these is DD-WRT,
though another option is Tomato, for those who have a Broadcom-based router.
DD-WRT is the more mature of the two and works on many routers, both old
and new.

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does take a bit of additional work, but if you’ve got the chops, it’s a great way of
building yourself a highly customizable and very capable router without much
added cost.

Most folks, however, will stick to installing DD-WRT on their compatible
router, which is not only what it’s intended to do but is also a great way to
XSGDWH DQG H[SDQG \RXU QHWZRUNLQJ FDSDELOLWLHV 7KH RQO\ GRZQVLGH RI XVLQJ
your router this way is that you can void your warranty, or worse, render the
router completely inoperable if things go very wrong. The best way to avoid this
is to make sure you’re installing DD-WRT on a router that’s not only supported
but has been supported for a good, long while.

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go, since the development team will have had lots of time to smooth out any
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router and DD-WRT. Some router manufacturers have such forums connected
WR WKHLU VXSSRUW SDJHV EXW PRUH RIWHQ \RX¶OO ¿QG WKHP LQ LQGHSHQGHQW ZHE
locations, such as the main DD-WRT website or Reddit.

To write this article, I upgraded three routers. Two of them carried the Linksys
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:57 $& Y :KLOH WKH XSJUDGH RQ WKH /$3$& IDLOHG SUREDEO\
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:57 $& LW¶V VWLOO WKH IDVWHU RI WKH WZR

GETTING TO YOUR ROUTER CONFIGURATION
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administration console. If you’ve never changed the username and password

You’ll encounter
this screen when
searching for your
router’s IP address
on a Windows 10 PC.

for your router, then looking up your router model on Head to your
the Linksys website should lead you to a support page router maker’s
where the default credentials are listed. If it’s not
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and the default credentials will be there. If that
document is long gone, then head over to your router instructions
PDNHU¶V ZHEVLWH DQG ¿QG WKH LQVWUXFWLRQV IRU VHWWLQJ for setting
your router back to factory defaults. The default your router
credentials should be there, too. If that doesn’t work,
you’ll need to call your router’s support line and ask. back to factory
defaults.
Once you get access to the router’s administrator
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Linksys routers, check the company’s website. Other
router vendors will have similar instructions available
on their support pages.

Linksys provides
intructions on
how to upgrade
its routers’
firmware.

DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING DD-WRT

This step is arguably the most important, since you can
potentially “brick” (that is, render inoperable) your
router if anything goes wrong. This could happen

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VRPHWKLQJ EDG FRXOG KDSSHQ WR WKH URXWHU VR SOHDVH H[HUFLVH FDXWLRQ

Navigate to this page (https://dd-wrt.com/support/router-database/) and enter
your router’s model name. You’ll get a list of potential candidates. Pick the one
that matches your router’s brand and model number, and then download the
ELQ ¿OH

From the
Linksys
website

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HYHU\WKLQJ ZRUNHG DV LW VKRXOG WKHQ \RXU URXWHU ZLOO EH UXQQLQJ '' :57 DQG
is therefore compatible with OpenVPN. If things go south, and your router
decides that you aren’t on speaking terms anymore, don’t panic. That happened
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get back to a good starting place to try again.

Once everything lights up the way it’s supposed to, the default IP address of a
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the default username and password. After that step, you can move on to the
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possibilities, so running through everything is beyond the scope of this article.

DD-WRT offers
a lot of
advanced
possibilities.

But for most home and small business implementations, you’ll need to set the
connection type for your wide area network (WAN), which really means your
internet provider. Generally speaking, this will usually be found under the
'\QDPLF +RVW &RQ¿JXUDWLRQ 3URWRFRO '+&3 VR LI \RX DUHQ¶W VXUH WKDW¶V D
good place to start.

SETTING UP THE VPN CLIENT
First, get your router talking to the internet on one side and your local area
network on the other. Then set up any more advanced network settings you
need, such as Quality of Service (QoS) or access controls. Only when the router
is fully humming should you consider installing your VPN client.

To do that, you will need to navigate to the VPN tab under Services. From there,
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your VPN brand, and you’ll be right on track.

CHECK YOUR HANDIWORK
DD-WRT has a nice Status tab with a VPN section that shows whether you’re
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mile, then you can check your IP by typing “What is my IP?” into Google. You
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\RX¶OO EH VXU¿QJ WR *RRJOH IURP \RXU 931 YHQGRU¶V VHUYHU UDWKHU WKDQ \RXU 3& LI
\RXU 931 LV ZRUNLQJ SURSHUO\ ,I WKDW KDSSHQV JUHDW MRE <RX FDQ QRZ EURZVH
the web with more anonymity on all your connected devices.

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TIPS & HOW TOS

SHOPPING

The Best Shopping Apps
to Compare Prices

BY CHANDRA STEELE

S hopping online isn’t as simple as it seems. With so many places to buy
the same product, you want to be sure that when you hit “purchase,”
you’ve secured the best price. That’s where price-comparison apps
come in. A quick search can make sure you’ve found the best bargain and
maybe even an additional coupon code. There are plenty of price-comparison
apps to help, and we’ve shopped around for the best of them.

ShopSavvy

(Available on iOS, Android)

Shop smarter with ShopSavvy. The app lets you search for the items you are
interested in buying and see how much they are both in stores and online. You
FDQ DOVR EURZVH WKURXJK XVHU UHYLHZV DQG ¿QG RXW ZKHQ PDMRU VWRUHV DUH
holding sales.

BuyVia

(Available on iOS, Android)

Buying tech products? BuyVia compares prices at national and local outlets and
lets you set up alerts (including location-based) for products. When you’re in a
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IRU JLIW EX\HUV DQG TXRWHV UHYLHZV LQFOXGLQJ 3&0DJ¶V LQ LWV SURGXFW
descriptions, recommending who it would make a good gift for and how they
can use it.

Price.com

(Available on iOS)

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codes, and recommendations. It has a barcode scanner but also lets you search
from photos you’ve snapped. So if you’re looking to replace, say, a speaker, take
a picture of your current one and suggestions pop up.

Mycartsavings

(Available on iOS, Android)

:KHWKHU \RXU FDUW LV RQOLQH RU ,5/ 0\FDUWVDYLQJV KDV D EDVNHWIXO RI ERXQW\ IRU
you. The app will track the price of an item and alert you when it reaches the
amount you’re willing to pay. If you’re multitasking, you can search the app
with your voice.

Amazon

(Available on iOS, Android)

The Amazon app has a barcode scanner you can use when you’re in a store to
¿QG WKH LWHP RQ $PD]RQ DQG FKHFN LWV SULFH &KRRVH WKH FDPHUD LFRQ QH[W WR WKH
VHDUFK EDU DQG KROG LW RYHU D EDUFRGH 7KH DSS DOVR LQFOXGHV $OH[D ZKLFK FDQ
play music or audiobooks while you shop.

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TIPS & HOW TOS

PRIVACY

How to Manage Your
Google Privacy Settings

BY ERIC GRIFFITH

A privacy policy is meant to be a contract between you and a company—
big tech companies in particular—that ensures these companies are
keeping your data safe. One company that has an enormous amount
of your data, from email and photos to videos to documents, is Google.
The Google Privacy Policy has been “updated” 37 times since its inception in
1999; updates typically happen three or four times a year. To its credit, Google
makes all the changes in the policy pretty obvious and provides an archive of all
previous policies.

It can and will change to suit Google, or to suit new laws and regulations Google
has to follow. For example, in 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) completely changed how big companies handle customer data. Even
though it’s an EU regulation, the GDPR touched any company with personally
LGHQWL¿DEOH LQIR 3,, RQ FXVWRPHUV WKHUH 7KDW¶V GH¿QLWHO\ *RRJOH

GDPR doesn’t necessarily help those of us in the United States, but there are
ways to take control of what Google has on you. That means mastering your
Google My Account dashboard.

CONTROLLING YOUR GOOGLE PRIVACY
My Account is meant to be a one-stop spot to take control of your privacy and
security when it comes to this monolithic company. Rather than visiting
settings for every individual Google service—Gmail, Google Drive, Android
phones, the Chrome browser(s), YouTube, and a hundred others—you change
global settings here. Mostly.

Go to My Account and do two things right away: a Security Checkup and a
Privacy Checkup.

If you have multiple Google accounts—say, one for work and one you use
personally—choose the one you want to check from the menu at the upper-right
RI WKH GHVNWRS VFUHHQ 8VLQJ D GL̆HUHQW DYDWDU SKRWR IRU HDFK DFFRXQW ZLOO KHOS
you better distinguish between them.)

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account you have. It’ll end with /u/0 for the default account, /u/1 for the
second, and so forth. Do a security check for each account.

Find Security Checkup at security.google.com/settings/security/secureaccount

(or click Take action in the Critical Security issues found box).

It will take you through a number of cards to check items such as:
• Your devices (what’s signed in to the account)
• Known compromised passwords you’ve saved
• Third-party access
• Recent security activity
• 6WHS 9HUL¿FDWLRQ ZKHWKHU LW¶V RQ RU QRW
• Gmail settings

Any items marked with a yellow or red warning (an exclamation point in a
circle) should get a once-over. For example, when you see devices you no longer
use listed under Your Devices, nix them. Third-party access lists apps and
services that have access to your Google data, some of which could be
problematic. Delete those, too.

The Your saved passwords section R̆HUV D FKHFN RQ WKH SDVVZRUGV VWRUHG
in your browser, which is probably Google’s Chrome. This is invaluable, because
Google can tell you which passwords have been leaked or hacked and whether
you’re still using them. Click Go to Password Checkup and run it. It’ll show
you not only compromised passwords but also reused passwords (that’s a big
no-no) and accounts using weak passwords. Take an evening to change them all
(and start using a password manager, while you’re at it).

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VRRQ EH JHWWLQJ VWHS YHUL¿FDWLRQ DXWRPDWLFDOO\ :LWK WZR IDFWRU
authentication (2FA) activated, you can’t sign into your Google account with a
password alone; you’ll need a secondary method of authentication. It adds an
extra step, but if someone guesses or steals your password, that won’t be
enough information to sign into your account.

To authenticate, you’ll receive a code sent via voice or You can grab
text message or displayed inside an authenticator app. backup key
Or select the Google “prompt” feature, which displays a
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WR VLJQ LQWR \RXU DFFRXQW 7R ¿QG WKH SURPSW RSHQ WKH times when
Google or Gmail app on your phone; tap yes.
you can’t use
Security Checkup is also a good place to set up extra your phone
security options; backup phone numbers, for example. or set up a
Here, you can grab backup key codes for those times hardware
when you can’t use your phone or set up a hardware
security key. Scroll to Your Devices and revoke them all security key.
if you want to force a full 2FA login on all future devices.

If you’ve created any app passwords—unique
SDVVZRUGV IRU VSHFL¿F VHUYLFHV WKDW GRQ¶W XVH WUDGLWLRQDO
Gmail logins, such as game consoles—revoke them as
needed. This is also where you generate new app
passwords, but with most modern hardware, they’re a
WKLQJ RI WKH SDVW 0DNH VXUH \RX¶YH ¿OOHG LQ WKH
Account recovery options with a recovery email and
phone number preferably not related to Google.

Third-party access is a review of the apps, websites,
and devices connected via your Google account
credentials or with access to your account. It could be
something as obscure as a Google Chrome extension
that works with Gmail or some Google Docs add-on that
you don’t remember installing. Remove any you’re not
using or don’t recognize. If you get rid of something you
need, you can always give it permission again later.

Corporate users can also see the Advanced
Protection Program option, which protects against
targeted phishing attacks and much more.

:KHQ \RX¶UH GRQH LQ WKH 6HFXULW\ &KHFNXS JR EDFN WR

My Account and under Personal Info > Password, Google will tell you how
long it’s been since you last changed your Google account password. If it’s been
over a year, consider yourself thoroughly disgraced in the eyes of the tech gods.
Change it right now.

PRIVACY CHECKUP
Back at the My Account page, under Privacy suggestions available, click Review
Suggestions to start a multi-step Privacy Checkup that lets you review how
*RRJOH XVHV \RXU GDWD 6XJJHVWLRQV DUH R̆HUHG DW WKH WRS RI WKH SDJH EXW VFUROO
down to hit all the key privacy settings available.

Set up an auto-delete on use of your Location History. Keeping a Location
History that spans across all the devices that use your Google account can be
KDQG\²VD\ IRU UH ¿QGLQJ SODFHV \RX¶YH EHHQ DQG ZDQW WR JR WR DJDLQ XVLQJ
Google Maps. But it’s also one of many data points on you that Google can use
for targeted ads. You can set up auto-delete with a click or skip it.

In fact, you can instruct Google not to track Web & App Activity or to easily
delete it after a few months. That goes for all the info Google collects any time
you use any Google service or product. Ads in various spots will not be very
targeted and seem random after that, but that’s how advertising worked for
hundreds of years before the internet and Madison Avenue teamed up.

:KHQ \RX DXWRPDWLFDOO\ GHOHWH \RXU YouTube history, then the videos you
like and save, the channels to which you subscribe, and what shows up on your
<RX7XEH DFWLYLW\ IHHG DUH DOO D̆HFWHG ,W FDQ DOVR OLPLW ZKDW KDSSHQV RQ

connected accounts (such as Twitter) and manage the privacy of videos you
upload (public, private, or unlisted).
The Google Photos SULYDF\ RSWLRQ WKDW FRPHV QH[W LV OLPLWHG WR WXUQLQJ R̆ WKH
ability for better face-matching and another important option: removing geo-
location on items shared by a link. That means when you share a photo of
yourself, a stalker type can’t look at the metadata on the image and pinpoint
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The Help People Connect with you option is about hiding your registered
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such as video chats. If you have a Google Voice account, it will also appear here.
Uncheck all the boxes to make them private.
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aren’t part of the privacy checkup. For example, Ad Settings let you fully check
if Google’s commercials are personalized for you (which means more tracking of
your data) or not.

Be sure to check the Inactive Account Manager. It helps you plan ahead for
the day your account becomes inactive. Google will help you determine when
that inactivity kicks in—after 3, 6, 9, or 12 months of you not using Google
tools—and you can set up the account to be shared with someone you trust.

PERSONALIZATION MATTERS
Back at the My Account section, hit Data & Personalization. This is the
nitty-gritty of preventing your personal data and Google usage from being used.
Google says this data is used only to help your future activities, but it is
essentially how Google learns about you, and that future help is for how you use
its products, such as Google Maps or Google Assistant. This is how those tools
seem to know what you want before you even ask. (You’ll see a lot of overlap
here from what you found in the privacy and security checkups above.)

A check mark appears next to all the items collecting data, but you can toggle
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GL̆HUHQW RSWLRQV IRU HDFK 8QGHU Location History > Manage Activity, for
example, you’ll see what’s called the Google Maps Timeline: a map displaying
locations where you were logged into Google. Mine showed trips to Florida from
years past, my time in the Mediterranean on a cruise, and of course, all stops
around my home state. There’s even route info if you used Google Maps to get
somewhere. Limit it all if you don’t think it’s helping you.

Consider limiting your location services, so Google (and Apple, Microsoft,
Facebook, and so on) stop tracking your physical presence via your phone.

Remember, Google makes the majority of its billions by showing you ads in
search results, on its other products, and across the internet. You’re not going to
WXUQ DGYHUWLVLQJ R̆ KHUH IRU WKDW \RX QHHG DQ DG EORFNHU SURJUDP $OO \RX FDQ
do is limit how much you are targeted.

You can click Go to Ad Settings to see the list of topics you (supposedly) like.
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WKH WRJJOH XS WRS WR WXUQ R̆ DOO SHUVRQDOL]DWLRQ WKRXJK *RRJOH ZLOO SRS XS D
warning about why it will make ads you see “less useful.” You can set your
gender (which you can customize!) and age. Visit AdChoices, and you can opt
out of personalized Google Ads on non-Google sites.

MY ACTIVITY
If you want to see all your activity in one place, not just separated by service,
check out myactivity.google.com, which shows you everything you’ve done
that’s remotely Google-related. The amount of data is pretty staggering.
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*RRJOH SURGXFW VR \RX ORVH <RX7XEH DFWLYLW\ IRU H[DPSOH EXW QRWKLQJ HOVH "
Do it. You can even pick a keyword to search and delete the related activity.
Click the Delete activity by link in the left navigation.
TAKEOUT YOUR DATA
:RQGHULQJ H[DFWO\ ZKDW *RRJOH KDV RQ \RX" 'RZQORDG DOO WKH GDWD DQG FKHFN LW
out via Google Takeout. To be clear, this doesn’t remove any data from Google
servers—it just shows you what Google has stored. Even if you should delete
your account, it’s unlikely all this data gets deleted entirely. Maybe someday,
the US will have GDPR-like laws that force Google to allow that. For now, go to

takeout.google.com. You’ll see the giant list of products Alphabet (Google’s
SDUHQW FRPSDQ\ R̆HUV DQG RI ZKLFK \RX DUH SUREDEO\ D FXVWRPHU

Untoggle any that you don’t care about, and click Next step at the bottom of
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maximum size for the archive, up to 50GB. If you have more than that stored
ZLWK *RRJOH \RX¶OO KDYH WR GRZQORDG PXOWLSOH ¿OHV <RX FDQ KDYH D OLQN HPDLOHG
WR \RX RU WR KDYH WKH ¿OHV VHQW GLUHFWO\ WR *RRJOH 'ULYH 'URSER[ %R[ RU
Microsoft OneDrive. Be patient: This could take hours or days.
Most of what I got was an archive of Gmail messages, which is not something
you can use instantly. That’s because the email archive comes in one big MBOX
IRUPDW ¿OH 7KH HDVLHVW ZD\ WR DFFHVV DOO WKRVH ROG PHVVDJHV LV WR JHW D IUHH
desktop email client with native MBOX support, such as Mozilla Thunderbird,
DYDLODEOH IRU :LQGRZV 0DF RU /LQX[ LQ DOPRVW DQ\ ODQJXDJH
Google Drive documents were, however, instantly usable—they all arrive
FRQYHUWHG LQWR WKHLU 0LFURVRIW 2̇FH IRUPDW HTXLYDOHQWV 'RLQJ D 7DNHRXW RI
WKLV GDWD LV D PXVW LI \RX¶UH OHDYLQJ D FRPSDQ\ WKDW XVHV *RRJOH :RUNVSDFH
(formerly G Suite.)

1RZ LPDJLQH \RX¶YH XSORDGHG RU FUHDWHG \HDUV¶ ZRUWK RI You could
YouTube videos, Hangouts chats, documents in Drive, always just
images on Google Photos, and more. It gets big, fast. All delete your
of that data is on servers to help Google make a perfect entire Google
SUR¿OH RI \RX account and
walk away.
OTHER TIPS FOR PRIVACY But that’s a
Remember, almost every browser has a privacy mode— bit drastic.
Google Chrome calls it Incognito—in which you can surf
without cookies or anything else tracking you. Even the
mobile browsers on smartphones support it.

You could always just delete your entire Google account
and walk away. But that’s a bit drastic, especially since
there are literally hundreds of sites and services that use
your Google credentials for logins.

:KDWHYHU \RXU IHHOLQJV DERXW SULYDF\ LW EHKRRYHV \RX
to take a glance through the settings above. You’re
ERXQG WR ¿QG VRPHWKLQJ *RRJOH¶V GRLQJ WKDW GRHVQ¶W VLW
right. Be thankful it gives us as much control over
privacy as it does (or maybe thank the regulators who
force Google’s hand). It’s still not enough for the truly
security and privacy obsessed, but it helps with a
balance of feeling good while getting the most out of the
RWKHUZLVH H[FHOOHQW VHUYLFHV WKH FRPSDQ\ R̆HUV

PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION I SUBSCRIBE I AUGUST 2021

WHAT’S NEW NOW

THE WHY AXIS

What Will Be the Highest-
Paying IT Career 5 Years
From Now? BY OLIVER RIST

During and since the pandemic, many workers have considered a job
change, often to keep working from home: As many businesses
PDQGDWH D UHWXUQ WR WKH ṘFH WKHLU HPSOR\HHV ZRXOG UDWKHU FKDQJH
jobs than go back to their cubes. If you’re among these adventurers, and you’re
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7KHUH DUH D VHULHV RI KLJK SD\LQJ ,7 VNLOOV \RX FRXOG FKDVH EXW QRQH KDYH PRUH
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¿YH \HDU SURMHFWHG JURZWK XS WR DQG D VLJQL¿FDQW This skill is
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DQG GHSHQGLQJ RQ WKH GLVFLSOLQH
currently a
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GHYHORSPHQW VHFXULW\ DQG LW¶V SUREDEO\ WKH RQH WKDW¶OO since you’ll be
get you the most thanks from customers and users, focusing on
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DV SRVVLEOH possible.

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WR DQ\ WHFK VDYY\ SURIHVVLRQDO EXW HVSHFLDOO\ DWWRUQH\V
DXGLW VSHFLDOLVWV DQG SURMHFW PDQDJHUV

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MASTHEAD

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, PC MAGAZINE NETWORK Dan Costa

EDITOR Wendy Sheehan Donnell
MANAGING EDITOR, DIGITAL EDITIONS Carol Mangis
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Bob Al-Greene

NEWS & FEATURES

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Chloe Albanesius
FEATURES EDITOR Eric Griffith
SENIOR FEATURES WRITER Chandra Steele
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, HELP & HOW-TO Jason Cohen
SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Matthew Humphries
NEWS REPORTER Michael Kan
EDITORIAL FELLOW Chance Townsend

REVIEWS

EXECUTIVE EDITOR John Burek (hardware), Oliver Rist (business)
MANAGING EDITORS Sean Carroll (software, security), Alex Colon (consumer electronics), Rose Fox (mobile),
Jeffrey L. Wilson (software, gaming)
LEAD ANALYSTS Jim Fisher (digital cameras), Michael Muchmore (software), Neil J. Rubenking (security),
Sascha Segan (mobile)

SENIOR ANALYSTS Tom Brant (hardware), Max Eddy (software, security), Will Greenwald (consumer
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