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InMotion Hosting is a popular US-based company which provides a wide range of web hosting solutions, and has made our list of the best web hosting services. Todd Robinson and Sunil Saxena co-founded InMotion in 2001 while working at another hosting company. The pair came up with the idea to start a customer-centric hosting business with an open-source community and InMotion Hosting was born. While it began with only a single server, InMotion has grown rapidly and as of 2018, the company has locations in Los Angeles, Virginia and Denver with over 300 employees now on its staff. In addition to web hosting, the company also throws in a number of great extras including a drag and drop website builder, basic backups of your site, malware protection and unlimited ‘spam-safe’ email thanks to its SpamAssassin utility. So let’s take a closer look at InMotion’s plans, features and performance to see if this web host is the right choice for your website. Image credit: InMotion Hosting Costs and what's covered InMotion has a number of web hosting products to choose from that cater to the needs of both businesses and individuals. To give you a better idea of the company’s pricing, WordPress Hosting starting at $7.25 (about £6) a month, VPS Hosting starts at $19.99 (about £16) a month, dedicated servers start at $105.69 (about £95) a month and business hosting starts at just $5.99 (about £5) a month. However, in this review we’ll be looking at InMotion’s business hosting in much more detail. InMotion’s ‘Launch’ plan gives you a free domain, two websites and unlimited disk space, bandwidth and email for just $5.99 (about £5) a month with its current promotion. Marketing tools, a security suite and free SSL are also included. Next up is the ‘Power’ plan for $7.99 (about £7) a month, which raises the number of websites to six and offers twice the performance thanks to the fact that this plan has access to a greater level of server resources like RAM and CPU. Finally, we have the ‘Pro’ plan for $13.99 (about £13) a month, which gives you access to unlimited websites, pro level support and four times the performance of InMotion’s Launch plan. InMotion’s prices are competitive and if you check its site often, you’ll find that the company even offers occasional discounts to sweeten the deal. A 90-day money-back guarantee is just another compelling reason to try out the service for yourself. Image credit: InMotion Hosting Signing up From when you first visit its website, InMotion presents its hosting products in a clear and straightforward way with detailed prices and summary information. The company provides a table that helps you compare the features available in each of its plans, and you can even compare InMotion’s prices to its competitors right from its site. There's also an FAQ section to help you find any other answers you may be looking for. After clicking the Order Now button, the site asked us to choose a domain name for our site. InMotion allows you register one domain for free with each of its plans or you can choose to use one you already own. On the next page, we were able to choose whether we wanted our preferred hosting center to be in either Washington DC or Los Angeles, and we were given the option to have WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop or BoldGrid preinstalled with our account. Payment options are limited to credit or debit card, US purchase order or check. We would have liked to see PayPal as an option in this list, but this is by no means a deal-breaker. Overall, the signup process was fast and, more importantly, honest as InMotion did not try to upsell us by encouraging us to add additional products or services to our order. Image credit: InMotion Hosting Creating a site One area where InMotion particularly excels is its onboarding process. After signing up, new users are presented with a list of common starter topics (new customer’s guide, pointing to our nameservers, etc) and can pick the ones they need. InMotion then emails you links to these guides to help you get started. Next we decided to give InMotion’s free website builder a try. Instead of being a standalone website builder such as Weebly, the company’s site builder is actually a set of WordPress plugins called BoldGrid which required a separate installation. However, once we got BoldGrid up and running, the site builder was reasonably easy-to-use and also contained some well-designed templates as well as drag-and-drop editing. InMotion’s free site builder may lack some of the integrations of its competitors but since it doesn’t have any page limits, you can build a large site without restrictions. The company also provides access to the Sofaculous framework which allows you to find, install and manage hundreds of popular applications including WordPress, phpBB, Joomla, Drupal and PrestaShop. Experienced users will appreciate the fact that InMotion allows you to use cPanel to manage your site as well as standard tools including FTP, a file manager, SSH and more at their disposal. Image credit: InMotion Hosting Performance When it comes to testing a web host’s performance, one of the first things we do is to take a close look at its support system, and InMotion left us thoroughly impressed. From the customer portal we could search the support database, and clicking on the Support button gave us links to useful guides, US-based support phone numbers, a form to create a support ticket, and even the ability to launch a live chat window to speak directly with a company representative. The web support center provided us with a long list of all of InMotion’s resources. There are sections for Tutorials, Product Guides, Frequently Asked Questions, a community forum and more. Few of the web hosts we’ve reviewed have the sheer amount of content that InMotion provides and we found its support articles to be useful, relevant and up to date. All of its guides are searchable and each document even showed the date it was uploaded on to give us a better idea of whether or not it was still relevant. Surprisingly, there is even a comments section where customers can leave questions and get responses right from InMotion’s staff. To complete our performance tests, we tested our site speeds using Bitcatcha and other benchmarks to find that our connection was fast and that overall performance was well above average. View the full article

StrongVPN traces its roots back to 1994 when a small company selling PC computers was founded in South Lake Tahoe, California. Soon after, this company shifted its scope to providing dial-up Internet services. In 2005, StrongVPN was born, providing privacy services to users around the world and earning a place on our guide to the best VPN in 2019. Plans and pricing While most VPN providers have several subscription plans on offer (six-month, two-year, etc) with savings for longer commitment periods, StrongVPN has only two pricing options available: one-month and one-year. The monthly option costs $10 (about £9), while the annual subscription is more affordable, with a price of $5.83 (about £5) per month. Accepted payment methods include credit cards, PayPal and Alipay. While there's no free trial per se, the company states its 30-day money-back guarantee is unconditional, which means you have quite a long period to check if the service is the right fit for you. If not, make sure you cancel the subscription and request a refund during this period. Features StrongVPN offers its users access to 650+ servers scattered across 46 cities, as well as access to 59,500 VPN IP addresses. One of the standard VPN features provided by this platform is a kill switch – a valuable mechanism that protects your privacy in case of an unexpected VPN connection interruption. If this happens, the kill switch immediately disconnects your device from the internet. Another common feature employed by StrongVPN is the automatic selection of the best available location, giving you highest speed possible while using the service. Although the provider doesn’t have any special or proprietary features like its counterparts, it supports an unusually high number of simultaneous connections – 12. Moreover, it can be set up on a router, increasing this number to virtually infinite. The only catch is that the router itself has to be VPN-optimized, but you can consult the StrongVPN website or customer support for a recommendation. Image credit: StrongVPN Privacy and logging StrongVPN doesn’t stand out much from the crowd in terms of security and privacy either. The list of connection protocols lists all the familiar faces – OpenVPN, L2TP, SSTP, IKEv2, and IPSec – while strong encryption is provided courtesy of AES-256-CBC algorithm. The CBC mode of operation is used due to its performance advantages. Additionally, the company uses its own secure DNS system called StrongDNS, which is also available as a separate service. The usual no-logs policy is in force – StrongVPN doesn’t track or store any of your activity logs during its use. The company clearly lists the information it does collect - email addresses and payment information, for the purposes of creating your account. This information isn’t passed on to any third parties. However, more details about the no-logs policy would be welcome, especially since the physical location of the provider (the United States) doesn’t exactly scream 'privacy protection'. Specifically, in addition to having a bad reputation concerning the privacy of its citizens and outsiders, the US is one of the members of the so-called Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes alliances, whose members track information about individuals and businesses and share it with each other. Performance StrongVPN doesn’t disappoint in terms of performance. Download speeds and connection times are fast, while the connection itself is stable. Expectedly, the performance is greatest when using the US servers, dropping a little for servers in more remote locations. This is a common occurrence in this business, and doesn’t affect the overall performance greatly. Image credit: StrongVPN Netflix StrongVPN is an excellent choice if you need a VPN for accessing popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, HBO, Popcorn Time and Crunchyroll. It not only provides unhindered access to these geographically restricted services, but it does so at high speeds and unlimited bandwidth. Torrents If you decide to sign up with StrongVPN, you’ll also have unlimited, fast, and safe access to sharing large files via torrenting clients like BitTorrent. The provider makes this clear on its website. Client setup In terms of platforms, StrongVPN supports a vast range of options. Clients are available for download if you’re using Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Fire OS, while other devices can be manually equipped with a VPN with some help from the installation guides on the website or the customer support agents. These other platforms include Linux, Amazon Kindle, Nokia Symbian, routers, and many more. The installation of the clients for major platforms is as simple as they come, and even if you do get stuck anywhere, the website and support agents are there for you. Support As mentioned above, support is available on multiple fronts. You can try browsing the website’s support section or typing in the term in the search box there and check the results. If this doesn’t address your issue, then it’s time to give a chance to one of StrongVPN’s helpful customer support agents at your disposal at any time of night or day, regardless of your time zone. They can be contacted via live chat on the website, as well as though email support. On top of that, this provider is one of the rare ones that have phone customer support, available during work hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Central Time). View the full article

Surfshark was founded in the British Virgin Islands – one of the rare havens of privacy with no data retention laws. The company currently offers anonymity services on 800+ servers on six continents, and is one of our recommendations for the best VPN in 2019. Plans and pricing Surfshark's services can be purchased under three plans. The one-month subscription plan comes at the price of $12.95 (about £12). It is followed by the one-year option at $5.99 (about £5) per month, while the price drops even further for the two-year plan and amounts to $2.49 (about £2) per month. However, when you first visit the page, you’ll be offered a coupon that changes the pricing a bit. Namely, you are then offered the one-month plan at $12.95 (about £12), the two-year plan at $2.49 (about £2) per month, as well as the three-year option at as little as $1.94 (about £1.50) per month. This occasionally changes. Accepted methods of payment cover credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and major cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple). Should you need to test out the service before making a final decision, you’ll have access to a generous, risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee that allows you to get a refund regardless of the reason. This isn't exactly the free trial we were expecting as you still need to pay for a plan, but is certainly better than nothing. Image credit: Surfshark Features Surfshark has a decent server coverage, with over 800 servers scattered across more than 50 countries. It supports VPN connections on a virtually unlimited number of devices at the same time, putting it at the top of the VPN providers in this regard. It deploys some of the usual VPN mechanisms, including a kill switch and split-tunneling. A kill switch is a must-have in the industry, as it provides protection of your private information when the VPN connection is terminated. When such a situation happens, a kill switch shuts down the device's internet access completely. The extended split-tunneling technology, or as Surfshark calls it, the Whitelister, allows specific apps and websites to bypass the VPN should you choose so. Others are directed through the secure VPN tunnel. As for the less common features, there's the MultiHop feature that allows connection to multiple locations at once, adding another layer of anonymity and footprint masking. Surfshark's proprietary CleanWeb feature blocks ads, trackers, malware, and phishing attempts. More than the simple ad blocker, CleanWeb is useful for saving mobile data, facilitating a smooth browsing experience, and general peace of mind regarding your safety and privacy. The Camouflage Mode prevents any outsiders from learning that you’re even using a VPN client. Privacy and logging Specific privacy features include the strong encryption ensured by the AES-256 algorithm, accompanied by the IKEv2/IPSec transfer protocol as default and, if you prefer, the optional OpenVPN protocol. Surfshark also has zero-knowledge DNS on all of its servers, as well as a DNS leak protection when using the IPv4 stack. The company clearly lists all the information it will never collect from you. This includes IP addresses, browsing activities, connection timestamps, bandwidth used, session information, network traffic, and so on. It does collect some other, albeit non-sensitive data needed to create your account, including your basic billing information and email address. Although the no-logs policy hasn’t been verified yet, the provider has hired an independent auditor to confirm the security capabilities of its browser extensions. The results were satisfactory. On top of that, your privacy is guaranteed by the fact that the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a place with no laws requiring organizations to retain any of their data logs. Performance Surfshark delivers excellent results for connection times, connection stability, and download/upload speeds. We did, however, notice that some of the servers don’t appear to be on their advertised location. That said, this minor issue doesn’t affect the general experience. Image credit: Surfshark Netflix One of the most demanded VPN features is the access to geographically restricted websites and services, especially the ever-popular streaming giant Netflix. Surfshark will not disappoint you in this area, as it supports a long list of such services and websites, as well as providing access to Netflix libraries in eight locations, providing smooth streaming of your favorite shows. Torrents Another box to tick is torrenting capabilities. Unlimited sharing of large files via torrenting clients is allowed and supported, and explained in detail on Surfshark's website. Client setup Surfshark can be installed on a wide array of platforms such as Windows, Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, routers, select smart TVs, and even gaming consoles. There are also browser extensions available for Chrome and Firefox. Support Detailed information about every part of Surfshark's service is available on the company’s blog and searchable help page, which is divided into categories according to your area of interest. If, after consulting the website, you still can't find the information you’re looking for, then we suggest contacting Surfshark's friendly staff, who are available 24/7 via the live chat button or email. Instead of going to your email provider’s website or app, you can simply send an email by filling out the form on the website. View the full article

G Data Antivirus is a complete PC security suite, and has earned a place in our roundup of the best antivirus software. Despite being G Data's entry-level antivirus software, it provides protection from exploits, anti-ransomware, URL filtering, spam filtering, and a dedicated browser that gives safety to online banking, shopping and any other financial transactions. The program uses several technologies to keep you safe, including its own virus scanning engine. Also included is the Bitdefender engine, and a CYREN-based layer that can detect outbreaks instantly. Single device licenses come in at $29.95 (£24) for a subscription that renews annually. Other top ranked competitors, such as Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Kaspersky Anti-Virus have a similar subscription fee. Savings are available for additional computers or extending the license term, so for instance a five PC, two-year license has an affordable cost of $94.95 (£75). There are also other solutions that have package deals for multiple devices, with multiple years of subscription. A free trial is also available, along with the security of a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the performance on your system. Setup The G Data Antivirus trial proved to be a simple download. Installation does take some time with the downloading of the components for setup, but beyond the initial step, everything proceeded nicely, without any further issues. G Data requires new users to register by providing their name and email address. There is also a request for a physical address and phone number, but you can skip this step. Right after we completed the main setup process, a window popped up and recommended we install G Data WebProtection. This is a Chrome extension for the prevention of phishing, scams and malicious sites. We prefer this to be controlled at the network level (rather than just a single browser), thereby ensuring coverage of all the browsers and our system apps. However, G Data claims this approach gives them higher accuracy- although we're kind of unsure how this would be. Looking under the hood, G Data occupies 600MB of hard drive capacity, with seven new background processes that consume a full 250MB of RAM. With our system running full load, we did notice the negative impact on performance. We didn't independently measure this impact on performance, but we'll discuss what leading labs have found below. Features G Data Antivirus interface provides more information and options than its competition that take the more minimalist approach, and we appreciated this approach. This includes an opening screen that doesn't dumb things down by glossing over the security status with merely the a ‘Protected’ caption, or a ‘All good!’ green tick, as some other antivirus solutions do. G Data indicates the system’s security status along seven protection layers, including the update details, system messages, and license information. Clicking any of these will reveal a menu of related options. For example, clicking on Web Protection launches a menu with options to disable URL filtering, add exceptions, or open the Settings dialog for even additional adjustments. Additionally, the status lines for Real Time Protection, Spam Protection and other layers give quick access to frequently used settings – a convenient feature that optimizes the use of screen space and simplifies navigation. The Virus Protection tab also makes it easy to jump to the links to launch the several types of scans: quick, full, check specific files or folders, removable drives, and scan for rootkits. Scan times are faster than average, and G Data Antivirus detected each and every malware sample presented to it, with no false alarms. To nitpick, we were annoyed with G Data's inability to run two scans simultaneously. With the program running a full system scan, attempting to initiate a second scan on the latest download from Explorer's right-click menu just gets a 'Can't do that, a scan is already running' message. Thankfully, the URL filter performs without complaint, as it can block nearly all the threatening web URLs. We’re really not clear why G Data persistently recommends the installation of its browser extensions, though. Perhaps they do have a higher rate of detection, but this Chrome extension lacks configuration options while failing to add much to our eye. The competent spam filter is a welcome addition, slotting nicely into our Outlook installation, and provides a nice array of options to tweak. We didn't go in-depth on it ourselves, but with our small sample, the module is a step up from the Outlook default Junk filter, and is close to a commercial anti-spam solution. Some other G Data Antivirus elements were tricky to test. For example, the BankGuard and exploit protection elements endeavor to protect vulnerable processes by working deep inside the engine, but there was really no reasonable way for evaluating their performance for this review. Next up is the Keylogger Protection module, which is designed for the protection of a limited number of applications, mostly just the popular browsers. We matched it up against a commercial keylogger program, and it didn't manage to record anything entered online. This security can be extended for other apps, but G Data does indicate that not all programs are compatible with this technology. The Autostart Manager optimizes your PC by delaying the launch of the nonessential Windows startup programs. Let’s say that you've grown tired of that grabby Steam client sucking down resources with each system boot. Now, you can delay its start for two minutes, or a number you specify. Fewer starting processes at boot time gets us a PC that can get to work quicker, although the delayed programs will be loaded after the delay. While we like this feature, also bear in mind that there's excellent free software available that can also perform this function. The control is via a slick settings dialog incorporating many opportunities to tweak. For instance, the Network Access dialog allows you to specify the network to use for downloading updates, and allows you to stop the program from chewing up bandwidth if on a metered connection. G Data Antivirus doesn't have the most expansive feature list, but overall we like this product, as it does perform admirably at its core function: keeping users safe from malware. Protection While we do run some malware tests during antivirus reviews, we also check out the major testing labs which can run a full suite of testing, so it's critical to check out these reports for the most comprehensive picture. Unfortunately, AV Comparatives hasn't included G Data products over the last few years, but AV-Test has tested them, and with positive results. The September/October 2018 Best Antivirus Software for Windows Home User reports the program gives protection from 100% of widespread malware, and approaches 100% on zero-day attacks, to give it the maximum protection score. The downside of this is that there was more than the usual impact on performance, which overall dropped G Data's score. Next, we looked deeper into the performance questions, and turned to PassMark's Consumer Security Products Performance Benchmarks 2019 (Second Edition). This report assesses 14 security programs on 23 key points to examine how it impacts performance. Unfortunately, G Data falls short on this testing, placing in the lower half of the field in ninth place; only Avast/AVG, some Trend Micro products, and Bitdefender Internet Security got even lower scores. While the low scores are disappointing, let’s place them in context. G Data does score strongly on at least some of the PassMark testing. Also, the true differences between the packages are fairly miniscule, and many value the security over the speed of the program anyway. For those that remain unsure, go ahead and peruse PassMark's report for all the finer points. We aspired to have finish this review with a matchup between G Data Antivirus versus our custom ransomware simulator, which examines how this software can counteract the ransomware via behavior alone. This ended up being truly impossible, as G Data Antivirus closed down the file prior to us running it. Out of this experience, we can’t make a statement regarding G Data's behavior monitoring abilities, however, we can state that it is a champ when it comes to static file detection, and kept us totally safe. View the full article

Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security is a basic security suite that has all the essentials, such as real-time antivirus protection and malicious URL blocking, which has earned it a place in our roundup of the best antivirus software. It also features some handy extras, including a Folder Shield, which provides ransomware protection to prevent any unauthorized access to designated folders. The Trend Micro Pay Guard feature works with numerous browsers, including Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. It provides a higher level of security for online banking and other transactions of a sensitive nature. A spam filter is provided via another add-on for Outlook, and we appreciate the inclusion as some other security vendors restrict it their higher-tiered security suite offerings. Trend Micro Maximum Security is a great choice in comparison to other starter antivirus offerings, considering the low cost of $29.95 (about £23) for the single computer, one-year license. With lengthening the subscription to a full two years the cost increases to $59.90 (about £46), and locks in this current price for a longer time, but unfortunately doesn't deepen the discount. Going up to the next higher tier, Trend Micro Maximum Security is a complete security suite with features that include a password manager, parental controls and social media protection. It works on all the major platforms and this includes PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices, and has a more affordable cost than the competition. A single year license to cover five devices has a cost of $49.95 (about £39), and for ten devices, the two-year license runs $119.90 (about £93). Setup It’s unfortunate that the Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security web page tucks away the free trial link, and rather pushes the '30-day money-back guarantee' option. We think the company is probably hoping that users go ahead and purchase a license without further searching, so be wary. Instead, head to the Free Tools link at the top of the page, and go to the Free Trials area for the truly free trial. The trial is actually for the full featured Trend Micro Maximum Security suite, but this interface is very similar to the lower tiered product, and provide the insight if Antivirus+ Security will meet your needs. We like that the trial provided covers a full 30 days, which is plenty of time to make up your mind if you want a full subscription. Installation is pretty painless, with a simple download, followed by an automated setup process. With the conclusion of installation, users are prompted for their email address to be sent product news and updates, and this step in our experience was entirely optional (as it should be), as we left the box blank and the installer completed uneventfully. With the program fully installed, it quickly faded into the background, with the only reminder as an icon in the tray of our system. This antivirus solution is admirable how it works unobtrusively, and you can forget that you have it installed. We started off doing some initial exploring, and with the default settings, it did not live up to expectations. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security smartly contains a spam filter, but unfortunately it is not enabled by default after installation, and further the interface does not highlight it at all. In fact, we only found this for ourselves after we looked into the Outlook interface, specifically for an elusive toolbar, with subsequently the answer then making itself known via the Settings dialog. Focusing less on these minor details, and in the ‘big picture’ view, Trend Micro is quite simple to install, has an effective core antivirus engine, coupled with a full 30-day trial allowing adequate time if the subscription is right for your needs prior to purchase. Image credit: Trend Micro Features The interface is clean and visually inviting, including animated icons, a scan button featured prominently, with your security status clearly indicated, as well as text captions and piles of tooltips. Additionally, there is a useful option to customize the console via a choice of a background image. The Settings dialog follows the theme of simplicity as well. The confusing technical jargon gets avoided, and options are presented in easy to understand language, such as 'Prevent programs on portable drives from launching automatically' or 'Check if programs try to make unauthorized changes to system settings which could threaten your security'. Some experts will seek even more control, but for those with no desire to get down in the weeds, Trend Micro's autopilot certainly has enough control for most users. Scanning options continue to be straightforward, with simplified choices to do a quick, full or custom scan. Also the scanning efforts can be targeted to specific drives or folders. Unfortunately, total control of the process is not offered, as we are missing Avast’s options for adding other scan types, or controlling all the fine points of the process. On the other hand, we give it high scores when it comes to usability, and this will be preferred for those that just want a simple scan from their antivirus program. Measured scan times were somewhat lower than average during the testing process, but that's not necessarily a problem; any program can run itself at ludicrous speed when scanning, and come up empty. Antivirus+ Security is thorough at what it does, as it seeks out malware. Too bad that it also gave a false alarm when it encountered several legitimate technical tools, such as the Nirsoft app, but if you've used security software before, you'll know that this is a fairly pervasive problem. Additional security tools One feature we particularly appreciated was the URL filtering, which blocked many malicious URLs when tested. The custom configuration options are also useful, which are a step above competing antivirus solutions, which are limited to only a switch for the URL blocking to be turned on or off, but this one includes a 'protection strength' slide bar, that can be increased to block more aggressively, or vice versa. Trend Micro's Folder Shield is a useful feature that targets ransomware, a sentry over your Documents and Pictures folders, and connected USB drives, to protect from modification attempts on these files, and there is an option for additional folders as required. While we understand that Folder Shield is hardly novel, and Windows 10 already can do this with Controlled Folders, but an extra layer of protection is always a plus, and certainly when it can stop aggressive ransomware instantly. Trend Micro's Pay Guard is a welcome addition, a highly secure browser to conduct online banking, shopping and other sensitive transactions. It is designed to thwart malware, rather than becoming a victim of it. Once again, hardly anything special, but including it in antivirus software is a bit of a standout. Bitdefender SafePay and other secure software setups secure the environment in a custom browser constructed for safety. Alternately, Antivirus+ Security utilizes your favorite browser, as long as its Chrome, Firefox or IE, and then resets it to maximize the security settings. The benefit of this method is to preserve simplicity via the familiar interface, but also leaves us wondering on the level of security offered. We would that it is not as secure, with Trend Micro having less control over the browser functions, but to be quite frank, the reality is there is no way to really test how secure any of this is. There is also a spam filter included, although Trend Micro doesn't mention it, and we randomly stumbled across it via the right page in the Settings dialog. It only works with Outlook, using POP3, SMTP and Exchange, and was added after the initial activation. We also looked at the anti-spam capability, but it left a little cold. Trend Micro ended up incorrectly designating legitimate emails as junk, and on a routine basis. Some adjustments are permitted, as trusted addresses can be whitelisted as Approved senders, and and by moderating the filter’s strength. The Link Filter tool has the ability to fully block emails based on their content, which includes links to known malicious websites – an excellent way for preventing contact with dangerous messages. While we would not consider it the most robust of spam filters out there, there are multiple settings to allow for fine level of tweaks, making it a useful addition to the suite. Protection AV-Comparatives is a real-world protection benchmark that tests 18 leading antivirus engines on the latest in malware. Its recent tests have found good results for Trend Micro, with their latest products able to block an awesome 100% of threats on nine different tests in 2018 from February to October. The downside is that this program alarms falsely more than competitors, but still manages a first place ranking among 18 competitors in the February to June 2018 summary report. In second place was F-Secure- the other antivirus to achieve a 100% protection score- followed by Bitdefender (99.8%), Kaspersky (99.7%) and Avira (99.7%). Testing in AV-Test's August 2018 Home Windows report confirms these results, as Trend Micro also scored a perfect 100% protection rate. Differing from some of these other reports, SE Labs July to September 2018 Home Anti-Malware Protection report orders these programs via a scoring system with a high complexity, that gets determined by how the protection gets performed, and accounts if the malware threat is blocked on launch, or is neutralized after it gets running. In this report, Trend Micro falls down to sixth place, putting it behind some major competitors, including Kaspersky, Norton, Windows Defender, ESET and F-Secure. However, getting down into the details, the difference in scores from the top down to Trend Micro is quite small, with first place scoring 100/100, and Trend Micro’s score a solid 98/100. In fact, Trend Micro still receives their AAA award, which is the top designation, confirming the strong performance. We endeavored to confirm these tests, and we took Trend Micro and matched it against our custom ransomware software. With this program coming from our own design and creation, Trend Micro can’t identify this via a virus signature in its database, but rather has to turn to monitoring of the behavior to identify. Many antivirus products fall short when tested like this, and Trend Micro performed well.It not only neutralized the ransomware with a mere three files getting encrypted, but recovered all of them, with no loss of data. The downside of Trend Micro surface when we look at system performance. PassMark's 2019 Security Products Performance report rounds up 14 security suites examining their impact on system performance on 23 different tests. Trend Micro's products that they tested, Maximum Security and Internet Security, both ranked on the lower end, in 12th and 13th place, which placed them quite low among the tested solutions. We can certainly critique the methods used for PassMark's scoring, but additionally, the AV-Comparative's October 2018 performance test came up with similar results, placing Trend Micro in 13th place of their 18 tested antivirus programs. Putting it all together, how Trend Micro performs on your PC is dependent upon your hardware, and how you use the software. Download the trial and give it a try to see firsthand the impact on your specific system before purchasing the subscription. View the full article

TunnelBear was established in Toronto, Canada seven years ago and bought by cybersecurity company McAfee in March 2018. It prides itself with a user base consisting of more than 25 million people all over the world, and has found a place in our roundup of the best VPNs in 2019. There are just two pricing options. The one-month option costs $9.99 (about £8), while the price of the one-year option stands at $4.99 (about £4) per month. TunnelBear also offers a free account, albeit very limited, with only 500MB of allowed VPN traffic per month. Although this is not enough for most users, it is nevertheless an opportunity to test the service out and see if it’s the right fit for you before committing to one of the paid options. Both plans can be purchased using MasterCard, Visa or American Express, and the provider also accepts Bitcoin as the method of payment for the annual subscription option. A 30-day money-back guarantee is offered if any unsolvable problems with the service arise. Features TunnelBear doesn’t really excel with its server count. Specifically, it provides access to an undisclosed number of servers in only about 20 locations. Its list of features is also somewhat limited, although it does include the standard mechanisms like a kill switch. The provider gave its kill switch option a catchy name - VigilantBear, as the term kill switch 'sounds like a switch you activate manually in an emergency'. VigilantBear can be enabled in the client’s settings and it automatically stops your traffic in case the VPN connection is interrupted for any reason, thus protecting you from unencrypted data leaks. The split tunneling feature called SplitBear gives you complete control over which apps will be directed through the secure and encrypted VPN connection, and which you want to leave on your regular Internet connection. Such apps include any that may restrict VPN access, or which you trust with your location/IP address, or any apps that might need your local IP address to work properly. That said, SplitBear is only available on Android devices running on Lollipop (5.0) or later. Additionally, the GhostBear feature prevents outsiders from ever finding out that you’re using VPN software. Specifically, it changes your VPN traffic signature to appear as a different kind of traffic to third parties, like your ISP or government agencies. To accomplish this, GhostBear uses a technology called Obfsproxy which alters a number of identifying features like the size of packets or the order they’re sent in. All this means that the outside snoopers can’t block your VPN traffic. Having said that, GhostBear currently isn’t available on iOS devices, due to the restrictions in the way iOS is designed. TunnelBear has a blocker feature for Chrome and Firefox extensions, which blocks simple ads and many types of online tracking that ad blockers tend to ignore, prevents fingerprinting, and facilitates faster website loading. TunnelBear supports up to five simultaneous VPN connections with one account. If you were hoping to increase this number by installing the service on your router, you’ll end up disappointed as this provider doesn’t support routers. Privacy and logging TunnelBear offers strong protection of your privacy thanks to the encryption tools like the 256-AES algorithm and connection protocols that include OpenVPN and IKEv2. TunnelBear's no-logs policy is pretty clear and detailed. It assures that it will not collect, store, or log any of your sensitive data, like IP addresses, DNS queries or online activities while using its services. Unlike most other providers, TunnelBear has opened its proverbial doors to independent auditors, who have confirmed the quality of its security features for the second time in a row. Performance TunnelBear provider delivers superb results performance-wise. Not only does it connect very quickly, with the VPN connection remaining stable the whole time during its use, but it also facilitates top-notch download and upload speeds. Although slight latencies can happen when trying to connect to servers in locations further away from your own, they don’t diminish the overall impression of the superior performance. Netflix Unfortunately, TunnelBear’s servers aren’t capable of defeating Netflix’s VPN blocking mechanisms. The same goes for BBC iPlayer and is one of the biggest disadvantages in the VPN business as many users look for a service that can provide them with uninterrupted access to these geographically restricted services. Geo-restricted YouTube content, on the other side, can be accessed with no issues. Torrents TunnelBear supports unlimited sharing of large files via torrenting clients on all of its servers. The performance, however, can sometimes depend on the server selected which is why you should contact the company’s customer service if you encounter any problems or need advice on which server to use. Client setup The list of supported platforms isn’t a long one. Beside having clients for Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS, the provider offers only limited support for Linux. It doesn’t support routers, any gaming consoles, Apple/Android TVs, Windows mobile devices, or e-readers. Browser extensions can be downloaded for Chrome, Opera, and Firefox. The clients for Mac and Windows can be installed from the TunnelBear website, while the iOS and Android apps, as well as the Chrome, Firefox and Opera extensions can be downloaded via their respective app and extension stores. Support TunnelBear’s help section has a search box where you can enter the term you seek, or you can browse help topics according to their categories. If the support section fails to provide you with adequate information, you can contact the company’s friendly customer support staff. Clicking the Contact Us link in the help section will take you to another page where you can describe your problem. Unfortunately, the provider doesn’t have a live chat feature, which is another disadvantage. View the full article

The product of the Swiss cybersecurity giant Golden Frog, VyprVPN was created in response to governments’ spying of people and entities, and its commitment to security has resulted in a high score and a place in our list of the best VPNs in 2019. Plans and pricing VyprVPN offers two types of subscription: Standard and Premium. These are available under either a one-month or a one-year plan. The Standard monthly subscription comes at a price of $9.95 (about £8), while the Standard yearly plan costs $5 (about £4) per month. The Premium account’s one-month plan will cost you $12.95 (about £10), while the annual option is a lot cheaper: $6.67 (about £5) per month. Accepted payment methods include PayPal and credit cards. The free trial is a very short one – you only get three days to try out the service and see if it’s the right fit for you. Moreover, you still have to sign up for a subscription; you just aren’t charged for it during the first three days. You have to cancel your subscription if you don’t want the provider to charge you for the full subscription. The website makes no clear mention of any money-back guarantee, so it’s difficult to say if you’ll be issued a refund if there’s a problem with the platform. Features VyprVPN has over 700 servers in more than 70 locations. On top of that, it has 200,000 IP addresses that you will have access to if you sign up for an account. It's one of the rare tier-one VPN platforms, which means it owns and manages all of its servers. This means that the provider’s servers deliver higher speeds and better connection stability than others’. VyprVPN lists the usual features. A kill switch is activated when your VPN connection is disabled, blocking all internet traffic on your device so that your private information remains safe. A split-tunneling feature, called Connection Per App, lets you select which apps will be directed through the VPN tunnel and which will be left outside of it, on your regular internet connection. An additional option is available - selecting which apps will connect only when the VPN is on. The provider’s Android app deploys URL filtering – a tool that keeps malicious websites away from your device. The VyprVPN Windows client is equipped with a built-in speed test, providing users with accurate information about the VPN connection speeds. The Standard subscription supports up to three simultaneous connections, while the Premium one allows you to connect as many as five devices at the same time. The Premium account also comes with the VyprVPN Cloud – an added layer of security when accessing cloud servers, currently available for Amazon Web Services, DigitalOcean, and VirtualBox. The maximum number of simultaneous connections can be further increased by installing the service on one of the supported routers. Image credit: VyprVPN Privacy and logging The military-grade privacy protection is guaranteed by the use of the impregnable 256-bit AES encryption algorithm and multiple connection protocols. These include OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, as well as the company’s proprietary Chameleon protocol. Chameleon is only available to Premium users. It uses the unmodified OpenVPN protocol and scrambles the metadata in order to bypass snooping and restrictive practices such as deep packet inspection, VPN blocking, and throttling. Chameleon is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and routers. An additional level of security is provided by NAT Firewall which runs on all of the provider’s servers and blocks all unrequested inbound traffic when you’re connected to VyprVPN. This protects you from identity theft and spamming caused by malware that may reach your device through Internet connections left open by your applications. VyprVPN also offers DNS protection, keeping your network safe from any potential man-in-the-middle attacks. VyprVPN’s no-logs policy adamantly states that it doesn’t track or retain any user activity while connected to the service. While many VPN providers claim the same, they often make no effort to prove it. VyprVPN, on the other hand, has hired an independent firm to conduct a full and complete audit confirming its absolute devotion to transparency. The provider passed the audit with flying colors. Performance The VPN connection times and speeds are superb. The connection is not affected by any instabilities or errors. That said, some latencies can occur when using certain, more distant server locations but this issue doesn’t particularly affect the overall performance. Image credit: VyprVPN Netflix VyprVPN prides itself in providing its users with unlimited access to services that are unavailable in certain regions. These services include the ever-popular Netflix, as well as BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime. If you encounter problems while trying to access any of these services with VyprVPN, the website has resources to help you out. Torrents Although not heavily advertised, torrenting is allowed while using VyprVPN’s platform. If you dig around the website a bit, you’ll find that this is substantiated by the company’s assertion that: “Because our service treats all traffic equally, peer-to-peer and BitTorrent traffic is allowed.” Client setup VyprVPN supports the installation of its software on a long list of devices. Therefore you can download clients for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac, as well as install the service manually on Linux, Blackberry, QNAP, Anonabox, Blackphone, and various smart TVs and routers. The installation of the clients on major platforms is intuitive and simple but if you do get stuck somewhere, help is available on the website or via customer support. The website’s help section also provides manual installation guides for all other supported platforms. Support In addition to the exhaustive support section on the website, VyprVPN also has knowledgeable customer support experts at your disposal 24/7. You can reach them via live chat on the website or email. View the full article

Windscribe is a VPN company established in 2016 in Richmond Hill, a city in south-central York Region in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its VPN platform offers a very impressive collection of features, plus flexible pricing plans, making it one of our recommendations for the best VPN in 2019. Plans and pricing The provider’s free plan comes with a 10GB of available monthly traffic. If your requirements exceed this limit, then two paid plans are available by default - the one-month and the one-year option, at $9 (about £7) and $4.08 (about £3) per month, respectively. Windscribe also allows you to create your own plan, purchasing only the servers you want for $1 (about £0.80) a month each. The only condition is that you purchase at least two locations. Each location you select adds 10GB more to your free bandwidth. Payment options include credit cards, PayPal, gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and more. If any problems arise with the service, you’ll only have three business days to ask for a refund and only if you haven’t exceeded the 10GB traffic limit. Image credit: Windscribe Features Windscribe has servers in 110 cities across 60+ countries, but only 10 of these locations are available with the free plan. The provider’s Windows and Mac apps have a firewall, which blocks all connectivity outside of the VPN tunnel to protect you from any possible leaks. Moreover, Windscribe deems its firewall superior to a regular kill switch, which it calls a 'reactive measure' that still entails a risk of packets leaving your computer over the default gateway (your ISP). The browser extensions have a few perks of their own, such as spoofing your computer’s timezone to match the location you’re connected to via VPN. This prevents websites from finding out you’re using a VPN when they check the timezone of your computer. The extensions also feature the Split Personality option, which prevents browser fingerprinting by rotating your browser’s user agent each time you open it. The Anti-Social feature blocks all social media trackers on the websites you visit, while the Ad Blocker defeats all those pesky ads. Windscribe’s desktop clients have the unique capability to import custom OpenVPN configuration files from other providers, listing those servers next to its own. If you choose one of the paid plans, you will be able to secure up to five devices at the same time (the free plan allows only one). This number can be further increased if you enable the service on one of the routers that support it. Privacy and logging The impenetrable encryption is ensured by the use of the 256-AES algorithm, accompanied by the SHA-512 authentication. To protect your privacy, Windscribe also relies on the usual transfer protocols: IKEv2 and OpenVPN. IKEv2 is used as a default and recommended by the provider itself, ensuring the best possible performance. Windscribe has its own proprietary, fully customizable DNS-based blocker option called ROBERT, which blocks the content you choose to block, such as malware, phishing, botnets, ads, tracking domains at the DNS level and more. The no-logs policy lists the usual guarantees: not to store connection or session logs, your online activities or IP timestamps. The only information collected is for the purpose of enforcing the free plan and prevent abuses, and it includes the amount of data transferred on a monthly basis as well as when you last used the service. Although these claims aren’t easy to substantiate without an outsider audit, the company still makes an effort to prove its dedication to your privacy. Namely, every year it publishes a Transparency Report where it lists all the data requests received from the DMCA and other organization with which it could not comply because there is no data to share. That said, keep in mind that Canada, where this provider is based, is one of the Five Eyes countries (along with US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand), which share intelligence data among each other and aren’t exactly the poster children of privacy protection. Performance Windscribe provides excellent performance in terms of download speed, connection times, and stability, provided you use the default IKEv2 protocol. The results are slightly poorer with OpenVPN although not terribly inferior to IKEv2. Image credit: Windscribe Netflix One of the most sought-after features in the VPN industry is access to popular streaming services that limit their usage in certain regions due to company policies or other reasons. These include the ever-popular Netflix, whose US, UK, Japanese, and Canadian libraries can be accessed via special servers cleverly named Windflix. Unfortunately, the provider currently lacks support for unblocking BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, and some other streaming services. Torrents Most of the provider’s servers are P2P-optimized, which means that unlimited torrenting is supported. The servers that don’t support torrenting are indicated in the clients. Client setup Windscribe can be installed on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone, Linux, Amazon Fire, Windows Phone and many, many more, with clients available for the major platforms and manual installation guides for all the supported platforms. Support If the website’s large library isn’t enough to address all your concerns, then the friendly customer service agents are there for you. You can reach them through chat, email and even Reddit, although the company doesn’t have many agents at its immediate disposal so you might need to wait for a while to get a response. View the full article

Israel-based Wix is a giant of the website builder industry, and undoubtedly one of the best web hosting services around, with over 150 million users worldwide. Despite being founded in 2006, the company hit its first million users in 2009 and today it has 2,770 employees with offices in Israel, the US, Lithuania, Germany, Brazil, Ukraine, Ireland and Canada. Unlike traditional website hosting services such as GoDaddy or InMotion, Wix is a website builder first with free web hosting thrown in as an added bonus. The decision to bundle its plans with free web hosting fits perfectly with the company’s goal to enable anyone to create a professional website quickly and easily since its customers won’t have to spend time shopping for a web host and can instead focus on building their sites. With Wix, users can build their site using the company’s drag-and-drop editor or they can even have it created automatically by using Wix Artificial Design Intelligence. So let’s take a closer look at the service’s plans, features and pricing to see if this website builder is the right fit for your website. Image credit: Wix Costs and what's covered While Wix does offer a free plan that gives you access to hundreds of templates, unlimited pages and top graded web hosting, the company’s premium plans give you even more. Wix’s premium website plans start with its Combo plan for $11 (about £9) per month, which gives you 2GB of bandwidth, 3GB of storage, the ability to connect your domain, 30 video minutes and a free domain for one year. Next up we have the ‘Unlimited’ plan which is geared towards entrepreneurs and freelancers. This plan costs $14 (about £11) per month and includes all of the features of the combo plan as well as unlimited bandwidth, 10GB of storage, one video hour, $300 (about £270) in ad vouchers, Wix’s site booster app and its form builder app. Wix’s Pro plan costs $19 (about £17) per month and includes all of the features of the Unlmited plan as well as 20GB of storage, two video hours, events calendar, professional logo and social media logo files. Finally, we have Wix’s VIP plan, which includes everything the Pro plan does, but also comes with first priority support. It is also worth noting that the company’s free and Connect Domain plans include Wix branding at the bottom of your site. However, Wix’s premium plans don’t include any branding at all. Signing up Once you’ve chosen your plan, Wix asks you to enter your email address and a password. The company then runs you through a series of questions to determine what kind of site you want to create and who your audience will be. Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you’re then asked whether you would like Wix Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) to build your site for you or if you would prefer to create it yourself using Wix’s drag-and-drop editor. If you’re still not sure which option is the best for you, Wix does have an article in its help center titled Creating a new site: Editor vs ADI that could help point you in the right direction. Overall though, Wix’s signup and account creation process are fairly straightforward, and the option to connect your Google or Facebook account (as opposed to making an entirely new one) is a nice touch. Image credit: Wix Creating a site As we mentioned before, you can use either Wix’s regular editor or ADI to create your site. ADI lets you create a site in almost no time at all but the editor is much simpler. All you have to do is tell Wix the type of site you want to create, the features you need (selling online, taking appointments, getting subscribers, a blog etc), import some of your social media and contact details and ADI quickly creates a site to match. The regular editor takes a much more manual approach. You start with a template which you can customize by dragging and dropping the full set of Wix components onto the page or adjusting the elements you already have. This approach gives you more control over the layout of your site but there is also a significant drawback. ADI allows you to change your layout after you’ve created your site but once you have selected a template in the standard editor, you’re unable to switch it later. One of the best things about Wix is its polished user interface. All of the design elements in its editor are available via a toolbar to the left while importing media and accessing settings can be done via a toolbar at the top of the page. There are also guidelines down the center of each page to help you line up your content accordingly. Wix is a very design-focused company and you can tell that just from visiting its website. It’s great to see that this attention to detail carries over to its website builder as well. If you’re an experienced user, you’ll be right at home and if you’re a beginner, you’ll be able to pick things up rather quickly especially since help is available right from within the editor itself. Even if you’re just a beginner when it comes to website building, we still recommend using the regular editor as the learning curve is not too difficult. However, if you need to get a site up and running immediately, then ADI might be the better option. Performance When reviewing a website hosting service or even a website builder for that matter, the first thing we do is to look at the support options on hand. Thankfully Wix has a lot of built-in support. For example, left-clicking any object in the editor displays a toolbar with a help icon and a help menu is always visible in the editor’s own toolbar. If you do access help from within the editor itself, it will be displayed in a small pop-up window which is quite handy as it doesn’t take you away from the work area. However, you can also go to Wix’s Help Center via your web browser to sell all of the articles and commonly asked questions in a full browser window. Wix’s knowledgebase provides users with a number of useful articles on a variety of topics including the Wix Editor, domains, mobile, SEO, Wix Stores, ADI and more. These articles are presented well and many include animated GIFS to help illustrate interface actions for those who need extra help. Wix’s support articles are also tailored to both beginners and experienced users. If you need further help, customer support is available via a ticket system though unfortunately there is no live chat option. Telephone support is also available, but your only option is to request a call-back, which can be frustrating when you’re in the middle of troubleshooting an issue. View the full article

In the 21st century, sharing files, audio, and video is a regular part of our work and daily lives. But converting files to different formats can be a pain. To do this, you need a tool like Video Master that can easily convert media files to over 50 different formats. Video Master is super fast to use, and can convert files with just one click. With it, you can download videos from over 100 platforms, including YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo. You'll also be able to record videos directly from your screen. The best cloud storage 2019 Video Master even has built-in tools that enable you to edit your own videos, enabling you to trim footage, crop videos, add subtitles, and much more. Best of all, you can get a lifetime license for the low price of just $29. Related articles: The best monitors for video editing The best video editing software in 2019 The best laptops for video editing in 2019 View the full article

In web design, great user interface, or UI design, is all about helping the user to accomplish a given task as simply and efficiently as possible. While the look and feel is undeniably important, at the core of a great UI is function: in terms of navigation, it should be intuitive to the point of being invisible. As soon as a user gets lost, or can't work out where to go, the UI's not doing its job, and there are plenty of examples of painful UI fails to demonstrate what you shouldn't be doing. This list of websites and apps may have different design principles and different functions, but they have one thing in common – effective UI design that satisfies all of the above and more. Read on to find out why they're so successful. The best website builder in 2019 01. Montreux Jazz Festival Here's a fantastic way to build your own tailor-made festival programme with a few swipes There's nothing like being at a festival to get your FOMO levels through the roof; sure, you might be enjoying the act you're seeing now, but maybe there's another even better one happening elsewhere that you don't even know about. No matter how many times you comb through the long list of performers, there are bound to be a few absolute gems that you miss. But this great piece of UI design for the Montreux Jazz Festival aims to help you ensure that you get the very most out of your time there. It keeps things beautifully simple, presenting you with six binary choices that you can swipe left or right to build up an impression of your musical preference – for example, do you prefer DJs over bands? – and once you're done it'll present you with your own personalised programme based on what it thinks you'll enjoy, complete with links to buy tickets. Lizzo! How did they know? It's easy and intuitive and, while you'll doubtless want to double-check the full programme anyway to make certain that there's definitely nothing you've missed, it's a brilliant way to help you drill quickly through a lot of information to find results. 02. Tilt Brush Virtual reality is very much frontier territory as far as UI and UX is concerned. It's designers and developers having to make stuff up as they go along, with naturally mixed results. What works on a flat screen doesn't necessarily work so well in VR, and building an effective and useful VR app that you can use for hours without getting motion sickness can be quite a challenge. So it's great to see a VR product like Google's Tilt Brush – which lets you build up 3D paintings in a virtual environment – that not only works, but is so intuitive to use, and with such great results that artists are already incorporating it into their creative workflows. Head this way for some excellent pro tips on getting started with this game-changing creative app. 03. Patterning Patterning's circular, minimal approach makes it easier to roll your beats [Image: Olympia Noise Co] Olympia Noise Co's iOS drum machine, Patterning, is unlike any you've seen before, and with good reason. Rather than sequence your rhythm on a grid like every other music app, Patterning uses a circular interface for the basic business of laying out your beats, with colour coded drums so that you can easily see what's what. And beyond the basics, Patterning's smart but minimal UI makes the more complicated business of sequencing longer songs out of individual patterns a lot less challenging, enabling you to easily create variations on patterns and then fit everything together. It takes a similarly straightforward approach to making everything sound better, too; both its mixer and FX interface are thoughtfully laid out with bold visual cues that help you get the sound you want without getting bogged down among inscrutable controls. 04. MailChimp MailChimp's design is clean and flat and largely typographical [Image: MailChimp] Newsletter creation and management may not be the most exciting task in the world, but the beautifully designed, intuitive user interface design of MailChimp makes it that much more palatable. Since its recent redesign, the web UI is clean, flat and primarily typographical. When your account is first set up, the classic 'empty account' problem before your first campaign gets off the ground is balanced out by helpful, visually pleasing user guides. There's plenty of white space, and clear calls to action walk new users through every step of the process - in some cases even incorporating a subtly-animated pointer to indicate where to click. Helpful calls to action prevent you getting lost in MailChimp [Image: MailChimp] 05. Paper for iPad Paper is designed to be intuitive to use [Image: FiftyThree] A multi-award-winning app designed to help users be creative in a more intuitive, natural way, Paper lets you draw with your fingertips with a surprising level of detail - although it also works with a stylus if more precision is required. Designed exclusively for touch, Paper's UI design has no buttons or settings to worry about – just a series of specialised tools. The versatile fountain pen-style Draw tool comes free, while Sketch (soft pencil), Outline (bold marker), Write (ink pen), Color (watercolour brush) and Mixer (colour blender) come as in-app purchases. Rather than buttons, Paper has a set of specialised tools [Image: FiftyThree] 06. Things Available for both Mac and iOS, Things is a popular task management app with an award-winning design that's intuitive and easy to pick up, based around the familiar to-do list concept. As its creators Cultured Code point out, the idea is to make your life easier, after all. The slick, clean user interface design comes pre-divided into lists to help you categorise your tasks: urgent things go in 'Today', slightly less urgent can wait until 'Next', while 'Schedule' plans further ahead. Each entry captures important information in one go – title, notes and due date, as well as tags if required to help categorise everything. Best of all, the Quick Entry window is accessible from anywhere using a simple keyboard shortcut – and it's all synced automatically across desktop, iPhone and iPad. 07. Campaign Monitor: Worldview Worldview lays out complex data in an accessible way A wonderfully original idea that puts an engaging twist on email subscription data, Campaign Monitor: Worldview overlays information about individuals who are opening, clicking and sharing your communications on a Google Map in real-time for both geographical and personal insights. The landing page introduces the concept in an immediate visual way, with example pins dropping onto a world map – and the application interface itself is refreshingly clean, revolving around the map and a few basic menus for controlling settings. A great example of UI design, with simple iconography and colour coding identifying different categories of user engagement at a glance. 08. Figure Figure's designed to help you bang out tunes on the go [Image: Propellerhead] Yet another example of flat design making a potentially very complicated UI design look very clean and intuitive, Figure is a synthesiser and drum machine for iOS from Swedish developer Propellerhead, which is also behind desktop music production software Reason. You can tap the touch-screen pads, hold your finger down and scroll the rhythm wheels for a range of different sounds, or swipe across the screen to play different notes in the scale. There are also wheels to control the range of notes you have to work with, the number of notes in melodies and bass lines, and various tabs to tweak the sound in a variety of ways. 09. Kennedy Kennedy adds context to your memories [Image: Brendan Dawes] There's nothing quite like scrolling through a load of your old Twitter updates and wondering what in the hell you were thinking of when you posted that thing six months ago. Lack of context can often mean that something that made perfect sense at the time can be rendered meaningless months or years down the line. Kennedy, a diary app from the ever-excellent Brendan Dawes, is designed to add context to your memories. You can use it to create text notes of what you're up to, just like you might type into Facebook or Twitter, and maybe add photos to the notes while you're at it. The clever touch, though, is that Kennedy then adds an extra layer of context by adding your location, the date and time, the current weather conditions, a news headline and, if you're listening to music on your phone at the time, the name of the track you're listening to. Kennedy's added details make a rich alternative to dry notes [Image: Brendan Dawes] The result is that instead of a dry note that won't really mean much down the line, you capture a particular moment with fuller context, complete with plenty of prompts that can help bring back a memory in much more detail. And Dawes' clean design and smart UI keeps everything simple and good-looking. Related articles: 7 golden rules of UX 20 top UX tools and resources 5 emerging UX trends right now View the full article

Us by Night is unique among design and creativity festivals, because it takes place in the evening: a much more civilised time to network, learn and be entertained. Taking place in Antwerp this 26-28 September, Us by Night is also a great excuse to indulge in the delights of this Flemish city, which is an intoxicating melting pot of creative practices, multicultural artists and innovative tech businesses. Not to mention the arcade, the night market, the delicious local food, and the fluorescent ping-pong! But of course, the biggest reason to head to Us by Night are the top-flight speakers, and one of the top draws this year will Gary Card. Who is Gary Card? London-based designer, illustrator, artist and sculptor Gary Card is known worldwide for his dreamlike scenes and whimsical designs for the likes of Nike, Hermès and Comme des Garçons, as well as designing album covers for Paul McCartney and costumes for Lady Gaga. Now, he's about to take over Phillips‘ London Gallery for a major private-sale exhibition, called Hysterical. For this, he's created a colourful, cartoonish wonderland as a backdrop to works by contemporary artists. We caught up with Gary to find out what makes him tick, what he'll be talking about at Us by Night, and why no one should miss it! What will your talk at Us by Night be about? Last year, Gary transformed Covent Garden’s Galeria Melissa into "Medusa’s lair" My forthcoming exhibition, Hysterical. It's by far the biggest thing I've ever worked on, getting to re-contextualise some of the work from my art heroes. I want to talk about the whole process and what brought me there. What's the inspiration behind it? I've always been interested in the concepts of high art and low art, and the space between them. What makes something high art? Many artists that I admire have explored this division through the use of cartoon imagery. Who, for example? Illustrators such as Robert Crumb and Basil Wolverton have explored this world for 40 years and are now being reassessed as serious artists worthy of their place in the canon. George Condo, Paul McCarthy, Ugo Rondinone are all artists who've inspired my work, and whom we have chosen to feature in this show. They all draw on inspiration from pop culture to explore ideas of great depth and feeling. McCarthy for me, in particular, has chosen to scratch beneath the joyful, seemingly harmless exterior of our favourite cartoon icons to reveal subjects that make his work so unsettling. Younger artists like Jordan Wolfson and Jamian Juliano-Vilani are picking up that mantle. This strange corner or contemporary art has brought me to the world of Hysterical, a cartoon fun house, which extenuates the vibrancy of our curated pieces as well as heightening their inherent menace. Set design, illustration, toy design, sculpture... you're often described as a polymath. Was that always your intention? Sculpture is just one of Gary's creative talents That word 'polymath' is so funny. It's only been batted around the last two or so years. Now everyone's a polymath! It only applies to me because I couldn't really make my mind up what I wanted to do. So I tried a bit of everything. I studied theatre design, so having a broad range of skills was very useful. You had to be be able to paint, sculpt, make costumes, act and write, sometimes even create sound and compose music. So that training definitely informed my approach to design now. It certainly helps with budgets! When I started out, I couldn't afford to get anyone to make my stuff, so I just did all myself. As I grew with the job, my teams got bigger, but I still remain as hands-on as I can, although for a lot of the team that means getting under my team's feet. Where did your love of vivid colour come from? I think it's just from a love of pop culture in general. Cartoons, MTV, comics and toys: everything I loved was a psychedelic vomit of colour and styles, oversaturated, detailed, intricate and messy. That's still a big part of my personal style, though hopefully it's far more focused these days. Very early in your career, you became the go-to for some of fashion's biggest names. Was there a "big break" that propelled you to that level? Set design for an Oxfam fashion shoot There wasn't one big break really, just a series of fractures. Probably the biggest leg up was from working with [Italian-Japanese fashion editor] Nicola Formichetti in the mid-noughties. I messaged him on MySpace and asked if he'd be interested in using any of my work in his editorials. Soon after, I was featured in almost every shoot he worked on, providing head pieces, masks, strange props and sculptures, and finally set-pieces for Japanese Vogue, Dazed and Confused and Another Magazine. From there, I started making commercial work for his clients like Uniqlo, Comm des Garcons and Lady Gaga. It all happened very organically, I was extremely lucky. If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what would you advise him? I could tell him not to stress about everything so much. But then some of that frantic nervous energy made some really great stuff, so that might not be great advice! One thing's for sure: I would tell him firmly, 'Don't get drunk the night before a job, you idiot!' I'll leave 'why' to your imagination. How do you see your career evolving in future? I'm so excited about painting now. Painting has always been part of my job – painting backdrops for editorials – but it's always been a means to an end. Now I'm finally painting for myself, as standalone pieces, with no model standing in front of it. That's genuinely thrilling to me now: it's a dream come true. So in the future, that's where I would like to see my career go, We're so excited to see you speak at Us by Night in September! Have you been to the event before? Gary's work for a Comme des Garçons shirt campaign, 2009 I have not, but my best friend Ferry Gouw spoke there last year and said it was amazing. He came home with loads of stories about how fun it was, so I was very excited when they asked me to be involved! Us By Night takes place at Antwerp, Belgium from Thu, Sep 26, 2019 – Sat, Sep 28, 2019. Don't miss out: buy your tickets now! Read more: Us by Night 2019 is set to be bigger and better than before 'I Amsterdam' sign returns with a powerful message The rebirth of the zine View the full article

There are several reasons why you might want to make your workspace more Instagram-friendly. Perhaps you want to foster the idea that you spend all day being creative in a studio that's beautiful enough to send all your followers into fits of envy. Maybe you hope that anyone that drops by will take a sneaky selfie, and post it on Insta to give you some free publicity. Or, it could be that the photos you usually take look a little dull and 'office-y', and you want to mix things up. Whatever the reason, the good news is that it isn't that hard to carve out some Insta-worthy spaces in your studio. Here are 7 easy ways in which you can do just that, plus a couple of emergency drastic measures if it all goes wrong. For more Insta tips and tricks, don't miss our posts on how to change the font in your Instagram bio and how to hack Instagram algorithm. 01. Get a background wall One easy way to ensure you've got the perfect Insta-spot in your studio is to create a background, or accent, wall where you can snap photos. A popular background wall is made up of gold or silver streamers, but you can also customise yours to your studio. That might mean painting your studio name across the wall, or using the colours in your logo, or your logo itself, to create a block print. And if you're feeling really adventurous, you could even paint a mural. You could also experiment with adding a bold wallpaper design to your studio. This can add a splash of colour to an otherwise neutral scheme, and if you're only buying a small amount of wallpaper, should also be relatively cheap. 02. Buy some houseplants How could an Insta guide not mention the joy of houseplants? Adding some green into your studio will not only be good for your wellbeing, but can provide a good background for Insta snaps too. Make sure you take proper care of your plants though, a wilting, yellow plant is unlikely to prove popular, however many filters you apply to it. Not sure which plants to go for? See our guide to plants to improve studio life. 03. Hang some prints Every self-respecting studio should have some prints on its walls. Create a gallery wall for the ultimate background or dot these around your studio. As Hey Studio shows, if you haven't got any wall space, you can always add prints to your bookcases. Which leads us on to our next point... 04. Fill your bookshelves Apart from being, of course, great resources, books can add colour and texture to your studio. You can also rearrange them in different ways – by colour or height order, for example – to switch things up. A pile of books in the background can add something extra to an Insta shot, and bookcases themselves are often photogenic, just make sure you get some decent shelves. For ideas of books to buy, see our post on the best graphic design books. 05. Think about lighting Although you can sometimes fix poorly lit photos in Instagram or through other photo editing tools (see our favourite photo apps), your photos will look better if you get the lighting right when you take them. Experiment with different types of lighting in your studio, and consider lighting when making your background wall (and of course, when deciding where to place your house plants). 06. Consider your surfaces As well as having a background wall to photograph against, you may also want to think about having some photogenic surfaces dotted around. This could be as simple as a nice tablecloth, a pleasing wooden desk or table (see our best desks roundup) or if you've got the budget to really renovate, even some patterned tiles on the floor. 07. Coordinate your outfits This one's an easy win. You don't have to change anything in your studio, just wear some stripes and watch the likes roll in! 08. And if all else fails... If it all goes wrong, and you run out of energy, budget or iCloud storage space (we can't actually help you with that, you'll have to upgrade or delete something), you could try the following, slightly more drastic ideas: Get a studio pet. (Although remember that a pet is for life, not just for Instagram, or National Pet Day.) Or even a studio baby. (Although remember that a baby is also for life, not just for Instagram.) Read more: 9 agencies to follow on Instagram A designer's guide to Instagram Stories Meet some of the best studio pets in the business View the full article

GE Healthcare said an attacker could modify gas composition parameters within the devices' respirator function. View the full article

It's not abnormal to see some incredible early Prime day deals in the run up to the big event. But Walmart is currently pulling out all the stops with this incredible Dell Inspiron 15 5000 offer, which takes the word bargain to a whole new level. Originally priced at $499, Walmart has dropped the cost to just $329.99, knocking a huge $169 off the retail price. Windows 10, a Core i7 processor and built-in AMD graphics make the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 a powerful all-rounder. The 15-inch screen's resolution leaves a little to be desired, but when you take in to account the price point, this laptop is still excellent value for money. If you're after a portable and powerful notebook that won't break the bank, the Inspiron 15 5000 is seriously worth considering. Not in the US? Here are the best Dell Inspiron 15 5000 prices in your area: Read more: The best laptops for graphic design in 2019 The best digital art software in 2019 The best laptop bags for 2019 View the full article

After media scrutiny, the collaboration service has decided to address the zero-day after initially dismissing its severity. View the full article

The best ereaders give you access to a whole library of books, from your pocket. While it is unlikely ereaders will ever replace the traditional printed book, they are a fantastic innovation for those who don't have space to store all the books they want to read, or are are often travelling. An ereader will also enable you to download books directly to the device from the comfort of your own home, rather than trawling bookshops for sometimes expensive books. The books every graphic designer should read The ereader market is dominated by Amazon's Kindles at the moment, and the Amazon bookstore certainly offers the widest range of ebooks. However, of the relatively few other ebook manufacturers out there, Kobo is also worth a look. If it is a Kindle you're after, we're likely to see some discounts over Amazon Prime Day (15-16 July). Our tool will pull in the cheapest prices below, or check out our Prime Day deals roundup for discounts on more creative gear. First, let's get started with our pick of the best ereaders right now... If you’re happy to spend a bit extra, almost everything is slightly improved on the Kindle Paperwhite when you’re comparing it to the standard Kindle. It has a far better display with a higher resolution and a stronger backlight, plus it comes with an improved screen tech that makes it easier to read in direct sunlight. The design feels more premium in the hand – although it isn’t the most high-end device on this list – and you’ve got direct access to Amazon’s book store that allows you to use services like Kindle Unlimited or get cheaper titles during Amazon’s regular book sales. Overall, the Kindle Paperwhite is one of the best ereaders money can buy – it’s well worth the extra money in terms of the extra features you get over the standard Kindle. The cheapest ereader, Amazon's Kindle is one of the best that money can buy if you’re looking for an affordable option. This latest version of the standard Kindle was released early in 2019, and it’s the first of the basic Amazon ereaders to include a backlight to let you read in the dark. If you’re looking to read books with illustrations, you may not be happy with the resolution here on the Kindle as it’s substantially lower than the rest of the ereaders on this list (the Kindle offers 167ppi, while its competitors all pack in 300ppi). It also has a slim and lightweight design. This ereader offers the least storage of all the devices on this list – just 4GB. However, for ebooks this is absolutely plenty; you'll be able to store hundreds of ebooks with no trouble. However, if you're a big audiobook fan, you'll want to stump up for something with more space – 4GB will hold maybe 10 audiobooks max. The Kindle doesn’t feel as premium as Amazon’s other ereaders, but if the cost of your device is the most important consideration then you’ll want to consider picking up this Kindle as your way to read ebooks on the move. The Kobo Clara HD is very similar to the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, but you won’t have access to Amazon’s book store. Instead it uses the Kobo Store, which you will want to take a look at before you buy one of these, as it can be a bit more limited in book choices. If the store includes the books you want, it’s well worth getting this Kobo as it features a great looking design alongside a beautiful 6-inch HD display with the same resolution as the Paperwhite. The display is particularly good in low light, making this a great choice if you like reading before bed. Everything else is remarkably similar to the Paperwhite. If you’re looking for a device that isn’t made by Amazon, we recommend this Kobo as it’s one of the cheapest from one of the few alternative ereader manufacturers out there. The Kindle Oasis is the most expensive ereader in Amazon’s range, and it's also its most high-tech and beautifully designed device. It features a similar screen tech to the Paperwhite, but it’s slightly larger meaning you have more space on the page, plus it has better backlighting tech too. You may want to opt for the 32GB of storage variant here if you’re planning to download and play audiobooks over Bluetooth headphones or a speaker (there's no headphone jack). That’s an option on all of Amazon’s Kindle products, but the 32GB Oasis will give you lots of space to fill with Audible titles. The undeniable highlight of the Oasis is its design. It’s ergonomically more comfortable than a lot of the other devices in this list which makes it easier to read for long periods of time. Just note you’ll have to spend quite a bit to be able to get it. Arguably the most unique device on this list is the Kobo Forma, but it’s also the most expensive. With a huge 8-inch display, you’ve got a lot of screen to use when reading your ebooks and it features a 300ppi resolution so those books will be clear and easy to read. The extra screen doesn’t make this a heavy ereader either – it weighs in at just 197g. It’s a premium design overall, but it’s worth noting that Kobo’s store can be a little limited in its book selection so be sure to have a look to ensure you want to opt for Kobo’s alternative to Amazon. Overall, if you’re looking for one of the very best ereaders that money can buy you should opt for the Kobo Forma. However, note that high price, and the smaller book range, before you make your final decision. Read more: The best drawing books Free fonts for designers The best wireless headphones in 2019 View the full article

If you thought the KFC bucket had one use and one use only, you were wrong. Because now, the KFC bucket-hat is here. That's right, you can now be the proud owner of a hat that looks like a KFC bucket. Or a KFC bucket that looks like a hat (or maybe even a multi-purpose bucket-hat... more on that later). The bonkers project, for KFC Russia, is the result of a collaboration between W+K Amsterdam and Russian streetwear label Mam Cupy. It shows both KFC and Mam Cupy logos flipped upside down while in hat form – though they're the right way up when the item's used as a bucket (read more about making a statement with your logo in our guide to logo design). KFC has form when it comes to pulling off unexpected marketing campaigns – its FCK apology ad by Mother London picked up a D&AD Yellow Pencil – but is this new campaign genius or madness? The bucket-hat is part of a wider branding campaign for KFC Russia by W+K and is accompanied by this glorious video: 'Is it a hat? Or a bucket? But if it's a hat, how can it be a bucket? I don't know, but I like it,' says the video, while sultry models pose with the hat. It's worth noting that none of these models look like they have fried chicken grease running down their faces, so we can assume that they are sticking to the hat function. “For years we looked at a KFC bucket and wondered whether it would make a good hat… now we know," said W+K Amsterdam copywriter Dasha Ovechkina and creative director Cal Al-Jorani in a statement. We can imagine England football fans enjoying the bucket-hat We're not entirely sure that the world needed to find out to be honest, but this is an imaginative, if somewhat ridiculous piece of branding from W+K Amsterdam. The pros of the bucket-hat? Well you certainly wouldn't lose it in a crowd. And if you did happen to get hungry while in said crowd, and had some food to put in your hat, you'd be laughing. Though if you wanted to put your hat on again, you'd probably discover the downside of this particular tie-in. Even after watching the video, we still have a few questions. First of all, was this just one of those throwaway ideas someone suggested in a meeting that went a little too far? Was it born out of someone saying the phrase 'I'll eat my hat'? And perhaps most importantly, will KFC Russia be serving directly into the hat-bucket? Answers on a hat-shaped postcard please. You can buy the KFC bucket-hat from Mam Cupy for 18,00 ruples (approx $28/£23) here, although navigating the website may prove tricky if you don't speak Russian. Read more: I Amsterdam returns with a powerful message The good, the bad and the WTF of brand apologies Is Desigual's new logo a step forwards? View the full article

Researchers say malware infects phones in order to sneak ads on devices for profit. View the full article

In a world-first, Amazon has partnered with the UK's health service, the NHS. From this week, its voice-controlled device, Alexa, will give out health advice, and answer common questions such as 'Alexa, how do I treat a migraine?' and 'Alexa, what are the symptoms of chickenpox?' In response to health-related queries, Alexa will now search the NHS Choices website for health information (and there you were thinking Amazon was all about Prime Day deals). The aim is to ease pressure on the NHS and help those who can't easily access information on the internet – such as the elderly or blind people. Will this partnership with Amazon really end up easing pressure on the health service, or will it lead to data protection issues and misdiagnoses? As we've previously explored, the use of voice interfaces is one of the fastest growing web design trends in recent years, but so far the news has been met with concerns over the appropriateness of using Alexa to deliver this kind of important and sensitive information. Will this partnership with Amazon really end up easing pressure on the health service, or will it lead to data protection issues and misdiagnoses? The health secretary, Matt Hancock, was optimistic about the partnership: “Technology like this is a great example of how people can access reliable, world-leading NHS advice from the comfort of their home, reducing the pressure on our hardworking GPs and pharmacists,” he said. Of course, users wouldn't normally be able to access Alexa if they didn't already have an Amazon device such as Amazon Echo (see our guide to Amazon devices), but The Department of Health has said that access will be given through a free app. On Twitter, the reaction was mixed (okay, we mean negative), with users citing all sorts of concerns, including the functionality of Alexa, data protection worries – no doubt referencing this year's news that Amazon employees listen to recordings in order to develop new services – and questioning the government's priorities. Others joked about the potential implications of people relying on Alexa for health advice. The deputy leader of the Labour party, Tom Watson, spoke about the dangers of mixing NHS data with big tech companies. While others pointed out that Alexa dealing with queries isn't much different to typing them into Google. According to the BBC, talks are also underway to set up similar partnerships with other companies, such as Microsoft. Which shows that yet again, Amazon is leading the way. Whether or not it will be able to really help those with minor health complaints remains to be seen. Read more: Web components: the ultimate guide The hottest web design trends of 2019 Build a voice controlled AI View the full article

The giant red and white letters of the 'I amsterdam' sign were a popular tourist destination in the Dutch capital, but they were controversially removed by disgruntled city officials in December 2018. However, the sign recently returned with a new message to help save something else that's vanishing, the Amazon rainforest. If you visited Amsterdam before the removal of I amsterdam, you probably snapped a photo with the distinctive letters that were installed in front of the Rijksmuseum. The sign had become such a go-to selfie spot that selfie numbers probably rivalled those outside some of the world's famous buildings. It's no surprise then that once I amsterdan was removed, people couldn't help but feel that something was missing. And it's this sense of loss that the new sign, 'I amazonia' taps into. Created by Belgium advertising agency Duval Guillaume for environmental non-profit Greenpeace, 'I amazonia' raises awareness about the deforestation that's devastating the Amazon rainforest. See the full extent of the situation, which Greenpeace describes as the "rampant exploitation by industrial agriculture" in the video below. In a blog post, Greenpeace explains why the sign was the perfect means to shine a light on the situation, beyond just tapping into people's affection for the old letters. "With the inclusive 'I am', the message is also one of profound appreciation and respect for the Indigenous People and traditional communities who have not only been guardians of the Amazon for centuries, but depend on the forest for survival," it says. "If the millions of people who took selfies with the 'Iamsterdam' sign would also take a stand for the most important landmark in Brazil and the lungs of the planet, and show their solidarity and support with the people and the forest in the Amazon, we could all make giant steps towards protecting one of our planet’s last climate solutions," the non-profit adds. Want to do your bit to help? There's a petition you can sign here, which will tell the Brazilian government to save the Amazon Rainforest and protect the lands of Indigenous and traditional communities. Related articles: Street art: 45 incredible examples to inspire you 15 influential art and design movements you should know Iceland ad banned due to political message View the full article

With web components, developers now have the ability to create their own HTML elements. In this ultimate guide, you'll learn everything you need to know. On this page, we'll cover what exactly web components are, the benefits of using them, and the elements that make them up. Then you'll learn how to build your own components in two short tutorials – on page 2 you'll learn how to building a component with the HTML templates and shadowDOM APIs, and on page 3 you'll got one step further and learn how to build a customised, built-in element. Finally on page 4 you'll find some frameworks and tools to get you started, and examples of existing elements to try to today. While you're here, you might also want to take a look at our guide to the top HTML APIs, and how to use them. The best web hosting services in 2019 What are web components? Developers love components. They are a great way to define blocks of code that can be dropped in and reused anywhere they are required. Over the years, there have been a few attempts to convey this idea on the web, with varying degrees of success. Mozilla's XML Binding Language and Microsoft's HTML Component specifications date back all the way to Internet Explorer 5 almost 20 years ago. Unfortunately, both attempts proved unwieldy, failed to gain traction in other browsers, and ultimately were removed. While they may not be around today, their concepts formed the basis of the modern approaches in use. JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue or Angular follow a similar approach. One of the main reasons for their success is the ability to contain common logic in an easily shareable pattern in one form or another. While these frameworks can improve the developer experience, they do so at a cost. Language features such as JSX need to be compiled, and many frameworks rely on a runtime to manage all of their abstractions. Wouldn't it be easier if there was a way to get the benefit without all that heavy weight? Web components allow us to do just that. The 4 pillars of web components The concept of a web component consists of three APIs – Custom elements, HTML templates and the shadow DOM – with JavaScript modules gluing them together. By combining the benefits that these technologies provide, it's possible to start building custom HTML elements that look and behave just like their native counterparts. Using a web component is much like using any other existing HTML element. They can be configured using attributes, queried for using JavaScript, and even styled through CSS. As long as the browser knows they exist, they are treated no differently. This also allows web components to play well with other frameworks and libraries. By using the same communication mechanisms as any other element, they can be used alongside any framework that exists today or in the future. Most importantly of all, these are all built upon web standards. The web is built on a concept of backwards compatibility, and by building a web component today, it will carry on working for years to come. But before going any further, we should take a look at what makes up these specifications, and how you can get creating and using one today. There are four main elements that make up web components 01. Custom Elements Key features: Define an element's behaviour React to attribute changes Augment existing elements When you hear people talk about 'web components,' quite often they are referring to the workings underneath – the custom elements API. With this API, it is possible to create classes that power the inner workings of an element. They detail exactly what to do when an element is added, updated or removed. Each custom element has a similar structure. They extend an existing HTMLElement class, which provides the groundwork for how an element should behave. Inside, there are a few methods called reactions that are called in response to something about that element changing. For example, connectedCallback will be called when the new element appears on screen. These work similarly to the lifecycle methods found in most JavaScript frameworks. Updating the attributes on an element can change how it behaves. When an update happens, the attributeChangedCallback reaction will fire, which details the change. This will only happen for an attribute that is defined inside the observedAttributes array. An element needs to be defined before the browser can do anything with it. The define method here takes two arguments – the tag name, and the class it should use. All tag names must contain a - character to avoid any clashes with any future native elements. The element can then be written anywhere in the page as a regular HTML tag. Once a browser has an element defined, it then finds any of these matching tags and links up their behaviour to the class in a process known as 'upgrading'. There are two types of custom element – 'autonomous' or 'customised built-in'. Autonomous custom elements, which have been covered up until now, are not related to any existing element. Much like a <div> or <span> they do not provide any meaning to their content. A customised built-in element – as the name implies – can enhance an existing element with new functionality. They maintain that element's normal semantic behaviours, while also being open to change. If an <input> element was customised, for example, it would still be picked up and submitted as part of a form. The class of customised built-in component extends the class of the element it is customising. The definition also needs to define the tag of that element through its third argument. They are also used slightly differently. Instead of a new tag, they extend the existing tag by using the is attribute. The browser can read this, and upgrade them in the same way as it can an autonomous component. While most browsers support autonomous custom elements, Only Chrome and Firefox support customised built-in elements. If used in a browser that does not support them, they will fall back to the regular versions of the elements they customise, which can make them safe to use. 02. HTML Templates Create ready-made structures Inert until called upon Contains HTML, CSS and JS Historically, browser-based templating involved stitching strings together in JavaScript, or using a library like Handlebars to parse a block special markup. More recently, the HTML templates specification defined the <template> tag, which can contain anything likely to be reused. On its own, it has no appearance and remains inert, meaning nothing inside is parsed or executed until told to, including requests for external media such as images or video. JavaScript cannot query the contents either, as browsers will only see it as an empty element. A regular query will pick up the <template> element itself. The importNode method creates a copy of its contents, with the second argument telling it to take a deep copy of everything. Finally, it can be added to the document like any other element. Templates can contain anything an HTML page can, including CSS and JavaScript. As soon as the element is applied to the page, those styles apply and the scripts execute. Bear in mind that these will run globally and so can override styles and values if care isn't taken. The best part about templates is that they are not just limited to web components. The examples here apply to any web page, but become particularly powerful when paired with web components, in particular the shadow DOM. 03. Shadow DOM Avoid styles leaking out Naming becomes simpler Keep implementation logic inside The Document Object Model – or 'DOM' – is how the browser interprets the structure of a page. By reading through the HTML, it builds up an idea on what elements in the page contain what content, and uses that to decide what to show. When using something like document.getElementById() the browser is actually looking through the DOM. That may be okay for the layout of a page, but what about the implementation details inside an element? Pages shouldn't need to worry about what makes up the interface inside a <video> element for example. That is where the shadow DOM comes in. A shadow DOM is created when applied to an element. Any content can be added to the shadow DOM just like the regular – or 'light' – DOM, but it has no effect on what's happening outside of it. Likewise, nothing in the light DOM can access the shadow DOM directly. This means we can add classes, styles and scripts anywhere in the shadow DOM without worrying about clashes. The best use of the shadow DOM with web components comes when coupled with a custom element. By having a shadow DOM in charge of the content, any time this component is reused, its styles and structure will not affect the rest of the page. 04. ES and HTML Modules Add in where needed No build step requirement Keep everything in one place While the previous three specifications have had relatively straightforward paths to success, the packaging and reusability of them has long been a sticking point. Originally, the HTML Imports specification defined a way for browsers to include HTML documents, much like CSS or JavaScript is already today. This would allow custom elements, along with their templates and shadow DOM, to live elsewhere and imported as needed. Firefox chose not to implement HTML Imports in its browser, and instead favoured a newer specification around JavaScript module importing. Modules do not apply their content globally by default. By marking certain variables, functions or classes as exported, they can then be imported by anything that needs them and used as if they were local. This is a great help to web components, as a custom element containing a template and a shadow DOM can be exported from one file and added to another. As long as it gets defined somewhere along the line, it is ready to use. An extension to this specification has been proposed to bring back some of the ease of HTML imports, alongside module imports. They will allow web components to be written using declarative and semantic HTML. Spearheaded by Microsoft, this feature is soon coming to Chrome and the Chromium-powered Edge browser. Next page: How to build you own components While there are a lot of complicated things you can achieve with web components, simply getting up and running actually involves very little code. Take your first steps into web components with a couple of short examples. This component enables you to display user comments, using the HTML templates and shadow DOM APIs This first tutorial (below) focuses on building a component to display user comments by making use of the HTML templates and shadow DOM APIs. Jump to page 3 to learn how to save yourself time by using custom elements. 01. Provide a template The component needs a generic template it can copy in order to generate its markup. This can live anywhere that the custom element class itself can access through its unique ID. Add the <template> element directly in the HTML of the page. Any styles written here will only affect the component. 02. Add in markup Along with the styles, the template contains the structure of the component's internals. In this case, it is set of <div> containers for layout purposes. All dynamic content is passed in through slots. Add in slots for the user's avatar, name and message, and give them appropriate names to reference later. 03. Default slot content Fallback content will appear when no information is supplied for a slot The data passed into the slot will override whatever sits inside it in the template. If there is nothing supplied for that slot, it displays the fallback content instead. In this case, if no username is supplied, the comment will display a 'no name' message in its place. 04. Create the class Custom elements start life as a class that extends the generic HTMLElement class. As part of the setup process, it creates its own shadow root to render its content into. Keep it open in order to access it in the next step. Finally, tell the browser about the new UserComment component class. 05. Apply shadow content When the browser finds a <user-comment> element, it is going to populate the shadow root with the content of the template. The second argument tells the browser to copy all of the template, not just the first layer. Add that markup to the shadow root, which will immediately update the visuals of this component. 06. Use the component Back in the HTML, the component is now ready to use. Add the <user-comment> tag and add any relevant data inside. As all slots are named, anything else that is passed through outside of a slot will be ignored. Everything inside those slots is copied in exactly as supplied, including related styling. Next page: How to create a customised built-in element Custom elements can also extend existing ones. It helps to save time by not having to recreate some of the behaviour that's already in the browser. This tutorial shows you how to extend the <time> element to display relative times that machines can understand. Extend the <time> element to display relative times that machines can understand 01. Create the class Custom built-in elements start life exactly the same as autonomous ones, but instead of extending HTMLElement, they use an existing element as a starting point. This component uses HTMLTimeElement – the class that <time> elements use. It includes all the behaviour around the datetime attribute, including the format it expects that data to be supplied in. 02. Define the element Again, much like autonomous custom elements, these also need to be registered with the browser using the define method. One added detail is the third argument, which takes an options object. For now, this object only has one key, which is used to define exactly which built-in element it customises. It takes the tag name, and will cause an error if it doesn't exist. 03. Set the time As the components set the value of the element in multiple places, it should have a method to call that contains that logic. Inside that method, the component tells the timeago library what that time is and sets its return value as the contents of that element. Finally, set the title attribute, which allows users to hover their cursor over the text to see the exact time being referenced. 04. Update on connection The component can use that new method to set the time on the element as soon as it appears on the page. Customised built-in elements cannot have an attached shadow DOM. As there is no other setup required, the component does not need any constructor. 05. Check attribute changes At the moment, if the page wanted to update the time programmatically, our component would not react. It does not know it should be watching for changes to the datetime attribute. By defining observed attributes, the attributeChangedCallback will run each time one of them changes. In this case, the component can run the setTime method again. 06. Add to the page The final result As this element is an extension of a built-in element, the implementation is a little different. To use our new element, create a <time> tag with an extra is attribute. This should match the name given when defining the component. For browsers that do not support customised built-in elements, they will display the fallback content that is inside instead. Next page: Tools and frameworks to try 01. LitElement LitElement provides helper methods and classes to create web components Spearheaded by Justin Fagnani at Google, LitElement aims to supersede Polymer Classic as the premier approach to web components. It provides helper methods and classes to create web components, without the required boilerplate setup. It has dramatically increased in popularity since its first stable release in February 2019. 02. Stencil Stencil is a compile-time tool from the Ionic framework team. It will analyse each component, optimise it as best as it can, and return a version that can be used across different browsers and frameworks. It includes added behaviour such as JSX, which handles data binding like a React project. 03. Vue web component wrapper While the Vue framework can work with web components without issue, using an existing Vue component as a web component elsewhere is trickier. This library will wrap the single-file component and map all the necessary bindings automatically, or the Vue CLI can take care of all the heavy lifting. 04. Angular Elements Similar to Vue, there is another wrapper to allow web components to be created using the power of Angular. The createCustomElement function links the APIs used with custom elements with the equivalent Angular syntax. Add this as part of the application bootstrap process and the rest is taken care of. 05. Skate Skate works with other templating languages By providing guidance alongside a thin layer on top of existing native functionality, Skate can provide great benefit with a smaller footprint than other libraries. Much of this comes from the ability to work with other templating languages like Preact, and drop in modules for additional functionality, such as server-side rendering. 06. Svelte Svelte compiles its components into regular JavaScript and avoids shipping a runtime like other frameworks, which results in smaller files. While not required, Svelte components can be built as web components without needing any external tools. Define a tag name in the module configuration and Svelte will do the rest. 07. X-Tag X-Tag is useful for tying components with those in other frameworks The X-Tag project has gone through many iterations over the years. Now, this Microsoft-backed library mirrors much of the custom element specification, with its own approaches to style and templating. It is particularly useful when needing to support older browsers, or when tying components together with those in other frameworks. 08. Slim While Slim is a relatively unknown library, it provides added functionality, such as one-way data binding and automatic re-rendering out of the box. It's fast and small too – weighing in at only 3.4Kb gzipped. Other directives can be dropped in as and when they are needed to keep things lean. Feel the benefits of web components right away with these elements. 01. Wired Wired can help you mock up a page quickly Most sites and applications go through several iterations before becoming a finished product. A lot of these start life as a prototype sketched on a notepad, or created inside a graphical application. Wouldn't it be better if these lived inside the browser to get an idea of how it works in the real world? Wired is a set of web components that generate an interface with a hand drawn look using rough.js under the hood. Buttons, inputs and more are ready to be dropped in where needed and linked up for basic interactions to mock up a page in no time. 02. Material Components These components are a work in progress The team behind Google's Material Design pattern already have an implementation for the web. Currently, they're working to have them consumable through web components to be dropped in without extra configuration. Complex patterns such as tabs and drawers have been created with more on the way. 03. Brightspace UI The company behind the Brightspace learning tool has made a set of its components open source for all to use. These include buttons, tables and inputs all with a focus on performance and accessibility. Any bugs the team come across are fixed and pushed out to help anyone else using them. 04. Vaadin These pre-built components can help get you started The Vaadin platform is a set of pre-built UI components ready to be used to create an entire application. There's plenty available to help you get off the ground, including grid layouts, tooltips and progress bars. The paid-for pro components also include charts and text editors, configurable for all needs. 05. Animated Content Placeholder Skeleton loading is a great way to improve perceived loading times. They act as a placeholder for incoming content that may take a while, such as a news feed or gallery. This component builds out a skeleton by using web components as the building blocks to mimic the loaded state. 06. Gluon-font-awesome This is a lightweight wrapper around the popular Font Awesome icon library. Icons can be dropped in using a <font-awesome> tag, while the component handles the importing and loading of the font awesome library. It is built using Gluon – a lightweight framework providing convenience on top of native custom elements. This article was originally published in creative web design magazine Web Designer. Buy issue 287 or subscribe. 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