Someone else is reading my sister's WhatsApp messages despite the end-to-end encryption in the app. She has stopped using WhatsApp due to this. Please help.

Mimi Das

There are many WhatsApp hack tools in the wild on the Internet. Some are free and some cost money. But all of them require the software to be installed on the phone first. One way to protect your privacy is to get another app to lock WhatsApp. One such app is Lock for Whatsapp (WhatsLock) by Mobisec Tools available in the Google Play store. You must also block downloads from unknown sources (other than Google Play store) in your phone. You will find this option in the Settings of your phone. Never share your phone with people you do not trust. It just takes a minute or two for someone to install a malicious app on your phone. In an extreme case, you should do a factory reset of your phone after backing up all your data to Google. Then selectively download only the apps you need.

SLUGGISH INTERNET

The normal DNS address of 202.56.215.6 and 4.2.2.2 of my ADSL router is frequently being over written by the address 128.199.99.52 and 8.8.8.8, as a result of which Internet access has become very sluggish. I am using a D-Link DSL 2750U router/modem with Airtel's broadband service. My primary device is a Dell Inspiron 3542 laptop running on Windows 10, which is regularly updated. I use Avira anti-virus software.

Moloy Roy

Your computer seems to be fine, but another device that accesses your WiFi is loading malicious JavaScript into the network that is forcing a change in the router's DNS settings. You have to take certain steps to secure your router. First, change the default username and password of your router, if Airtel people have not already done it. The default username is admin and the password is also admin. You can change this by typing 192.168.1.1 into your browser's address bar and logging in to the router. Change the username and password by accessing router's security settings. Also, change the WiFi password and make sure the encryption is set to WPA2.

Next, right click the Start menu and select Network Connections. Click on 'Change adapter options'. Right click the network connection you are using and select Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on the Properties button. Select 'Use the following DNS server addresses' and type in the DNS server you are supposed to be using. Click on OK, and exit the Network Connections window. Now flush your DNS and clear your web browser's cache. To flush the DNS right click on the Start menu and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin). In the windows that opens, type in ipconfig /flushdns.

OPEN SUITE

What free software would you recommend which is almost equivalent to Microsoft Office for Windows 10. I cannot afford the official version of the Microsoft suite.

Ajit Kundu

Microsoft Office is still the best software to use, but if you find it too expensive I would suggest you try out LibreOffice. It is a free and open source office suite and can open Microsoft Office files. The program is continually updated and you get the updates for free too. LibreOffice offers six programs. Writer, Calc, and Impress are equivalent to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They have most of the same features, and you will have to fiddle around with the programs for a while to find them. LibreOffice also has drawing, database and equation utilities. There are plenty of extensions and templates that you can add to give the programs more features. Get the complete suite from www.libreoffice.org.

DRAINING CPU

I have Advanced System Care Ultimate 10 in my PC with a system tray that shows all programs running on the computer. Among these running programs is 'schost' that takes about 75 per cent of the resources of CPU, due to which my computer slows down. How do I fix this?

Rajesh Das

Since a process named schost.exe is running on your computer, you have been infected with a strain of the Torvil virus. This may cause serious harm to your computer such as loss of data or leaking private information to websites. Apart from this, your computer will slow down significantly over time. Scan of your computer immediately with an up-to-date virus scanner and delete the file.

TACKY FLASH

I have a Samsung Galaxy J7 phone with Android 6.0.1 that was bought about a year ago. For the past month, the flash seems to be going on and off in intervals of 10 to 15 minutes. How do I stop this?

Banibrata Basu

You must have turned on LED notifications by mistake. Go to Settings-Accessibility-Hearing and turn off Flash Notification.

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