PC Help Guides

Research shows that in 2019 there were more data breaches in the UK than ever before. Using a VPN (Virutal Private Network) goes along way in ensuring your online connection stays private thus reducing your virtual footprint significantly – but to solve the “how do I know if my VPN is working?” conundrum and to ensure the VPN is protecting as you browse the internet, shop online, access your favourite social media websites or check your online banking status we must be thorough in our due VPN diligence!

In our free PC PowerZone UK VPN guide we aim to help you in both checking you have the best VPN for you, check to see if its working properly and also explain how you change your VPN on your PC browser, Android or Apple iOS mobile device.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is like having your own private internet connection and it adds an extra layer of security to your online activities. For example, you could be out shopping and you run out of data so you search for a free local WiFi Hotspot and click to connect but without going through a VPN first you have exposed your personal data to would be hackers who would be too glad to grab your credit card details, private photos or any other sensitive data that is stored on your mobile.

Personal VPNs are becoming more popular because of the recent data leaks from the banks, ISPs and other large companies in the UK. When you access the web through a VPN your connection location is hidden, and you have a different IP address every time you connect.

What is a Double VPN?

A double VPN is where another connection or a series of connections is added to your VPN. To explain, every time you connect through your VPN your connection is encrypted to one secure server which connects then connects to the internet.

For extra security a double VPN adds at least another encrypted server to the chain. Today, more and people are opting to use double VPNs because they are the best way to secure your online privacy; this also known as VPN chaining.

The disadvantage of using a double VPN is that sometimes connection speeds drop because of the longer connection chain. For everyday web browsing, a single VPN may be more practical but for accessing sensitive data then you should consider using a good UK based double VPN provider such as Nord.

Why You Should Use a VPN

Protecting your online activity is important and there are good reasons to connect through a VPN, these include:

1. Hiding your IP Address
With access to your IP address, hackers can determine your location and “spoof” (pretend they are accessing the internet using your IP address) your identity.

2. Eliminate Public WiFi Security Issues
Using public WiFi can be dangerous because your data is unencrypted which can be hijacked by tech bandits. By using a VPN your connection is safe and secure – modern VPNs can also be used across multiple devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones.

3. Overcome Geo-based Streaming Rules
Want to watch US Netflix in the UK? Or stream a movie while on holiday through iPlayer only to discover you are blocked from watching? With VPNs, you can hide your real location in order to appear you are accessing the internet from the UK.

4. Help to Avoid Identity Theft
Fight back against hackers by using a VPN. Personal details can be sold online including credit card information, driver licence details and passport information. Use a VPN to protect your identity and to avoid becoming the latest victim to data thieves.

How Do I Know If My VPN Is Working? (As it Should)

Worried that your VPN is leaking your identity, IP address and location? It’s a common concern, but there are steps you can take in order to check if your VPN is working as it should.

Step by Step Instructions to Find Out if My VPN is Leaking

Step One
Firstly you should check for IP leaks by turning off your VPN, find your real IP by visiting this website. Copy the IP address displayed.

Step Two
Turn on your VPN, refresh your browser and go back to the IP test website. You should see a different IP. If your IP address is the same as in step one then VPN is leaking and you should immediately contact your provider or change VPN supplier.

Step Three – DNS Leak Test
Finally, head over to this DNS Leak Test website (with your VPN turned on) and if your VPN is clean, your IP should show the country you selected and a different IP address (remember to use the extended analysis option).

How to Change Your VPN?

If you find your VPN is slow or does not have the country you want to connect from then consider changing provider. Before that it’s always best to check with your current plan. If you use a free VPN service then often the paid subscription plans only cost a few pounds each year and may be worth subscribing too.

It all depends how much you are going to use your VPN and you get what you pay for. A premium plan will often offer the most stable service, fastest connection speed and good customer service.

Five Free VPN Services You Can Try Out

We have complied the best free VPN provider list for 2019. With only 5 providers selected, there is no in-depth overload of information or fake reviews – just 5 good VPN websites you can go and visit.

NordVPN – Free 30 day trial.
Express VPN UK – Not free but 30 day money back guarantee.
TunnelBear VPN – Free to use with 500mb per month limitation.
Hotspot Shield UK VPN – 100% Free plan but with limited bandwidth.
Windscribe VPN – Free access to 10 countries and 10GB per month in the free plan.

The UK VPN marketplace is growing year-on-year and this can mean lower pricing, faster connection speed and more choice which is great news for those who want secure their online activities. How do I know if my VPN is working? – In the end, once you have done the testing as demonstrated in our three steps guide you are free to stay with your current provider or visit a competitor who can offer a better service.

Whether you have upgraded to a newer model, need drivers updating or have purchased a new or used PC from a friend or auction site such as eBay or Gumtree then it makes sense to ask yourself “how to find out what graphics card I have?” If you would like to know how to locate your graphics card, make and model or even troubleshoot sluggish performing GPUs then read our PC PowerZone guide below.

Being one of the most important components inside a computer, the graphics card (can also be called a video card) is a device that receives information from the CPU and Windows software and processes this data and sends to the output display. Usually this is an external monitor, projector or laptop screen. Some of the most popular brands of graphics card include nVidia, AMD and Intel on-board chipset.

Without a graphics card or chipset there would be no video output at all. So, when you buy a computer its always worth noting what graphics card you have installed in case you need to update a driver or install some new memory to boost PC performance. The easiest and quickest way to find out what graphics card is installed is to use the Windows utility programme already installed inside your computer – DirectX.

The DirectX Diagnostic Tool Method

Before we start, you need to check whether you have DirectX installed on your PC. Windows 10 machines should have this pre-installed but older computers with versions of Windows OS such as 8, 7, Vista and XP will probably need to download an install DirectX directly on to your machine.

How to Check if Direct X is Installed on My Computer?

Anyone can do this and it takes just a few seconds to check. Press the Windows key to bring up the search box and enter “dxdiag”. You should see the dxdiag run command. If you do not see any dxdiag information you will need to download this neat little and free utility programme on to your computer.

Microsoft have an excellent web guide and download information for Direct X.

What is DirectX?

DirectX is a software tool that enables your computer graphics and audio cards to work in conjunction with software apps and games. If you have ever used DirectX before then it is likely you would have seen a performance boost because DirectX has direct access to advanced features inside your cards in order to help maximise performance and PC stability.

Although DirectX is primarily used to communicate and help with app / game performance it also an excellent way to quickly identify what graphics card is installed inside your PC case. For the purpose of this tutorial we use DirectX to find out the make, model and even how much display RAM (VRAM) is attached to our card.

Step by Step Instructions: Graphics Card Locater Guide

Follow our three step guide below in order to find out the exact graphics card make and model number – the chances are that you are using some type of AMD, nVidia or Intel graphics card.

Step 1: Press the Windows Key to bring up the search box.
Step 2: Enter “dxdiag” in the search box. You should the dxdiag run command, click enter.
Step3: When the pop-up box appears, click on the display tab to view your graphics card information.

If no dxdiag information displays, then you need to download the software on to your computer, otherwise you should see the below on your computer and completes our how to find out what graphics card I have? quest:

Alternative Way to Using DirectX

If you are having trouble with the DirectX method and you are still looking to find out what graphics card you have in Windows 10 then you can use an alternative method. Search for “advanced display settings” (located at the bottom of the screen) on the Windows search bar.

This is a sub menu from the “change display settings” screen. You can find out driver information here too which helps with troubleshooting performance issues:

How Do I Know if My GPU is Working Properly?

Graphics cards can be expensive. Even budget models can cost well over £100 and if you have purchased your computer from a shop such as PC World or Dell then they already have video cards installed. But what if, after a few months your computer starts to freeze up, the display flickers or your games are sluggish and slow to respond to mouse/keyboard movements?

Often your graphics card could be faulty and it’s worthwhile to carry out some home DIY diagnostic tests to see if you are getting good benchmark tests on your card. The first step is to perform a stress test. Download FurMark and let it rip! There is an active support forum should you need some help and testing this way will reveal any performance issues with your card.

5 Tell Tale Signs Your Graphics Card is Fried!

There are other tell-tale signs that your graphics card could be permanently damaged. These include:
1. Blue and black screens of death
2. GPU artifacting (this is when bugs and glitches appear on your computer screen).
3. Loud whirring fan noises coming from the PC case.
4. Random computer shutdowns – this is when your PC or laptop overheats, your system automatically shuts down.
5. Screen and software lock ups where games and apps such as excel, Word and PowerPoint suddenly lock-up and stop running.

If your graphics card does not seem to be adversely affected by the above factors but you are still getting poor PC performance then try to update your graphics card drivers and also scan your hard drive with a virus checker and disk defrag tool.

Why Won’t My PC Detect My Graphics Card?

There are two main reasons why Windows is not detecting your graphics card inside control panel. The first is software related and it probably resonates to a device driver issue. To check, find the box that your card came with and download the official drivers off the internet.

Secondly – there could be physical damage to either your motherboard or the graphics card itself. Carefully remove the case screws of your PC case and look inside for any evidence of damage.

Can you smell burning when you open the box? Be sure to check all the card slots on the motherboard – is the graphics card sitting straight and fully inserted in the housing slot?

Solving the “how to find out what graphics card I have?” puzzle

By reading our guide on “how to find out what graphics card I have?” we hope you easily find, diagnose and fix all your video card issues. This device is very important and plays an integral role in your computer system hardware setup.