A lifelong technology enthusiast, Darien is a regular contributor to both Expert Reviews and PC Pro magazine, specialising in wireless networking, internet security and other technical topics. He also contributes to and produces the weekly PC Pro podcast, and has made occasional appearances on BBC News and Open University programming. In his spare time he dabbles in audio production, and plays guitar, bass and drums with the enthusiasm of a committed amateur.
Hide.me VPN review: An advanced VPN This VPN stumbles on speed, but its distinctive strengths and reassuring security profile still make it worth a look
Hotspot Shield review: A fast, fully featured VPN It’s not perfect for privacy, but Hotspot Shield is easy to use and impressively speedy£8
TunnelBear VPN review: It's charming TunnelBear’s fun, cartoonish vibe doesn’t wholly make up for a clunky interface and limited features£2.73
NordVPN review: An excellent VPN A superb all-round VPN for speed and security, despite a few stumbles with streaming services£2.99
IPVanish VPN review: A versatile US VPN This speedy VPN might not be the best choice for rock-solid anonymity, but it’s great for streaming£3.11
Hide.me VPN review: An advanced VPN This VPN stumbles on speed, but its distinctive strengths and reassuring security profile still make it worth a look£2.12
CyberGhost VPN: Focusses on user-friendliness It’s not the fastest VPN around, but CyberGhost has an innovative interface, strong security features and cheap long-term pricing£1.92
Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500: An ultra fast router, at a cost A fine router for those who can’t wait to embrace the very latest Wi-Fi standard£550
Asus ZenWiFi XD5 mesh review: A whole lot of speed Don’t be misled by the basic design and modest pricing – this is an impressively swift and capable mesh£210
HP printers make it easy being green With green manufacturing and end-to-end recycling, printing can be both efficient and ecologically friendly
McAfee Total Protection review: A highly effective suite With a fresh front end, identity protection and an unlimited VPN, the new McAfee Total Protection is better than ever£13
Trend Micro Internet Security review: Old isn't always gold Acceptable virus protection and performance, but the feature set feels decidedly outdated£25
F-Secure Internet Security review: A solid security suite With a limited feature set and mid-table protection scores, it’s hard to justify paying full price for this simple antivirus solution£35
Windows Defender review: Neither slick nor speedy Not the slickest or most feature-packed security suite, but it blocks viruses and stays out of your way
AVG Internet Security review: Effective, low-cost protection AVG does a solid job of blocking viruses and other online threats, but it’s not the fastest security suite, nor the most user-friendly£12
Netgear Orbi WiFi 6: The best, fastest mesh system ever The first 802.11ax mesh system leaves its rivals in the dust but does anyone really need it?£749