Android

Google outlines the new flow for sideloading Android apps

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Depending on who you ask, sideloading apps is either the best thing ever when it comes to application ecosystems or the worst thing. Those in favor argue that it allows for an open environment that is not limited by a specific store or developer. Opponents point out that sideloading is often used to install malware on devices of unsuspecting users.

To address this issue, Google announced changes to sideloading on Android some time ago. It did not cut off sideloading altogether, something that was on the table, but decided to introduce a new installation flow on devices that run Android.

This new workflow deliberately takes time and effort. Google says that this prevents certain common scenarios where users may be pressured or installations happen remotely.

Here is the new workflow:

  1. Enable Developer Mode: Android users need to enable developer mode before they can sideload apps. Google says that this prevents “prevents accidental triggers or “one-tap” bypasses”.
  2. Confirmation: A check to make sure that no one is asking the owner of the device to make the change.
  3. Restart and reauthentication: This is done to cut-off remote access or active phone calls.
  4. Waiting period: A 24 hour wait period before the owner can confirm that sideloading should be activated.
  5. Installation: Users may enable sideloading for a seven day period or indefinitely, according to Google.

These steps are designed as hurdles that users have to overcome. It may reduce the number of unwanted sideloaded installations on Android. Experienced users still have to complete the necessary steps before they can unlock sideloading on their devices (again). It is annoying, but Google makes it sound as if this could be a one-time process. If that is indeed the case, experienced users might want to complete the necessary steps immediately after the new system is introduced on their devices to avoid any issues later on.

Now it is your turn. What is your take on the changes? Important to protect the masses from unwanted installations or overreach? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Microsoft pauses update KB5079391 for Windows 11 to investigate an issue

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

This month, Microsoft promised to steer development towards improving the quality and usability of its Windows operating system. The first Windows update after the announcement could serve as an example for what is wrong with the operating system.

The distribution of KB5079391, released on March 26, had to be halted by Microsoft to investigate an installation error.

The company writes:

Some devices might encounter the following error while installing this update:

“Some update files are missing or have problems. We’ll try to download the update again later. Error code: (0x80073712)”

The availability of the optional update for Windows 11 has been limited by Microsoft as a consequence to investigate the underlying cause. Microsoft says that it will provide information about the issue once it has discovered the root cause of the error message.

Beta updates

The issue highlights the fragile nature of the operating system. Optional updates, which are beta releases of the following month’s cumulative update, should not be installed by the majority of Windows users.

In fact, there are only a few exceptions to the rule:

  • Major issues: When a major issue is fixed that affects users significantly.
  • Testing: When new features need to be evaluated.

Other than that, it is usually better to wait for the release of the cumulative updates, as these are the releases that are considered more stable. However, here, I also advice to wait with the installation, as bugs and issues are common and may affect operations.

In any event, creating a system backup before installing any updates is highly recocmmended.

Sony announced a massive PlayStation 5 price increase

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you plan to buy a Sony PlayStation 5 console this year, you better hurry, as prices will go up on April 2, 2026.

Sony announced the price increase on the official blog after increasing the price in the United States in 2025 already. There, the company explains that “pressures in the global economic landscape” forced its hand. Without going into specifics, Sony is likely referring to the skyrocketing prices of RAM and storage due to the explosion of AI-focused services.

All PlayStation consoles and the PlayStation Portal handheld get a price increase. In the United States, prices of the console increase between $100 and $150, depending on the system.

Without further ado, here is an overview of the old and new price for each Sony PlayStation 5 console in all mentioned regions:

RegionProductOld PriceNew PricePrice Increase
U.S.PS5$549.99$649.99+$100.00
PS5 Digital Edition$499.99$599.99+$100.00
PS5 Pro$749.99$899.99+$150.00
PlayStation Portal$199.99$249.99+$50.00
U.K.PS5£479.99£569.99+£90.00
PS5 Digital Edition£429.99£519.99+£90.00
PS5 Pro£699.99£789.99+£90.00
PlayStation Portal£199.99£219.99+£20.00
EuropePS5€549.99€649.99+€100.00
PS5 Digital Edition€499.99€599.99+€100.00
PS5 Pro€799.99€899.99+€100.00
PlayStation Portal€219.99€249.99+€30.00
JapanPS5Â¥79,980Â¥97,980+Â¥18,000
PS5 Digital Edition¥72,980¥89,980+¥17,000
PS5 Pro¥119,980¥137,980+¥18,000
PlayStation Portal¥34,980¥39,980+¥5,000

Sony suggests that customers should check pricing with local retailers or the PlayStation website, if they live in a region not mentioned explicitly.

This console generation is the first in gaming history where console prices have trended upward. Nintendo (Switch 1) and Microsoft have also raised prices, and there is a good chance that both companies may announce another round of price increases this year.

Historically, components used in consoles got cheaper as the years progressed. This allowed companies to reduce prices or introduce new models at lower price points.

However, this generation is facing unprecedented global economic factors. Besides the boom around AI, which drives RAM and components to higher price points, companies face inflation, tariffs, and conflicts around the world.

So what should gamers do? There are a couple of options:

  • Stick to the last generation of consoles or even older ones. They are cheaper and have a huge catalog of -often- cheaper games to play.
  • Consider PC gaming. While PCs are also affected by the rising prices of components, they offer more flexibility. You could consider a PC gaming handheld or upgrade an existing PC with a better video card or processor for more gaming power.
  • Sit it out. Things may calm down again in the coming years. AI is still a wildcard, and a crash might cause components to drop in price sharply. Also, the second-hand market may be flooded with cheap RAM and other components in that case.

Another year, another Netflix price increase

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Feels like yesterday that streaming giant Netflix increased pricing in the United States and in select other regions. Netflix is increasing the subscription price again in the United States, after last year’s increase.

Customers in the United States pay between $1 and $2 more per month starting March 2026. The cheapest option, Standard with ads, is now $8.99 instead of $7.99. Both plans that are ad-free increase by $2, with Premium costing $26.99 now in the United States.

Furthermore, the options to add extra members jump by $1 as well, regardless of whether it is with or without ads.

Last year, Netflix pushed prices between $1 and $2.50 in the United States and it seems that it continues to test the waters. Like clockwork, Netflix and other streaming services are raising prices. These come without any meaningful extras for customers usually — other than the promise that the money goes towards creating more shows and movies.

My take has not changed in the past couple of years. I have no subscription to any of the streaming services currently. If you do, I highly suggest subscribing for a month only to watch what you want to watch before hopping to the next streaming service, unless you like pretty much anything that comes out on a particular platform.

This way, you end up enjoying content from all the services that you like without paying one of them a ludicrous amount of money for — likely — less and less content that is of interest to you.

I do not really mind watching the latest hot show or movie a year or years after it has been released, or never, as more and more turn out to be content that I’m not interested in. Last show I liked was HBO’s Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but it was over quickly and the next season won’t air until next year.

Samsung Browser launches officially for Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Another Chromium-based web browser? Samsung has just released the first stable version of its browser for Windows after it launched in Beta in January 2026. The new browser shares the engine with Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, which means that you can expect a similar performance and compatibility.

Samsung’s main intention with the browser is to provide Galaxy-users with a seamless experience between their mobiles and desktop PCs that run Windows. This includes syncing data such as bookmarks or the browsing history between all linked devices, and integrating the password manager Samsung Pass.

It should not come as a surprise that these features need a Samsung account to function at all. However, at the time of writing, the features are limited to the company’s own Galaxy Books series of laptops. More precisely, Galaxy Books 3 to 6 are supported for now. This limits the reach severely.

Samsung has partnered up with Perplexity to drive AI features in the browser. You can expect the usual range, including natural language input for search and the browsing history, the summary of one or multiple webpages, and more.

The AI features are also limited, according to Samsung. Only users from the US and South Korea get the Perplexity-powered AI functions.

Other than that, you may enable an integrated content blocker and get some comfortable features, such as translating webpages.

Since Samsung Browser is Chromium-based, you may install compatible extensions, including from the Chrome Web Store. Installations work exactly as expected: click on the install button and accept the installation prompt to add an extension to Samsung Browser.

Who is Samsung Browser for then? The obvious answer is Samsung Galaxy customers who use one or multiple mobile devices from Samsung and also a Windows PC, preferably one of the Galaxy Books. Everyone else does not really get much out of this, as the main use case — accessing data everywhere — does not apply and because there is not really much in terms of standout features besides that.

What you need to know about Firefox’s new built-in VPN feature

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla published Firefox 149 to the stable channel this week and it comes with a bunch of new features and changes. Besides split-view, which allows users to display two webpages side-by-side in a single browser tab, Mozilla advertises a free built-in VPN as one of the main new features.

Mozilla describes the feature in the following way:

Firefox now offers a free built-in VPN. Whether you’re using public Wi-Fi while traveling, searching for sensitive health information, or shopping for something personal, this feature gives you a simple way to stay protected. Once you sign in and turn it on, you can hide your location and IP address by routing it through a secure proxy while you browse in Firefox. You will get 50 GB of protection every month, with the option to turn it on or off for specific websites. This feature is progressively rolling out in the US, UK, Germany and France starting today.

The paragraph is different when you check out the linked support page:

VPN is a built-in Firefox feature that adds privacy by routing your browser traffic through a secure proxy server and masking your IP address. The feature includes a monthly data limit of 50 GB. Firefox will notify you when you are approaching this limit with a prompt in the browser. It is available to a limited set of users during the initial rollout, starting with Firefox version 149.

The latter is accurate, as it confirms that the solution is actually a secure proxy and not a VPN. Mozilla has likely picked VPN as it is more popular. Microsoft, actually, did the same when it introduced the Secure Network feature in Edge.

The main difference between a secure proxy and a VPN solution is that the integrated proxy only protects data from a single application, in this case Firefox.

Once activated, Firefox will route all traffic through the proxy. This protects the device IP of the user and improves privacy and security.

Mozilla says that Firefox users get 50 gigabytes of free traffic per month. This is ten times the amount that Microsoft gives Edge Secure Network users for free each month.

Another difference between the two solutions is that Mozilla relies on its own partner network for the feature, whereas Microsoft partnered up with Cloudflare.

Mozilla says that it does not log visited websites or “the content of your communications”. It does “collect technical data”, which it says is “needed to provide, maintan, and ensure the performance and stability of the service”. It also collects interaction data to “understand usage of the feature and help guide improvements”.

The feature is rolling out to users in the US, UK, Germany, and France only at the moment. You see a VPN icon in the address bar once it is available. A click displays the option to start using it.

Note: You do need to sign in to a Mozilla account to use the proxy. Once that is out of the way, you can complete the onboarding process. Users who do not want to use it can right-click on the icon to remove it from the toolbar.

Toggle browser.ipprotection.enabled to TRUE on about:config to enable it immediately, or set it to FALSE to disable the feature.

Now You: do you use a proxy or VPN when you are on the Internet?

The End of Annoying Windows? Microsoft Promises a Major Pivot

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you’ve ever cursed at your monitor as a forced reboot hijacked your workday or at the massive integration of AI features into every nook and cranny of the Windows operating system, Microsoft finally have a message for you: they get it and want to do something about it.

Last week, the tech giant announced a fundamental pivot in its Windows 11 development strategy, promising to prioritize system stability and user control over flashy, unavoidable features.

Driven by months of user feedback and mounting community frustration, Windows and devices head Pavan Davuluri outlined a course correction that switches from aggressive AI integrations and a “Microsoft knows best” attitude towards restoring lost trust by focusing on restoring customizations and putting an end to deeply disruptive updates.

The main areas that Microsoft plans to improve

Here is a bulleted summary of the key changes that Microsoft announced on its Windows blog. They can be divided into the groups “user interface & customization”, “scaling back intrusive features”, “Windows updates & reliability”, and “performance upgrades”.

Windows Updates & Reliability

  • Control: Users will get more control over Windows updates, including the ability to skip updates during initial device setup, shutting down or restarting without installing updates, or pausing updates for longer periods.
  • Reboots: Microsoft is shifting towards a single reboot per month scheme to avoid too many disruptions.
  • Stability: Engineers will focus on reducing system-level crashes, improve driver quality, and improve connection stability of devices and connections.

Scaling back intrusive features

  • AI: Microsoft is reducing Copilot entry points in apps and plans to focus on useful integrations only.
  • Widgets: Quieter defaults and simpler settings to minimize distractions.
  • Notifications: System notifications will be reduced.

User interface & customizations

  • Taskbar: Microsoft plans to restore moving the taskbar to the top and sides of the screen. The compact taskbar is also making a comeback.
  • Start Menu: The recommended section will be more relevant and get clear options to customize or turn off.
  • Setup: Microsoft promises quieter and more streamlined initial setups that have fewer pages and require less reboots.

Core performance updates

  • File Explorer: Microsoft plans to improve File Explorer performance significantly, enable faster copying/moving of large files, improve search, and reduce screen flicker.
  • Responsiveness: Core apps, including the Start menu, move to WinUI3 to improve latency. Performance will be “more consistent”.
  • Efficiency: Baseline memory footprint will be reduced.

Closing Words

Ultimate, Microsoft’s announcement reads like a long due apology, without actually apologizing. The true test will lie in the execution. Windows Insiders will be among the first to see some of the quality-of-life improvements that Microsoft promised to deliver, while everyday users may have to wait until the end of year or even longer before the changes land on their systems.

If Pavan Davuluri and his engineering team can truly deliver on a faster, cleaner, and less intrusive operating system over the coming year, Microsoft could regain some of the trust that it lost.

Amazon

Everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Ultra

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Amazon announced Prime Ultra, a new subscription plan yesterday. It is the new ad-free subscription service that replaces the current option to go ad-free on Prime Video.

To better understand the change, it is necessary to look back at the previous structure.

Amazon Prime is available for about $15 per month in the United States. A subscription gives subscribers several features, including access to Prime Video. Amazon, some time ago, decided to turn the then-ad-free Prime Video into an ad-powered streaming service.

This meant that every subscriber started to see ads on Prime Video, unless they paid Amazon an extra $3 per month to retain the status quo (ad-free). Amazon removed some features in the ad-powered plan, namely support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.

What Amazon Prime Ultra changes

Amazon Prime Ultra is the replacement for the ad-free option. It should not come as a surprise therefore that it offers an ad-free experience as well.

For around $5 per month extra, customers get the following extras on top:

  • 100 downloads for offline viewing.
  • Up to 5 simultaneous streams.
  • 4K UHD.
  • Dolby Atmos.

As a consequence, Amazon is removing support for 4K and UHD streams from the regular Prime Video subscription. In other words, if you want 4K, you need to pay an extra $5 to retain that option.

Prime customers who pay yearly may also pay yearly for Prime Video Ultra. This costs roughly $46 then per year instead of $60.

Note that Amazon is improving the regular ad-powered Prime Video experience as well (except for removing 4K support). Subscribers get Dolby Vision, 50 downloads instead of 25, and 4 streams instead of 3 under the revised plans.

Closing Words

Amazon is increasing the cost of an ad-free Prime Video experience with the introduction of the Ultra option. To make it appeal more, it decided to move 4K support to the Ultra plan exclusively. Dolby Vision is moved to the regular Prime Video plan while Dolby Atmos remains an exclusive for the add-on.

Is it worth the $20 per month? Considering that other extras are included, including free shipping for many items, it may be worth it for some users, especially if they watch Prime Video regularly and dislike advertisement.

However, 4K video at streaming services is not all that great when you compare it to 4K discs or downloaded 4K video files. The reason is simple: video streaming services use compression heavily.

The new Ultra plan launches in the United States only. Whether it is coming to other regions remains to be seen, but there is a good chance that Amazon will introduce it globally eventually.

Windows: Some users may lose “access to the C: drive” and experience “app failures”

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft confirmed a new Windows issue on March 12th, 2026 that prevents access to files on the main c: drive of the system and blocks certain applications from launching.

The issue affects certain Samsung devices that run Windows and have installed the February 2026 security updates or newer updates for Windows 11, version 24H2 or 25H2 systems.

Here are the details:

  • Affected Windows versions: Windows 11, version 24H2 and 25H2
  • Affected devices: Only certain Samsung devices.
  • Originating update: KB5077181 (25H2 and 24H2)

Affected users may get the error message “C:\ is not accessible – Access denied” after installation of the update on affected devices. This prevents access to files on the drive and will also block some applications from launching. Microsoft mentions Outlook, Office apps, web browsers and system utilities specifically.

The problems do not require specific user actions. They occur during common actions, such as trying to access files, starting programs, or performing administrative tasks. Furthermore, users may also be blocked from elevating privileges, uninstalling, updates, or collecting logs due to permission failures.

Microsoft says that it is investigating the issue and that it suspects that the Samsung Share application is causing the issue. There is no workaround at the time of writing, but uninstalling the update — if possible — may resolve the issue. However, this leaves the system open for potential attacks, as it won’t have the February and March 2026 security issues patched anymore.

Affected users and administrators may want to keep an eye on the Windows 11 release information page. Microsoft will update the page when it has a workaround or a solution.

Google Chrome 146: Security update fixes two vulnerabilities that are already exploited

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

It is this time of the week again. Google has just released a security update for its Chrome web browser to patch two security issues with known attacks in the wild.

The update, which is available for Chrome on all desktop platforms and for Android, addresses two security issues. Google rates both with a severity rating of high.

The first issue is an out of bounds write in Skia, the specialized 2D graphics engine that is responsible for nearly everything that you see on the screen. It draws shapes, renders text, or displays images.

The second vulnerability is an inappropriate implementation in V8, another core component of all Chromium-based browsers. It is Google’s open source JavaScript and WebAssembly engine.

Google writes:

[N/A][491421267] High CVE-2026-3909: Out of bounds write in Skia. Reported by Google on 2026-03-10

[N/A][491410818] High CVE-2026-3910: Inappropriate implementation in V8. Reported by Google on 2026-03-10

Google is aware that exploits for both CVE-2026-3909 & CVE-2026-3910 exist in the wild.

Most unmanaged Chrome installations should receive the update automatically. You can speed it up by loading chrome://settings/help, if Chrome is open. Windows users may also run winget upgrade google.chrome.exe from the command line to upgrade the browser without opening it.

Expect upgrades for other Chromium-based browsers in the coming hours and days as well, as all use the very same components.