Author: Martin Brinkmann

When I was young, I studied German, History and English at Essen University in Germany. I worked in computer support for several years at the time to help other computer users when they ran into issues. Writing started out as a passion project, as I wanted to help more users and not just the ones that I handled in support. This lead to the founding of Ghacks Technology News in 2005. First, as a side-project, but shortly thereafter as a full-time project as the site's popularity exploded. I sold Ghacks to Softonic some years ago, but stayed on as Editor. You can still read my articles on the site. I do publish on Betanews as well. In recent years, I started to write and publish technology books, including my latest book "Windows 11 From Beginner to Advanced", which is available on Amazon. I'm also a freelance writer for the German publisher Gamestar. Chipp.in is my newest project. I want to use it to talk about my book projects, sell my books directly, and write about technology, as this is what interests me.
7-Zip 25.000

7-Zip 25.00 improves performance and fixes security issues

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

7-Zip is a popular cross-platform open source program to pack files and to unpack archives. It is a lightweight alternative to heavier archiving programs and the built-in Windows functionality, that is significantly slower in all benchmarks.

7-Zip 25.00 is now available. You can download the latest version from the official project website or from its Sourceforge repository. As always, just install the new version over the other to upgrade the installation to the latest version.

Tip: check the installed version by starting 7z-Zip on your system and selecting Help > About 7-Zip from the menu at the top.

This is the first release of 2025. The changelog lists several performance improvements for various supported tasks.

Here is the overview:

  • The bzip2 compression speed was increased by 15-40%
  • The deflate (zip/gz) compression speed was increased by 1-3%.

The Windows version of 7-Zip supports more than 64 CPU threads now furthermore for “compression
to zip/7z/xz archives and for the 7-Zip benchmark”. This could improve the performance on Windows systems.

Apart from the mentioned performance improvements, the changelog lists that “some vulnerabilities” were fixed in the latest version. The changelog does not provide any details on those vulnerabilities. Since it is unclear how severe the fixed vulnerabilities are, it is recommended to upgrade to the new version of 7-Zip immediately to protect your system from potential attacks.

Xbox

Here is my take on Microsoft’s Xbox strategy going forward

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s current generation Xbox platform is lagging behind the Japanese competition in terms of sales. Nintendo and Sony sold more than twice the number of consoles each.

Xbox performs badly, even though Microsoft spent more money on acquisitions of gaming studios than ever before. Now, Microsoft announced another round of layoffs, many of which are hitting Xbox employees or employees in gaming studios that produce games for Xbox.

Is that the preparation of Microsoft’s exit from consoles? Write off the money and move on to bigger things?

Microsoft confirmed the next generation of Xbox consoles already and revealed vital information. While the next Xbox may not be a traditional Xbox console anymore, it could give Microsoft’s ailing games business the push it needs.

Here is what might happen: Microsoft announced plans to introduce third-party games stores to Xbox. It would not really make much sense to introduce these stores without options to play games from these stores.

The next Xbox could therefore be a PC in console format, like Valve’s fabled Steam Machine. Connect to a TV, play your favorite PC games. Icing on the cake would be backwards compatibility with classic Xbox games, which Microsoft should and probably will add support for.

With PC suddenly on board, Xbox would support more games than ever produced for consoles up to this date. Even if the system would support just a few major stores, say Steam, Gog, the Microsoft Store, it would enable support for tens of thousands of games on day one. Even better, if you are a PC gamer already, you could connect your accounts to Xbox to play the games you bought already.

With massive games support, first-party titles become less of a focus to sell the next generation console. While a next generation Halo might still help sell the system, it would probably help as much as blockbuster PC games that would suddenly all be available on the Xbox system as well.

To be fair, Microsoft did not release that many Xbox exclusive games since the launch of this Xbox generation. Some, like Starfield, were console-exclusive but launched on PC as well.

So, to sum it up. Next Xbox could be powered by Windows that also supports previous generation Xbox games. It would be the end of true Xbox gaming though.

Question is, would you buy it? What would Microsoft have to do to get you to buy it? Let me know in the comments below.

IT Crowd Turning it off and on again

Have you tried turning it off and on again? Microsoft posts fix for OneDrive Search issue

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

One of the most famous lines of the British comedy series IT Crowd, a show revolving around two IT support geeks and a manager who does not have a clue about “computers”, is “Have you tried turning it off and on again”.

When the crew gets a support call, it is this question that they ask first. Most of the time, it works and the situation is resolved.

If you used computers before, you know that turning the device off and on again can indeed fix issues that you experience. Not all of course. There is a logic behind that, as restarting a system does a number of beneficial “things” in the background that may help resolve issues. Among them terminating apps and thus freeing up memory and potentially CPU performance.

Microsoft’s IT Crowd moment

Last month, Microsoft confirmed that users could run into problems when searching files on OneDrive, the company’s cloud storage service. While the files were still there, OneDrive would return no files in search and show a blank results page instead.

Neowin reports that Microsoft fixed the issue in the meantime. OneDrive users are encouraged to update the client to the latest version to apply the fix.

Microsoft, in the meantime, posted a workaround for affected users. As you may have guessed already, it recommends refreshing the browser or turning the mobile device off and on again.

So, if you are experiencing this issue, have you tried fixing it by turning it off and on again?

Amazon Prime Video Ad Free

Amazon kills Freevee, because it moved ads to Prime Video

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The writing was on the wall. Some time ago, Amazon pulled a fast one on Prime subscribers by introducing ads for everyone. Subscribers who did not want the new experience could pay Amazon a few bucks extra to get rid of the advertisement again. To hammer that home even more, Amazon recently started to show more ads to users per hour.

Questions about the fate of Amazon’s then ad-powered streaming service Freevee came up at the same time. It did not really make sense to have Freevee as an option if all of the streams on Prime Video would also show advertisement to users.

Amazon kept Freevee around for the time being. CNBC reports that some Freevee users see notifications when they launch the app on their devices about the upcoming end of it.

According to the report, Amazon plans to put the standalone Freevee app to rest in August 2025. The notice states “Prime Video is the new exclusive home for Freevee TV shows, movies and Live TV”.

The app will stop working in August 2025 and users may tune in directly on the Amazon streaming service to get their Freevee fix. Amazon users, with or without Prime Video subscription, may continue to watch free content with advertisement on the Amazon website. The only requirement for that is an Amazon account.

Closing Words

Amazon established Freevee in 2019 to stream videos with ads to users. The decision to turn Prime Video into a bigger version of Freevee came in 2024. The only differentiating factor will be that users may watch Freevee content on Amazon without a Prime subscription going forward. Other than that, you will get ads either way unless you pay extra.

It is probably only a matter of time before Freevee is retired entirely and the available media library is integrated into the Amazon Prime Video library.

As far as I’m concerned, I started to watch more content on DVD and Blu-Ray again as it is giving me full control and a (mostly) ad-free experience.

How to enable the advanced configuration about:config in Firefox for Android

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla has locked down Firefox for Android significantly. When it first launched the revamped version, it blocked access to what some Firefox users would call essential features: namely extensions support and access to the advanced configuration about:config.

It changes its stance on extensions support just recently, which is a step in the right direction and a main differentiating factor between Firefox and Google Chrome.

As for access to the advanced configuration, you may access it in all Firefox for Android versions. While you may get an error when you try to launch about:config in the address bar, you will get access to the configuration if you load chrome://geckoview/content/config.xhtml instead.

There you get the option to modify advanced configuration parameters. Also, if you want, you may switch the preference general.aboutConfig.enable to True to enable about:config. May be easier to access than the resource listed above.

It is a handy way to gain access to the advanced configuration of the browser on Android. Allows you to disable or enable certain features, and modify settings to your liking. (via AskVG)

Google fixes another 0-day vulnerability in Chrome, advises to update asap

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you have installed Google Chrome on one of your devices, then you may want to start the browser’s update engine immediately to update it to the latest version.

Google released a new version of Chrome for desktop and Android to fix a 0-day vulnerability in the browser. This one is exploited in the wild, which means that there is a chance that the issue may be exploited when you run older versions of the Google browser.

The official release notes list CVE-2025-6554 as a type confusion issue in V8, the JavaScript engine that Google Chrome uses. A type confusion vulnerability exploits a flaw in software where a program mistakes a specific type of data for another. This can lead to unexpected behavior, which threat actors may exploit in attacks.

Google mentions that the issue was reported by Clément Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis Group on June 25th, 2025. Google says that it mitigated the issue a day later by pushing a configuration change to the stable channel of the browser across all platforms.

This suggests that most devices — all that received the configuration change — are protected from attacks targeting the vulnerability. Still, it is recommended to update the browser immediately.

Desktop users, those who run Google Chrome on Windows, Mac, or Linux devices may select Menu > Help > About Google Chrome to do so. Chrome runs a check for updates and will install the new version automatically. Note that a restart of the browser is necessary to complete the process.

Tip: Windows users may also run winget upgrade google.chrome.exe in Terminal to upgrade the browser to the new version without first starting it.

Android users are not so lucky. The update depends on Google Play in that case, and that may take a while. There is no option to speed up the installation of the mobile browser on Android, if installed via Google Play.

Windscribe: Google is blocking our extension update because of “too many privacy features”

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windscribe is a popular VPN solution thanks to its free version, privacy features, and interesting build a plan feature. Windscribe users may install the official extension to integrate the VPN better into Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, and get several privacy features on top.

The extension adds features such as ad blocking, webRTC blocking, cookie-banner hiding, and much more.

This just happened: The developers confirmed on X that Google is blocking the latest extension update from its Chrome Web Store.

The provided screenshot shows that Google claims that the extension does not comply with the “Single Use” policy for Chrome extensions.

Good to know: The Single Purpose Policy requires that extensions focus on one specific function or theme. Google says that this improves the user experience.

The posted screenshot of the Google email shows that Google claims that the “extension is providing multiple unrelated functionalities”, such as “masking physical location”, “circumventing censorship”, and “blocking ads and trackers”.

Google is asking the developers of the extension to modify it, so that it offers a “narrowly-focused single functionality”.

Windscribe appealed Google’s objection to no avail. As it stands, Windscribe is blocked from updating its extension on the Chrome Web Store.

Tip: you can check out the Windscribe extension for Firefox, which does not have any of these issues.

This is not the first time that legitimate popular extensions have issues with the update process on the Chrome Web Store. Google’s Store is the default location for most Chromium-based browsers when it comes to extensions.

Several browsers, including Brave, do not operate their own extensions store. While some do, Microsoft with Edge or Opera with its Opera Web Browser, the majority relies on extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Even the two mentioned browsers have limited extensions listed in their respective stores.

As for Windscribe, it will be interesting to see how this works out for the company. Usually, public attention is required to get Google to look deeper into the matter and change its stance on a violation.

PixelUnion: EU-based Google Photos alternative with 16 GB of free storage space

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google Photos and iCloud Photos are two cloud-based tools to view, organize, and share photos and videos on the web. They are the default applications for this type of service on Android and iOS, which gives them a dominating grip on the market.

While convenient to use, not all Internet users may want to allow Google, an advertising company, to store their photos and videos online. There are plenty of alternatives when it comes to photo hosting, and one of the newest is PixelUnion.

PixelUnion is based in the Netherlands. The service promises an ad-free and tracking-free experience that resembles the photo services of Google and Apple. Users who sign-up for the service get 16 GB of online storage with the free account. Paid accounts start at €29,50 per year for 150 GB and €99,50 per year for 1 TB of online storage. Custom plans of up to 20 TB are also available.

There is one caveat though, at least for users who want full control over their photos at all times. PixelUnion does not support end-to-end encryption. Most photo hosting services do not support this. Google Photos does not. But if that is one of your requirements, PixelUnion is not for you.

Main features of PixelUnion:

  • Stored in the European Union by EU companies.
  • Secure and private photo storage.
  • Show photos on map.
  • Full API access.
  • Uses the open source Immich app for mobile access.
  • Option to self-host.
  • Advanced features: facial recognition with privacy, AI object recognition, add users, advanced deduplication, no uploading limits, sharing of photos, detailed image searching.

Signing up for a free account is a simple process. You need to pick a name for your storage, which also is the subdomain (name.pixelunion.eu) for web access and management. You can upload photos via the web interface or via Immich.

You can share uploaded photos and videos as albums with others or keep them to yourself. PixelUnion uses facial recognition to detect people and claims that the machine learning stays in the user’s container. There does not seem to be an option to turn this feature off at this point though.

Closing Words

PixelUnion promises Google Photos-like functionality with better privacy. So, if your pain point is that your photos and videos do get stored on US-based servers, then it may be a valid option. The free plan is generous and the paid plans are user-friendly options to avoid self-hosting an instance.

However, PixelUnion is a new service that does not have a track record. Privacy-conscious users who require end-to-end encryption need to look elsewhere as well, as this is not offered by PixelUnion.

All in all, it could become a good alternative to Google Photos for users who prefer hosting in the European Union and a bit more privacy as well.

Firefox 140.0.1 fixes a crash and a usability issue

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Hot of the heels of the Firefox 140.0 Stable update, released earlier this week, is the first point update for the web browser. It addresses two non-security issues in the browser, one of them a crash at browser start.

The main issue fixed in the update is a startup crash that Mozilla says affected some users of the browser. It is caused by DLL injection. The bug report on Mozilla’s bug tracking website suggests that Mozilla reverted a change that it made in Firefox 140 to address the issue.

Mozilla lists Windows 10 specifically, which suggests that the bulk of users who experienced the crash use devices with Microsoft’s operating system.

The second fix resolves text contrast issues in the sidebar. They occurred if certain dark themes were used by the user. The text in the sidebar was barely readable in some instances. The update addresses the issue.

Firefox users who are affected by one or both of the issues may want to upgrade to the new version to resolve these issues. Just select Menu > Help > About Firefox to run a check for updates.

The browser should pick up the new version so that it gets downloaded and installed automatically. A restart is required to complete the upgrade process.

You find the original release notes for the Firefox 140.0.1 update here.

Microsoft says Windows 11 is a lot faster than Windows 10 (on newer hardware)

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft published several performance claims that it says demonstrate how much better its Windows 11 operating system is in this regard when compared to its predecessor Windows 10.

Here are the claims that Microsoft is making:

  • Windows 11 PCs have 2.7 more hours of battery life than Windows 10 PCs.
  • Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3 times faster than Windows 10 PCs.
  • Windows 11 PCs offer up to 3.2 times faster web browsing than Windows 10 PCs.
  • Windows 11 PCs offer up to 2 times faster Microsoft Office productivity than Windows 10 PCs.

Impressive stats. If you dig deeper, you may notice that Microsoft skewed the results significantly by using Windows 10 PCs with older hardware.

While it is fair to say that Windows 10 PCs are, on average, equipped with older processors, memory, hard drives and graphics adapters, it feels a bit like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, you can do that, but it does not really make a whole lot of sense other than to get some impressive sounding performance stats for marketing.

If you have used electronic devices for some time, you know that new device generations are often faster than previous generations. This is true for Windows PCs, mobile devices, streaming boxes, gaming consoles, and most devices that you can buy. If you compare the performance of a Google Pixel 9 with a Pixel 6, you will likely come to the conclusion that the newer device offers better performance. Same is true for PlayStation 5 vs 4, Apple iPhone 16 vs 15, and most devices that you can compare in that regard.

It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that a Windows 11 PC with an Intel 12th or 13th core processor runs better in benchmarks than a Windows 10 PC with an Intel 6th, 8th, or 10th core processor. That is the exact test setup that Microsoft used to conclude that Windows 11 PCs offer up to 2.3 times the performance of Windows 10 PCs.

To convince users, Microsoft should have used the exact same hardware setup for objective comparison. This way, it could have demonstrated that Windows 11 has the performance edge on the same hardware, if that is the case.

Microsoft’s claims boil down to Windows 11 running better on PCs with hardware that is one, two or more generations ahead of the hardware of the Windows 10 PC. The stats would very likely be not nearly as impressive if the same hardware would have been used.