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.

How to add HEIC image file format support on Windows 10

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system does not support the HEIC image format natively. The same is true for Windows 11. You can check out my guide on adding HEIC and HEVC support to Windows 11, if you run that operating system.

Microsoft is offering a paid extension to add support, but there is a way to add support for free. This guide explains how to do that.

Note that this still installs an official Microsoft extension and does not rely on third-party codec packs at all.

Here is how you go about it:

  1. Open the Adguard website in a web browser.
  2. Set the first field to ProductID.
  3. Paste the following string into the second field: 9n4wgh0z6vhq
  4. Keep the third field at RP.
  5. Click on the checkmark icon on the right.
  6. Wait for the results.
  7. Right-click on “Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_2.2.33.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.appxbundle” in the results and select the save option of the browser.
  8. Pick a directory.
  9. Double-click on the file after it has been downloaded to install the extension.
  10. Click on the install button to install it.

Note: Some browsers may refuse to download the file as it is delivered via a regular (insecure) HTTP connection and not HTTPS. You may need to open the download manager of the browser and select the “Keep” option or something similar.

This depends largely on the browser, but if no file is downloaded after you have selected the save option, then this is your best bet to get the file downloaded.

Once installed, many programs are capable of opening HEIF and HEVC media files. This is true for all built-in image viewers, e.g., Photos or the preview of File Explorer, but also third-party apps such as Paint.net or Adobe Photoshop.

KeePass 2.58

KeePass 2.58 password manager is out

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A new version of the password manager KeePass for Windows is now available. KeePass 2.58 is the first release of the password manager in 2025. The last version, KeePass 2.57.1, was released in October 2024.

The update is a smaller one. It introduces a few minor features and changes. Good news is that no security issues needed fixing, which is why this is a non-security update for the password manager.

The list of changes is relatively long, and it may be confusing to navigate the listing. Here is a quick overview of the most important or useful changes in the release:

  • You may now use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-H to toggle password visibility in report dialogs. Note that this works when viewing passwords in the table-like interface, but seemingly not, when you display a single password.
  • The preview tab of the password generator displays the average estimated quality of the passwords now and has the number of passwords increased to 50.
  • KeePass will abort the preview generation of passwords if the operation is taking too long.
  • User-Agent header for web requests added.
  • On systems with Microsoft Edge uninstalled, the browser no longer appears in the URL(s) menu.

Again, there is more to discover but these look to be the highlights of the release.

How to update KeePass: this is relatively easy. Since there is no integrated update system that you may use to download and install updates, you need to visit the developer website, download the latest release, and install it manually.

If you like winget, you could also run winget upgrade DominikReichl.KeePass to download and install the latest version using the built-in software package manager.

Now it is your turn. What is your favorite password manager right now and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Opera’s AI Browser Operator: AI in the browser acts now in your name

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Most interactions with AI follow a chat-like system. You write or say something, and the AI responds. This may go back and forth, for instance when you have follow-up questions or need corrections.

Opera Software unveiled AI Browser Operator today. The integrated AI agent is more capable than traditional AI, as it is designed to act on your behalf.. You could, for instance, ask the Browser Operator in Opera to find and buy something for you on the Internet.

So, if you forgot to buy your significant other an anniversary gift, you could let the AI do all the heavy lifting. What could possibly go wrong.

While you could argue that other AIs can also point you at products on the Internet, Opera’s implementation is not done at that point. It supports you from start to finish according to Opera Software

Here is how Opera Software describes the functionality:

So how does it work? Browser Operator understands your written instructions in natural language using your browser client’s local resources, and our AI Composer Engine processes this information to complete tasks in the browser. Browser Operator will pause and ask you to take action whenever it needs you to fill in a form, confirm an order, or perform some other sensitive task. In this entire process, you are in control and can take over at any moment from Browser Operator, while you can also review all the steps it took to perform the task you requested.

Opera Software says that Browser Operator has been designed with security and privacy in mind. The AI agent does not use screenshots or video captures of the browsing session, and it is not running in the cloud either according to Opera Software.

Browser Operator “runs natively inside your browser” according to the blog post on Opera’s website. It “uses a textual representation of the webpage” for its activity.

Browser Operator is available as a preview at this stage. I checked several Opera installations, including the latest development builds, and did not find it in the sidebar or when using the command line.

Here is the demo video:

Closing Words

The example that Opera Software provided, the buying of socks, is probably not the best when it comes to the capabilities of AI agents. While some Internet users may appreciate that mundane tasks are taken over by AI agents, human interaction is still required throughout the process.

You need to confirm that you want to buy the product the AI found for you, sign in or create an account, enter payment details, and more.

AI agents may shine when it comes to tasks that do not require user confirmation or input after the task has been given. You can let your imagination run wild at this stage. It is fairly certain that agentic AI will play a large role in the coming months and years.

What is your take on this? Would you use an AI agent in the future for certain tasks? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Nvidia releases patch for GeForce black screen issues

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Nvidia released an unscheduled hotfix driver that it says is fixing black screen issues on older generation GeForce graphics cards.

The details:

  • GeForce Hotfix display driver version 572.65 is available for 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and 11.
  • It is designed for non-RTX 5000 graphics cards.
  • The patch is only available as a direct download.

Nvidia fixed black screen issues in the Game Ready driver 572.60 last week, but only for RTX 5000 graphics card. The hotfix fixes the issue for older video cards now as well.

The hotfix driver is available here. It makes a single change according to the release notes: “PC may boot to a black screen when connected via DisplayPort with certain monitors [5131002]”.

This update should only be installed on Windows PCs that are affected by the black screen issue. Users who do not experience black screens after booting should not install the update according to Nvidia. This hotfix driver is considered beta by Nvidia, and it may may be integrated into future GeForce drivers as a final update.

Nvidia users plagued by the black screen issues should fix it by installing the new driver. It is recommended to create a system backup before installing new drivers on Windows systems.

The GeForce Game Ready Driver 572.60 included the following changes:

  • Improved gaming experience for DLSS 4 games such as NARAKA BLADEPOINT or Monster Hunter Wilds.
  • Fixed apps stuttering on GeForce RTX 50 series cards.
  • Fixed two issues in Adobe Substance 3D.
  • Fixed black screen issues on systems with GeForce RTX 50 series cards.
  • Fixed an audio issue.
  • Fixed an image corruption issue in apps.

You can check out the full changelog here.

Firefox

Mozilla updated its Terms of Use again to address concerns

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Wow, this week has to be one of the worst for the people over at Mozilla. There has been tremendous backlash to the organization’s updated Terms of Use.

Maybe not has big of a deal to Mozilla’s Mr. Robot blunder or the announcement to drop Firefox’s custom extensions system for that of Chromium, but still.

To recap: Mozilla announced terms of use and an updated privacy notice for Firefox on Wednesday. These were worded in lawyer-speak and included the following sentence:

When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you indicate with your use of Firefox.

Tech sites wrote about it and users were up in arms over the wording. Mozilla tried to calm users in an update, stating that the new terms did not give it ownership over user data or the right to use it for anything, even things not mentioned in the privacy notice.

It appears to have helped little. Mozilla published a new statement yesterday saying that it has updated the wording in the new terms of use to make things clearer for users.

The new wording includes the following paragraph now:

You give Mozilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any ownership in that content. 

Mozilla says it has also removed the “reference to the Acceptable Use Policy” because it seemed “to be causing more confusion than clarity”.

The Privacy FAQ was updated as well to better provide information on terms like “sells” according to the update.

This is a fairly common statement. Google, for example, has a big section of its terms of service dedicated to the worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license that users give it.

If you check the terms of other browsers, you probably encounter something similar.

Was it an overreaction? Even with all the explaining, it seems likely that Mozilla won’t convince everyone that it was.

What is your take on this? Do you use Firefox currently? Let everyone know in the comment section below.

Microsoft is shutting down Skype: wants you to use this software instead

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The writing has been on the wall for a long time: Microsoft plans to shut down the communication software Skype in May 2025.

While Microsoft has yet to formally announce the end of the once-popular communication software, a notification about the end of Skype was found in the latest preview of the software.

The discovered string says: “Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams.”.

Microsoft wants to move customers to Teams, the video conferencing, calling, and meetings software that it favors now.

Skype has been around for quite some time. It was launched in 2003, but Microsoft did not acquire it until 2011. Paid a pretty sum for it, $8.5 billion at the time.

Microsoft discontinued Windows Live Messenger a few years later and tried to make Skype its next billion users product by integrating it in the-then new version of Windows, Windows 10.

This did not work out too well and the launch of Microsoft Teams in 2017 put Skype on the backburner soon thereafter.

As Microsoft has not confirmed the end of Skype yet, there is a theoretical chance that Skype could once more jumping off a scaffold. Microsoft has a few months left to make an announcement either way.

Even if Skype is put to rest, there is a good chance that it could stay around for a while to make sure most users and businesses migrate to Teams in an orderly fashion.

On a personal note, I never warmed up to Skype and have not used it much, even though I had an account for what seems forever.

Now it is your turn. Do you use Skype or have you used it in the past? Feel free to leave a comment down below about that.

Google Translate may get an AI infusion soon: here is what it does

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Millions of Internet users use Google Translate as their daily driver for translations. Google has integrated the service into its Chrome browser and it is also available as an application for Android.

Soon, Google may introduce new AI functionality in Google Translate. Here is what you need to know about that.

The details:

  • The new functionality was discovered during a code analysis of the Android Google Translate APK by Android Authority.
  • It is not available yet.

Good to known: Google Translate is a cloud-based service. Means, you need an active Internet connection to use the service. This means as well that Google is informed about your translations. If you want a privacy-friendly option, check out the Firefox Translate feature instead, as it runs locally.

Main AI feature: Ask a follow-up question

At the center of the new AI functionality is the ask a follow-up option. This enables users to interact with AI to use a range of different options.

These include the following:

  • Get information about the translation. Google Translate informs you about translation nuances for instance, according to Android Authority.
  • Ability to get the translation modified, e.g., to take regional variations into account or changing the tone or style.
  • Listen to the translated text with a click on the sound icon.
  • Ability to provide feedback using thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons.
  • Additional insights, e.g., cultural notes or grammar explanations.

Some of these features could be interesting to some users, provided that features like support for regional variants truly work. With AI, it could be difficult to tell whether there is an error in the regional variant or not.

Android Authority found the functionality in Google Translate 9.3.78.731229477.7 for Android. While included, it appears that it has not started to roll out yet or only to some users.

Closing Words

Some users of Google Translate will certainly like the new functionality. The ability to ask follow-up questions could give users a better understanding of the translation, especially if some things are unclear.

Google has not announced the new feature yet officially.

uBlock Origin working in Chrome

More Chrome users are getting “this extension was turned off” notifications

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google has been hard at work to establish Manifest V3 as the new and only set of rules for Chrome extensions. Report suggest that Google has shifted the process into a higher gear and is disabling classic extension support for more Chrome users.

The effect is the following: any extension that is not compatible with Manifest V3 will be disabled. Chrome displays “was turned off” messages to users in that case on start. A check of the extensions management page reveals a similar message: “This extension was turned off because it’s no longer supported”.

Most Chrome users will probably experience this with the popular uBlock Origin extension. It cannot be ported fully to Manifest V3, as Google changed core functionality.

In other words, the change has a very positive effect for Google, as it gets rid of what is probably the most popular content blocker for Chrome.

While there is uBlock Origin Lite by the same developer, it is limited in some regards to the classic version. It is better than no content blocking, but still inferior.

Users who really need to use Chrome can postpone the death of uBlock Origin and other Chrome extensions that are not compatible with Manifest V3 by setting a policy. This will work only until mid-2025 though, unless Google pushes the change back a bit.

Your options

In the end, it may be better to switch to a browser that is still offering support. If you prefer Chromium, you could give Brave or Opera a try. Both companies have pledged to support Manifest V2 extensions, at least some of them, even after Google ends support in Chrome.

Another option is to switch to Firefox or a Firefox fork, like Mullvad Browser. Mozilla said that it is going to support Manifest V2 extensions and V3 extensions at the same time in Firefox. Means, you can run good old uBlock Origin in Firefox without having to worry about it suddenly being turned off.

ThisIsNot11: another open source Windows tweaker for

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

There is certainly no shortage of tweaking tools for Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system. If I had to guess, Windows 11 is probably the Microsoft operating system with the largest number of programs of this kind ever.

Serial developer Belim has created a new tool. It is a bit difficult to keep track of all of Belim’s tools. First, because there are so many, and second, because Belim loves to change the names of his tools.

Windows 11 Tweaker: ThisIsNot11

ThisIsNot11 is a small open source tool. Designed as a follow-up tool after using the developer’s FlyBy11 tool to upgrade systems to new Windows 11 versions — even those deemed not compatible — it is quite easy to use. At the same time, it is not as feature-rich as crowd-favorite tweakers such as WinAero Tweaker.

When you run the tool after you have downloaded it, you are asked to give it quick access to the Start menu. It scans installed apps and settings, and bases its suggests on that scan. The app resembles the Windows 11 Start menu, which is intentional according to the developer.

From here on, it is just a matter of selecting tweaks to apply them. For apps, you need to check them and hit the “remove selected” button to uninstall them.

Important tweaks are included. You can use the app to disable advertisement, remove individual apps from the system, hide Copilot and other icons on the taskbar, or enable the full content menu of File Explorer.

All tweaks have a description, which helps identify what they do, especially for regular users who are new to optimizing Windows 11.

Verdict

ThisIsNot11 is a tiny less than 100 kilobyte tool to tweak Windows 11. It is an easy to use tool, which is great for less-experienced users. The app explains the tweaks that it supports well and everything is accessible on a single screen. While you do need to scroll a bit to access all tweaks, it is one of the easiest tools to use.

Part of that comes from the limited number of tweaks that it supports at this stage. If you want to quickly apply many important tweaks, it may be worth a shot. If you want the largest number of tweaks possible in a tool, you need to look elsewhere.

Now you: do you use tweaking tools for Windows? Or do you prefer to apply tweaks manually instead? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Google Search

Just block third-party cookies

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google is apparently testing a new privacy feature in Chrome that blocks third-party cookies by default in the browsers Incognito mode.

While that is great that Google is introducing the change, most Internet users may want to take matters into their own hands instead.

Why not block third-party cookies altogether? Yes, there is a tiny-tiny chance that some services may not work correctly anymore when you make the change. Most users on the other hand should not notice any ill-effects.

Here is the main benefit: advertisers and sites can no longer use third-party cookies to track you on the Internet.

One of the biggest offenders is Google, as it operates ads and other services on the majority of websites.

While disabling third-party cookies won’t do you much good in regards to Google, as you are using Chrome and therefore likely an open book to Google anyway, it does against many other firms on the Internet that track users for financial gains.

Here is how you disable third-party cookies in Chrome:

  1. Load chrome://settings/cookies in the Chrome address bar. You may also select Menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Third-party cookies to get there manually.
  2. Enable “Block third-party cookies”.
  3. Disable “Allow related sites to see your activity in the group”.

The change is active right away. Use the browser normally and take note of any issues that you may encounter. This can be login related issues or other issues, such as missing functionality on websites.

You may add sites to an allow list. If you notice that a site misbehaves after you switched third-party cookies off, you may add it to the list of exceptions to see if that resolves the issue.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Load chrome://settings/cookies again in the address bar.
  2. Click on the add button under “Sites allowed to use third-party cookies.
  3. Add [*.]domainname to add an exception for the entire site. Replace “domainname” with the name of the actual domain, e.g., chipp.in.

Verify that the change has fixed the issue that you have experienced.

Clearly, you’d also want to install a content blocker to speed up web browsing and improve privacy further.