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 deal with Service Handler requests in browsers

Posted on October 12, 2023October 12, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Most modern web browsers may display service handler requests when you visit certain websites. Chromium-based browsers display an icon in the address bar that shows two connected squares.

The mysterious icon displays “page wants to install a service handler” or a similar message on hover. A click displays an interactive menu.

You may allow, deny or ignore the request using it. There is also an option to manage existing service handlers.

What browsers like Chrome fail to do is explain what a service handler. Most users who never encountered the term before may not know what to do with the request.

Service Handler 101

Operating systems link file types and services with applications. This can be a local installed application, say an image viewer that is used to display photos and images, but also a web service.

Web applications like Gmail, Google Calendar and many others, may act as so called Service Handlers. It is just another term for an app that will load associated content. Note that protocol handler is used as a synonym.

Mozilla describes protocol handlers in the following way on its Developer Network website:

A protocol handler is an application that knows how to handle particular types of links: for example, a mail client is a protocol handler for “mailto:” links. When the user clicks a “mailto:” link, the browser opens the application selected as the handler for the “mailto:” protocol (or offers them a choice of handlers, depending on their settings).

Google Calendar, for example, may become the service handler for all calendar links on all webpages. When you click on such a link, Google Calendar is opened. The same principle works for other services, including email, image and video editing, 3D modelling, or conferencing.

Not all web users want web services to become Service Handlers. If you use a local calendar app, you may not want Google Calendar to handle these links.

Managing Handlers in Browsers

All Chromium-based browsers, including Google Chrome, Brave, Microsoft Edge and Vivaldi, support service handlers. Mozilla’s Firefox web browser and browsers that use its source support similar functionality.

The feature is enabled by default and the browser displays the icon in the address bar whenever the webpage supports it.

A click on the icon displays the interactive menu. You may block the icon by selecting ignore or deny. It is unclear how these two differ, but ignore may be temporary.

Allow, on the other hand, makes the web app the protocol handler for the listed item(s).

Load chrome://settings/handlers in the browser’s address bar to manage existing options.

The page lists options to change the default behavior. Websites and apps may “ask to handle protocols” by default. You may switch that to “don’t allow sites to handle protocols”, if you never want to see these requests again.

All allowed, blocked or ignored websites and apps are also listed here. You may remove them from the listing to reset their status.

Closing Words

All browsers give users a choice when it comes to service handlers. The requests may be handled on a case-by-case basis, but there is also an option to disable it entirely. Which choice is best for you depends on how you use your computer and Internet services. If you, for example, use Gmail on the Web, you may want mailto links opened in Gmail. This is configured using service handlers.

Refreshed PlayStation 5: slimmer, lighter and slightly more storage

Posted on October 11, 2023October 11, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Sony released the original PlayStation 5 console in two versions three years ago. One PS5 included a Blu-Ray disc drive, the other did not.

This initial version of the PS5 won’t be available for much longer. Sony unveiled a new, slimmer version of the PlayStation 5. This version will replace the classic version of the console this year.

The new model is lighter and slimmer, but that is not the only difference. Sony plans to replace the original model with the new one. Old models are no longer in production but they remain available until the remaining stock is depleted.

Sony PlayStation 5 Slim

Refreshed Sony PlayStation 5 with detachable disc drive

The new version of the PS5 is slimmer and lighter than the classic version. While not called Slim by Sony, it is definitely a smaller version. The new PS5 is offered in two versions, one with a Blu-Ray disc, the other without, just like the original models.

The weight of the disc-based version drops from 3.9 kg to 3.2 kg and dimensions shrink to 36 x 10 x 22 cm from 39 x 10 x 26 cm.

The disc-less model’s weight is 2.6 kg, down from 3.4 kg, and the size shrinks to 36 x 8 x 22 cm from 39 x 9 x 26 cm.

Weight and dimensions are not the only characteristics that change. Owners of the disc-less version may purchase a Blu-Ray drive to turn it into a PS5 console with disc drive. The new Blu-Ray drive may be attached to the console. It is sold separately for 79.99 USD | 119.99 EURO | 99.99 GBP | 11,980 JPY according to Sony. The add-on drive is only compatible with the new PS5, not the classic disc-less version.

This is not the only difference though. The consoles include a a horizontal stand. A vertical stand may be purchased separately for 29.99 USD | 29.99 EURO | 24.99 GBP | 3,980 JPY.

Last but not least, PS5 Console Covers will become available in early 2024. These will change the look of the console. Covers start at 54.99 USD | 54.99 EUR | 44.99 GBP | 7,480 JPY.

Refreshed Sony PlayStation 5: hardware changes and price

Sony’s new PlayStation 5 models use the same hardware components as the classic versions, with one exception. The hard drives of both models have a size of 1 TB now, compared to 825 GB of the old models.

The new PS5 models have two USB-C ports at the front and one USB-A port at the back. The original version has an USB-C and an USB-A port in the front. Everything else looks identical.

Availability of the new consoles

The new PlayStation 5 models will be released in November in the United States. The price of the disc version is $499.99 and the price of the disc-less version $449.99. The base price of the disc-less version jumped by $50.

Here is the retail price in other regions:

Europe

PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 549.99 EUR
PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 EUR

PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 479.99 GBP
PS5 Digital Edition – 389.99 GBP

Japan

PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 66,980 JPY (includes tax)
PS5 Digital Edition – 59,980 JPY (includes tax)

The new models will roll out worldwide soon thereafter according to Sony.

Verdict

The new Sony PlayStation 5 Slim console is different from the original one in several ways. The option to purchase the Blu-Ray drive as an add-on is a welcome addition. The console offers 175 GB of extra storage, which is always great, considering that games can easily exceed 100 GB nowadays.

No USB-A port on the front may make it more difficult for some users to play on the system while the controller is charging. There is also the question of heat and whether the slimmer design has an impact on that. It is hotter on average than the larger, but older, models?

Most owners of the original PS5 won’t likely migrate to the new console. The extra bit of storage and the slimmer dimensions may tempt some, however. I’d wait for tests to come out to make sure that heating is not a problem in these newer versions.

The increased price of the digital version makes it even less attractive than before. It is just $50 cheaper than the disc-based version, which allows PS5 owners to share games with friends and resell purchased games.

Now You: do you own a PS5 or plan to?

Why you should make use of Virtual LAN (Guest Wi-Fi)

Posted on October 10, 2023October 10, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Guest Wi-Fi, or more precisely virtual LAN, is a feature of many Internet routers. It adds another wireless networking option, which is fully separated from the main local network.

The term Guest Wi-Fi refers to one of its primary purposes: to allow guests to connect their devices to the Internet using a wireless connection. There is more to virtual LAN than that, however.

Many modern devices ask for Internet connectivity. Some work perfectly well without, but others require this connectivity to be of any use. Basic examples of devices that fall into the latter category include Amazon Fire TV and Alexa, most Google Home devices and most virtual assistant services.

Many devices support Internet connectivity; these can be printers, scanners or web cameras, but also a growing assortment of, often, perplexing devices that include toaster ovens, toothbrushes or refrigerators.

All of these devices are on the same local network by default, which is bad.

A story of a Printer, Amazon and Printer Ink emails

A user posted an interesting story on Hacker News the other day. They revealed that they have been receiving emails from Amazon about printer ink reorders frequently. Amazon knew about the printer and ink consumption, but the user did not know how.

The user had an Amazon Echo device connected to the local network. It turned out that Amazon’s device was picking up information that the printer provided to any device of the local network. In other words, Amazon knew when and what the user printed. It used the information to estimate printer ink use to send printer ink offers to the user.

Guest Wi-Fi may prevent this

The use of a virtual LAN might prevent this data leakage from happening. You would have to enable the guest Wi-Fi option in the router and connect one of the two devices to it.

Not all routers support virtual LAN functionality and some only with limited functionality. You may open the router’s dashboard on the local network to check if you find Guest Wi-Fi or a similarly named feature there.

The only step left is to connect the devices that you want to isolate to the new wireless network, effectively cutting it off from the local one.

These devices retain Internet connectivity, but they can’t communicate with devices that are not connected to the Guest Wi-fi anymore.

There may be other solutions, depending on setup. Some devices can be connected using cables. If you don’t require Internet connectivity for a device, say a printer, you could connect it using cables only. This would remove an attack vector as well.

The advantages and disadvantages of Guest Wi-Fi

Virtual networks offer several advantages over connecting all devices to a single network:

Connected devices are isolated from the rest of the network, which means that they are blocked from interacting with the home network. This offers several advantages:
- The devices can’t collect personal data anymore from the main network.
- Attacks that exploit issues in Guest Wi-Fi devices can’t penetrate the local network anymore.
Another key point is that you don’t need to share the main wireless LAN password with guests.
Last but not least, you may turn off wireless access for these devices at any time.

Even though Guest Wi-fi offers advantages, it is equally important to understand certain disadvantages.

Most routers support just a single virtual network. If you connect multiple devices to it, these devices may share information. Ideally, you’d put all IoT devices on a separate VLAN.
Some devices may require access to local data or other devices. If you want to cast from your PC to your TV, you need them on the same network. Others may flat out refuse to work without home network connection.
The configuration options of virtual networks may be limited.

Closing Words

It is a good idea to enable Guest Wi-Fi, if supported by the router. Some IoT device connections may be switched to improve security and privacy. While it may not be possible to migrate every device, it may also be a good idea to assess the status quo of all devices with Internet connectivity. Do all of these require an active Internet connection?

Now You: do you use Guest Wi-Fi on your network?

Windows Backup is not a “real” backup solution

Posted on October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft developed a new app for Windows 10 and 11, called Windows Backup, which is rolling out to systems that install the latest updates for these operating systems.

Previous backup options, such as File History, remain available for now.

The backup application uses Microsoft OneDrive to save some data. While that sounds like a good feature on paper, it is far away from that.

Windows Backup: the functionality

Windows users may run Windows Backup from the Start Menu. Open the Start Menu, type Windows Backup and select the result.

The application opens after a brief moment. It displays the “Let’s back up your PC” screen on start. The app lists the various backup elements in the middle, the estimated storage space on OneDrive, and back up and cancel buttons.

Apps, Settings, and Credentials are automatically transferred if the user is signed-in with a Microsoft account. Only the content listed under Folders is not.

Windows Backup lists just the special folders for backup there: Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music. The app may omit some folders, especially if they don’t contain any user files. There is no option to select a custom folder for backup.

Each supported folder is listed with its size and a toggle to remove it from the task. A click on back up transfers the files to OneDrive.

The length of the process depends on the number of files in the selected folders. There is no option to restore files directly from the app. You need to open OneDrive, either on the local system or online, to access the files and restore them to the local system.

The “other” sources that backup uses

Windows Backup supports backing up information about apps, settings and credentials.

Remember installed apps and pinned app preferences.
Remember Windows settings and preferences: accessibility, language preferences and dictionary, other Windows settings, personalization.
Remember Wi-Fi networks and other passwords.

Here is what’s wrong with the Backup app

Windows users may only use the app if they sign-in with a Microsoft Account. Additionally, it can’t be used if Enterprise or Education accounts are used to sign-in.

If there is one point to criticize, it is the lack of backup options. Windows Backup supports backing up just the special folders. There is no option to select custom folders, let alone back up an entire drive.

Windows users who want to back up these folders can do so already using OneDrive, which is also available on Windows PCs.

Even File History, which remains available, supports backing up any folder to local drives or network drives.

The Windows Backup app lacks any option to restore files using it in addition. While Windows uses the backups on new PC setups or resets, it is the extent of the feature.

Not surprisingly is the focus on OneDrive as the only backup location, at least currently. All Microsoft account users get some OneDrive storage free of charge, but it is only 5 gigabytes. Microsoft charges a monthly subscription fee if users require more storage. Since OneDrive is the only option, there is little that users can do about that.

Manage Backups

Windows users may open Start > Settings Accounts > Windows Backup to control the backups. There, they may deselect the syncing of preferences and also add or remove folders from the backup process.

Note that these settings are specific to the active PC. There is no option to manage the backups of other Windows PCs from the Settings.

How to remove Windows Backup

Windows Backup is a system component. As such, it is not possible to remove it from the Windows device according to Microsoft.

A better backup alternative

There are quite a few free backup solutions available for Windows. The one that I use is Paragon Backup & Recovery, which ticks all the right boxes. Free, lets you back up files, folders, disks and the operating system, schedule backups and includes recovery options.

It is a full backup solution for Windows. You do need a second hard drive or optical disk device for the backups though, as cloud backups are not supported by it.

Now You: which backup application do you use?

How to change the install location of Steam games

Posted on October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Steam games can be installed on any drive or partition on the system. The default installation path is always the main drive, but users may select a different drive.

Reasons for doing so include running out of space on the main drive, putting games that require less speed on slower drives, or to improve manageability.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install Steam games on any drive.

Installing Steam Games

Valve Software, maker of Steam, improved the Steam client significantly in the past years. One of the improvements added support for installing Steam games on different drives.

The process is straightforward and identical for all games, apps and other content:

Select the game that you want to install.
Activate the install button on the page.
- Tip: you may also right-click on any game to select install from its context menu.
The install dialog lists all available installation locations. Each location lists the available free storage.
Select one with the mouse or by tapping on it to make it the target for the installation.
Activate the install button to start the download and installation of the game.

If a drive is not listed, select the cogwheel icon to jump to the Storage settings. Display the list of available drives there with a click on the arrow icon and select “add drive” to add a new drive for game installations.

Tip: please note that you may also use the “add drive” option to add a new folder of a drive that is already used by Steam. Valve confirms this on the Steam Help website. Note that the instructions ask the user to click on a plus button at the top, but do not point out that it becomes available only after expanding the menu.

Making another location the default on Steam

Steam resets the installation location to the main one each time a game is installed. There is an option to make another location the default, but it is well hidden.

Select the Steam menu at the top and then Settings.
Switch to the Storage section when the Steam Settings window opens.
Select the location that you want to make the new default from the menu at the top.
Click on the three-dots icon on the page and select the “make default” option.

This makes the selected location the new default installation path on Steam. In other words, it is selected by default whenever the install action is selected on Steam.

Manage installed games on Steam

Select Steam and then Settings from the menu that opens to open the Settings in a new window.

Switch to Storage with a click. Steam lists all games installed on the main drive. You may click on the arrow icon at the top to list games installed on a different drive. Note that you may also add a new drive, e.g., an external drive.

Each game is listed with its name, size on disk and the last playtime. The install path is also listed on the page.

Check the box next to a game and then the “uninstall” button to remove it from the PC.

There is also an option to move a game to another drive; this is useful in some cases, including:

To make room for another game, system updates or anything else that requires a certain amount of storage.
To move a game to a faster or slower drive.
To move a game to a drive with more free storage. Useful if you plan to install an update or DLC.

6 Brave Browser features that you may like

Posted on October 6, 2023October 6, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Brave Browser is a Chromium-based web browser by Brave Software Inc. It is available for desktop PCs and mobile devices.

While it shares its core with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and other Chromium-based browsers, Brave Browser comes with several useful and even unique features.

The following paragraphs list some of these features.

Tor Integration

Tor promises to anonymize the browsing session. It is started with a click on Menu > New private window with Tor. You may also use the keyboard shortcut Alt-Shift-N instead.

Once Brave establishes the link, it routes the connection through a series of servers. This means, essentially, that the IP address of the user’s device is never revealed to the target website.

This mode includes all the benefits of Incognito Mode, which erases local data accumulated during the browsing session once the mode is terminated.

Performance may be slower than direct browser connections to websites; this is explained by the number of extra servers used while connected to the Tor Network.

Note that there is still a chance that personal data leaks during that browsing mode. You may want to check out this support article for additional information. Use of Tor Browser is recommended if anonymity is of utmost importance.

Force Paste in disabled forms

Some web forms may prohibit the pasting of data, which is a nuisance. Common examples include preventing the pasting into password fields, email fields or other fields that accept sensitive data.

Brave Browser includes an option to force paste content into forms. The feature bypasses the restriction imposed by the website to allow the pasting of any data into the blocked form field.

To use it, simply right-click on the protected form field and select the Force paste option from the context menu. Note that content needs to be in the Clipboard for the paste option to display.

Speedreader: improve readability

Speedreader is a readability feature that turns any article in Brave into a readable copy. This conversion puts the focus on the content by removing everything else, e.g., menus, advertisement, comments and other noise.

You may need to enable Speedreader in the Brave Settings (brave://settings/appearance). The option is located near the bottom of the page.

Brave displays the Speedreader icon in the address bar from that moment on. A click displays the active website in the mode.

Note that this feature may not detect all sites correctly. It does not work on this site, for example.

Speedreader supports two options, which you may configure while in the mode:

Change font and appearance related settings, e.g., make the font size larger or change the background color.
Configure Speedreader to always load articles of the active site or all compatible articles in the mode.

Vertical Tabs

Browser tabs are displayed in a horizontal bar by default. Only a few browsers support vertical tabs, and Brave Browser is one of them.

Open the Appearance settings in Brave (brave://settings/appearance) and toggle “Use vertical tabs” there to switch to the display mode.

Two additional options, “show title bar” and “expland vertical tabs panel on mouseover when collapsed”, are enabled by default. You can turn these off individually, if you like.

Vertical Tabs may display more open tabs at the same time and free up horizontal space for websites. It is an excellent option on widescreen displays.

Integrated Content Blocker

Brave Browser includes an integrated content blocker. It works well out of the box, but it contains options to add more filter lists to it.

A click on the Shield icon displays information about the active webpage. Brave lists the number of ads, trackers and other contents that it blocked.

A click on Advanced Controls displays additional information and the settings that the browser applied to the site. Here you may make changes right away, such as blocking scripts.

Filter lists are linked here as well, which leads to this page, brave://settings/shields/filters, in the Settings.

New filters from a preset list of filters may be enabled there with a single click. Options to add custom filters are also available.

Delete data automatically when closing a site

Another useful feature of Brave’s Shield feature, which powers the content blocker, is that you may configure the browser to delete site data once you leave a website.

Activate the Shield icon on the site that you want to configure this way and toggle “Forget me when I close this site” to enable the feature.

Brave deletes site data automatically once the site is closed.

Android 14 is ready: the main changes

Posted on October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Google Android 14 is now available. This article looks at the main changes of the mobile operating system. The new version is in distribution already; Google Pixel owners are the first to receive the update.

Other device manufacturers will release updates for supported devices starting later this year.

Android 14: security improvements

One of the main changes of the new mobile operating system is that it blocks the installation of (very) old apps. Apps created for Android 5.1 or older can’t be installed anymore on new Android 14 devices anymore. The change does not affect old apps installed already on a device that gets upgraded to the new Android version. These remain available and users may run them like before.

Attempts to install old apps however will be blocked. Google explains that it implemented the change to block malicious apps. To better understand the logic, it is important to understand a core concept of Android.

Developers may target specific versions of Android for their apps. Older versions of Android may support different security features and features in general. Apps that target still run fine on modern Android devices, but security features may be limited, if introduced in a later version of the operating system. Malware developers use this to bypass certain security features on Android.

Block installation of apps targeting older SDK versions – To protect against malware that targets older API levels to bypass security and privacy protections, apps with a targetSdkVersion lower than 23 cannot be installed on Android 14.

The new Credential Manager supports multiple sign-in methods, including passkeys and federated sign-in solutions.

Privacy changes

A new privacy option in Android 14 allows users to give apps access to some photos or videos only. Previous versions of Android supported only full access, even if only a single photo or video needed to be shared.

Google confirms the change on its Android Developers blog:

The new “select photos” option gives users full control over the apps’ access. Apps only get access to the selected photos or videos, if the option is selected.

Another welcome change informs Android users about an application’s permissions or privacy changes. A popup is displayed that informs users about the changes the developer made. Android 13 and earlier did not inform users about the changes, unless the developer displayed a message directly.

Users who enter a PIN to unlock their device may notice that the PIN is accepted right away without having to tap on the OK button first. This button is removed, if the PIN is six digits or more. There is also a new option in Settings to turn of animations when entering a PIN.

New Media features

Android 14 adds support for Ultra HDR for images. The format is backwards compatible with JPEG according to Google.

The new Android version supports lossless USB audio, which allows Android users to experience these formats over USB wired headsets.

Last but not least, Camera extensions support new features that allow apps to “handle longer processing times, enabling improved images using compute-intensive algorithms like low-light photography on supported devices”.

Android 14: Customization improvements

The new Android version ships with new customization features, e.g., new language and font display options.

One of the most important changes is the ability to scale the font size up to 200%. This is an increase of 70% when compared to the maximum font scale size of Google Pixel devices on Android 13.

Android uses a non-linear font scaling curve to “ensure that text that is already large enough doesn’t increase at the same rate as smaller text”.

If you happen to miss a lot of notifications on your device, you may find the following change useful. Android may use the device’s flash to announce notifications.

Called Flash Notifications, it gives you the choice to announce notifications using the camera’s flash, the display flash, or both.

Other Android 14 changes

Battery life is improving as internal processes are more efficient now.
Additional battery information is found under “Settings > About Phone > Battery information. This includes the manufacturing date and cycle count.
Improved lockscreen customization options.
Android 14 improves passkeys support further.
Applications can only kill their own background processes.
Health Connect receives updates via Google Play.

Closing Words

Android 14 introduces several important changes, for instance the credential manager, improved privacy when sharing photos or videos, or information when apps change permissions or privacy policies.

It will take some time before non-Google device manufacturers push the update to their devices.

Stream-jacking Attacks are on the rise

Posted on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Stream-jacking attacks have gained some traction this year. These attacks hijack streaming accounts on popular sites to impersonate known brands and push crypto-scams.

BitDefender published an analysis of one of the larger attacks on its blog this week. The security company discovered a large operation that hijacked more than 1100 streaming video channels.

The hijacked channels had a median view count of more than 200000 views and a median subscriber count of more than 2200. The largest hijacked channel had a subscriber count of 9.9 million. The three largest hijacked channels view counts of more than 1 billion.

The attacker changed several of the channel names and handles to mimic official Tesla channels. Livestreams with officially sounding titles were streamed then to subscribers and others using old Tesla footage. The attacker displayed links to users to promote scams.

BitDefender writes:

Links propagated via hijacked YouTube channels promote a similar and well-known scam. The ruse involves sending any amount of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Dogecoin, BNB, Shiba Inu, etc.) and promises to send double the amount back to the scammed person. In rare cases, phishing links are written directly in the video.

BitDefender did not find any “old” videos of the channel, and the company suggests that these were either set to private ore deleted entirely by the attacker.

How the attack starts

Most attacks start with targeted phishing emails. The attacker creates well crafted emails, that often look like business opportunities. It could include information about a sponsorship deal or other form of collaboration.

Another popular email type informs the channel owner about copyright notices, which are fake.

The attackers try to use emails and email addresses that look legitimate to the untrained eye. It mimics “communications from trusted third-party vendors” or uses “email addresses that don’t raise immediate suspicion”, says BitDefender.

The goal of the attacker is to get the recipient of the email to download and execute a malicious file. Since security software may stop these before they are downloaded by the user, it is often inflated in size to prevent the scanning.

The software scans the system for valuable information, including cookies and session tokens. These may allow the attacker to take over the channel without knowing the account password.

How to protect yourself against Stream-jacking attacks

Stream-jacking attacks start like any other phishing attack. It is therefor essential to be able to identify phishing attacks.

Here are the essentials:

Emails that use non-personal greetings, e.g., without a name.
Emails that include attachments, especially if the file format looks dubious, e.g., .exe or .scv.
If the email address imitates that of a legitimate company, but not fully. Examples include using a different country extension or a slightly wrong spelling of the company name in the email address.

Other factors include spelling or grammar mistakes, prompts to take urgent action or offers that sound too good to be true.

One of the best protections is to avoid interacting with the email directly. Never open attachments if the sender is not trusted or you aren’t expecting an email with an attachment.

A good starting point is to do some research using a search engine. Try to find out if a company is legitimate or if others have worked with it in the past already.

Sometimes, all it may take is to sign-in to the account to check if an official notification is available. At other times, contacting a support representative of the streaming service may also help in the matter.

How to bring order to Google Photos Takeout exports automatically

Posted on October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Google Photos Takeout is a straightforward option to export all Google Photos to a local computer system. It is an excellent option to create a local backup of all photos uploaded to Google Photos or moving to a different provider.

A big problem with the takeout is that the photos are stored in multiple zip files, often hundreds of them. The number of folders depends largely on activity and time. Each zip file contains photos and a JSON file.

While it is possible to extract individual folders or all at once, doing so still leaves the photos in a disorganized state.

Google Photos Takeout Helper

The open source application comes to the rescue. All it takes is to point the app to a downloaded Google Photos takeout folder for it to do its magic. The application extracts all zip archives, sets timestamps correctly and will put all photos in a single folder or in monthly folders.

You need to download the photos from Google Takeout in the first step. This is done by visiting the Google Takeout site, signing-in, activating “deselect all” at the top to uncheck all export options, and checking the box next to Google Photos on the page.

Select “Next step” to continue and keep all other settings. Activate “create export” and wait for Google to inform you with an email that your download is ready.

A click on each of the download links opens the download page. You may need to authenticate yourself again before the download starts.

Extract all Zip archives. You may need to move them into a single root folder first, if there is more than one archive. The easiest way to do so is to copy all additional Google Photos folder into the first folder, so that all folders are under the same structure (Takeout\Google Photos).

Once all photos have been downloaded and all archives extracted, it is time to switch to Google Photos Takeout Helper.

Using the Helper app

Yearly folders for all photos exported from Google

First step is to download the application from the project’s GitHub repository. Visit it with a click on this link. The app is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. I downloaded the Windows version for this guide.

Run the downloaded file once it is on the local system. Note that you may get a “Windows protected your PC” prompt. This is thrown by SmartScreen, a security feature. The app is not dangerous, but SmartScreen does step in if an app is new or unrecognized by it.

Select “more info” and then “run anyway” to continue. A command prompt window opens with instructions. Press the Enter-key and use the folder browser that opens to pick the Takeout folder.

Once done, press Enter again to select the output folder. This is the folder that all sorted photos are put into.

All photos may be put into a single folder or sorted into year/month folders. Press 1 or 2 to make the selection.

Select what Google Photos Takeout Helper should do with albums in the final step:

0 Shortcut — links album folders to original photos.
1 Duplicate-Copy — puts photos into album folders as well.
2 JSON – puts all photos into a single folder and creates a json file with album information.
3 Nothing — ignore albums, which will ignore archive and trash photos altogether.

If the target folder is not empty, you need to select (1) to delete all files inside, (2) to place photos next to existing files or (3) exit the process.

The process may take a moment to complete. Press the Enter-key to finish the process and close the program window.

Once closed, open the target folder. You should see a folder structure based on your selections. Check the ALL_PHOTOS folder to access them all.

Closing Words

Google Photos Takeout Helper is a useful open source tool to quickly sort all exported photos. While not needed per-se, it may save users lots of time.

How to disable Windows Copilot on Windows 11

Posted on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

The following guide offers step-by-step instructions on how to disable Windows Copilot.

In less than two weeks, many Windows 11 users will gain access to Windows Copilot. Microsoft included the new AI-powered assistant in an optional update released in September 2023 already.

On October 10, 2023, Windows 11 users who upgrade their devices to the latest version, will receive Windows Copilot among other changes, courtesy of the fourth Moment update for the operating system.

What is Windows Copilot?

Microsoft describes Windows Copilot in the following way:

Copilot in Windows is an AI-powered intelligent assistant that helps you get answers and inspirations across the web, supports creativity and collaboration, and helps you focus on the tasks at hand.

Windows users may interact with Copilot directly from the Windows desktop. A click on the Copilot icon on the taskbar or pressing Windows-C opens the interface on the right side of the screen.

It looks very much like Bing Chat on first glance. Copilot includes Bing Chat functionality and other AI components.

Users interact with Windows Copilot by voice, text or by sending images, similarly to how interactions with other AI-powered tools happen.

One of Copilot’s greatest strengths is the ability to help users directly in Windows. The functionality is very limited at this stage, but you can use Copilot to turn on dark made, capture a screenshot of any desktop, or snap open windows.

What Copilot can’t do in its current stage is terminate processes, check Windows Defender logs and return research on found threats, or help users troubleshoot issues that they experience. All of this may come at a later stage, but Microsoft is tight-lipped about the functionality.

Privacy and Windows Copilot

Windows Copilot requires an active Internet connection and the tool breaks down when there is none.

Copilot needs to communicate with Microsoft servers. Anything typed, pasted or said is known to Microsoft as a consequence. This is not Microsoft-specific, tools like Google Bard or Claude AI do require Internet connectivity as well.

Windows Copilot is not active by default; this is unlike classic assistants, such as Alexa, which are programmed to listen to commands.

Still, some users may prefer to disable Windows Copilot entirely. There is no option to remove Windows Copilot, even though many tutorials sites suggest that there is an easy way to do so.

A click on Private Statement in the Copilot menu opens the general Microsoft Privacy Statement. Copilot is not mentioned once in the statement.

How to disable Windows Copilot

Windows 11 users have several options when it comes to turning off Windows Copilot on their devices.

Individual users may remove its icon from the Windows taskbar, but that does not shut down Windows Copilot, as it may still be launched using the keyboard shortcut.

Note that there is no option to remove Windows Copilot entirely from the system, without affecting other features. It is not listed under installed Apps.

Removing the Windows Copilot icon from the Windows taskbar

Still, it may be sufficient for some users. Here is how that is done:

Right-click on a blank location on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings from the menu that opens.

Locate Copilot (preview) or Windows Copilot there and toggle it to Off.

The icon is removed immediately. Toggling the feature to the On state restores it again.

Disable Windows Copilot in the Group Policy Editor

The Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows 11 Home. Home administrators may make the change in the Windows Registry, which is explained in the next section.

Here is how you disable Windows Copilot in the Group Policy Editor:

Use the keyboard shortcut Windows-R to open the Run box.

Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter-key.

Use the folder structure on the left to follow this path: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot.

Double-click on Turn off Windows Copilot.

Set the value from “Not Configured” to “Enabled.

Click OK.

Close the Group Policy Editor.

Restart the PC.

Disable Windows Copilot in the Registry

The very same changes may also be applied to the Windows Registry directly. Here is how that is done:

Use the keyboard shortcut Windows-R to open the Run box.

Type regedit.exe and press the Enter-key.

Confirm the security prompt.

Use the folder structure on the left to navigate the following path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot

Note: if a key does not exist, right-click on the previous one and select New > Key. Name it accordingly to create the entire path.

Right-click on WindowsCopilot and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.

Name it TurnOffWindowsCopilot.

Double-click on the newly created Dword and change its value to 1.

Close the Registry Editor.

Restart the PC.

Closing Words

The Group Policy Editor and Registry Editor tweaks disable Windows Copilot on the operating system. The icon is removed in the process, the user can’t toggle the icon in Settings anymore, and the keyboard shortcut Windows-C does not work either anymore.