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.
audit

Google Play to highlight apps with independent security reviews

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Starting with apps in the VPN category, Google’s Play Store is soon highlighting apps with independent security reviews.

The company announced the change on the official Google Security blog. Google Android users who visit Google Play to browse for apps may open the data safety section for security and privacy information.

There, they will soon find the new independent security review label. Google plans to roll this out to apps in the VPN category first.

Google explains that VPN apps handle “sensitive and significant amount(s) of user data”. This makes them an excellent category to introduce the functionality.

Independent Security Reviews banner on Google Play

A new Independent Security Review banner is already displayed to Android users who search for VPN apps on Google Play. The banner, displayed beneath a list of advertisement for VPN apps, informs users about the security feature.

Android Independent Security Review

The banner lists the associated badge and includes the following description:

VPN apps with this badge in the Data safety section have been independently validated against a global security standard.

A link opens the website of the App Defense Alliance that lists all VPN apps with the badge. Only eight VPN apps are on the list currently. They are:

  • Aloha Browser + Private VPN
  • ExpressVPN: VPN Fast & Secure
  • Google One
  • NordVPN: private & secure VPN
  • Private Internet Access VPN
  • SkyVPN – Fast Secure VPN
  • Tomato VPN | VPN Proxy
  • vpnify – Unlimited VPN Proxy

A tap on any app and the selection of Data safety displays the new badge, provided that the app has undergone the security validation by App Defense Alliance’s global security standard. Those without it have not, but that does not mean that they have not passed other security audits.

What this means

Google highlights VPN apps that have passed the security validation on Google Play. The badge is not displayed on the apps’ main page, however, and it is easily overlooked in the data safety section.

Apps that passed validation meet “industry mobile security and privacy minimum best practices” according to Google. The badge does not “imply that a product is free of vulnerabilities” though.

To sum it up: the badge highlights that apps have passed independent security reviews, which is a good thing. Other apps, without the badge, may also have passed security audits. Some of these audits may have been more thorough than the one required to get the badge on Google Play.

Verdict

The new badge is a welcome addition to Google Play as it may help users pick a VPN app. While there are other criteria, such as features and performance, security is without doubt important.

That Google displays ads for VPN apps before the Independent Security Reviews badge is a problem. The listing in Data Safety makes sense, but Google might want to consider adding the badge to an application’s main page as well.

All in all, it is a welcome addition on Google Play. Users may still want to research VPN providers before installing any of them on their Android devices.

Now You: do you use VPN apps on your mobile devices?

YouTube

YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown has an impact on content blockers

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google’s crackdown on ad blockers on YouTube started in early August. The company began tests that informed a small percentage of users with ad blockers that “ad blockers were not allowed on YouTube”.

In August, things heated up as Google started to display the prompts aggressively to users with ad blockers. Two months on and it is now confirmed that Google is cracking down on the use of content blockers on YouTube globally.

Ad blocking was always a cat and mouse game on the Internet. As ad blockers evolved and started to gain tractions, sites and publishers began to develop countermeasures. Some introduced paywalls, others modified ads on their sites or used different techniques to display ads even on systems with ad blockers.

Developers of ad blockers reacted to these changes, and the whole thing began anew.

Impact on YouTube users

Google’s crackdown seems to have a severe impact on users who use ad blockers. It appears that a portion of users who use ad blockers on YouTube have uninstalled them to continue watching videos at the site.

While uninstallations have increased, installations of ad blockers have increased as well. A report from Wired includes quotes from several companies that produce content blockers.

The makers of AdGuard, a popular blocking tool with 75 million users, including 4.5 million paying customers, saw uninstallations jump from about 6000 per day to 52,000 in October. Installations surged to about 60,000 installations as well, levelling the number of installations and uninstallations. The paid version of AdGuard was not affected by this, according to the company.

Munich-based Ghostery noticed up to five times the installs and uninstalls throughout October, according to the report. Most users, when asked for the reason for uninstalling the extension, stated that it was not working anymore on YouTube.

Why installs and uninstalls are surging

install ublock origin in chrome

Ad blocker users who run into issues on YouTube have just a few options. They can follow Google’s advice and turn off the ad blocker. This allows them to watch YouTube videos with ads.

Another option is the purchase of YouTube Premium, but this comes at a monthly cost. Google announced an increase in the price as well recently.

The third option is to try different content blockers to find one that works. Users evaluate different content blockers until they find one that works or until they give up.

This explains the increase in uninstalls and installs at the same time. Even top of the line content blockers, like uBlock Origin, may fail to block ads on YouTube for a short period of time.

Well maintained content blockers and filter lists are updated frequently to react to changes that Google introduced on YouTube. It is still a cat and mouse game, and will continue to be one.

You can check out my guide on watching YouTube videos without ads here. It offers several options besides using content blockers. All of these methods work, but they may have disadvantages.

Now You: do you visit YouTube regularly?

Netflix announces new Binge Ad format, Sponsorships and Downloads

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Netflix users may subscribe to the service for $6.99 per month, but the caveat is that the plan includes ads. The company published One Year Into Netflix Ads this week on the official blog to look back and into the future of ads on the platform.

According to the post, Netflix’s Standard with Ads plan has reached 15 million global monthly active users already. This may not look like much, when compared to the 247 million total subscribers, but the number is growing significantly.

Netflix has a partnership with Microsoft Advertising to deliver adverts to viewers. The company announced a number of new features and changes for advertisers and also for users subscribed to the ad-powered plan.

Binge Ad format and sponsorships

Netflix plans to introduce the binge ad format in the first quarter of 2024. Netflix customers who watch four episodes of a show in a row will get the fourth episode ad-free.

It is unclear if this new format will impact the overall time that advertisement plays per hour on Netflix.

Sponsorships are already available in the United States. Netflix plans to expand these globally in 2024.

Three types of sponsorships are available: title, moment and live sponsorships. Here is what they represent:

  • Title sponsorships are tied to specific titles.
  • Moment sponsorships allow advertisers to tap into local holidays.
  • Live sponsorships are available for live events, such as Netflix’s live sports event, the Netflix Cup.

Other advertising changes

Netflix announced a number of additional changes. New playtimes are available for ads. The service started with 15 and 30 second ads initially. Advertisers may now book 10, 20 and 60 seconds ads globally as well.

Also new are new advertising categories, including dating, pharma and enhanced financial services.

Another change affects the features of the Standard with Ads plan. Netflix notes that it includes 1080p quality now, lets users watch two concurrent streams and that downloads will also become available.

Netflix writes:

All members of the ad-supported plan will be able to download their favorite series and movies, making Netflix the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads.

Netflix does not explain how this is going to work. It is likely that ads are downloaded along with series and movies. Downloads are a welcome feature, as it gives subscribers the option to watch content while offline, e.g., while travelling.

All paid Netflix plans support downloads once the change lands.

Closing Words

The advertising gamble along with the crackdown on password sharing seems to pay off for Netflix. These helped the company certainly increase its subscriber count.

Whether it is a good strategy in the long run remains to be seen. Netflix announced price increases in several regions recently, but only for ad-free plans.

Clearly, most of the changes benefit Netflix and advertisers only. The new binge watching format sounds like a nice improvement. The majority of changes focus on expanding ads on Netflix.

It looks as if Streaming Services are dying to lose customers

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Streaming services have turned the wrong way in the past couple of years. While ad-powered plans are the big thing currently, there are other developments that many customers may not like. These push more and more customers to other options, including P2P.

Netflix started to push its ad-powered plan earlier this year and many streaming services have followed already or will follow Netflix’s example. Customers pay less for the subscription, but they have to watch advertisement instead.

It seems to be a lucrative deal for streaming services, as more and more start to push advertising on the platform. Netflix and Disney+ customers pay less when they sign-up for the ad-powered plan. Amazon sneaked in a little price hike, as it announced that all Prime Video users would get ads, unless they added an ad-free add-on to their plan for some extra Dollars.

Too many streaming services are a problem

Streaming services promised to do better than cable and regular TV offerings. Tune in whenever you want and watch as much as you want. The price was relatively low in the beginning and there were only a few services. Content was not spread across numerous services.

Movies and TV shows went an entirely different route than music. If you subscribe to a music streaming service, you will get access to the same catalog, with a few notable exceptions.

For TV shows and movies, things are not as customer friendly. Star Wars is exclusively available at Disney+, Netflix has Stranger Things, and HBO has The Wire. If you want the full catalog, you need to subscribe to a dozen or so services.

If you subscribe to all, you end up paying as much as you would for cable in the United States. One option to overcome this is to hop between streaming services frequently. Subscribe to Netflix for a month, watch everything you want, then switch to another service, and so on. You pay for a single service per month and still get to watch all the new content that is released per year. Only downside is that you may have to wait a month or two before you can finally watch something.

Ads are a major problem

Advertisement is another major problem. Many streaming services have ad-powered plans already or plan to introduce them. Some even push ads for all subscribers, unless they pay more to get rid of ads again.

Ads are the cheapest option when it comes to subscriptions, but this comes at the cost of having to watch ads every hour. Things go back fullcircle to TV, where you also have to sit through ads to watch shows and movies.

Amazon plans to introduce even more ads to users of its Fire TV offerings. These are already focused on pushing Amazon content. Soon, they will also deliver contextual sponsored tiles to customers.

Piracy is booming again

P2P networks, the Usenet and other services are seeing a revival. This seems to coincide with the networks push against password sharing, price increases and the introduction of more and more ads and ad-powered plans.

One study from the UK saw a “notable increase in piracy levels over the past two years” and that a declining trend seen in earlier studies appears to be reversing.

There are several reasons for the revival. First, because price increases make streaming services a luxury good. While some may be fine with viewing ads to get a discount, others won’t be.

Second, because of what individual streaming services offer. If you go to a torrent site, you find almost every show or movie there. If you go to any streaming service, you find some shows and movies there only.

Closing Words

The attractiveness of streaming services is going down, especially for users who can’t keep up with the constant price increases and users who want access to all content. Ads may work for some to mitigate these price hikes, but they are a no-go for others.

As the attractiveness off streaming services is going down, it is the reverse for other options. One of these options is P2P; it will continue to rise, provided that streaming services don’t reverse their course.

It is probably inevitable that streaming services will lose customers in the medium to long run. Prices continue to increase, ads continue to be pushed and content continues to be spread across a dozen or so services.

Now You: what is your take on this?

Quickest Way to upgrade to Windows 11 version 23H2

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft released the 2023 feature update for Windows 11 yesterday to the public. It is already available via Windows Update, but only if the device meets all hardware requirements and has no known issues.

Most Windows 11 devices can be upgraded via Windows Update immediately. The situation is different for devices that don’t meet the minimum system requirements. These devices can’t be upgraded via Windows Update. The feature update is not offered there and won’t be in the future.

This leaves other options to install the update. I published a guide on Ghacks about this, which you may want to check out. There is, however, an even easier and quicker option to upgrade to Windows 11 2023 Update.

This method works for all devices running the latest version of Windows 11, no matter if they are compatible or not.

Preparations

Enablement Package

The method does not require a lot of preparations, ISO images or huge update downloads. In fact, there is only one requirement, one that all devices can meet easily.

Requirement: install the October 31 update for Windows 11 on the device that you want to upgrade to Windows 11 version 23H2. KB5031455 is offered via Windows Update to all systems.

Just go to Start > Settings > Windows Update, check the “get the latest updates as soon as they are available” option and hit the “check for updates” button.

The preview update should be offered to you now. Note that a newer update may be offered, depending on when you follow the instructions.

You may also download the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog website. Make sure to select the right version.

Install the Enablement Package

There is just one additional step to upgrade to Windows 11 version 23H2. Download the enablement update KB5027397 using the links below:

Run the downloaded file and wait until the update installation ends. A restart of the system is the last required step.

This process has no system requirements check, which means that it will work on all devices, including unsupported ones.

Select Start, type winver and press the Enter-key to display the new version of Windows in a small popup after the restart.

How to edit System Environment Variables on Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Environment Variables are an essential part of the Windows operating system. The variables are mostly useful for command line usage and also in scripts. As an example: when you type a program name on the command line, e.g., notepad.exe, Windows searches the variables to find the application.

System environment variables determine locations for certain folders as well. The temporary files folder, for instance, is set using the temp variable. Apart from path information, variables may also provide information to programs. They may reveal the operating system’s name, the architecture or the number of processors.

Environment variables are available as user and system variants. The main difference is that the former applies only to the logged in user while the latter to all users of the system.

Editing System Environment Variables on Windows

Launch the Environment Variables Editor

All versions of Windows include an editor for system variables. It is a rather basic tool that has not been updated in a long while.

The following instructions explain how to launch the editor on any version of Windows and how to use its functionality.

Follow these steps to launch the Editor:

  1. Open the Start Menu.
  2. Type env.
  3. Select the “Edit the System Environment Variables” result. The System Properties window opens.
  4. Activate the Environment Variables button.

The following program window opens.

System Environment Variables Editor

Windows separates user and system variables in the interface. Options to add variables, edit or delete existing ones are provided.

A double-click opens the edit interface. You may select a line and then edit alternatively. Opening Path this way, you’d end up with the following editing interface:

All basic options are available. You can add, edit and delete variables here. A double-click lets you edit the selected variable right away.

Note that the order is important as well. Windows goes through the locations from top to bottom.

Use the “move” options to change the priority of path variables.

A click on new lets you add new folder locations to the variable. These are added to the bottom by default, but you can use move to change the priority after creation.

Adding locations to path is useful for development, users who create script files regularly, and also users who run programs from the command line often.

Security-wise, it is a good idea to check path variables as well. Remove any variable that you don’t require. Some programs and also malware may add variables to the path variable.

Edit Environment Variables from the command line

Edit system environment variables from the command line

You can list and edit variables using a command prompt. Launch a new command prompt window by opening Start, typing cmd.exe and pressing the Enter-key.

Type set and press Enter to display all environment variables. To change a variable name, run the command setx NAME “VALUE”, e.g. setx TEMP “e:\temp”, to set the new TEMP folder location to e:\temp.

System Environments of note

Some environment variables are more important than others. Here is a quick overview of important variables and their functionality:

  • Temp and Tmp — These point to the temporary folder used by the system. Windows and apps store temporary files in the folder. You could edit the path to point it elsewhere. One interesting option is to set the path to a ramdrive location. Doing so would erase temporary files automatically on every shutdown.
  • Path — The path variable is used for a variety of purposes. It defines the locations that Windows looks in when you try to run executable files. Most native Windows tools, notepad, paint or wordpad, are launched when you type their name in a command prompt. Third-party apps, like firefox or chrome, are not however. The reason is simple: their location is not included in the path variable. You can edit the Path variable to add more locations.

Third-party editors

Third-party tools may be used to edit variables. These may offer additional features that the native editor lacks. Notable are support for backups, error checking, or selecting paths visually instead of typing them.

  • Rapid Environment Editor — A free tool to manage system environment variables on Windows. Last updated in 2018, it works well with any version of Windows. Notable features include backups, error checking, visual path selecting, a variable inspector and support for editing paths of any user on the system.
  • Windows Environment Variables Editor — the last update dates back to 2014, but it still runs fine on Windows 10 and 11 systems. It is not as powerful as Rapid Environment Editor.
  • Microsoft PowerToys — Microsoft added a System Environments Variables editor tool to PowerToys 0.75. It offers a cleaner interface, but lacks advanced features.

Now You: how do you edit variables on Windows?

RSS Guard: open source RSS Reader review

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

RSS Guard is may RSS reader of choice. I have used quite a few RSS readers in the past decades: from Google Reader and FeedDemon to QuiteRSS, to name just a few major ones.

I like QuiteRSS, but development has more or less ceased. RSS Guard is an open source RSS reader that comes with an impressive list of features and options. The program does have a few quirks, but it is probably only a matter of time before these are sorted out by the developer.

You may download RSS Guard from the project’s GitHub repository. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux devices.

Initial Setup

RSS Guard

You can import a list of RSS feeds into RSS Guard. It is a straightforward process. The program separates Accounts from Feeds.

  • Accounts — RSS feeds are supported as well as other types, including Feedly, Nextcloud News or Tiny Tiny RSS.
  • Feeds — individual RSS feeds, can also be podcasts and any other type of service that uses RSS / RDF / ATOM / JSON.

To get started, it is necessary to create an Account first. Select RSS when prompted. From there, you may add RSS feeds manually or by importing them.

RSS Guard supports multiple accounts, which you may utilize to separate feeds from one another.

The application displays feeds sorted by accounts and folders in a sidebar on the left side. You can drag & drop feeds around, and create folders to separate content. Apart from

Each feed is listed with its name and the number of unread items. A click on a feed or folder displays all feeds on the right side.

The feeds listing displays article titles, read status, author, date of publication and other information. Right-click on a column to get the list of supported data columns. Note that it depends on the feed if these are supported.

Settings

Select Tools > Settings to open the preference You find quite a few options of interest there. Here is a short selection of settings that I find useful:

  • User Interface — switch between dark and light mode, different icon themes and styles.
  • Notifications — enable or disable them, or modify their location and style.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts — check all existing shortcuts and add new mappings, e.g. for adding new feeds or categories.
  • Feeds & Articles — set feed fetching and automatic feed checking intervals, modify the appearance of the feed and articles list.

Other options include changing the size of fonts or configuring external web browsers for opening content.

Using RSS Guard

Usage is very simple once you have set up everything. My instance checks for updates automatically when I start it. Unread articles are highlighted in the interface and it is easy enough to browse them to check what is new.

Articles that you select are marked read. You may use the integrated labels feature to mark certain articles.

Left-clicking on an item opens it in the internal viewer. You may switch to the external viewer by right-clicking on items and selecting the option. An option to always open hyperlinks in an external browser is available in the options. A double-click may, for example, launch the article in the default system browser automatically.

There is also a Newspaper View, which displays new articles chronologically.

RSS Guard quirks

While I like RSS Guard for the most part, it does have a few issues. You may notice, for instance, that you can’t manage RSS feeds when the program checks for updates.

A click on the stop button breaks the process, so that you may add, edit or remove feeds.

Another issue is that updating feeds may be slow. It depends largely on the processor. Either, updates blaze through in a matter of seconds, or, it seemingly takes minutes to check all feeds for updates.

Another option that is missing is the ability to save searches. A search, say for Windows 11 or Steam, would return all matching feed items.

Last but not least, syncing is not as straightforward as it could be. While select online services are supported, there is no direct option to sync feeds across devices.

Verdict

RSS Guard is a mighty open source RSS Reader. It is a useful tool to stay up to date almost effortlessly. It feels a bit clunky here and there, and it has some quirks.

Still, it is an excellent program that helps me stay up to date throughout the day without having to visit hundreds of sites manually to do so.

Now You: which RSS feed reader do you use?

How to bypass YouTube video ads without adblockers

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube is a popular destination for all things video. It is a Google-owned property and video ads are common on the platform. One of the main issues for many users is that advertisement has become annoying on YouTube lately.

Probably the most annoying type is the mid-video ad, as it interrupts the video. There are other types, including multiple unskippable ads before videos or after videos.

Lately, Google started to block videos from playing if it detected the use of an ad blocker. Not all YouTube visitors face this, but tests are conducted. These tests have grown in intensity up to the point to locking out users if they continue to use ad-blockers.

It is possible to bypass YouTube video ads without use of a traditional ad blocker. Probably the easiest way is to subscribe to YouTube Premium, but this is not what this guide is about.

Below, you find different suggestions to watch YouTube videos without ads and traditional content blocker.

YouTube Frontends

One of the better options is to redirect YouTube videos to frontends. You can do that manually, often by simply editing the URL of the video, or automatically.

I reviewed LibRedirect and Privacy Redirects on Ghacks. These browser extensions redirect YouTube videos to privacy friendly frontends. All frontends come without ads or privacy-invasive features.

Invidious is a popular frontend that many extensions use. A list of domains is available here. Note that you may need to adjust the default frontends in the extensions with working ones.

Take yewtu.be as an example. Open it and you get a basic search interface. You may use it to find any YouTube video and play it. To use it manually, simply replace youtube.com with yewtu.be and keep the rest of the address the same.

The extensions do the heavy lifting for you, so that you don’t have to edit domain names manually each time.

You bypass YouTube video ads automatically when you use the frontends.

There are some downsides, especially for users who sign-in. You can’t access your channel subscriptions, vote on videos or do other activities that require an account.

Other frontends are available. Here is a short list of options:

A full list is available on GitHub.

Third-party YouTube apps

YouTube frontends work in all modern browsers, including on mobile devices. Some may prefer to run apps and it may sometimes be the only option.

A popular app for Android is NewPipe. It is an open source app that supports a wide range of features. The app pulls data from the official API, internal APIs or the official website, depending on the level of restrictions.

NewPipe supports video resolutions up to 4K and live streams. It can be used to play audio in the background, search for videos on YouTube, enqueue videos and even subscribe to channels.

Other options include downloading videos for offline viewing, watching playlists or browsing channel feeds.

Another app option is SmartTubeNext, which works well on Android TVs and Fire TV devices. It is open source and brings YouTube to the television.

Other alternatives are:

Bypass YouTube video ads by skipping them

Fadblock is a browser extension for Google Chrome, Firefox and other Chromium-based browsers. I reviewed it today on Ghacks.

Note: the developer of the extension has turned it into a commercial one.

Instead of blocking YouTube ads, it is loading and skipping them. This happens quickly and automatically. In other words: ads may be displayed for a fraction of a second before the actual video starts to play.

It is not an adblocker, as it does not block YouTube ads outright. Ads get loaded but skipped or fast forwarded immediately.

It is an interesting concept, one that is likely better protected against anti-adblocking techniques on YouTube.

About Samsung’s Temporary Cloud Backup

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Temporary Cloud Backup is a new service by Samsung. It is rolling out to Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets with One UI 6 or later.

The backup solution looks like many other cloud-based backup services on first glance. Samsung users may use it to back up data on cloud servers. What makes this different is that the storage is temporary.

The data is stored for up to 30 days in the cloud. Samsung claims that there are not any storage size restrictions. The only limitation, in fact, is that individual files may not be larger than 100 Gigabytes, which most users should not run into.

All the backing up and transferring happens on the user’s device. A second device, for instance a PC, is not required.

The backup feature is ideal for securing data before handing devices over to others, for instance for repairs.

The idea behind the feature

Samsung explains that the service is ideal for securing data before replacements or repairs. Devices that need to be repaired are often inaccessible for a period of time.

If they need to be send in, there is a slim but existing chance that the package gets lost during transit.

Temporary Cloud Backup is integrated into Maintenance Mode. Samsung introduced Maintenance Mode in the Samsung Galaxy S22. It protects personal data and information when activated.

When users activate the mode, a separate user account is created that others may access when repairing Samsung devices. Samsung users find the mode under Settings > Battery and Device Care > Maintenance Mode.

Samsung explains:

Maintenance mode protects your privacy while someone else is using your phone, such as when you’re sending it for repairs.

Personal data, including a user’s photos, documents and messages, is restricted in Maintenance Mode. User-installed apps become unavailable as well. While apps may be downloaded and installed in the mode, they are removed from the device along with any “data or accounts” when the owner of the device exits Maintenance Mode.

Temporary Cloud Backup complements Maintenance Mode. It pushes a backup of the user’s personal data to the Samsung cloud. From there, it can be retrieved at any time during the 30-day period.

Temporary Cloud Backup

Temporary Cloud Backup by Samsung

The new backup feature serves several purposes. Repair and maintenance are two of the main applications, but it is also helpful for new devices.

The integrated Setup Wizard of Samsung devices includes an option to restore data backed up at Samsung’s Cloud using the temporary backup feature. Users may use it to move their files between devices.

The feature is attached to Maintenance Mode and the device’s Reset function.

The backup app displays the available options. These include backing up apps, calls and contacts, messages, secure folder data, settings and more.

The process requires an active wireless connection. Samsung’s device displays the transfer progress during the operation.

Samsung informs owners of the data before the 30-day limit is reached. This should give them enough time to restore the data before it is deleted automatically.

Closing Words

The full rollout is starting this fall for all Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets with One UI 6. The first devices will be the Galaxy S and Z series in Korea.

Temporary Cloud Backup and Maintenance Mode are two useful features. Maintenance Mode blocks access to personal data during repairs and maintenance operations. Cloud backup saves the data so that it can be restored at a later point; this is also useful when sending in devices.

Now You: how do you handle data on your devices during repairs?

How to block Firefox from importing OS Certificate Authorities

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla’s Firefox web browser maintains its own root certificate store by default. The browser uses these as “trust anchors” and the functionality is essential for making sure that only trusted SSL/TLS certificates are used by the browser.

Starting in Firefox 120, Firefox will automatically trust operating sysdtem certificates installed by the user or an administrators.

The beta release notes offer the following explanation:

By default, Firefox now uses TLS trust anchors (e.g., certificates) added to the operating system by the user or an administrator. This works on Windows, macOS, and Android, and it can be turned off in the “Privacy & Security” section of Firefox settings, under “Certificates”.

Administrators may add certificates to the operating system for a number of reasons. Some applications and devices may require them to work properly, and they may also be required in development environments. Antivirus solutions on Windows may try and register with Firefox to monitor data.

Blocking Firefox from trusting OS certificates

Firefox block third-party root certificates installed by the user

Firefox users may disable the functionality in Firefox 120 and newer versions. It is enabled by default. To modify this setting, follow these instructions:

  1. Load about:preferences#privacy in the Firefox address bar to open the Privacy settings.
  2. Scroll down to the Security section.
  3. Locate Certificates there.
  4. Remove the checkmark from “Allow Firefox to automatically trust third-party root certificates you install”.

You can undo the change at any time by checking the box again.

Another certificate preference

Firefox supports an Enterprise root preference already. When the browser runs into a TLS connection error, it will enable this Enterprise Roots preference automatically. This imports “any root certificate authorities” that users or administrators have added to the operating system.

Firefox tries to connect again to the site that threw the error. If successful, Firefox will keep the preference enabled and thus also the imported certificates.

Here is how this automatic behavior gets disabled:

  • Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
  • Click “Accept the Risk and Continue” if the warning page is displayed.
  • Search for security.certerrors.mitm.auto_enable_enterprise_roots.
  • Change the value from True to False with a double-click or by using the button.
  • Search for security.enterprise_roots.enabled.
  • Change the value from True to False.
  • Restart the Firefox web browser.

Closing Words

Most Firefox users may want to keep the default as these are designed to minimize connection errors and issues. Users who want to be in full control may disable the functionality, on the other hand.