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.

Don’t wait for Google to end third-party cookies

Posted on October 15, 2023October 15, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser. An updated schedule, published on Wednesday, confirms that testing begins in the first quarter of 2024.

A total of 1% of Chrome users will join the test, which disables third-party cookies in their browsers. Google plans to push the change to the entire Chrome population by the third quarter of 2024.

The main purpose of this type of cookies is tracking on today’s Internet. While it is up for debate whether the disabling will have a positive effect on tracking, it is clear that it does eliminate a widely used form of tracking.

Google, being an advertising company first and foremost, has already created a system that it believes is better for the privacy of Internet users. Called Privacy Sandbox, it integrates the tracking directly into the Chrome browser.

Chrome analyzes the browsing data and assigns the user to interests groups. Websites and web advertising companies may use the information to display targeted ads. There is also an option for websites to assign certain interests to users. The system runs in the local browser, which, Google believes, is reason enough to use the term privacy to describe it.

You can disable these ad systems in Chrome for desktop systems and on Android; check out the linked guides to find out how.

Disable third-party cookies in Chrome

Block third-party cookies in Google Chrome

Most Internet users have no benefit from keeping third-party cookies enabled in their browsers. Very few may use services that require third-party cookies for functionality. The vast majority of websites and services works fine without third-party cookies.

It is therefore a good idea to test disabling third-party cookies in the web browser. If you run into problems, you can still enable the feature again to resolve it, or create exceptions for these rare cases.

Here is how that is done in Chrome:

Load this page in Chrome’s address bar: chrome://settings/cookies. It opens the Cookies and other site data preferences.
Select “block third-party cookies” under general. Chrome displays information about this when the option is set.

It states:

Sites can use cookies to improve your browsing experience, for example, to keep you signed in or to remember items in your shopping cart

Sites can’t use your cookies to see your browsing activity across different sites, for example, to personalize ads. Features on some sites may not work.

This is all that is required to block the use of cookies for tracking across different sites. Note that the change does not affect first-party cookies, which remain supported. These serve an important purpose, as they are often used to keep user’s signed in among other things.

All major browsers support options to turn off cookies entirely or only third-party ones. Most Internet users may want to block these cookies or configure their browsers to delete them regularly to limit tracking. Firefox users may want to check out this cookie banners article, as it explains how to do so in the browser.

Closing Words

Google’s crusade against cookies is self-preserving. The company makes most of its money from advertising and a lot of that money relies on tracking. The euphemistically called Privacy Sandbox is a continuation of that, albeit under different conditions.

The main danger of Privacy Sandbox is not that it continues to track users using a different system, but that it is an advertising system that is now integrated into a web browser. Google controls this web browser and also the open source core Chromium. Several developers of Chromium-based browsers announced that they won’t go along with Google, which is good for users of these browsers.

Problem is, Chrome has a commanding usage share and that means that the majority of Internet users will be enrolled automatically into the new system.

Now You: how do you handle third-party cookies on your devices?

Spacedrive: cross-platform file manager with a twist

Posted on October 14, 2023October 15, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Spacedrive is an open source cross-platform file explorer that is powered by a virtual distributed filesystem written in Rust.

Note: the software is alpha at this point. It may contain bugs and issues, and its main purpose is testing at this stage. I experienced some hangs and issues during the test.

All modern operating systems come with file managers. Windows has its File Explorer, macOS Finder and Linux lots of them.

These file managers provide basic functionality. While that is usually sufficient to find, run, move or delete files, they are also lacking in many areas.

Windows’ File Explorer, for example, only lists data from connected drives. Anything that is not connected at the time is not displayed. Other issues may include a lack of organization, a messy interface, search that works so-so only or a focus on folders.

Spacedrive is a different kind of file manager

Spacedrive uses virtualization to display files from any location that you have added in the past. This can be folders and files from different local, removable or network locations, and even files from different systems.

This location-based approach changes a core characteristic of traditional file managers.

When you launch Spacedrive for the first time, you are greeted with emptiness. The file manager displays files only from locations that you add to its virtual filesystem. The first task, therefore, is to press the Add Location button to add a location to it.

The app supports local drives and partitions, folders, network drives as well as removable drives. Spacedrive indexes the content so that it remains visible in the app even after the storage location is disconnected.

The developers describe Spacedrive in the following way:

Organize files across many devices in one place. From cloud services to offline hard drives, Spacedrive combines the storage capacity and processing power of your devices into one personal distributed cloud, that is both secure and intuitive to use.

The Virtual Distributed Filesystem

At its core, Spacedrive’s virtual distributed filesystem (VDFS) is keeping a record of all storage locations that users added to the application. Record is another word for index. This index is not restricted to a single device or machine either, which is one of the main advantages of the technology.

The developers point to a UC Berkeley research paper by Haoyuan Li, which offers information on the underlying VDFS concept. The focus of the paper was on cloud computing, but the developers of Spacedrive say that the concepts apply to consumer software as well.

The core idea is not new. Applications such as DiskCat for Windows index drives or disks and make the data available even while offline. These solutions are not as advanced as this one and often not open source, but the main idea is similar.

What you can do with Spacedrive right now

The current version lets you add local and network locations to the virtual filesystem. Support for adding devices is coming in the future.

Select the add location option and pick a drive letter or folder on a connected drive. Spacedrive indexes the location so that it remains accessible, even if disconnected.

The app lists all indexed files in its interface. It supports three display modes currently: grid, list and media view. The first two modes list all files, the last only media files. Options to change the size of icons and sorting are also available already.

You may then browse individual locations or all data. A search is provided to find files across all locations quickly. Double-click on a file to launch it using the default file viewer or press the Space-key to display it in the program’s own quick viewer.

Options to edit files, e.g., rename or delete files, are also provided. You may add tags to files and create new tag categories. These may then be accessed in the sidebar directly.

A check of the preferences lists options to switch between light and dark mode, change display formats and even keybindings. There is a lot to explore already.

The future

The developers of Spacedrive have big plans for the app. The roadmap lists a key manager, to use encryption, an AirDrop-like feature and cloud integration as the next features in versions 0.2 and 0.3 of the file manager.

That is not all though. The roadmap reveals plans to add extensions supported, a media encoder, encrypted vaults, a timeline feature and much more.

Verdict

Spacedrive may not be ready for use in production environments, it is alpha software after all. It is one of those projects that you want to keep an eye on, as it is ambitious and could turn out to become an interesting app for many computer users.

Photographers or media archivers, for example, may use it to keep an always up-to-date index of all their media files, regardless of location.

Firefox 120 will block cookie banners, but only in Germany

Posted on October 13, 2023October 13, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla plans to enable cookie banner blocking in Firefox 120, but initially only in Germany. Other regions will follow at later point in time. Firefox users may, however, enable the blocking already.

Many websites display cookie consent banners to users. These banners give website visitors a choice regarding the use of cookies.

Cookies are data that websites may save on the local system. The sites may read the data in future visits. Cookies are useful, as they may keep the user signed-in or store preferences. Cookies are also used for tracking purposes.

The rise of cookie banners coincided with new regulatory laws in the European Union, California and some other regions. The main idea was to put users in control again in regards to cookies.

What was once thought of as a good idea turned into a huge annoyance for users. More or less all websites display cookie banners to users now, which often means that users have to interact with these banners frequently.

It is an annoyance, especially since there is no “don’t allow” default option that the browser sends automatically. Users who delete cookies regularly will get these banners in each browsing session.

Firefox 120: cookie banners be gone

Mozilla plans to introduce automation in Firefox 120 in Germany to block cookie banners and select “decline” whenever possible. The web browser will block cookie banners that include an option to refuse all but necessary cookies.

It should be clear that users will continue to see cookie banners. There is no standard for showing them to users and sites may use third-party scripts or custom scripts for the functionality.

Still, Firefox 120 will block common cookie banners, which should reduce the number of banners that users see while using the browser.

How to enable cookie banner blocking in Firefox

Firefox Cookie Banner blocking preferences

Mozilla plans to launch the feature in Germany only, but all Firefox users may configure the browser to block banners. I mentioned this back in 2022 on Ghacks.

Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
Use the search field at the top to find cookiebanners.service.mode.
Change the value of the preference to 1.
Change the value of cookiebanners.service.mode.privateBrowsing to 1 as well. This enables the functionality in the private browsing mode.
Restart Firefox.

The preference supports three values:

0 — disables the feature. In other words, no cookie banners are blocked.
1 — blocks all known cookie banners and does nothing otherwise.
2 — blocks all known cookie banners and accepts any cookie banner otherwise.

Dealing with cookies

Tracking is severely limited if third-party cookies are blocked in the browser. Other options include deleting cookies and site data regularly.

Firefox ships with tracking protection functionality. While not as good as a true content blocker, such as uBlock Origin, it is better than nothing.

Blocking third-party cookies is a good idea to reduce tracking. Firefox makes this a bit complicated, as it does not offer a simple switch to turn off third-party cookies like Chromium-based browsers do.

Load about:preferences#privacy in the browser’s address bar.
Select the Custom option under Enhanced Tracking Protection.
In the cookies menu, select “All cross-site cookies (may cause websites to break)”.

This blocks third-party cookies in the browser. Note that some, very few, sites may not work properly with this setting.

Closing Words

Several browsers deal with cookie banners automatically. Brave Browser has a cookie consent blocking feature and so does Vivaldi Browser.

Mozilla is a bit late to the party, but better late than never, especially if the feature improves usability. Firefox 120 will be released on November 21, 2023.

Now You: how do you deal with cookie banners? (via Sören Hentzschel)

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.