Category: Guides

Chrome

How to remove Google Lens from Chrome’s address bar

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you still use Google Chrome, then you may have noticed that the browser displays a Google Lens entry in the address bar. It is still rolling out I guess, but more and more installations get this.

With Google Lens integration, Chrome users may run searches for anything that they see on the page. So, activate Google Lens with a click or tap, and then draw around the element on the page that you want to know more about.

You can select text and run a search, but this is not really new, as you can do so easily already in all browsers. Lens lets you select anything though, which means that you can search for images or elements in images, and also text in images that you cannot select using basic text selection options in browsers.

Google Chrome with Google Lens visible in address bar.
Google Lens in the address bar of Google Chrome

Google Lens in Chrome depends on Google Search as the default search provider. It is also good to know that page data is transferred to Google whenever Lens is used in Chrome.

Some Chrome users will find Lens useful. Not for plain text, as you can do so already. Maybe for quick translating, but the core use is to search for anything that cannot be selected individually. So, a person in an image, text shown in videos or images, or any other element that is shown on the screen.

How to disable Google Lens in Chrome

Google Lens disable
Set Lens Overlay to Disabled to turn off Google Lens in Chrome

You can, at least temporarily, disable Google Lens in Chrome. Here is how this is done:

  1. Load chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay in the address bar.
  2. Set the status of Lens overlay to Disabled.
  3. Restart Google Chrome.

This disables the interface in Chrome.

Note: Experimental Flags like Lens Overlay may come and go at any time. It is possible that Google is going to remove the flag in a future version of Chrome. This would remove the option to disable Google Lens in Chrome, unless Google decides to integrate an option in the Chrome Settings.

What is your take on Google Lens in Chrome? Something that you would use, maybe if launched in a different browser. Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Brave Shields Down

Brave: if a loaded webpage does not react to your input, try this

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When I use Brave Browser, I sometimes encounter websites that do not react at all after load. Scrolling does not work, clicking on links does nothing, and you cannot even copy text.

The site appears crashed, but the rest of the browser works fine.

Here is one reason for the issue: Brave reacts to cookie and privacy prompts automatically. This works well most of the time, but sometimes, it does not.

Sites stop responding in those cases. You can reload them, but the issue persists. There is a solution though.

  1. Click on the Shield-icon in Brave’s address bar.
  2. Toggle the Shields functionality to Off. Brave reloads the webpage.
  3. You should get a privacy prompt now.
  4. Select Reject all or whichever option you want.
  5. Re-enable Shields. The site reloads.

The webpage works normally from that moment on. It is not locked anymore and you may interact with the site again.

I do not experience the behavior often. Maybe once every 250 or so sites I open and visit.

What about you? Did you notice the odd behavior? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Copilot key laptops

You can remap the Windows Copilot Hardware Key to something useful

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Many Windows devices will ship with a new hardware key. The Copilot key is a new key on the keyboard that activates the core AI feature of the operating system when pressed.

If that is all it does, it is probably the most useless key on the keyboard. Yes, it is worse than Scroll Lock.

The main reason is that Copilot sits on the taskbar already. A click opens the interface. Why would you need a key for that?

I’d take it back if Microsoft would add Copilot shortcuts to it, similar to how the Windows-key works. Press Copilot Key and V, and Copilot gives you an analysis of the Clipboard content. Something like that.

How to remap the Copilot key

The Group Policy entry Set Copilot Hardware Key and the corresponding Registry entry. Source: Tero Alhonen

Good news is that you can remap the Copilot Hardware Key. Right now, you may do so either through a policy or directly in the Registry. Tero Alhonen published the information on X.

Since Windows Home admins have no access to the Policy Editor, it is easier to remap the key in the Registry.

Here is how it is done:

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Type regedit and select Registry Editor from the list of results.
  3. Confirm the UAC prompt by selecting the option Yes.
  4. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CopilotKey
    • Note: if a key does not exist, right-click on the previous key and select New > Key. Name it accordingly and proceed.
  5. Right-click on CopilotKey and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
  6. Name it SetCopilotHardwareKey.
  7. Double-click on SetCopilotHardwareKey and set its value to 1.
  8. Right-click on CopilotKey again and select New > String Value.
  9. Name it EnterAppAumid.
  10. Double-click on it and paste the Application User Model ID of an installed app into the field.
  11. Close the Registry Editor.
  12. Restart Windows.

Background information: The AUMID / AppID (Application User Mode ID) is used by Windows to “identify and differentiate applications for switching, launching, telemetry, and functions”.

You can get the IDs of all installed apps in the following way:

  • Open the Start menu.
  • Type Terminal and select the Terminal app.
  • Type Get-StartApps and press the Enter-key in the Terminal window.

The list of IDs of installed apps is returned. You need to copy the entire ID, e.g. Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App, as the value of EnterAppAumid in the Registry.

Share

Fixing OneDrive’s “Creating shareable link…” error loop that never ends

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft OneDrive is a popular file cloud hosting, sharing, and to a degree editing service. This is especially true on Windows, as Windows users who sign in with a Microsoft account have OneDrive automatically.

Like any other file hosting service, OneDrive supports the sharing of files. You have a few options there. Notable options include setting rights to view or edit, adding a password, or expiration.

When you try to share a file or files, you get two options in the beginning:

  • Send Link, which informs recipients about the new shared file.
  • Copy Link, which creates a link that you may copy.

While you can add any email, name or group to “Send Link”, you will run into a dead-end if you try to send it to emails that are not associated with a Microsoft account.

The dreaded “The following emails are not Microsoft accounts” error is displayed in that case immediately.

The following emails are not Microsoft accounts.

When you switch to “Copy Link”, you do get a few more options. You can set an expiration date and also a password. There is also the option to share it with anyone, which means that anyone may access the link without signing-in, or with specific people.

Creating Sharable Link never ends

If you pick specific people and add a non-Microsoft account email address, your browser will enter the never-ending “creating sharable link” loop.

Creating sharable link OneDrive

This appears to be a common problem. A search for the issue returns plenty of support requests on Microsoft community websites, but also elsewhere.

To get out, you may want to press the Esc-Key. Not only does it end the link creation screen, it also shows you the reason why you cannot invite specific people.

You may have guessed it already: because the email is not a Microsoft account email.

In other words, if you want to share OneDrive files with emails that are not associated with a Microsoft account, you can only use “anyone”.

Here, it may be a good idea to set a password and/or an expiration date, especially if you plan to share it with a small number of users.

Bonus Tip: Select Shared > By You on the OneDrive website to see all files that you have enabled for sharing. OneDrive does not display lots of information there.

You do not know if the shared file is set to expire or if it is password protected. There is also no information on hits or any other kind of traffic information.

Select the three-dots icon and then “manage access” to check out the full sharing information. Links are found under the links tab.

There, OneDrive is finally revealing whether access is good for editing or viewing. Icons indicate whether the link is password protected or auto-expiring. What you do not get is the password, however. You can delete links from here and change the password, if you need to.

Have you ever shared files online? If so, which service or application have you used for that? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

X Data Sharing AI Grok Setting

X’s AI Grok uses your data for training by default – here is how you can turn that off

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you use X, you may have heard about the AI Grok already. Currently, xAI and Grok are playing catch-up with the current AI allstars. Plans are to push Grok to first place by the end of the year.

Whether that is going to happen or not remains to be seen. What is clear is that Grok, like any large language model, needs access to as much data as possible.

One source for such data is X itself. If you use X, your data on the site is used to train and fine-tune Grok by default.

X says that it is using posts, interactions, inputs, and results to train the AI on the site.

Block X from using your data to train the AI

If you do not want that, you may make a change in settings and also delete your conversation history.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Click on this link to open the setting directly on X.
    • If you prefer, you may also go there manually (Menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy and safety > Grok.
  2. Uncheck “Allow your posts as well as your interactions, inputs, and results with Grok to be used for training and fine-tuning”.
  3. Optional step: click on Delete conversation history to delete all interactions with Grok.

Note: Grok access is limited to X-subscribers at the time of writing. Your data may still be used to train the AI, even if you are not a subscriber or have used Grok in the past.

Once you have made the change, Grok will no longer use your posts on Twitter for training.

Now you: do you use X? What is your take on the default setting? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Speedcheck on mobile phone

How to turn your Android device into an Internet hotspot

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Lately, we have been having some problems with our local Internet provider. Internet goes down unannounced at times or it is barely usable.

That is a big issue if you need the Internet to make a living. For some time now, I have been using Android’s mobile hotspot feature to regain access to the Internet.

Good news is, it is really easy to set up and use. Before we look at that, I’d like to list where a mobile hotspot may be useful.

  • When the local Internet connection is down or unstable.
  • To avoid public Wi-Fi.
  • To replace the local Internet connection entirely.
  • In locations without Internet, but mobile connectivity.

Word of warning: Using the Android device as a mobile hotspot uses-up your monthly data. Not a problem if you are on an unlimited plan, but very much so a problem if your monthly data allocation is rather low.

Using your Android phone for Internet

Android configuring mobile hotspots on a Samsung Galaxy A55

The main idea is to turn the Android device into a mobile hotspot. Other devices may then use Wi-Fi to connect to the Android device in question.

This requires a few things:

  • Both devices need to be in range.
  • The Internet quality is determined by the mobile connection of the Android device.
  • I’m using a Samsung Galaxy A55 for the guide, but the experience should be very similar on other Android devices.

Here is a step-by-step guide to set this up:

  1. Swipe down twice to display the full Quick Settings panel.
  2. Locate Mobile Hotspot and tap on the feature.
  3. If Wi-Fi is turned on, you get a prompt to turn it off. Select the Turn off option to continue.

The mobile hotspot is now enabled and you should see the Android device when you check for wireless access points.

To check name and password, it is necessary to do the following:

  1. Swipe down twice again to bring up all Quick Settings.
  2. Tap and hold the mobile hotspot icon until the configuration menu opens.

There you find the name, password, and band information, which you can change here by tapping on the information.

  • Change the wireless access spot’s name.
  • Change the password that you need to type to connect to the Android device’s hotspot.
  • Switch the band from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz, or vice versa.
  • Make changes to the security (WPA).

You can furthermore make plenty of other configuration options. This includes enabling Wi-Fi 6 support, setting up a one-time password for guests, or change auto-turn off preferences.

Closing Words

Mobile hotspots provided by your Android device (Apple has a similar feature) are helpful in many situations. They may improve security and get you over periods where the regular Internet connection may not be available at all or unstable.

Have you tried the mobile hotspot feature of your mobile device? When do you use it, or when would you use it? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Brave signing you out all the time? Here is a fix for that

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

For several months, I have noticed a rather strange behavior of Brave Browser. Whenever I use it to write articles on WordPress sites, it is logging me out on start or shortly thereafter.

This happens very frequently to the point that it is quite annoying. The following guide may help you resolve the issue. It fixes the issue on my end.

The basics: checking settings

Brave Delete Cookies and site data on exit setting

Brave supports several features that may interfere with accounts you are signed in.

Here is what you want to check first:

  • Click on the Shield icon, expand Advanced Controls, and check that “Forget me when I close that site” is not checked.
  • In the same menu, check that “Block all cookies” is not selected.
  • Load brave://settings/clearBrowserData and verify that “cookies and other site data” is not cleared on exit.
Brave Shields

If these options are set correctly, which they were on my end, then you may proceed to the next section.

Finding the actual culprit

Brave Secure DNS setting

Making a change to the following option resolved the issue on my end. There is a bonus tip at the end, if making the change does not work for you.

  1. Open the Privacy and Security settings page by loading this URL in the address bar: brave://settings/security
  2. Check whether “Use secure DNS is activated”.
    • If it is, disable the feature.

Use Brave as you would normally. If you do not encounter the issue anymore after several days of usage, you have likely fixed it.

I do not know if the problem is caused by specific Secure DNS providers, or if it does not matter which provider you select. Disabling Secure DNS in Brave fixed the issue on my end.

Bonus tip: you may also want to consider disabling Brave’s fingerprinting protection on affected sites, just to see if it resolves the issue. I read user reports on the Internet that claimed that disabling it helped them.

What about you? Have you run into similar problems in the past?

Enable Device Bound Session Credentials in Google Chrome

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google is working on removing support for third-party cookies in Google Chrome. Cookies continue to be of use, for instance to save preference or as session cookies.

In an effort to make cookies more resilient to attacks, especially stealing, Google started to integrate Device Bound Session Credentials into Chromium.

The main idea here is to bind cookies to a specific device so that attackers who steal it cannot use them.

One of the main threats of cookie stealing is that malware actors may access accounts online without authentication.

Google explains how the feature works:

By binding authentication sessions to the device, DBSC aims to disrupt the cookie theft industry since exfiltrating these cookies will no longer have any value. We think this will substantially reduce the success rate of cookie theft malware. Attackers would be forced to act locally on the device, which makes on-device detection and cleanup more effective, both for anti-virus software as well as for enterprise managed devices.

Note: the feature is still in a prototype stage in Chrome. Google said in April 2024 that it is experimenting with protecting Google accounts in Chrome Beta currently.

How to enable Device Bound Session Credentials in Chrome

Chrome Device Bound Session Credentials

Google Chrome users may enable the feature in their browser already. It is an experimental feature at this stage, which means that it needs to be enabled separately.

Device Bound Session Credentials

Enables Google session credentials binding to cryptographic keys that are practically impossible to extract from the user device. This will mostly prevent the usage of bound credentials outside of the user device. – Mac, Windows, Linux

Here is how that is done:

  1. Load chrome://flags/#enable-bound-session-credentials in the browser’s address bar.
  2. Change the status of the flag to enabled.
  3. Restart Google Chrome.

The security feature is enabled automatically at this point. You can revert the change at any time by changing the status to Default.

Adobe Acrobat

Disable Make Adobe Acrobat your default PDF app on Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you have installed Adobe Acrobat on Windows devices, you may receive regular notifications to make it the default PDF viewer on the system. This happens only if Adobe Acrobat is not set as the default PDF application on Windows.

Microsoft Edge is the default PDF viewer by default on Windows systems.

Tip: you can disable Rewrite with Copilot in Microsoft Edge to remove that annoying popup.

The notification reads: “Make Adobe Acrobat your default PDF app. Easily view, comment on PDFs, and more when you select Adobe Acrobat as your default viewer for PDF files.”.

Make Adobe Acrobat your default PDF app

Adobe’s support website has a support page about the prompt, or better, disabling the prompt. Problem is, it explains how this is done for an older version of the notification and only when launching Adobe Acrobat.

The actual Adobe Acrobat prompt has three main controls:

  • Set as default — which starts the process of making Adobe Acrobat the default PDF viewer on the Windows system.
  • The x-icon — which closes the notification.
  • The three-dots-icon — to turn off all notifications for Adobe Acrobat or open the notifications settings of the operating system.

How to disable the Adobe Acrobat prompt

Apart from making Acrobat the default PDF viewer, your best option is to activate the three-dots icon and select turn off all notifications for Adobe Acrobat.

Turn of all notifications for Adobe Acrobat

Note that Adobe suggests a different solution on the support page. The main difference is that Adobe’s provides a solution for the message when Adobe Acrobat is started, and not for the Windows notification.

Still, if you want to disable it as well, you may do so in the Windows Registry:

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Type regedit.exe and select Registry Editor.
  3. Confirm the UAC prompt that is shown.
  4. Go to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\AVAlert\cCheckbox.
  5. Double-click on iAppDoNotTakePDFOwnershipAtLaunchWin10.
  6. Set its value to 1.

Note: if iAppDoNotTakePDFOwnershipAtLaunchWin10 does not exist, right-click on cCheckbox and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value. Name it accordingly and set its value to 1.

Closing Words

You could also remove Adobe Acrobat, if you do not need it. On most systems, it is installed for a purpose though.

Microsoft Edge

How to disable Rewrite with Copilot in Microsoft Edge

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When you type in Microsoft Edge, chance is that you may get a Rewrite with Copilot option displayed at times. This option is part of the browser’s writing assistance feature, which is powered by AI.

In essence, it adds Copilot’s creative writing capabilities to text fields in Edge. It works by selecting text in a text field and activating the Rewrite with Copilot option that pops up.

Rewrite with Copilot in Edge

You may also press the shortcut Alt-I after selecting text in Edge to launch Copilot. Edge loads a small Copilot window to display a new version of the selected text.

Rewritten text

Note the scrollbar on the right. Depending on the height of the popup window, controls may not be displayed above the fold. You find options to change the tone, format, or length of Copilot’s creation there.

A click or tap on the replace button replaces the selected text with the newly created one.

An active Internet connection is required for the functionality, as the selected text is transmitted to Microsoft servers for processing.

Some Edge users may find this useful, others may have no use for it. Good news is that it can be turned off, if it is not something that you may want to use.

Here is how that is done.

Disable Rewrite with Copilot in Edge

Microsoft Edge disable writing assistance
  1. Select Menu > Settings, or load edge://settings/ in the address bar directly.
  2. Switch to the Languages submenu.
  3. Scroll down to Writing Assistance and toggle Use Compose (AI-writing) on the web to off.

The change takes effect immediately. A restart of Microsoft Edge is not required. You can restore the feature by setting the preference to on again.

Closing Words

Rewriting can be a useful feature. It is unclear how many Internet users already use AI to modify or even create texts. Clearly, there is the possibility that the feature is misused. In fact, AI is already used by spammers to create websites and fill these with textual content.

Edge users who do not need the rewriting option can turn it off in the preferences of the browser. The same feature is also accessible directly in Copilot. Many AI tools support rewriting text nowadays, including Google Gemini, DeepL, and Claude AI.

Microsoft introduced a range of features in Edge recently. From Search Suggestions in Edge’s titlebar to an upcoming RAM limiter feature.

Have you tried Edge recently?