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How to add scroll buttons to Chrome’s tab bar

Posted on February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Google Chrome has a hidden setting to enable scrolling on the tab bar. This guide explains how to enable the feature in the browser.

When you open a lot of tabs in Chrome, you will come to a point where no tab gets added to the tab bar anymore. This is only a visual limitation of the browser. Tabs continue to get launched, but you cannot reach them from the tab bar.

The reason for that is that Chrome lacks tab scrolling options by default. While there are other ways to access invisible tabs, for instance by using Chrome’s Search tabs feature, it is far from ideal.

You may launch Search tabs with a click or tap on its icon in the tab bar. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-A launches it as well.

Another option that you have is to use tab groups, as you may collapse them on the tab bar. Google added the option to save tab groups recently to Chrome.

Tab Scrolling in Google Chrome

Tab Scrolling in Chrome — Tab Scroll buttons in Google Chrome

The screenshot of Google Chrome’s interface shows tab scroll buttons. The left and right buttons scroll the tab bar in the selected direction. This is useful when the open tabs do not fit on Chrome’s tab bar.

How to show tab scroll buttons in Chrome

Here is how you enable Tab Scrolling in Chrome:

Load chrome://flags/#scrollable-tabstrip in the Google Chrome address bar.
Set the status of the feature to Enabled.
Restart Google Chrome.

Note that Chrome displays scroll buttons only if too many tabs are open. The feature comes with configuration options. Tab scrolling does not change the minimum size of tabs in Chrome by default.

You may alter that as well by changing the status of Tab Scrolling.

The available customization options change the minimum size of tabs in Google Chrome. The following states are supported:

Tabs shrink to pinned tab width.
Tabs shrink to a medium width.
Tabs shrink to a large width.
Tabs don’t shrink.

The default state reduces the size of tabs to the pinned tab width. This is the smallest option. You may change that to medium, large, or no shrinking. Fewer tabs are shown then in the tab bar as a consequence.

Here is a screenshot of the medium width setting:

Other customization options

Chrome includes several customization options to further personalize the experience. The first option adds permanent scrolling buttons to Chrome’s interface, even if all tabs are shown on the tab bar.

The second enables drag scrolling. This does not require tab buttons to show on the tab bar, and may be an option for some users.

Chrome Tab Scrolling customization options

Here is how you enable and configure the options. First, the permanent scroll buttons.

Load chrome://flags/#scrollable-tabstrip in the address bar of the browser.
Set the feature to one of the following states:
- Enabled — the default state.
- Enabled to the right of the tab strip — places the scroll buttons on the right side.
- Enabled to the left of the tab strip — places the scroll buttons on the left side.
- Enabled on both sides of the tab strip — places them on the left and on the right side.

This setting places a set of buttons or two sets of buttons to scroll tabs on Chrome’s tab bar.

Now tab scrolling.

Load chrome://flags/#tab-scrolling-button-position in the Chrome address bar.
Set the feature to one of the following states:
- Enabled — the default state.
- Enabled tabs scrolling with constant speed.
- Enabled tabs scrolling with variable speed region.
Restart Google Chrome.

This feature enables tab scrolling using drag operations. The default option scrolls tabs at a constant speed, the other accelerates based on how far to the right you drag the selected tab.

Closing Words

Tab scrolling is an experimental feature of the Chrome browser. This means, that it could be removed at one point by Google. The feature has been available for years, however, and it seems unlikely that it is going to be removed any time soon.

Now You: how many tabs have you open in your browser?

How to save Tab Groups in Google Chrome

Posted on February 25, 2024February 25, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

The ability to create tab groups is a powerful feature that most browsers support. It allows you to group tabs together, which improves management of tabs significantly.

Tab groups can be collapsed to reduce them to a single icon on the tab bar. Excellent if you need space on the tab bar for other tabs.

Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers support tab groups, but most did not support the saving of groups. Note that saving is different from syncing.

Saving in this context means adding all sites of a tab group to the browser’s bookmarks. Bookmarks are stored locally by default, but if sync is enabled, are synced with other data to other devices.

Note: you may see the save group option in many Chromium-based browsers, not just Google Chrome. The functionality is identical.

Saving tab groups in Google Chrome

You need at least one tab group in Chrome to use the save feature. All that is required is to right-click on the tab group label and select “Save group” from the options.

Chrome adds a new icon to the label to indicate that the group has been saved. The group is saved to the bookmarks bar. One easy way to verify this is by selecting Menu > Bookmarks and lists > Show Bookmarks Bar. You may also use Ctrl-Shift-B to show or hide it.

There is one caveat. The saving option synchronizes data between the tab group and the bookmarks bar. Any change you make to the group in Chrome is automatically synced to the bookmarks folder. If you close the entire tab group, it is deleted from the bookmarks bar.

To go around this, Google has added the option to hide and show tab groups. Hiding removes the tab group from Chrome’s tab bar without deleting the saved bookmark information.

You may then launch the saved tab group again with a click on its listing in the bookmarks bar. It remains saved there when you do so.

Closing Words

The Save Group option syncs all open tabs of a group to the bookmarks bar. This is useful in conjunction with the hide group option, as it allows you to launch tab groups only when they are needed and hide them the rest of the time.

The save option is not a backup feature, on the other hand. Since it syncs all changes, tabs are removed permanently if you close them.

How to download age-restricted YouTube videos without account

Posted on February 21, 2024February 21, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube publishers and YouTube may use age restrictions to limit a video’s accessibility on the website. Users get a “sign in to confirm your age” message when they try to open such a video on YouTube.

The most recent Xbox Developer Direct video is age restricted.

Age-restricted content does not violate YouTube’s community guidelines, but it may be “incompatible with YouTube’s terms of service or not appropriate for viewers under 18” according to Google.

Google gives a few examples of types of videos that may be age-restricted. This includes videos with violent or graphic content, nudity or sexually suggesting content, vulgar language, or videos with harmful or dangerous activities.

If you are an adult and have a Google account, you may sign-in to watch the video on YouTube. Not everyone has a Google account on the other hand or wants to sign-in to watch certain videos.

You find a tutorial on bypassing YouTube’s sign in to confirm your age prompt to watch the video in a browser. Another option that is available is to download the age restricted video to the local system to watch it in a local player instead.

Problem is, most download options do not work without a YouTube account. If you search for options to download YouTube videos that are age restricted, you find most tutorials still require that you sign-in to an account.

In this guide, I show you one option to download these YouTube videos. Note that this method is also limited, but it does not require an account.

Disclaimer: there are numerous ways to bypass YouTube’s age restricted prompt. Children should not use any of the methods to bypass them. With that said, the prompt won’t keep anyone from watching videos as it is not checking the “real age” of users accessing the content.

Download age-restricted YouTube videos without account

I tried several YouTube video downloaders and most do not support the downloading of age restricted content without YouTube or Google account.

Any Video Converter Free is the exception. It can download these videos, and any other video, from YouTube.

Note: the free version has one limitation. It limits downloads to a maximum quality of 720p. A paid version is available that lifts the restriction.

Here are the steps required to download these videos from YouTube:

Install Any Video Converter Free on your Windows PC.
Run the program after installation.
Select Video Download on the startpage.
Paste the video URL into the field that opens. You may add multiple videos.
Click on the analyse button.
Click on Start to being the download of the video. You may modify output settings here, but the best video quality that is available in the free version is already selected.

You may now play the downloaded video in any compatible video player.

One effect of the downloading is that you do not have to worry about ads on YouTube.

How to remove an entire site from your browser’s history

Posted on February 19, 2024February 19, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

This guide explains how to remove all history entries of a specific websites from the browser’s Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox. It should work in most other browsers as well.

All web browsers record the websites that you visit while using them. The browsing history serves two main purposes: to highlight previously visited sites when you type in the address bar, and as a record for the user to look up previously visited sites.

Sometimes, you may want to remove sites from the browsing history. Maybe because you do not need a record of the site anymore or want it to disappear completely from the browsing history.

All desktop browsers include functionality to do that. Problem is, it is not clear exactly how it is done. Opening the browsing history displays all visited sites, but there is no option to remove a specific site from the browsing history.

Clearing the entire history works, but it results in a loss of all records.

Delete a site from Google Chrome’s history (and other Chromium-based browsers)

Remove site from browsing history in Chrome

The general method of removing a site’s records from the Chrome browsing history works also in all other Chromium-based browsers. It works in Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, and all other desktop versions of these browsers.

Here are the required steps:

Select Menu and then History > History in the browser. You may also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-H to open the history, or load chrome://history/ directly.
Use the search history field at the top to find all entries of the website that you want to delete. The best option is to type its domain name, e.g., chipp.in.
Scroll all the way down to the end. Chrome lists only some of the entries by default. You may also repeat the operation multiple times if there are too many records.
Now check the box of the last entry on the page.
Scroll all the way to the top.
Hold down the Shift-key and click the box of the first history entry. All entries are now checked.
Select the Delete option.
Confirm the deletion.

Here is how this looks in other Chromium-based browsers:

The process should work in all Chromium-based browsers. Most redirect chrome://history to “their” internal page protocol, e.g., vivaldi://history or edge://history/all.

How to clear a site from Firefox’s browsing history

Mozilla’s Firefox web browser supports a similar feature. It works differently, as it is not based on Chromium.

Here are the steps in Firefox:

Select Menu > History > Manage History.
Use the search field to find all records of the website.
Switch from the “Today” filter to “History” to see all records of that site.
Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-A to select all entries.
Right-click on the selection and select “Delete pages”. Note that there is no confirmation.

What about other records?

Deleting a site from the browsing history removes records of visits only from this database. Other databases may still store information about the site. There is the downloads history, which may have records if you downloaded files from the site.

Sites may also place content on the computer, e.g., as cookies or site data. These do not get cleared when you delete the browsing history.

How to delete other site records in Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers

It is relatively easy to delete site data and cookies in Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers.

Select Menu > Settings in the web browser.
Open Privacy and Security.
Select Site settings on the page that opens.
Click on “View permissions and data stored across sites”.
Use the search at the top to find a site.
Click on the trashcan icon next to it to remove it.
Confirm the operation with a click on the delete button.

Note: this removes offline data and logs you out of the site.

Do the following to remove the downloads history in the browser:

Load chrome://downloads/ in the browser’s address bar.
Use the search at the top to find all records of a site.
Activate the x-icon next to each to remove the records.

Deleting site records in Mozilla Firefox

You may also remove cookies and site data records in Mozilla Firefox.

Load about:preferences#privacy in the Firefox address bar. This opens the Privacy preferences.
Scroll down to the Cookies and Site Data section.
Activate the “Manage Data…” button there,
Use the search field at the top to find a specific website.
Click “remove all shown”. Firefox deletes the entry immediately without confirmation.

Here are the steps to clear all downloads from a specific site:

Select Menu > Downloads or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-J to open the Downloads interface.
Use the search at the top to find downloads from a specific site.
Use Ctlr-A to select all downloads.
Press the Delete key to remove all entries from Firefox’s history.

How to zoom in on any video in Windows

Posted on February 17, 2024February 19, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Windows users have several options when it comes to zooming in on any video. This guide lists two of the best options to zoom videos on Windows. The first works for any local video file, the second for any video that you play on Windows.

Zoom is a useful feature to enlarge an entire video or part of it. It is ideal for looking closer at details in a video among other things.

It may come as a surprise, but many video players do not support zoom at all, or only in a way that is not very useful.

The new Media Player in Windows does not support zoom. The classic Media Player does, but it is only a matter of time before it gets removed. Popular apps like VLC Media Player support zoom functionality, but it too is lacking.

There is one video player on the other hand, that supports zoom in a user friendly way. All you have to do is hold down a key to draw a rectangle around the area that you want to zoom in. Or, and that is another option, you may tap on a key on the keyboard to zoom in or out at any time. Very convenient.

Zoom in on any video using PotPlayer

PotPlayer is a free media player for Windows. You can download it from the developer website or the Microsoft Store.

The media player is powerful; it offers lots of features and options. While that is great, it may also discourage some users.

PotPlayer supports major video formats out of the box. Just install the app on your device and make it the default media player to get started.

Videos play in windowed mode by default, but you may change that if you want. You can use zoom in and out functionality right away by pressing 9 or 1 on the numerical keypad.

A tap on 9 zooms in on the entire video. You may press 5 at any time to reset the zoom level.

To get the rectangle zoom option, do the following:

Select PotPlayer in the top left corner and then Preferences from the menu. You may also press F5 directly to open the options.
Switch to the Mouse tab in the Preferences.
Check “Activate Alt, Ctrl, Shift + Mouse Drag to Pan, Zoom and Stretch the image”.
Select OK to complete the process.

Once done, hold down one of the modifier keys, e.g., Ctrl, before drawing a rectangle on the video to zoom in that specific area.

You may then hold down the Ctrl-key while using the Numpad keys 2,4,6, and 8 to move around on the screen. Note that the zoom level is extreme, and that you may get better results using the Numpad to zoom in on a video.

Using the built-in Magnifier tool to zoom in on videos

Magnifier is a built-in accessibility tool that you may run with the keyboard shortcut Windows-+ (Windows-key and Plus-key). It opens the Magnifier interface, which you may use to change the zoom level and make some other changes.

You may want to open Start > Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier first to customize the zoom level. It defaults to 100% steps, which may be a bit much. You may change the steps on the page and make some other adjustments as you see fit.

Note: To exit Magnifier in Windows, press the Windows-key and the Esc-key at the same time,

Magnifier zooms in anywhere on the screen. This makes it a good tool for zooming in on videos. Just play a video in a browser or locally, and use Magnifier to zoom in or out while the video plays or is paused.

Now You: do you use zoom functionality on your systems?

How to remove YouTube Shorts permanently

Posted on January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube Shorts is an integral part of YouTube and very similar to videos on TikTok. Not every YouTube user likes the short video format and some may find it outright annoying.

There are several ways to remove the entire Shorts section and all Shorts videos from YouTube. Removing in this regard refers to hiding YouTube Shorts on the website. There are also tweaks for removing YouTube Shorts on mobile devices.

You have several options to remove YouTube Shorts:

Add a set of filters to content blockers.
Use a third-party YouTube frontend instead of the official website or app.
Install another browser extension that hides Shorts.

Using filters to disable Shorts on YouTube

One of the better options at your disposal is to add a set of filters to a content blocker. Most Internet users do not use content blockers. Designed primarily to block ads and prevent tracking, many content blockers support options to hide elements on websites.

Did you know that you may bypass ads on YouTube without an adblocker?

Probably the best content blocker extension right now is uBlock Origin (Chromium-based or Firefox). You may add the filters to other content blockers, provided that they support filters. Please note that you should never run multiple content blockers at the same time, as this may lead to all sorts of issues.

The filter list that you need to add to uBlock Origin is maintained on the Let’s Block It website. Your best option is to visit the linked webpage and click on the copy option to copy the entire list to the Clipboard.

Note: the list is updated when YouTube makes changes to Shorts. This is the reason why it is not pasted here.

Open the Dashboard of uBlock Origin to add the filters. Note that the icon may be hidden under an extension icon in the browser’s toolbar.

Switch to My Filters in the Dashboard. Here you find all custom filters added to the content blocker.

Paste the entire content of the Clipboard into the field. The instructions remove Shorts entirely from YouTube.

Complete the process with a click on the “apply changes” button at the top.

Visit YouTube, you may need to reload the website if already open, to test the filters. All Shorts content should no longer be visible on YouTube thanks to the filters.

Third-party YouTube frontends

Another option is to use frontends for YouTube. Good news is that these are available on desktop and mobile devices.

Frontends offer most of YouTube’s experience. You may watch any video posted on YouTube. Additional features, such as the option to download YouTube videos, may also be supported.

Here is a list of recommendations:

Invidious — A frontend for YouTube that is used by websites and also apps. There is no Shorts section on Invidious. Since it is web-based, you may access it from any device with a web browser.
NewPipe — NewPipe is an application for Android. It is updated regularly and supports a wide range of features. Besides watching videos in up to 4K, it also supports live streams, shorts, downloads and more. One of its features is the option to hide content that you are not interested in. You may use hide Shorts in NewPipe.

Using browser extensions

If you prefer to use standalone extensions, you may check out the Hide YouTube Shorts extension. This extension is available for Google Chrome, Firefox and other Chromium-based browsers.

Note that most Chromium-based browsers support extensions only on desktop and not on mobile.

Download the extension for Chrome / Chromium or Firefox, and you are all set. It removes YouTube Shorts automatically once installed.

Closing Words

You either like or dislike Shorts, there seems to be no middle ground in regards to the feature. While there is no native option to disable Shorts on YouTube, there are plenty of options to remove the content from the video hosting site.

How to make files unrecoverable on decommissioned hard drives

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

Hard drives may become obsolete from time to time. Maybe your are switching to a new PC or replaced a hard drive with a new one. You may also sell a PC or laptop, or hand it over to someone else.

Data on hard drives may be recoverable, even if you format the hard drive. Windows suggests quick format by default. While that is super speedy, it also leaves the files untouched on the hard drive. Anyone with the right tools may recover the files. Files may contain sensitive information. They may range from personal photos and videos to bank account statements, emails, receipts, letters or your browsing history.

You may want to protect the files in most cases. The best option is to never give away hard drives or other storage devices. This may not be viable in many cases, though.

A full format may work in some cases, but there is an even better option. One that ensures that data can’t be recovered, even with professional tools.

This solution relies on encryption.

The process

The main idea is to encrypt the entire hard drive to protect all data. You’d then run a second full encrypt on the drive afterwards to prevent brute force attacks.

Here is what you need:

VeraCrypt, an open source encryption software.

You may also use other encryption tools if you prefer those. Note that the following steps apply to any drive that is not the system drive (the drive with the operating system).

Make sure the hard drive is connected to the PC. Here are the required steps:

Start VeraCrypt.
Select Volumes > Create New Volume from the menu at the top.
Pick Encrypt a non-system partition/drive and select Next.
Confirm the UAC prompt on Windows.
Keep “Standard VeraCrypt volume” selected and activate the Next button again.
Activate “select device” and pick the drive that you want to erase all data on and protect. Select Next afterwards.
Keep “Create encrypted volume and format it” and select Next on the next screen,
Pick an algorithm, any will do, and select Next. Tip: you may run a quick benchmark to find out which runs well on the device.
Select Next on the Volume Size screen.
Type a secure password. You don’t have to remember it. Use copy and paste if you like.
Check the “use PIM” option to add even better protection.
Select the Next button.
Type a PIM. The default value is 485. Selecting any other number makes recovery attempts difficult. Select Next to continue.
If the PIM is larger, confirm the message with OK.
Move the mouse around in the window to create randomness. Select Next once the status is green.
Confirm that all data on the selected drive will be erased with a click on the Yes button.
Wait for the process to finish.

Note that full formats may take a while to complete. It depends largely on the speed of the drive. The following screenshot was taken from a full format of an external hard drive.

Now repeat the entire process. You can change the format type from Full Format to Quick Format under Volume Format to speed up the process.

Protecting data on an entire PC / laptop

The process is somewhat different if you plan to sell or hand over an entire PC. This requires a system encryption, which VeraCrypt supports.

The process is nearly identical. Here are the main differences:

Select System > Encrypt System Partition / Drive in VeraCrypt.
The process of encrypting the system drive is identical, with one notable exception:
- VeraCrypt wants to run a test to make sure that the operating system boots fine after the drive has been encrypted.
Once you have encrypted the system partition with a strong password and PIM, initiate a reset of the system if you use Windows.
- In Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC > Reset PC.
- Follow the instructions. Make sure you select to keep no files or other data.

Resetting is important, as it ensures that Windows can be booted. That is all to the process.

Quickest Way to upgrade to Windows 11 version 23H2

Posted on November 1, 2023November 1, 2023 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

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 October 31, 2023October 31, 2023 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

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:

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

The following program window opens.

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?

How to bypass YouTube video ads without adblockers

Posted on October 28, 2023November 8, 2023 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:

LibreTube for Android
SkyTube for Android.
Yattee for iOS, macOS and tvOS.

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.