Crapfixer for Windows review

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Crapfixer is the latest open source Windows tweaker by serial developer Belim. He calls it “the tool Microsoft would build, if they hated bloatware as much as we do”. I have reviewed several of his tools in the past, including the tweaker TidyOS, the app remover NoBloatBox and the tweaker ThisIsNot11.

The main idea behind Crapfixer is to create a simple tool that gives users control over popular tweaks. These tweaks improve privacy, remove features, or even applications that come preinstalled with the operating system.

With Crapfixer, it is as easy as it gets. Run the program with elevated rights after you have downloaded its 150 kilobyte executable. Windows may throw a SmartScreen warning, which is displayed because the app is new and relatively unknown, not because it is malicious.

The app displays all available tweaks in a sidebar on the left. Hit the analyze button to check if tweaks are already applied. You can uncheck some of the tweaks so that they are not checked by the tool.

Recommended tweaks are marked in red and you may apply them all at once with a click on the CFixer button. It is recommended that you check them first to avoid that a feature is changed or removed that you require.

As far as tweaks are concerned, you find the usual assortment of tweaks supported by the application. From disabling the “First run experience” over “showing full context menus in Windows 11” to disabling Power Throttling and Game DVR.

While the tweaker does not support as many tweaks as WinAero Tweaker, which many consider the richest when it comes to tweaking Windows, it does support major tweaks that you come to expect from an app of its kind. Even new AI tweaks, such as turning off Recall in Windows 11, are supported.

The application is easy to use and the description displayed for each tweak is sufficient in most cases. You can press F1 after selecting a tweak, or right-click and select Help, to display more information. This is usually just a sentence though and may not be enough sometimes to determine its use or usefulness.

CrapFixer features a restore button, which restores functionality. All in all, it is a good tweaker for Windows, but not that special when compared to Belim’s other tools or popular tweakers by other developers. If you have not used a tweaker yet, this could be it. Anyone else may not find much use anymore in that tool.

Malicious Captchas are on the rise

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Captchas can be quite annoying, especially if your input is not accepted or if they do not work at all. You may now add malicious captchas to the list of annoyances.

Proton Mail published one example on X recently.

The malicious captcha tries to convince unsuspecting users to run a command on their Windows machines.

Here is how it works:

  1. The victim lands on a page with the fake captcha, for instance after clicking on a link in an email or chat.
  2. The captcha displays the usual “I’m not a robot” button.
  3. A click or tap on the button copies a PowerShell command to the operating system’s clipboard.
  4. Victim is instructed to use the shortcut Windows-R to open a run box.
  5. Asked to use Ctrl-V to paste the command and to press Enter to execute it.

Doing so downloads malware from a server on the Internet and runs it on the user’s system. This can be infostealers, malicious software that steals personal information, such as logins, financial documents, or photos.

While most, or even all, experienced users may never fall for that, it is almost a given that inexperienced users may. They may have difficulties getting the run box to open or paste the command, but they probably do not suspect foul play.

How to protect yourself

Protection is quite easy.

No legitimate captcha will ever ask you to execute a command on a local system, or to download a file and run it.

That is pretty much all that you need to protect yourself and your data against this type of attack.

Clearly, you may also want to ask yourself whether you trust the site you are on. Even if you conclude that you do, you should not run anything on the local computer when prompted to do so by a captcha.

Now You: how do you handle captchas on the Internet?

Expect more ads in AI chats soon, courtesy of Google

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

How do many of the AI startups make money? Many have launched products that are freely available and without ads. There are multiple answers to the question, depending on the business’ strategy. Some want growth at all costs to sell the business later on. Others plan to introduce ads or subscriptions at a later point in time.

Soon, users from all over the world will see more ads in chats with AIs, as Google is expanding its Adsense program to chats.

Bloomberg reports that Google is expanding Adsense to keep its edge in the advertising vertical. Tests with select startups such as iAsk and Liner have begun already reportedly.

New types of AI-powered services spring up virtually everywhere on the Internet. Liner, for example, is an AI-powered search engine, while iAsk promises answers to questions that users may have.

Most services have in common that they are not page-based websites. Blogs or regular websites publish static pages most of the time, whereas interactions with AI are usually dynamic.

While companies may display Adsense on the pages, they were not particularly optimized for the queries of users. This changes with the rollout of the new Adsense format.

Integration means that ads may show up in chats. Where and how depends on the AI service, but users should expect to see an increase in advertisement, especially on AI sites that are not operated by billion Dollar companies.

Good news is that content blockers should be able to deal with those ads, just like they are regarding ads in search or on websites.

Now You: do you use AI services regularly? If so, for what purpose and what do you like or dislike in particular when you compare the AI service to other means of acquiring the information?

Waterfox Private Search engine

Waterfox Private Search: a first look at the privacy-friendly search engine

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The developer of the Waterfox web browser announce Waterfox Private Search earlier this week. The new search engine is in open beta currently, which means that you can give it a try if you want to.

Waterfox Private Search pulls data from other search engines privately, unlike Brave Search, which uses its own engine for search results.

Here are the details:

  • Waterfox Private Search is a meta-search engine. Means, it will support several search engines and not just one. During the beta, results come only from Google Search though.
  • A proxy is used for communication with the supported search engines. Means, the search engines won’t see your IP address or other information.
  • The search engine won’t feature any AI content, e.g., AI summaries.
  • There will be two tiers in the long run.
    • An ad-supported tier, that shows “privacy-friendly advertisement” that won’t track users or create user profiles. These will be contextual ads based on the search.
    • A subscription-based tier that removes all advertisement.

You can point your browser to Waterfox Search to give it a go.

The search engine works as expected. You type in a query and get results. These come from Google, but it is refreshing to see that the main focus is on the search results and not added content. While you do get some, such as a “People Also Ask” module, the main focus is clearly on returning web links to the user.

A click on the options menu displays just a few. You can change the location there to get results from a different region and use the domain blocklist to exclude certain websites from the results.

You may also switch search engines, with Bing, Brave, and Mojeek listed, but not yet selectable.

A click on the themes icon in the main interface displays a good dozen or so themes that you can switch between. There should be something for everyone, from very light to dark, colorful and even cyberpunk.

As far as search options are concerned, there are just a few available as menus. A click on the settings icon shows an option to disable autocorrect and to set a specific time period for the search.

You may also switch from web search results to images, videos or news. Other options, including shopping or books are not available.

The loading of search results takes a bit longer, but not too long to be unpleasant. It remains to be seen if the loading time will change when traffic increases.

Initial verdict: Based on a preliminary test, Waterfox Private Search is a refreshingly focused search engine. I did not spot any ads during my tests, but these will come in the future. Privacy-friendly ads are not anything new, but they are more than welcome and if they are implemented in an unobtrusive way, likely not a problem for the majority of Private Search users.

There is certainly the question of sustainability. Ads play a key role here and so does the subscription-based tier. This only works if enough users sign up or see ads when they use the search engine.

Now You: which search engine is your favorite currently and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below to join the discussion.

How to enable Compact Mode in Firefox

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla’s Firefox web browser supports two display densities by default. These determine the size of the toolbar and the elements that are displayed on it.

The two options are normal and touch. Normal is the default value, unless Firefox is used on a touch display.

Firefox supported a third for a very long time officially. Called compact, it reduced the size of the main toolbar to free up room for the display of websites in the browser.

While the mode is not shown anymore by default to users of the web browser, it is still available, albeit officially as “not supported”.

Still, if you are like me, you prefer your browser’s interface as tidy as possible to give website content more room.

Here is a step-by-step guide to enabling compact mode in the Firefox web browser.

Note: This works only in Firefox for the desktop. Also, since the feature is not supported officially, there is a theoretical chance that Mozilla is going to remove it at one time. The interface would revert to the default density in that case though.

Enable Compact Mode in Mozilla Firefox

Firefox Compact Mode

The first step enables the Compact Mode option in the interface, the second sets the interface to the mode.

  1. Load about:config in the address bar.
  2. Confirm the warning page to continue.
  3. Search for browser.compactmode.show.
  4. Click on the toggle icon to set the value of the preference to true.
  5. Select Menu > More Tools > Customize Toolbar.
  6. Locate the “Density” menu at the bottom and click on it to display its options.
  7. Choose “Compact (not supported)” from the available options.

Firefox changes the density of the toolbar and its elements immediately. The toolbar’s height should be a bit smaller than the height of the normal or touch toolbar.

Note that you may undo the change at any time starting at 5) above and switching to Normal or Touch under 7).

Now You: What is your preferred display mode? Smaller, with more space for websites and content, or larger?

About Alphonso: a technology that captures audio samples on mobile devices using the built-in microphone

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

For advertisers, it may seem like the perfect fit. Integrate a technology into mobile apps, games for the most part, that identifies ads playing on television to push similar ads on mobile, even if the mobile is not used actively.

News about such a system comes just days after LG announced the integration of AI into its televisions to determine the emotions and beliefs of viewers.

The startup Alphonso has apparently created the technology and it is already being used in hundreds of apps and games, some of which are available on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

It works by capturing audio samples using the device’s microphone. These are turned into hashes on the user’s device before they are submitted to a remote server. The hashes are checked against a database of hashes of television ad sound samples to find matches.

A report by The New York Times — you need an account to read it, or archive.is — has additional details.

  • Sound can be recorded even if the mobile phone is in a pocket or if the apps are running in the background.
  • Some of the apps are clearly aimed at children (Alphonso told the NYT that it did not approve of that).

Alphonso told the New York Times that the entire process is highlighted in the application’s description and in the privacy policy. Users need to accept these before the technology can start recording anything.

While technically correct, it is clear that many users do not read the description or privacy policy before hitting the install button in the mobile app stores.

The only way to prevent giving your okay to the recording of audio is to read the description and privacy policy carefully before hitting the install button. A search for Alphonoso may be the quickest option in this regard.

Report claims that Nvidia RTX 5000 video cards have a thermal design flaw

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When Nvidia launched the initial batch of RTX 5000 video cards, it received praise for their performance but also complaints about the price. Reports from buyers appeared on various sites shortly thereafter claiming that the cards were getting incredibly hot.

An analysis by Igor’s Lab, a German site focusing on hardware tests, suggests that the excess heat does not come from the graphics processing unit itself but from local hotspots located on the back of the circuit board.

Here are the details:

  • Especially Nvidia RTX 5080, 5070 (Ti) and 5060 Ti appear to be affected.
  • Cards from Nvidia partners, such as MSI, Palit, or PNY are affected, but also cards from smaller manufacturers.
  • Temperatures may rise to 107 degree Celsius in hotspot areas.

The reviewer analyzed the design of the circuit and concluded that it is technically correct and functional. However, “the voltage converters, the vias between the VRM stages and the GPU pads as well as the current-carrying tracks in the circuit board are subject to considerable power losses at certain points, which can lead to temperatures without appropriate heat dissipation that have a lasting negative effect on material integrity and ageing behavior”.

Affected Nvidia cards share a similar layout, which suggests that the issue is not caused by manufacturing defects but by design according to the reviewer. Specifically, a “lack of coordination between the PCB and the cooler design”.

Quick modifications of affected cards resulted in a significant mitigation of hotspots through the installation of “additional thermal head solutions on the back using thermal pads or thermal putty”.

The analysis is well worth a read. If you do not speak German, you may use a translation service to translate the article into another language.

Yahoo is working on a web browser and eying a Chrome acquisition

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Yahoo, once an Internet powerhouse, is only a shadow of its former self. This is not keeping company officials from working on new products and services to restore some of the former glory of the company.

Yahoo, apparently has been working on a browser prototype for the past couple of months and expressed interest in acquiring Google Chrome in a “from zero to hero” type of scenario.

The information was revealed on the fourth day of Google’s antitrust trial. Yahoo is not the only company that expressed interest in acquiring Chrome. The AI companies OpenAI and Perplexity have also expressed interesting in buying the world’s most popular web browser.

General manager of Yahoo Search, Brian Provost, testified before the court that about 60 percent of all search queries were made through web browsers. Chrome, the leading browser on mobile and desktop, is responsible for the bulk of these searches.

On desktop, Google Chrome has a market share of over 66 percent according to Statcounter. Since Google owns Chrome and has made Google Search the default search engine, it is fair to say that the bulk of searches that originate from browsers is flowing through Google Search. Google has also struck deals with Apple and Mozilla to make its search engine the default.

While Yahoo is prototyping a browser, it is in discussions with “other companies about buying a browser”. Provost did not reveal the names of the companies. An acquisition would speed up the entire process.

Yahoo would replace the default browser with Yahoo Search to push its own search engine to new heights. Interestingly enough, Yahoo Search is powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. It still has a market share of about three percent.

Now You: If Google is forced to sell Chrome, which company would be your favorite to buy the browser?

Windows 11 is removing an option to bypass Microsoft account and internet during setup

Windows 11, version 25H2 will (likely) install quickly

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft has released two types of feature updates in the past. Those that require just a small enablement patch for the upgrade and those that require a lengthy installation as they make fundamental changes to the underlying system.

The current feature update, Windows 11, version 24H2, belongs to the latter category. Users who have bypassed Windows 11 requirements now that these can be difficult to install, as the installation via Windows Update is blocked in this case.

Good news is that the coming feature update, Windows 11, version 25H2, will likely fall into the first category. Means, it is installed via a small enablement package.

News comes from Windows enthusiast Xeno, who discovered that the new feature update is based on the same base as version 24H2. This is a strong indicator that Windows 11, version 25H2 will install nicely and quickly on the majority of devices.

Note that this is only the case for upgrades from Windows 11, version 24H2. If you upgrade an older version of Windows, say version 23H2, then you will have to go through the lengthy installation process.

Microsoft has not announced Windows 11, version 25H2 officially, but it is certain that it will be released later this year (likely a bit earlier than last year’s feature update due to the smaller nature of it).

Anyway, that is good news for Windows users who have bypassed system requirements. While methods continue to be available to bypass the requirement checks, it is easier to not be bothered by them at all.

It is highly unlikely that Microsoft is going to release Windows 12, or whatever the next version of Windows will be called, this year. It would be the perfect time to get more Windows 10 customers to buy new PCs with the new version of Windows, but hey, what do I know.

Now You: do you have any expectations for Windows 11, version 25H2?

LG TVs may soon use AI to determine your emotions and beliefs, and display better ads

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

What would you say if your smart TV uses artificial intelligence to analyze your emotions and beliefs, put you into certain groups, to display targeted ads to you?

Ads may be based on your viewing habits, what you watch, when you watch, what you search for and so on.

What sounds like something straight out of Minority Report is actually going to be integrated into certain LG TVs. The report comes from Stream TV Insider.

According to the report, LG is teaming up with Zenapse, a “focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) and emotional intelligence to enhance marketing and customer experience (CX) optimization”.

The goal of the cooperation is to deliver ads that are more targeted by segmenting the audience with the help of AI and data. LG is integrating Zenapse’s technology into its Large Emotion Model (LEM) into its ad stack.

LEMs are created to understand “emotional and psychological drivers”. In this context, their purpose is to determine what viewers like and what resonates with them.

It is important to note that the technology analyzes the emotions of viewers indirectly, by analyzing the content that gets watched and consumption patterns.

So, if a viewer watches romantic comedies a lot, they might be more receptive to ads that play with emotions linked to romantic comedies.

But the platform goes beyond that. Ars Technica notes that viewers are categorized into very specific types, such as “social connectors”, “emotionally engaged planners”, or “goal-driven achievers”.

Companies that pay LG to display ads to viewers may tap into the data to show ads to highly specific groups of users only.

LG has not provided much details besides that. Can you turn the feature off? That is unclear. What you can do, however, is skip the connecting of the TV to the Internet. Without Internet, the TV won’t be able to do much.

Other options include using solutions such as AdGuard or DNS-based filters to weed out most of the advertisement before it lands on the TV.

What is your take on this? Are your TVs connected to the Internet? Feel free to leave a comment down below.