Firefox AdBlitz extension

Trying AdBlitz, another YouTube advertisement skipper

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

While Google is intensifying its fight against adblockers on YouTube, developers of adblocking solutions are pushing back.

A recent development introduced a new category of tools that improve the user experience on YouTube: so-called ad skippers.

Unlike adblockers, which block advertisement using filter lists or AI, ad skippers either skip ads, hence the name, or fast forward them.

This new type of extension is designed specifically for video ads.

AdBlitz

AdBlitz is a browser extension for Firefox and Chromium-based browsers such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. It is an open source extension; you can check out its source on GitHub.

One downside to using the extension currently is that it is not available in the official extension stores. While it is doubtful if it ever will make its way to the Chrome Web Store, it could one day land on Mozilla’s add-ons store.

Since it is not available there yet, it is necessary to install the extension using development options.

First Step in all browsers:

  1. Download the extension from the official website. Just click on the icon of your browser to do so.
  2. Extract the downloaded archive.

Firefox:

  1. Load about:debugging in the address bar.
  2. Switch to “This Firefox”.
  3. Select “Load Temporary Add-on”.
  4. Browse to the folder you extracted the archive to and select the manifest.json file.
  5. Confirm the installation of the extensions.

Google Chrome and other Chromium browsers:

  1. Load chrome://extensions in the browser’s address bar.
  2. Toggle Developer Mode on the page.
  3. Select “Load unpacked”.
  4. Navigate to the directory you extracted the archive to.
  5. Confirm the installation of the extension.

Using the extension on YouTube

Firefox AdBlitz extension

AdBlitz works only on YouTube at the time of writing. Depending on the browser, you may need to allow it to run on YouTube.

In Firefox, you’d click on the general extension icon in the browser’s toolbar and select the preferences icon of the installed extension. Here you select the “always allow” option while on YouTube.

The extension works automatically from that moment on. In other words:

  • Some ads are skipped entirely.
  • Other ads are fast forwarded (16x).

While the second option still shows some of the ad, it usually means that the entire ad block is done in a second or two.

The extension works with single video ads and multiple ads that YouTube plays one after the other.

Closing Words

Content blockers like uBlock Origin work well at the time of writing. Ad skippers offer an alternative that may continue to work when Google decides to play hardball.

My advice: keep on using uBlock Origin or other content blockers that work at the time of writing. These are a must-have anyway on today’s Internet.

It is a good idea to keep an eye on ad skippers and their development, just in case.

What about you? Have you tried ad skippers?

YouTube ad

Google has been testing Pause Ads on YouTube

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Do you pause videos on YouTube sometimes? Soon, the popular video hosting site may show you ads whenever you pause videos.

During Alphabet’s earning call for the first quarter of 2024, Senior Vice President at Google Philipp Schindler, revealed information about a test that Google conducted on YouTubed in the quarter.

Google tested a “new non-interruptive ad format” on connected TVs that “appears when users pause their organic content”.

So, whenever YouTube users hit pause, YouTube would show an advertisement on the screen.

Schindler said that these pause ads are “driving strong brand lift results and are commanding attention”.

Pausing videos on YouTube

Pause is an essential YouTube feature. It allows users to stop playback while keeping the video active on the screen.

Pausing differs slightly on different devices. In browsers, pause freezes the screen. On mobile and YouTube’s official app, pausing darkens the screen and displays control buttons.

The experiment showed an ad on the screen instead. Schindler did not describe pause ads in detail. A report from last year suggests that Google has been testing this type of ad format since 2023. Back then, Google showed popup banners around the video that users could hide with a click on the dismiss button.

It is unclear if the first quarter experiment used the same format.

Google’s record revenue and fight against adblockers

Google reported strong earnings for the first quarter of 2024. YouTube revenue increased by 20% in the quarter to $8.09 billion. At least part of the jump can be attributed to Google’s fight against content blockers on YouTube.

Google started to show warning prompts to users with adblockers. Not all saw these, but a sizeable number reported these prompts. While these differed, some blocked access to YouTube until users would either turn off the adblocker or subscribe to YouTube Premium.

Expect increased ads on YouTube in 2024 and beyond. As long as YouTube is the go-to destination for video, Google is going to push ads on the platform and intensifying its fight against adblockers.

Ads drive most of Google’s revenue. Make them annoying enough, and you drive subscriptions as well.

Would you use YouTube if you either had to sit through ads or pay for access?

DeepL Write Pro: AI writing assistant launches

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

DeepL Write Pro is a subscription-based AI writing assistant by DeepL, maker of the popular translation service.

The target audience is organizations and professionals. DeepL Write has been available as a free service for some time. You can feed it text to get improvement suggestions.

DeepL Write Pro takes the concept a step further. While it continues to give suggestions, these are now provided in real-time. Subscribers may also set different writing styles and tones to create results for specific audiences.

DeepL Write Pro launches with business, casual, academic, and simple writing styles, and friendly, diplomatic, confident, and enthusiastic tones.

DeepL says that Write Pro is available on the official website, desktop and mobile apps, browser extensions, and as integrations in services such as Gmail, Microsoft Outlook and Word, and many more.

Limitations: The main limitation at the time of writing is that DeepL Write Pro supports only the languages English and German. The creators promise to improve language support in the future.

DeepL promises maximum data security. Text are never stored without user consent and never used for AI training, according to the company. Organizations and businesses benefit from additional security features, including SSO-enabled logins and administrative controls.

As far as pricing is concerned, a single user DeepL Write Pro subscription is available for $10.99 per month, if paid annually. Switch that to monthly and the price jumps to $16.50 per user and month.

Closing Words

A lot of AI assisted writing helpers are coming on the market. Not all of these will be around in the coming years. DeepL Pro Write benefits from DeepL’s image as a company and its other services. The free version of DeepL Write is great for quick suggestions and it may help drive pro version signups.

These services can be useful, but this is up to the individual user or organization to decide. One question that will come up is whether they are useful enough to pay for them. Some AI writing services are free to use.

I like them, especially when writing in a foreign language. While it is still necessary to verify the output, they may help reduce spelling and grammar mistakes that you make, and also improve the tone or style of the text.

What about you? Have you tried AI writing assistants yet?

Vivaldi 6.7 launches with a massive number of improvements

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Vivaldi Technologies has released Vivaldi 6.7 for the desktop today. The new version of the web browser improves it in several ways.

Vivaldi is a highly customizable web browser that gives users a lot of options. The new version enables a memory saver feature, improved feed detections on sites like Reddit, password exporting, and more.

Note: the new Privacy Guard feature is still in testing.

How to install or update Vivaldi

Vivaldi 6.7 browser update

New users may download the latest version of the Vivaldi web browser from the official website.

Existing users may select Menu > Help > Check for updates to download and install the new version. A restart of the browser is required to complete the installation.

Memory Saver

Vivaldi 6.7 includes the Memory Saver feature. Its aim is to reduce memory usage of the browser by putting unused tabs into hibernation. The tabs remain open in Vivaldi, but the websites are unloaded.

This frees up memory, which is then available for other tasks on the system. A click on an inactive tab reloads it immediately.

Note that Memory Saver is disabled by default. Here is how you enable the feature in Vivaldi:

  1. Select Vivaldi Menu > Settings to open the preferences.
  2. Switch to the Tabs section of the Settings window.
  3. Change Memory Saver to one of the following states:
    • Automatic — this gives the browser full control over the feature.
    • After 1,2,3,6 hours idle — This puts a tab into hibernation if it was idle for the selected period.

Note that you may turn off the feature at any point by changing its state to disabled.

Tip: right-click on any tab in Vivaldi to get options to hibernate background tabs. This includes websites open in tab groups.

Better feed detection

Vivaldi includes a feed reader to read RSS feeds. The latest version of the browser improves the discoverability of feeds.

Just visit any page that supports feeds to subscribe to them. A feed icon is displayed by Vivaldi automatically. Click on it to subscribe to any of the listed feeds.

The feed discovery feature works on sites like Reddit, YouTube, or GitHub now.

If you always wanted to follow a channel or user on Reddit, or a publisher on YouTube, it is now easier in Vivaldi using the feed reader.

Other features of Vivaldi 6.7

Here is a quick rundown of other features new or improved in the browser:

  • New option to export passwords and feeds.
  • Improved creation of a workspace. Use Ctrl-click to select tabs and then right-click on them to create a new workspace (by selecting the move > Workspace option).
  • New window split view option on Mac.

You can check out the full Vivaldi 6.7 changelog on the official website.

Do you use Vivaldi? Feel free to share your thoughts on the browser in the comments below.

Stepify: gives summaries of YouTube videos

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Stepify is a new online service that uses AI to create summaries of YouTube videos. The core idea behind the service is to create step-by-step instructions of tutorial or lecture videos. While that may be the intended use, it works with other types of videos as well:

  • Top list videos: say, the top 50 music videos of the 90s, top 100 Sony PlayStation games of all time, or the top action movies of 2024.
  • Hands-on videos, such as cooking videos or repair videos.
  • News videos: get summaries of news videos. This works for financial reports and other types of reports as well.

How Stepify works

Stepify YouTube video summary

Stepify is simple to use. Just open the website of the service and paste a video URL into the field. It takes just a brief moment to get a summary of it.

The layout of the summary resembles a step-by-step guide, even if it is not one. This is not much a problem, as you can easily ignore the structure and extract the information that you want from the summary.

Several tests went surprisingly well. When tasked to create a summary of a top 25 Sega Saturn games video, Stepify did return all 25 mentioned titles.

Not only that, it also revealed why each game has been picked by the creator of the video.

Tests with other top lists and tutorial videos worked really well.

Some tests returned less useful information. When tasked to summarize financial videos, Stepify did return core information, but not all relevant information.

While that may still be okay for a first overview, considering that you get it in a matter of seconds, it is necessary to look up additional information for the full picture.

The developer explains on Hacker News that Stepify gets the transcript from an API and passes it on to GPT.

Closing Words

Stepify is an interesting service. It is free to use and works fast, even for longer videos. While it is still necessary to verify the returned information, it may help users get a quick overview of the content of videos.

It may also be useful to users who prefer text-based information over video.

Here is a theory for Google’s fight against adblockers on YouTube

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

You may have read about Google’s increased effort to block or limit adblockers on YouTube. Since adblocking is not a huge issue on mobile, Google’s fight has been mostly against desktop users.

Desktop users, be it on Windows, Linux, or Mac, have several options. They can install content blockers in their browsers to block ads. This is a common option, but far from the only one.

To name a few options:

  • Use a DNS-based adblocking solution.
  • Use a system-wide solution that blocks ads and other unwanted content, e.g., AdGuard.

Desktop and mobile users have other options at their disposal. Popular options include using YouTube frontends such as Invidious or YouTube third-party apps like NewPipe or SmartTube to watch videos without advertisement.

Google’s fight against adblockers intensifies

Google says that it is fighting the fight for content creators on YouTube. While it is true that content creators earn revenue when users watch ads on YouTube, it is also true that YouTube earns money every time as well.

This means that Google’s increased attack on adblocking serves both purposes. It does not end with it, though.

Any YouTube user who disables the adblocker on YouTube gets to see a lot of ads on the site. This can be quite the frustrating experience, especially if ads are shown in the middle of videos.

Here is a theory: Google makes ads on YouTube particularly obnoxious to sell YouTube Premium.

Clearly, YouTube Premium subscriptions offer advantages over ad-based revenue:

  • Subscription revenue is more reliable. It comes in every month, even if a customer does not watch a single second of videos on YouTube.
  • Subscription revenue is higher than the revenue that a user’s ad views generate.
  • If Google’s main advertising business is torpedoed, subscription revenue will continue.

It is in Google’s best interest therefore to sell subscriptions.

The problem with ads

While advertisement can be annoying, especially if too many ads are pushed, there are other reasons why many Internet users dislike them.

One of the main reasons is that they may be used by criminals and threat actors to attack users. Ads may try to convince users to download malware to their devices, open phishing websites, or buy junk status cryptocurrency.

Ads can be reported, but this reporting does not work too reliable. Scam ads may continue to be available even after they have been reported.

There is also the privacy component. Most ads use some form of tracking to increase the bottom line. While tracking will shift fundamentally once Google eliminates third-party cookies later this year, there will still be tracking.

What is your take on all of this? Do you use YouTube at all?

AI

AI is capable of creating exploits from public CVEs

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

AI tools are capable of writing exploits for publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities.

A team of University of Illinois researchers analyzed the capabilities of different Large Language Models in this regard. It found out that OpenAI’s GPT-4 managed to create exploit code for 87% of the tested vulnerabilities.

The figure dropped to 7% without access to the CVE description. Other AI models, including GPT-3.5, could not create any exploits based on public CVEs.

The researchers note:

When given the CVE description, GPT-4 is capable of exploiting 87% of these vulnerabilities compared to 0% for every other model we test (GPT-3.5, open-source LLMs) and open-source vulnerability scanners (ZAP and Metasploit).

The researchers did not put other large language models to test. Google Gemini or Claude 3, for example, were not part of the test.

How the tests were conducted

The researchers selected 15 day one vulnerabilities from the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database for the test. All vulnerabilities were reproduced in “highly cited academic papers” according to the research paper.

The single large language model agent that the researchers created gave the AI access to tools, the CVE description, and the ReAct agent framework. Tools included capabilities to browse the Internet and activate elements, a code interpreter, and file creation.

Then agent consisted of a total of 91 lines of code according to the researchers.

AI is improving, but there are challenges

OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model managed to create exploits for 87% of the 15 vulnerabilities. That’s a huge jump from GPT 3.5’s 0%.

The researchers have verified that — at least one — large language model is now capable of creating exploit code based on publicly available information.

While GPT-4 performed well in tests, it experienced its fair share of challenges as well. The detailed description of one vulnerability was provided in Chinese only, which the researches believe might have confused the AI, as the prompt given to it was provided in English.

The second vulnerability that GPT-4 could not crack required navigating a site using JavaScript navigation.

The researchers conclude that large language model providers and the cybersecurity community should take these capabilities into consideration, especially in regards to defensive measures.

Closing Words

The capabilities of large language models have increased significantly since the first release of ChatGPT last year. The capabilities will improve further in the coming months and years.

It is likely that threat actors will use large language models to automate processes. Exploits may be used sooner as a consequence by a wider pool of threat actors.

What is your take on this? Will we see an increase in exploit code in the coming years?

Cui Bono? Microsoft hides Sign Out button in Windows 11 Beta

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft released a new build to the Windows 11 Beta Insider Channel this week. One of the changes rolls out the new account manager of the Start Menu.

You may remember that Microsoft launched account related events already in the Start Menu of Windows 10 and 11. This feature advertises the benefits of using a Microsoft account to local users.

Users signed in with a Microsoft account get backup reminders. The backup feature uses Microsoft’s OneDrive feature.

Clearly, this feature is designed to drive Microsoft account conversions and also Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Backups require space and some users may need more than the free quota that Microsoft gives free Microsoft account users.

The new Windows 11 Start Menu account manager

Windows 11 new account manager Start Menu

Now comes the new Microsoft account manager. It replaces the current menu that opens when you click on the profile icon in the Start Menu.

Microsoft writes:

This update starts the roll out of the new account manager on Start menu. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easy to manage account settings.

The new design displays information about the Microsoft account. In particular, it lists subscriptions and information about cloud storage.

There is also the obligatory reminder of “something” that the user needs to be aware of. It is possible that this is used for promotions, e.g., when a user is not subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Microsoft 365 yet. The text shown reminds the user to create recovery keys.

Something is missing: Microsoft does not mention it in its announcement, but the sign-out and account switching buttons are nowhere to be seen.

A click on the profile icon of the Start Menu shows options to sign out, switch to another user account, lock the device, or open the account settings.

Here is a screenshot of how this looks in Windows 11 Stable:

Windows 11 sign out

Microsoft moved the options behind the three-dots menu, at least for users signed-in to a Microsoft account.

The problem: this adds another click to the sign out, locking, and user switching process. Some users may also have problems locating the options once the change lands.

Closing Words

Call me disillusioned, but all of these changes do not sound particularly useful. Subscription information is already in the Settings app. There you also get banners in the new Homepage, which offers little for users, but another advertising space for Microsoft.

This change is not the only one that is currently in testing. Microsoft is also testing promoting apps in the recommended section of the Windows start menu.

There is also talk about a new taskbar button, which might also be used for recommendations, whatever that means in that context.

Are these changes beneficial to customers who use Windows? Or do they help Microsoft sell more subscriptions and increase the revenue of the Windows division?

What do you think about these changes?

Surprise: Edge’s Windows 11 Search Bar is not Bing-locked

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Search Bar adds a standalone search field to the Windows 11 desktop when enabled. It allows you to run searches from it. The main benefit is that you do not need to open a browser first to run searches.

Microsoft announced this week that the Search Bar is now available on Windows 11. You need Microsoft Edge for it and enable it before it becomes available on the desktop,

From here, it works exactly as you would imagine a desktop search tool to work. Type something, hit enter or click on the go button, and wait for the results to appear in the Edge browser.

Yes, since this is an Edge feature, it requires the browser.

Surprise: search is not locked down to Bing. If you have set a different default search provider in Edge, it is used.

Setting up Microsoft Edge’s Search Bar

Microsoft Edge Search Bar Enable

Here are the steps to launch the Search Bar on Windows 11 systems:

  1. Start Microsoft Edge.
  2. Select Menu > More Tools > Launch search bar.

If you do not see the option under More Tools, check for updates under Menu > Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge.

Tip: you may hide the permanent sidebar button in Microsoft Edge, if you do not need it.

Using the new search option on Windows 11’s desktop

Search on Windows 11 desktop

The search widget appears on the desktop once you enable it in Edge. You can move it around freely on the desktop.

Type a phrase and you get suggestions from Microsoft Edge’s default search engine. Select any of them or submit the search phrase to launch the results page in Edge.

A click on the menu icon displays a few options. You may switch to guest mode here, which does not associate searches with a Microsoft account.

The desktop widget starts with Windows 11 by default. You may stop this from the menu as well.

Select the close option of the menu to exit.

It may surprise you that Microsoft has not locked down the search provider. Any provider set in Edge powers the searches.

Closing Words

Whether Search Bar is something that is useful to you is up to you. Windows 11 already has a search feature enabled that may run web searches. These are limited to Bing and Edge.

Good news is that it is not locked down and that it is not enabled by default. It is still limited to returning search results in Microsoft Edge. Whether MSEdgeRedirect takes care of that remains to be seen.

It is doubtful that this feature will convince non-Edge users to switch browsers. Those who use Edge and do not have Edge open all the time anyway may find it useful.

brightness

Windows 11 is changing the display brightness constantly? Here is how you turn that off

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system supports a feature that changes the brightness of the display automatically. Depending on the environment or content displayed, it may lower or increase brightness on the device.

While that sounds like a useful feature, it comes with its own set of problems. Probably the biggest issue is that it may make unnecessary changes. Another issue that you may encounter is that it may change the brightness too frequently.

It may also react to manual brightness changes, making this a frustrating experience.

Technical information

How Windows 11 manages the automatic changing of brightness depends on the device. Some devices include light sensors that may react to environmental light information.

Launching Windows 11 in a bright room may cause an increase in brightness to counter this. In a darker room, it may tone down the brightness instead.

Microsoft launched Content Adaptive Brightness Control in Windows 11. The feature “provides ideal brightness and contrast levels” according to Microsoft while “saving power and providing longer battery life”.

Not all devices support the feature. The following chapters explain how to find out if it is supported on a Windows 11 device and how to manage it.

Configure brightness settings on Windows 11

Windows 11 Brightness Settings

Do the following to manage or disable the automatic Brightness feature on Windows 11 devices:

  1. Open the Start Menu and select Settings. You may also use the shortcut Windows-I to open Settings.
  2. Go to System > Display.
  3. Expand the Brightness section at the top.

Here, you find the following options:

  • Change the brightness of the display.
  • Enable or disable “Change brightness automatically when lighting changes”.
  • Change brightness based on content.

The last two options define whether automatic brightness changes are enabled on the system.

Change brightness automatically when lighting changes

This feature is only available on devices that have light sensors. The device analyzes the information of the sensors to adjust the brightness based on the information.

Uncheck the box to turn the feature off.

Change brightness based on content

This feature is available on all devices. Windows analyzes the content displayed to make changes to the brightness and contrast.

Available settings are:

  • Off — The feature is disabled. Windows 11 won’t change the brightness based on the content that is viewed automatically.
  • Always — The feature is enabled. Windows 11 will change the brightness on battery and when plugged in.
  • On Battery Only — The feature is enabled. Windows 11 will change the brightness only on battery power.

Another setting that may cause automatic brightness changes

WIndows 11 lower brightness on battery saver

Windows 11 maintains another setting that may change the brightness on devices automatically. This one lowers the screen brightness only when battery saver is enabled.

Here is how you configure that option (or turn it off):

  1. Select Start and then Settings to open the Settings app.
  2. Navigate to System > Power & Battery.
  3. Expand Battery Saver on the page that opens.

The following options are revealed:

  • Battery saver — Enable or disable Battery Saver manually.
  • Turn battery saver on automatically at — When Windows 11 will turn the battery saver feature on by itself. Options include Never, Always and a battery value between 10% and 50%.
  • Lower screen brightness when using battery saver — may lower the brightness of the screen when battery saver is turned on.

Uncheck the last option to prevent Windows from making changes to the brightness.

Closing Words

If you want to block Windows 11 from making automatic changes to the brightness or contrast, turn off both options.

Uncheck “Change brightness automatically when lighting changes” and set “Change brightness based on content” to off.

The changes take effect immediately. Note that disabling the feature may cause increased power usage.