Copilot key

AI File Explorer may have these requirements

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

AI File Explorer is one of the tools that Microsoft is rumored to integrated into the next version of Windows. These tools are designed for AI PCs specifically.

Everything is a bit murky right now, as Microsoft is keeping is not revealing much about:

  • what defines an AI PC.
  • the features that make AI PCs.
  • the requirements of AI PCs.

While that is keeping the suspense, it is also confusing. Should you wait buying a new PC or laptop to make sure that it matches Microsoft’s definition and gets all AI features?

A few tidbits leaked on the Internet. AI PCs do need a neural processing unit and need to have a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard. AI PCs may also need at least 16GB of RAM.

None of this has been confirmed officially by Microsoft at this point. Maybe Build 2024 will shed some light into the darkness.

AI File Explorer requirements

Windows detective Albacore found information about AI PCs recently. In build 26100, which may be Windows 11 24H2 RTM, Albacore found the following information:

  • ARM64 CPU
  • 16GB of RAM.
  • 225GB System Drive.
  • Snapdragon X Elite NPU

The 16GB requirement leaked earlier. It seems unlikely that AI File Explorer will only be available on ARM64 Windows devices.

My guess: The requirements are for ARM PCs that run Windows. Intel and AMD PCs will also get the functionality, provided that they meet certain processor requirements. The 16GB requirement is likely universal across all AI PCs though.

It is almost certain that some AI PC features require a NPU, a neural processing unit. Still, Microsoft has not revealed much about these features. It is not even clear what AI File Explorer will bring to the table.

One possible feature that it could add would be natural language processing. You could ask it to show photos from the last vacation, videos that show a beach scene, a specific document, or a list of recently created executables.

This could be interesting to some users.

Closing Words

Microsoft will lift the curtain on AI PCs, their features and requirements, in the coming months. If you are interested in the functionality, you may want to postpone any purchases planned regarding Windows devices.

What about you? Would you use AI PC functionality? What would you like to see?

Microsoft Copilot app

Microsoft says installation of Copilot app was a bug

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft confirmed that Edge updates may install the Copilot app on Windows devices. The company calls the app “Microsoft chat provider for Copilot in Windows”.

Microsoft added a new known issue on the Windows 11 version 23H2 dashboard. It confirms an issue that was first observed in March 2023.

Some Windows users noticed that Microsoft was installing a Copilot app on their devices. This app appeared after Microsoft Edge updates, including the update to Microsoft Edge 123 at the end of March 2024.

While sporting the Copilot name, it did not power the Copilot feature of the Windows operating system.

How to check if the app is installed: Select Start > Settings > Apps >Installed Apps, and search for Copilot.

Microsoft confirms the bug

Today, Microsoft confirmed that the installation of the application is a bug. The company writes:

Updates to Edge browser version 123.0.2420.65, released on March 28, 2024 and later, might incorrectly install a new package (MSIX) called ‘Microsoft chat provider for Copilot in Windows’ on Windows devices. Resulting from this, the Microsoft Copilot app might appear in the Installed apps in Settings menu.

Microsoft says that the app “does not execute any code or process” and that it “does not acquire, analyze, or transmit device or environment data in any capacity”.

What it does: Microsoft explains that the app is “intended to prepare some Windows devices for future Windows Copilot enablement” and that it is not intended for all devices.

Microsoft plans to remove the Microsoft Copilot app from Windows devices it is not intended for.

The company does not define “devices that it is intended for”, which makes it difficult to figure out if it was installed by error on a particular device. The only hint Microsoft provides is that it is not intended for most Windows Server devices.

How Microsoft plans to rectify the issue: Microsoft plans to release an update for Microsoft Edge to resolve the issue.

This is not the first Edge bug in recent time. Back in January, Microsoft Edge started to import tabs from Chrome automatically on user devices.

Have you used Copilot?

Firefox 125.0.1

Firefox 125 skipped – Firefox 125.0.1 released

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla’s original plan was to release Firefox 125.0. Stable today. This did not happen and Mozilla revealed that it had to postpone the release.

Now it appears that Firefox 125.0.1 has been released, on the same day. The new version of Firefox is already in distribution. Most Firefox desktop installations get updated automatically eventually.

Users who do not want to wait for that to happen may follow the top below to run a manual check for updates.

Tip: you can check your Firefox version by selecting Menu > Help > About Firefox on desktop. On mobile, you select Menu > Settings > About Firefox.

Security information: Firefox 125.0.1 addresses several security issues in the browser. The aggregate security rating is “high” and there appear to be no attacks in the wild. You can check out the security updates here.

Firefox 125.0.1: major changes

Firefox 125.0.1 is a security and feature release. As far as features are concerned, here are the major changes:

  • Better media streaming — support for AV1 codec for Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) added. Means that video providers may use this codec to deliver streams to Firefox.
  • Firefox PDF Viewer — supports text highlighting now. The feature is rolled out gradually.
  • Firefox View — displays pinned tabs in the “open tabs” section.
  • Addresses — save and autofill addresses, but only in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Downloads — Firefox blocks more downloads that it considers potentially untrustworthy.
  • Address Bar — clipboard URLs are now shown as suggestions at the top (but only if the site is not open already).
  • Web Proxy Auto Discovery — option to enable the feature when using system proxy settings.

Closing Words

While it is still unclear why the release of Firefox 125.0. had to be cancelled, the same day release of Firefox 125.0.1 is commendable. Mozilla seems to have fixed whatever caused the retraction of Firefox 125.

Firefox 125.0.1 makes the same changes and most users probably do not even notice the release change.

What is your take on this new release? Any feature you like?

Opera

Opera: 63% increase in new monthly users in Europe

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Opera Software announced that on April 10, 2025 that it saw an increase in monthly new users by 63% on iOS one month after the Digital Market Acts came into force in Europe.

Apple, much like Google on Android, is required to display a browser choice screen to users. The aim here is to level the playing field and limit Apple’s and Google’s ability to prioritize their own browsers over others.

Apple iOS users may still select Safari as the default browser. The browser choice screen allows them to pick another browser.

Opera Software claims furthermore that it is also seeing growth in regards to being selected as the default browser on iOS. This metric increased by 39% from March 3rd to April 4th, 2024.

The countries with the largest jump in monthly new users are:

  • France with 146%.
  • Germany with 57%.
  • Spain with 50%.
  • Poland with 45%.
  • Italy with 20%.

Opera Software does not reveal usage numbers. In 2023, Opera Software said that it had about 350 million users across all supported platforms. Back in 2020, Opera announced that it had reached 300 million users, 232 million on mobile alone.

If the numbers are correct, Opera is seeing significant growth on iOS in Europe.

Other browser makers are also seeing upticks in usage. Brave Software, for example, saw a huge jump in daily installs after the browser choice screen rolled out on iOS.

Mozilla too reported that it saw a jump in users in select European countries. The organization said that its German users increased by 50% and the users in France by 30% in the time.

Closing Words

Even if you do not use any of the browsers, it is good to see efforts to level the playing field. Apple having to allow other browsing engines on iOS is another milestone. While Apple seems to fight this in different ways, it is probably only a matter of time before pure Chromium and Firefox browsers are launching on iOS.

Which browser do you prefer on mobile?

YT Channel Downloader review

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YT Channel Downloader is an open source downloader for YouTube videos. It supports downloading individual videos and also entire channels or playlists. You can download it from its GitHub repository. It is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS devices.

The program is based on yt-dlp, scrapetube, and pytube, but much easier to use.

The main interface is almost barebones. It features an URL field at the top. Paste YouTube URLs into the field and hit Fetch afterwards to get a list of found videos returned. Fetching may take a few seconds to complete.

Videos are listed with their name and link only. Other information, such as playtime or maximum resolution, are not shown.

From here, it takes two additional clicks to download all videos to the local system. Activate the “select all” button to check all videos, and hit the download button next to start the process.

You may also select individual videos to download only them, or enable audio conversions in the settings.

YT Channel Downloader

Before you start using the program, you may want to open File > Settings. Here you find just a few options:

  • Change the local download folder.
  • Enable conversion to audio files.
  • Set the preferred video format and quality.
  • Set the preferred audio format and quality.

Once set, the program runs almost on autopilot. It is a great way of quickly downloading videos for offline viewing. Ideal before you make a long trip, but also for safekeeping.

Tip: here is a method to download age-restricted YouTube videos without account.

Closing Words

YT Channel Download is an easy to use program. It makes the downloading of videos from YouTube channels or playlists almost effortlessly.

While that is great for getting things done quickly, it lacks options that other downloaders may support. There is no option to download subtitles or process videos in any way after download (other than converting them to audio).

Not everyone needs these options. If you just want a reliable mass downloader that is easy to use, this may be it.

The program worked reliably during tests. Fetching may take a while. It seems to depend on the channel or playlist that you want analyzed.

Vivaldi Privacy Guard graphic

Vivaldi testing new Privacy Guard feature in browser

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Privacy Guard is a new feature of the Vivaldi web browser. It is free at the moment and only available in development builds of the browser.

Broken down to its core, it is protecting user privacy through a technology called Multi-Hop Relay. To better understand it, it is necessary to understand how regular connections work in the browser.

When the browser loads a domain, a direct connection to each resource of a webpage is loaded. This means that the server the site is hosted on as well as any third-party resource loaded communicates directly with the IP address of the user’s device.

Multi-Hop Relay changes this by putting servers in-between. In other words, instead of directly connecting to resources, the browser connects through other servers first. This is done to separate the identity of the user’s device from the requested resource.

Vivaldi’s Privacy Guard technology uses two servers for this. The first is operated by INVISV, the startup that developed the Multi-Hop technology. The second is operated by Fastly.

Vivaldi says that INVISV has been founded by Paul Schmitt, University of Hawaii, and Barath Raghavan, University of Southern California. The startup has advisers, including Bruce Schneier and Jon Callas.

The feature in Vivaldi

Privacy Guard in Vivaldi

You need a development version of Vivaldi to use the feature at this time. Another limitation is that Privacy Guard requires a Vivaldi account. Creating an account is free.

A click on the Privacy Guard toggle enables the feature. A public IP address is assigned to the browser. Vivaldi displays the location of the server as well, so that you know about the country you are connected to.

Privacy Guard Connected

The fastest server is selected by default, which means that you will connect to a server closest to your location usually. You can switch this to random instead, which may further improve privacy.

Websites may be added to the list of exceptions. Direct connections are used for any of these sites.

Initial tests were promising. All tested websites and services, including YouTube, Twitch, online game websites, blogs, and others worked as before. Some sites may display captchas, but this is also the case when other anonymization services are used.

Privacy Guard vs. Tor Browser vs. Multi-Hop VPNs

How does the privacy feature compare to similar technologies?

  • Privacy Guard — uses two hops. Hops are operated by different companies.
  • Tor Browser — uses three hops. Hops are (usually) operated by different companies and organizations.
  • Multi-Hop VPN — uses another hop. Operated by the VPN provider.

Closing Words

The technology is free to try at the moment and Vivaldi says that it uses the current implementation for testing and to find out if this is something that Vivaldi users are interested in. A release in Vivaldi Stable would require a subscription. Details have not been revealed at this point.

Some Vivaldi users will certainly find the option appealing. The main appeal it has over VPNs is that its servers are not operated by the same company. It is also easier to use, but it lacks advanced features that VPN services do offer.

Would you use Privacy Guard? How much would you pay for it?

VPN

VPN by Google One is shutting down

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google is informing customers currently that it is shutting down VPN by Google One “later this year”.

I reviewed VPN by Google One in March 2023 and concluded that it was “the most basic VPN that you can get”. Subscribers would get access to the VPN if they paid Google at least $1.99 per month.

While that sounded like a good deal on paper, the VPN itself was severely limiting and only available to customers in 22 countries. The real downside was that it lacked core functionality. You basically got the option to connect to the VPN, use its kill switch and configure bypass options for apps.

One of the main downsides was that you could not use it to connect to select servers, only to servers that Google picked. This meant that you could not use it to quickly connect to a server in another country to get an IP associated with that country.

Other features found in clients of popular VPN servers, such as NordVPN or SurfShark, were missing as well. No protocol selection, no advanced servers or security features, or to set a custom DNS server.

It still helped protected the connection, especially when connected to public wireless access points, but that was it.

Google informs subscribers and Pixel owners

All Pixel owners and Google One members are informed about the change. The news that VPN by Google One is shutting down at the end of the year may be overlooked easily.

Google writes:

Phasing out two benefits: With a focus on providing the most in-demand features and benefits, we’re discontinuing free shipping for select print orders from Google Photos (in Canada, the UK, US, and EU) starting on May 15 and VPN by Google One later this year. As a Pixel user, you’ll continue to enjoy being able to access VPN from Google through Pixel settings if you have Pixel 7 or newer models.

In other words, the VPN service is removed from Google One. Pixel owners may still connect to Google’s VPN.

The official Google One website does not list VPN by Google One anymore already.

Closing Words

Another one bites the dust. I know quite a few users who do not commit to Google products anymore, because there is a good chance that the company will tear them apart in the future.

While there are better VPN services out there, it is still disheartening to add it as another discontinued product to Google’s Graveyard of products.

Opera GX Cyberpunk 2077

Opera GX’s Cyberpunk 2077 Mod is mighty cool

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Opera GX’s browser is not the web browser that I use the most, but I check it our regularly just to see what Opera has been adding to it since the last time.

This time, Opera is introducing a full-fledged modification for the browser. Its new Cyberpunk 2077 Mod takes browser themes to the next level.

Apart from the usual — giving the browser UI a splash of fresh paint — it is delivering these features:

  • Dynamic Wallpaper that changes based on the time of day.
  • Custom Cyberpunk sounds and background music.
  • Custom themes supporting RGB sync.
  • Optional shader effect.

Not all of the options may be enabled by default. It depends on the current configuration. The optional shader effect is turned off by default, as it turns browsing into quite the experience.

If you played Cyberpunk 2077, you know about cyberpsychosis. It is a mental illness caused by an overload of cybernetic augmentations to the human body. The optional shader effect simulates a mild form of that in the browser.

Here is how it looks:

Opera GX Cybperunk 2077 Mod

Not something that you would want to experience regularly, but a fun effect nevertheless.

Opera published a video that highlights the new mod:

How to install the Cyberpunk 2077 Mod

You need the Opera GX browser, which you can download from Opera’s website. Installation is quick. You may want to block data collecting and the like while you are at it.

Once you have installed the browser, load the official Opera GX store here. Activate the “show me” button under Official Cyberpunk 2077 on the page and hit the install button to add it to the browser. This works in desktop and mobile versions of Opera GX.

The mod is enabled automatically. You get the fresh paint, dynamic wallpaper and sounds by default.

Note that you may configure all of these in the Settings under Sounds, Background music, and Shaders.

Closing Words

I enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077 and its only expansion. While gameplay was solid, what kept me entertained the most was the underlying setting. Heck, I even picked a cyberpunk term for the domain name of my website.

Bringing a game mod to the browser is interesting. It may not appeal to the masses, but fans may like it very much. Whether it will persuade them to switch browsers remains to be seen, but I’d say that most won’t switch because of this. They may however take notice of the browser and may even use it as a browser on their devices.

What about you? Would you pick a browser based on a theme or mod that you find interesting?

How to use Windows Spotlight wallpapers on Windows 11

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When it comes to wallpapers, there are different camps. Some prefer to handpick images for their desktops, others prefer automation, and a third group likes to display a solid color instead.

If you belong to the automation camp, you now have another ace up your sleeve. The most recent update for Windows 11, released yesterday on the April 2024 Patch Day, introduced Windows Spotlight support for the desktop background.

While it is not certain that every user who upgraded has it right now, as Microsoft loves to roll out changes gradually over long periods, it should be available to most users by now.

What is Windows Spotlight?

Windows Spotlight

Windows Spotlight is a built-in feature that downloads and displays wallpapers. It has been available as a personalization option for Windows 11’s lock screen and for Windows 10’s lock screen and desktop background.

The images come from Microsoft’s Bing search engine. More precisely, from Bing’s image of the day feature.

Windows Spotlight displays information about images, which may include geographical information. Microsoft may also use Windows Spotlight for advertisement.

Downloaded images are stored on the computer for a period before they are deleted.

Configure Windows Spotlight for wallpapers in Windows 11

Configuring Windows Spotlight as the provider for wallpapers is straightforward. Make sure you check out the next section as well, as it reveals a way to use the images manually.

Here is the process:

  1. Right-click on a blank spot on the desktop and select Personalize.
  2. Activate the background menu on the page to open it.
  3. Use the menu on the right of Personalize your background to select Windows spotlight.

Windows 11 displays the first Spotlight image immediately. These images change regularly.

Where are Spotlight images located?

Windows 11 downloads and stores Windows Spotlight images locally. You can copy them out of the temporary directory for safekeeping.

Here is how you do that:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Paste the following path C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets and replace USERNAME with the name of the current user, e.g., martin.
  3. You find a list of images in the folder. These do not have a file extension associated with images.
  4. Copy the files to another directory.
  5. Rename them, so that the file extension is .jpg.
  6. You can now open them in any image editor and set them as the wallpaper.

A faster option is to use the following commands in a command prompt window:

robocopy C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets c:\tempdir\wallpaper /mir

Replace [username] with the correct username. This copies all images to c:\tempdir\wallpaper by default. You can change the directory.

To make things even easier, run the following two commands:

  1. cd c:\tempdir\wallpaper
  2. ren *. *.jpg

The first changes the active directory, the second adds the .jpg file extension to all files. (thanks)

Run this regularly to save all spotlight images.

Closing Words

It comes down to personal taste for the most part. I prefer a solid color background over Windows Spotlight for a number of reasons, but the main one is that I find them distracting.

What about you? Do you like the variety of images that Windows Spotlight offers?

approve sign in request

You can now sign in to Microsoft accounts using Outlook

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s Outlook app may now be used to sign in to Microsoft accounts and services. How useful is the new functionality?

Sign ins to accounts on the Web or locally on devices are still a major nuisance for users. If you follow security guidelines, you pick a secure unique password for each service, and preferably, enable two-factor authentication as well.

Passkeys promise an improvement, but most Internet services and operating systems do not support this yet fully.

Microsoft has now enabled authentication functionality in its Outlook app to improve the login flow and make it more secure for certain setups. Classic two-factor authentication options such as text messaging are insecure, as the code is submitted in clear text.

Using the Outlook app for authentication

The main idea here is to use Outlook to verify the sign in. It works similarly to Authenticator apps, including Microsoft Authenticator.

Here is the entire process:

  1. You submit your username and password to sign in to your Microsoft account. This can be in Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Teams, or even Microsoft Windows.
  2. Microsoft displays a number on the next screen and prompts you to check your Outlook app.
  3. You need to tap on the right number, out of three presented to you, in the Outlook app.
  4. You then need to allow this using biometric or PIN verification.

Why is Microsoft introducing the functionality?

Microsoft Authenticator offers this functionality already. Why then is Microsoft introducing it in Outlook? Microsoft does not say in the official announcement.

The most likely reason is reach. Microsoft Authenticator has over 100 million downloads on Google Play, which is impressive for such an app. Microsoft Outlook, however, has over 1 billion downloads on Google Play alone. While a good portion of these downloads are not active, it is still likely that the Outlook app has a bigger reach than the Authenticator app.

Microsoft can reach ten times as many users in Outlook. To make things even simpler, the company is enabling the new functionality automatically in the latest Outlook app.

Microsoft says:

This sign-in verification functionality will be automatically enabled when you use the latest version of the Outlook app.  

In other words, if you use the Outlook app on Android, it sounds as if you have two factor authentication enabled automatically for your account. I have the app installed, but cannot verify this at this point because of Microsoft’s rollout of the feature.

There is a chance that this functionality becomes available only to users who have two-factor authentication enabled already for their accounts. This would improve the process, if they use weaker verification options, such as text messages.

Closing Words

Microsoft’s Authenticator app offers advantages over the Outlook implementation. Microsoft notes that users of the Authenticator app can continue using it. The app supports adding different accounts as well, while the Outlook app is limited to securing Microsoft accounts.

Microsoft says that the functionality is rolling out to all Android users. An iOS update is in development already and will be launched in the future.

Do you use two-factor authentication to improve account security?