Xbox Player losing access to 15-years worth of games after hack reportedly

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you needed another reason why going fully digitally is a bad idea, here it is.

X-user Squirrel Mort posted a plea for help a few days ago on the site, stating that their Xbox account got hacked, the email address replaced, and that Microsoft Security stated that they could not restore account access.

The gamer claims that games equaling thousands were added to the account since the Xbox 360 days.

Note that the information comes from a report on X. Microsoft has not posted an official response yet, which makes it possible that the story could be fake. However, something like this has happened in the past and can surely happen today.

The hacker, reportedly, managed to gain access to the Xbox account and changed personal information, including the main email address used for the account. While the user does not provide any more details, it is likely that the password has been changed in the process as well.

The X-user claims that the new email address points to a service in Russia.

Can Microsoft reinstate the account? It surely has the means to do so. It could ask for verification, e.g., payment information or usage information, which the owner of the account may be able to provide, but the hacker can’t likely.

The incident highlights a major issue in today’s digital world. Since digital goods are linked to an account, losing access to that account means that you will lose access to all the content. It does not need to be a hack either for that scenario to happen.

The service itself could ban the account. This happened in the past numerous times, sometimes when a forbidden word was written in chat, at other times, because of a false positive.

While the comfort of using digital goods is understandable, users need to be aware of the implications. Most only realize these when they run into issues like the one described by the user on X.

While there is no definitive protection against losing access, users can, at the very least, protect their accounts with the strongest supported security protections.

This includes picking a secure password and enabling two-factor authentication. There is no definition of strong when it comes to passwords, but make it very long, avoid single dictionary words or phrases, and include upper- and lower-case characters, numbers and special characters.

For two-factor authentication, I recommend using a local solution using an app like Aegis, which is open source and available for Android. Windows, Mac, and iOS users may check out Proton Authenticator, which is also free to use.

This puts a second layer of defense around the account. Even if a criminal manages to gain access to the username and password, they would still also need access to the two-factor authentication code, that gets generated by the app. Unless they also happen to have access to the mobile device or app, or manage to obtain the code through social engineering, they won’t be able to access the account.

Now You: How do you protect your online accounts? Do you use two-factor authentication or even security keys? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Why I’m not buying digital games or media, and why it will become difficult going forward

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Streaming has taken the world by storm and while the current path has diverged significantly from the glorious idea of paying for a single subscription to gain access to all content there is, it is still on the rise apparently, despite the fragmentation of content and rise of ads.

However, the rise of digital media in general, including games, has not really been all that beneficial to us users. Certainly, there are advantages. As soon as you pay, you gain access to the new game, movie or TV show. You do not even have to leave the house anymore or wait days for a delivery to reach your door.

The downside to digital media has been discussed at length. It boils down to the following strong points:

  • You do not own the digital content anymore, which means that it can be taken away from you at any time.
  • You can’t resale the content either anymore, unless you sell the entire account, which the terms forbid.
  • You can play, watch or listen, even if there is no Internet or services go down. Games are special, as more and more do not include the full game on the disc or card.
  • If they ban your account, you lose access to everything.

Granted, there have been just a few cases where companies removed access. Amazon, for example, removed access to the digital books 1984 and Animal Farm back in 2009 because of a dispute over copyright and rights. It did refund the books, but the removal sparked a larger discussion about ownership and potential censorship.

With that in mind, I have followed a simple principle ever since digital content started to appear online: never buy, unless there is no other option. Try to avoid, if digital is the only option.

  • Movies and TV shows: I buy DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K. Not that I buy many new films or shows, as I find them mostly boring and intellectually at the bottom of the barrel. I did buy several old movies that I missed or wanted to watch again, many of which are not even available at streaming services.
  • Games: For consoles, I buy physical online. Not all games get physical releases anymore, or only in certain regions. I buy those, if they support a language that I understand. As for digital games, I try to avoid them as best as I can. If I can’t resist, I buy during sales.
  • Music: CDs and records only. I can listen to songs for free on various sites, which is fine. When I like something in particular or want to support the artist, I buy the CD or record.

Physical products have the advantage that I can resell them. Does not happen too often, but I did sell a few PS5 games after I finished them or was done with them. If I would have bought them digitally, they would still be collecting dust in my virtual games library.

I can also lend them, so that a friend can play a game or my parents can watch a movie or show that I bought.

The trend, however, is moving heavily towards digital. With each new console generation, the discussion whether to include an optical drive or card-slot comes up again. Companies want to move to digital only, because it eliminates the second hand market. If you want to play a game or see a movie, you need to buy it yourself. No more lending or reselling, which increases their revenue, they rightfully believe.

Consumers are on the receiving end. While the majority does not seem to mind the trend, especially if reselling or lending is not needed, users who do prefer physical will face a hard decision in the next decade or so.

What about you? Do you buy digital or physical mainly? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Featured Chrome extension with millions of users caught harvesting AI interactions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Several Chrome and Microsoft Edge extensions, designed to protect users online, were discovered to include AI harvesting code that captured, among other things, every AI prompt and response made in the browser it was installed in.

This is the second major discovery by security researchers at KOI. In July, the company discovered 18 malicious Chrome extensions with millions of installations that ran malicious tasks in the background.

Security researchers at KOI discovered Urban VPN Proxy by chance. The Chrome extension had over 6 million users, a 4.7 star rating at the Chrome web store, and a featured badge by Google.

Featured meant that Google reviewed the extension manually to ensure that it follows “technical best practices” and meets “a high standard of user experience and design”.

The makers of the extension, which was also installed by over 1.3 million Microsoft Edge users via Microsoft’s own extensions store, promised unhindered access to any website and the unblocking of content.

According to KOI, the extension did not always have AI harvesting functionality baked into it. This started on July 9, 2025 with the release of version 5.5.0. It shipped with AI harvesting enabled by default.

This meant that AI interactions of any user who updated the extension to the new version or installed it anew were collected.

KOI says the following gets captured:

  • Every prompt you send to the AI
  • Every response you receive
  • Conversation identifiers and timestamps
  • Session metadata
  • The specific AI platform and model used

The extension supports ten major AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Meta AI, Perplexity, and DeepSeek, according to KOI.

It injects scripts into the AI platform’s website whenever a supported site is loaded in the browser. From there, it manipulates browser functions to route all network requests through itself. These requests get parsed and then exfiltrated by a background service worker.

A quick search for extensions that use the same code revealed three additional extensions, available on both the Chrome and the Microsoft Edge web store.

These are 1ClickVPNProxy, Urban Browser Guard, and Urban Ad Blocker. All eight extensions have an accumulated user count of over 8 million.

How could this have been prevented?

Unlike Mozilla, which reviews the updates of featured extensions for Firefox as well, neither Google nor Microsoft seem to do that. This is a loophole that gets exploited over and over again: create or buy a harmless extension that is useful, get the feature badge by passing the manual review, and release an update with malware code later on, as (some?) updates seem to be accepted automatically.

So, if you use extensions, Firefox is the safer bet, but only for featured extensions. This has downsides of its own, including that it takes longer before updates become available.

Remove Windows AI takes care of all AI features in Windows 11

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft continues to increase the number of AI-related features in its Windows 11 operating system. The evolution into an agentic operating system has been announced, which means that the next feature update for Windows 11 will surely introduce more AI-related features.

Not all Windows users welcome the change with open arms. While there are not any meaningful polls out there, many appear indifferent to the changes while some oppose them openly.

If you fall into the category, you may have discovered switches and tweaks here and there that deal with certain AI features. Or, you may have used a program like DoNotSpy11 that handles them.

Remove Windows AI is an open source script that promises to disable all AI features in Windows 11.

The script removes the following features

Note that the script is in constant development. The developer reacts to new features and changes that Microsoft makes and introduces. As such, it is recommended that you check out the homepage over on GitHub for an updated listing.

  • Disable Registry Keys
    • Disable Copilot
    • Disable Recall
    • Disable Input Insights and typing data harvesting
    • Copilot in Edge
    • Image Creator in Paint
    • Remove AI Fabric Service
    • Disable AI Actions
    • Disable AI in Paint
    • Disable Voice Access
    • Disable AI Voice Effects
    • Disable AI in Settings Search
  • Prevent Reinstall of AI Packages
    • Installs custom Windows Update package to prevent reinstall of AI packages in the CBS (Component-Based Servicing) store
  • Disable Copilot policies
    • Disables policies related to Copilot and Recall in IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json
  • Remove AI Appx Packages
    • Removes all AI appx packages including Nonremovable packages and WindowsWorkload
  • Remove Recall Optional Feature
  • Remove AI Packages in CBS
    • This will remove hidden and locked AI packages in the CBS (Component-Based Servicing) store
  • Remove AI Files
    • This will do a full system cleanup removing all remaining AI installers, registry keys, and package files
  • Hide AI Components
    • This will hide the settings page AI Components
  • Disable Rewrite AI Feature in Notepad
  • Remove Recall Tasks
    • Forceably removes all instances of Recall’s scheduled tasks

How to use the script on a Windows 11 machine

The Remove Windows AI user interface.
Check or uncheck options in the user interface to customize the output. All AI removal options are enabled by default.

Since this is a PowerShell script, it is necessary to run a command on the Windows machine. Good news is that it will show a user interface with options. This allows you to enable or disable certain features individually.

Recommendation: Create a system backup before you run the script. While I did not run into any issues during testing, it is better to be safe than sorry. Use any Windows backup tool that supports full system backups. My preferred tool is Paragon Backup & Recovery, which is free and excellent, but any other utility will do.

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Type PowerShell.
  3. Select “run as administrator” to launch an elevated PowerShell command prompt.
  4. Paste the following line: & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm “https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI/main/RemoveWindowsAi.ps1”)))
  5. Press the Enter-key to execute it.

This should launch the user interface. All options are enabled by default, but you can uncheck any that you want to skip. Click on the question mark icon next to an option to get an explanation.

It is recommended to enable backup mode, which is not enabled by default. The developer notes on GitHub that backup mode is the only way to full revert the changes using the script, if the need arises.

Clearly, as is the case with any of these tools that automate the tweaking, you have to trust the developer to a) include all relevant AI bits and b) that the solution is stable. Cautious users may check and edit the script, or turn off AI features in Windows manually instead.

Expect a guide in the near future here on this site.

Now You: have you used AI features in Windows? If so, which and how did it go? Or are you in the disable-camp instead? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Mozilla reassures Firefox users that AI will be completely optional and include a kill-switch feature

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Many makers of web browsers are evolving the browsers that they develop into AI-based browsers. How and to what degree depends much on the company or organization that is involved. From integrating options to chat with AI and basic AI features, such as getting a summary of a webpage, to agentic browsers, like Perplexity, that are designed to act on the user’s behalf.

Mozilla’s new CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo published his vision for the organization and its main software, Firefox, about a week ago. While much of what Enzor-DeMeo wrote resonated well with large parts of the community — turning Mozilla into the most trusted software company — it was a single pargraph that stood out and incurred the ire of parts of the community.

Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software. Firefox will remain our anchor. It will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions.

While Enzor-DeMeo did state that “AI should always be a choice” and that it should be something that “people can easily turn off”, Firefox users expressed their concern over the AI-focus that the new Mozilla head described in the post.

The official Firefox for Web Developers account on Mastadon published several clarifications to address user concerns. The posts are attributed to Jake Archibald, who is Mozilla’s Web Developer Relations lead.

The main takeaways are the following two statements regarding AI:

  • All Firefox AI features will be opt-in.
  • Firefox will get a “kill-switch” for all AI features, which disables them completely.

Mozilla would introduce AI features in Firefox in a way that I would like all browsers to follow: make them opt-in, instead of opt-out. There are certainly users out there that use AI and will use AI features in browsers. Heck, some might even spring on the agentic-bandwagon and let AI buy stuff for them or to other things.

As long as this is optional, and not enabled by default, I would not mind much, especially if other features do not get pushed down the priority letter in favor of AI features.

How many browser users want AI in their browsers, or would start using the features once they land without knowing about them prior? I find that number hard to estimate. AI is a trend at the moment, and while companies have created some useful features powered by AI, it has not been proven yet that AI is a feature that can sustain itself once the hype ebbs down.

Now it is your turn. Have you tried AI features in browsers or elsewhere already? Is there anything that you liked in particular, or did not like? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Here is what is happening at ghacks.net

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you have been to Ghacks lately you may have noticed that something is amiss. In short: Ashwin and I are no longer authors at the site.

The longer picture: Softonic decided to sell Ghacks to another company. We, the authors, have not been approached by the new owner and do not really know who bought the site. It did not help that I was on vacation when all of this happened.

I can’t get into any specifics, because I do not know more than I just told you. However I can tell you that you won’t find new articles by myself or Ashwin on the site going forward.

As far as plans are concerned, I plan to publish the usual articles and some more here on this site going forward. You can expect the usual coverage here, including about Windows security updates, Firefox and other browsers, AI, tweaks and tips, software, and more.

Think of it as the “new Ghacks”, but better 😉

There will be some changes coming in the next weeks. I plan to add a “support” option, which you can use to throw some dimes my way, as this site will remain free of traditional ads and tracking.

I may also promote certain services of products that I can recommend highly and use myself. If that happens, it will be marked clearly.

If things go really well, I have hopes that I could get Ashwin on board again. In the meantime, if you know of a tech site that is looking for a capable writer, feel free to let me know and I pass it on to Ashwin.

The Microsoft Download Center Archive website

Need old Microsoft downloads? There is an archive for that!

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft has accumulated a wealth of downloads over the last four decades or so. From tools and drivers to Windows versions and standalone applications. While some may not be useful anymore at this day and age, other than for a nostalgic look back at how things were back in the good old days, others are still useful.

However, Microsoft is pruning its archives regularly. Means, downloads may be removed and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them. While third-party sites may offer them, some may add a pinch of malware on top of the downloads, which is a problem especially for inexperienced users or users in a hurry.

Enter the Microsoft Download Center Archive. It is a free site that offers legacy downloads for Microsoft products. You find downloads between the years 2012 and 2025 in the archive, which Microsoft deleted from its own archives.

Here is a glimpse of what you can expect:

  • PowerToys and Fun Packs for Windows XP.
  • Office Viewers like Word Viewer 2003 or Visio Viewer 2016.
  • Old .NET Framework versions.
  • Microsoft Visual C++ and Visual Basic Redistributables.
  • Windows Help.
  • Microsoft Report Viewer.
  • And much more.

While the focus is on downloads for older versions of Windows, at least some of the downloads are also compatible with Windows 10 or Windows 11. Furthermore, since Windows 10 is near the end of its support, it is possible that Microsoft is going to remove downloads for Windows 10 in the near future.

These will also be added to the archive then, making it a great resource for users who plan to stick to Windows 10.

The site offers a search and a list of common downloads. You can type the name of an operating system to get all downloads for it, or search for the name of a software or tool instead.

Downloads are hosted at the Internet Archive. They start instantly and do not require an account.

Closing Words

The unofficial Microsoft Download Center Archive is a useful website for Windows users who want to download software that Microsoft removed from its official websites.

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft is moving features into Copilot to extract more money from its customers

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Customers all over the world are used to frequent price increases of subscriptions by now. Many online services that require a subscription increase prices regularly, often once per year or every second year.

That is bad enough, especially if the service does not get any better because of it. While services argue that inflation and rising costs force them to increase the price of their product, it is getting harder and harder for them to convince customers to accept the price increase and continue their payments.

If only there would be something that would make it clearer for customers to pay more. Microsoft may have found a way, or so it believes: how about removing features from products to move them into another product, that costs extra?

As a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you pay Microsoft a monthly or yearly sum for access to the most recent version of Microsoft Office. You may also get some other features on top of that, including cloud storage space or access to Copilot, Microsoft’s AI.

However, some Copilot features are only for subscribers of plans that are more expensive. Home users, for instance, need a Premium subscription to gain access to otherwise restricted Copilot features.

Microsoft changed the tactic for business customers. Instead of limiting Copilot to a specific plan, Microsoft integrated Copilot AI features into the business plans and announced a price increase arguing that customers would get more out of their subscriptions because of that. Most plans increase by up to three Dollars per month because of that from 2026 onward.

To make Copilot look more valuable, Microsoft started to remove features from Office programs.

Martin Geuß, from the Geman website Dr. Windows, highlighted two recent examples on the site recently:

  • PowerPoint: The option to reuse slides is going to be removed from the presentation software. Users may ask Copilot to do that for them.
  • Excel: The function to extract data from images is being removed. Starting in July 2026, this option won’t be offered anymore. Microsoft says that it is working on a better function that will then be powered by Copilot.

There you have it. You just have to be inventive to justify price increases.

Amazon is disabling apps on Fire TVs now

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you use a Fire TV device by Amazon, then you know that you may install third-party Android apps on the device that are not provided via Amazon’s official App Store. This is an excellent option to install apps that you may want to use, like streaming apps or YouTube frontend clients that get rid of all the annoyances.

However, Amazon announced this year that it is going to disable certain apps on the Fire TV devices of customers without giving customers any say in the matter.

Amazon claims that it only disables apps “that are identified as using or providing access to unlicensed content”. In other words, Amazon targets apps that provide users with free access to streaming content that is restricted in some way or another.

A prime example are apps that give you access to sports streams that are not available for free. Amazon has a FAQ-website up that answers some questions that customers may have. It covers topics such as refunds (not really) to exceptions (none).

Put simple, Amazon will disable any application that it has on its list, which it keeps private. Customers should receive warnings next time they try to load an app that is on the list. The only options at this point are to close the app or to uninstall it.

Will this also affect frontends for services that get rid of advertisement? It is too early to say and even if that is not the case right now, the infrastructure is in place to add any app to the block list at any time.

Now You: do you use a streaming device or stick, like the Fire TV sticks? If so, did you install third-party apps on the device that are not offered via the official store?

Brace yourself, OpenAI to introduce ads into its apps

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The free AI ride is as good as over. Free meaning no ads in this case. The writing was on the wall: AI processing, infrastructure and upkeep are expensive and companies can only burn through a specific amount of money before investors demand a return on their investment or they run into payment issues.

ChatGPT is probably the most used AI out there. You can use it in apps or on the official website, and it is also found in many third-party apps.

Soon, ChatGPT may introduce advertisement into its Android application, reports Tibor Blaho on X. Hhe user found references to ads in the last Android beta.

Strings, such as AdTarget, SearchAd, or ApiSearchAd were discovered in the beta. While version 1.2025.329 of ChatGPT did not include any ads during tests, the existence of the strings suggests that ads are coming.

It is likely that OpenAI will limit ads to free users, which make the bulk of users right now. Turning on ads could boost the company into the upper-elite of advertising, rivaling the likes of Meta (not Google, for obvious reasons).

It is unclear how ads will look like and if they will be easily distinguishable from the AI’s output to the user’s request.

The question is, what will users do when they encounter ads in ChatGPT? Will they keep on using the software or switch to another, one that does not have ads yet? It will be interesting to see.

Ads may also lead to a credibility problem, especially if the ad highlights a product that the AI also recommended in the answer to the user.

Now You: Do you use an AI right now? If so, which and how is your experience so far? If not, why not? Feel free to leave a comment down below.