Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News back in 2005. Martin started his career as a tech support representative at a large German financial corporation which he used to finance his college education in English, Information Technology and History.
He quit college and his job when Ghacks began to attract a large enough readership. He made the decision to become a full time blogger and webmaster, and has not looked back since.
Martin is interested in all things tech. His primary focus is on desktop operating systems, web browsers, Internet services, and privacy related topics.
He published the book The Complete Windows 10 Privacy Guide: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update version in 2017. Martin writes a weekly column for fellow tech site Betanews as well.
You can reach Martin on Facebook or on Twitter. Please use the contact form at the bottom of the page to contact the author directly.
Martin has been quoted or mentioned in many major online and print publications, including Forbes, Lifehacker.com, ComputerWorld, LinkedIn, Reddit, Betanews.com, Bleeping Computer, TechCrunch, PC World, Tom's Hardware, Slashdot, Hacker News, The Register, and more.
Martin's articles on Ghacks
Every month, dozens of articles appear online that reveal how much the usage of a particular version of Windows has grown or fallen. Most use Steam data and the data that Statcounter […]
If you run extensions in Google Chrome, you may one day find yourself without access to some of them. This is true for third-party extensions, but also some extensions that Google created […]
The 2024 feature update for Windows 11 is a confusing one. Released already for Copilot+ PCs, it is still unclear when it is going to basically all existing Windows 11 devices. Only […]
Mozilla has released Firefox 130 Stable today. The new version of Firefox introduces several new features, including the already reviewed automatic Picture-in-Picture mode, improvements to the browser's translate feature, and a new […]
Microsoft is once again shifting things around and making things confusing for users of its products. After the Microsoft Teams debacle, it is now renaming the Remote Desktop app to the Windows […]
Google has tweaked how application updates are downloaded from the official Google Play Store. While it does not guarantee lightning speeds, the change should improve downloading for many Android users. The details: […]
Microsoft is currently preparing a second version of its controversial AI-feature Recall. The company hopes to get it right this time. A look back: when Microsoft announced Recall A quick refresher. Microsoft […]
The next Windows 11 feature update includes a performance patch for AMD silicon. AMD has now backported the patch to Windows 11 version 23H2. Microsoft released a new optional update for Windows […]
If you watch videos in your web browser, you probably have come upon the Picture-in-Picture functionality. Most modern desktop browsers support it to display the video stream in an overlay on the […]
Many PCs come out of the factory with third-party apps installed. Companies pay the manufacturers for the inclusion of their apps. A good percentage of PC users does not like these and […]
Google released security updates for Google Chrome on various platforms today. The update fixes a total of 38 unique security issues in the web browser. To make matters worse, one patches a […]
If you thought that Microsoft was done with Recall after its catastrophic reveal as the main feature of Copilot+ PCs, you are mistaken. Microsoft wants to bring it back this October 2024. […]
Today, Microsoft has put an end to the Microsoft Teams chaos that has plagued Windows users for years. The company announced today that there will only be one Microsoft Teams app for […]
Remember the time when you had to connect your smartphones via a cable to your PCs to transfer files? This process was disliked by many users for a number for a number […]
Over the weekend, there has been quite a bit of panic about Microsoft blocking one of the ways to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. Some news sites claimed that this was […]
If you have installed the latest batch of Windows 11 Updates and could boot fine into the system after installation, congratulations. Reports suggest that the update is causing issues on some systems. […]
Google is switching the ruleset for extensions in Chrome soon. The updated version is controversial, as it will end several popular extensions for Chrome, including the world's most popular ad-blocker uBlock Origin. […]
Proton announced today that it has made the decision to allow free users of its service to use the Chrome and Firefox extensions. Up until now, access was limited to paying customers. […]
Microsoft has released security updates for all supported client and server versions of Windows. Other company products, including Microsoft Office, have received security updates as well. Our monthly overview is designed to […]
Windows Utility, short WinUtil, is a popular open source customization tool for Microsoft Windows devices. It is free and can be run from an elevated PowerShell prompt. It is difficult to describe […]
The latest Firefox Nightly release makes it easier to test vertical tabs and the browser's new sidebar. Mozilla launched support for the, much requested, vertical tabs feature in Firefox in June. Back […]
One of the most important advices when it comes to the security of electronic devices is to make sure that they are up to date. A security researcher discovered a new attack […]
Google is working on integrating what it calls Web Monetization functionality in its Chrome web browser. One of the main intents is to add a way to reward good content on the […]
Mozilla has released Firefox 129.0 Stable as well as Firefox 128.1 ESR and Firefox 115.14 ESR. Firefox 129 makes several important changes to the browser. Notable are the switch to HTTPS first […]
If you experience low audio volume playback on Windows 11, then you may be affected by the same issue that I ran into over this weekend. When I turned on my HP […]
Imagine the following scenario. You want to download Google Authenticator, run a search on Google for the company's application, and click on the first link that appears. The link looks good even […]
Mozilla is working on a new feature for its Firefox web browser: automatic picture-in-picture mode. It is currently available in Firefox Nightly 130 and could launch in Firefox Stable later this year. […]
Microsoft has added a VPN service to Microsoft Personal and Family subscriptions. It is available as part of the subscription plan, which means that there are not any additional costs. Here are […]
Users of the Thunderbird email client who still use Thunderbird 115.x will be upgraded to the new version automatically starting today. The team released the new major version of the Thunderbird email […]
When you update Google Chrome to the latest version, you may notice a new section when you manage installed extensions in the browser. Google now displays extensions that may soon no longer […]
The Linux Mint team has just released Linux Mint 22, a new major version of the free Linux distribution. With Windows 10's end of support coming up quickly next year, at least […]
If you have installed the July 2024 security updates for Windows and managed to boot into the desktop after the required restart, congratulations. Microsoft has just confirmed a new known issue that […]
Google announced today that it is making a far-reaching change to its Google TV service. Starting today, Google customers may no longer purchase TV episodes or seasons from Google TV on "Google […]
Google announced "a new path" for its Privacy Sandbox initiative for the Web. The company's plan was to eliminate third-party cookies on the Internet and replace them with new technology that it […]
A software update by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike was responsible for taking down millions of Windows PCs, some of them in critical industries. Last Friday, reports started to come in from companies and […]
Millions of links will stop working next year as a consequence of Google shutting down its URL Shortener service goo.gl. Google announced the change on its Developer blog this week. According to […]
Microsoft released Windows 11 version 23H2 last year to the public. It,, and the Moments Update that followed, introduced Windows Copilot and thus the first tiny bits of AI in Windows. The […]
Google is changing how Chrome reports potentially malicious file downloads to the user. While the blocking algorithm is not changing, Chrome will display full screen security warnings to the user. Google Chrome […]
Microsoft announced a fundamental change to Windows Updates. The built-in service delivers updates to millions of Windows devices throughout the world. Starting with the release of this year's feature update, most Windows […]
Most Windows accounts are protected by an account password. This password is needed to sign in to user account. Our step-by-step guide walks you through the process of changing the account password […]
