Martin Brinkmann

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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

Android 13's upcoming Enhanced Pin Privacy feature explained

The next version of Google's Android operating system will include a feature that Google calls Enhanced Pin Privacy. It is designed to improve protection against over-the-shoulder attacks when entering the Pin on […]

Microsoft will block 120 high-risk file extensions in OneNote

As a consequence of ongoing phishing campaigns using Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft announced that it would harden the application against phishing attacks in early March 2023. Microsoft planned to start the rollout of […]

You may soon install apps and games directly from Windows Search results

Microsoft released a new Insider Preview build for Windows 11's Canary channel yesterday that introduces a new option to install Windows apps or games directly from Windows Search results. The Canary Channel […]

PDFgear: PDF Editor with ChatGPT powered Summary function

PDFgear  is a free PDF Editor for Windows that combines light PDF editing functionality with an AI assistant that is powered by ChatGPT. The application is available for Windows at the time, […]

Azure vulnerability allowed hackers to manipulate Bing results and take over accounts

BingBang, that is the name that security researchers at Wiz gave the Azure platform vulnerability that allowed them to change Bing search results and access Microsoft user data, including emails and work […]

How to stay safe while using public Wi-Fi

Whether you are traveling frequently or a remote worker, relying on public Wi-Fi may not be ideal, but it may be the only option to get work done sometimes. Many may not […]

Microsoft PowerToys: Registry Preview tool is coming next

Microsoft plans to add a Registry Preview tool to its open source PowerToys collection. The intent to integrate the tool into PowerToys was revealed earlier this week on the project's GitHub repository. […]

Google Chrome: Reading Mode for distraction-free reading announced

Google announced the upcoming release of Reading Mode in Chrome today on the company's The Keyword website. Reading Mode is a distraction-free option to access text content in the browser. Chrome removes […]

Microsoft unveils plans to monetize Bing Chat

Bing Chat is a tremendous success for Microsoft. The service is used by millions of users and it has driven a lot of new users to Microsoft's Bing platform. It was clear […]

Windows 11: Microsoft rolls out Start Menu Promotions

Microsoft released optional updates for its Windows 11 operating system yesterday. These non-security updates may introduce new features and changes to Windows. The official changelog of KB5023778 for Windows 11 version 22H2 […]

How to use Bitwarden's Password Manager in Chrome, Edge and Firefox

Users of the Bitwarden Password Manager may install it on their desktop computers and also mobile devices. Computer users may also install the Bitwarden extension in browsers such as Chrome, Edge or […]

Google Search: About this result Information verification option now available

If you have used Google Search today, you may have noticed the three-dots menu next to each search engine result. This new "about this result" option is rolling out globally over the […]

Firefox to support Windows 7 and 8 systems well into 2024 at least

Mozilla has revealed some of its plans regarding support for the Windows operating systems Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. The organization plans to support the operating systems until the third […]

Microsoft may be working on a modern version of Windows (again)

Remember Windows 8 RT? No? What about Windows 10X? No? It appears, filed under rumor for now, that Microsoft is working on the next modern version of Windows. The report comes from […]

Apple's Security: A Guide to Passwords, Tokens, and Keys

Apple supports a wide range of authentication options on macOS and iOS. This guide provides an overview of the available authentication options and gives recommendations regarding security and ease of use. Passwords […]

How to protect your Windows PC from the attack that led to the Linus Tech Tips hack

One of the world's most popular tech YouTube channels was hacked recently. Linus Tech Tips has over 15 million subscribers on YouTube, but all of the company's technical expertise has not prevented […]

Should you use your browser's password manager or a dedicated app?

Password managers are one of the most important security tools for computer users. They store passwords securely and help with the generation of strong and unique passwords. Computer users have two main […]

Steam support for Windows 7 and 8 ends on January 1, 2024

Steam customers, who run the client version on Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices, won't be able to use the platform anymore from January 1, 2024 on. Valve Software, the company behind […]

Microsoft Teams: new app is 2x faster and uses 50% less memory

Microsoft released a public preview of the new Microsoft Teams app for Windows today. The new application is a complete rewrite of Microsoft Teams and Microsoft claims that it is up to […]

Microsoft AI event, "The Future of Work with AI," is at the door, and there are some guesses on what the company could reveal.

Microsoft increases Bing Chat turns to 200/20 per day

Microsoft continues to experiment with Bing Chat turns. The company is now testing an increase to 200 daily turns and 20 turns per chat session. When Microsoft launched Bing Chat, it did […]

First O&O ShutUp10++ update of 2023 released

O&O ShutUp10++ is a privacy application for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, which we have followed ever since its first release for Windows 10. O&O, and the company behind the product, […]

windows 12

Could these be some of Windows 12's system requirements?

Microsoft has not announced Windows 12 officially, but the company is expected to release a new version off Windows in the second half of 2024. First rumors about Windows 12 came to […]

Microsoft is adding AI-generated content to Bing's search results

Microsoft continues to evolve Bing Chat and AI-powered services. Last week, Microsoft launched an update to Bing that is bringing AI-generated content to search results. Up until now, Bing Chat, the AI […]

Display the Downloads folder when you open File Explorer in Windows 11

File Explorer, the default file management tool of Windows 10 and 11 systems, opens Home, This PC or a OneDrive folder by default when launched. While these are the three default options […]

Microsoft increases prices for Cloud services on April 1, 2023

Microsoft will increase prices for its Cloud services, including Microsoft 365 and Azure, on April 1, 2023, for select currencies. The company announced the plan in January 2023 on its European news […]

VPN by Google One is the most basic VPN that you can get

Google introduced support for its VPN service to all Google One plans recently. Previously, only customers who subscribed to the 2 terabyte plan, which is available for $9.99, had access to the […]

First look at Vivaldi Browser's innovative Workspaces feature

Vivaldi is testing a new Workspaces feature in the company's Vivaldi web browser currently. Workspaces is a tab management feature that enables Vivaldi users to access only the tabs of a specific […]

Microsoft Edge: new toggle to hide the Bing Discover icon

Microsoft released a new stable version of Microsoft Edge earlier today, and with it comes an option to hide the Bing Discover icon in the Settings. The icon allowed Edge users to […]

Microsoft Bing: page visits and app downloads up since AI integration

Use of Microsoft Bing's search engine and the Bing apps on mobile have surged since the company launched the first Bing Chat version according to a Reuters report. The launch of Bing […]

Hacking contest Pwn2Own: Ubuntu, Tesla, macOs and Windows 11 cracked

It is the third day of the PWN2OWN VANCOUVER 2023 hacking contest. So far, security researchers managed to crack the operating systems Ubuntu, macOS and Windows 11, and other products, including Tesla […]

PayPal launches Passkey support on Android, but not as you might expect

PayPal Inc. announced the rollout of a new security feature today. The new feature adds passkeys support to PayPal for Google Android devices. Passkeys is a relatively new security standard that is […]

OpenAI integrates plugins support into ChatGPT

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence products, has announced initial support for ChatGPT plugins. Plugin support is rolling out gradually in ChatGPT, and interested developers may sign-up for a […]

Microsoft is testing these Windows 11 Widgets Board changes

Microsoft released a new test Windows 11 test build to the Canary Insider channel yesterday. Along with other changes comes an "evolved Widgets Board" and at least one unmentioned change. Microsoft introduced […]

Microsoft has a fix for the Windows screenshot tool leak issue

Microsoft has released a new version of the Snipping Tool for Windows that fixes potential leaks of original images after cropping them. The issue originated on Google Pixel devices on Android, but […]

How to set default apps in Windows 11

Setting up default applications should not be difficult on any platform, but sometimes, companies have certain goals in mind that affect usability. This has been the case since the release of Microsoft's […]

IFTTT launches three AI services for Pro+ users

Remember IFTTT -- IF This Then That? We reviewed the service for the first time back in 2011 when it was created, and have followed it throughout the years. The service enables […]

Microsoft confirms "Local Security protection is off" Microsoft Defender issue

Microsoft Windows 11 systems may display the error message "Local Security protection is off. Your device may be vulnerable." after installation of a recent Microsoft Defender Antivirus update. Microsoft confirmed the issue […]

How to add a backup two-step login provider to Bitwarden

Earlier this month, I wrote a tutorial on enabling the upcoming security standard WebAuthn in Bitwarden as a two-step login protection. WebAuthn, which stands for Web Authentication, is integrated into operating systems, […]

Opera Browser update integrates AI Prompts and ChatGPT

Opera Software released a new version of the company's Opera web browser today. A focus of the new release is the introduction of new artificial intelligence features in Opera browser. The functionality […]

Pale Moon 32.1.0 launches with major web compatibility improvements

The developers of the open source web browser Pale Moon have released version 32.1.0. The new version is a significant release for the project, as it improves web compatibility by enabling Google […]