Martin Brinkmann

martin photo

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

Firefox 113.0.1 fixes three non-security issues in the browser

Mozilla has just released the first Firefox 113.0 point release. The update addresses three non-security issues in the browser, including an incorrect colors issue on Windows and a video playback issue. Firefox […]

YouTube is blocking ad blockers to push Premium subscription

How to bypass YouTube's anti ad blocker prompt

For the past couple of days, some YouTube users were blocked from watching videos on the site. These users were informed that "ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube" and that they […]

Some Google Drive files may land in the new Spam folder soon

Google's file storage and synchronization service Google Drive will get a dedicated Spam folder later this month. Google announced the change during its Google I/O 2023 event. The Spam folder works similarly […]

Microsoft's bid to make Bing the default Firefox search engine

Microsoft's Bing search engine could soon become the default search engine of Mozilla's Firefox web browser. All web browsers come with a default search engine that is used when users run searches. […]

Twitter: Pay us to encrypt your direct messages

Elon Musk confirmed the availability of encrypted direct messages on Twitter earlier today after he teased it last week. The milestone is marred by restrictions, as the feature is only available for […]

Google now lets you create Passkeys for your accounts

Should you protect your Google Account with a passkey instead of a password?

Last week, Google unlocked the ability to create passkeys to protect Google Accounts and to switch to using passkeys instead of passwords for protection. The question that Google customers may have is […]

google labs

Google launches experimentation platform Search Labs

Google Search Labs is a new initiative from Google that allows users to test early-stage experiments in Google Search. The goal of Search Labs is to give users a first look at […]

Google drops the waitlist for its Bard AI

Users interested in Google Bard, the company's AI chatbot and answer to Microsoft Bing Chat, had to join a waitlist to eventually gain access to Bard. Yesterday, Google announced that the days […]

amazon anywhere

You can now buy from Amazon in games and apps

It feels already as if Amazon is everywhere. The mighty company has come a long way since its humble beginnings and has expanded into more and more areas. With such a large […]

thunderbird

Thunderbird donations have jumped by over 100% in 2022

The Thunderbird team, responsible for the open source cross-platform Thunderbird email client, published its financial report this week. Almost all revenue of the project is based on donations. The team states that […]

Elon Musk can't read your Twitter direct messages anymore starting tomorrow

Twitter news have not been all that positive since Elon Musk's acquisition of the service. There have been layoffs, subscription changes, API limitations, removal of a security feature, or the rumor that […]

Microsoft Defender Antivirus had highest system load impact in latest AV-Test

Modern Windows operating systems include Microsoft Defender Antivirus by default. The security component is enabled by default, but it will turn itself off for the most part if an administrator installs another […]

microsoft

Microsoft patches several critical security issues on the May 2023 Windows Patch Day

Microsoft released security updates and non-security updates for all supported versions of its Windows operating system and other company products on the May 2023 Patch Tuesday. All versions of Windows are affected […]

The great Twitter purge of 2023 has been announced

The social messaging service Twitter plans to purge inactive accounts in the near future to free up handles on the site. Elon Musk confirmed the plan on Twitter yesterday, stating "We’re purging […]

Firefox 113 ships with security, accessibility and AV1 improvements

Firefox 113 is the latest Stable version of the Mozilla's open source cross-platform Firefox web browser. The new version is a larger update that improves security, fixes security issues, includes a redesigned […]

AntennaPod Podcast App for Android update has a new Home screen

Back in 2019, I revealed that AntennaPod was my favorite podcast manager and player on Android. It is a free open source podcast player that is available on Google Play and on […]

Is Microsoft restoring Windows 7 Gadgets feature in Windows 11?

Microsoft introduced support for gadgets, small apps that ran directly on the desktop, in Windows Vista. Gadgets were limited to a sidebar in Windows Vista and unlocked in Windows 7, so that […]

7-Zip 23.00 Beta improves executable compressing

The first 7-Zip 23.00 Beta version has been released on May 7, 2023. The release improves the compressing of executable files, the creation of multivolume archives on macOS and Linux, and more. […]

Another area in Windows 11 may show ads in the future

Most customers who have bought Windows 11 or upgraded from an earlier version of Windows that they bought may not have expected that they will see more and more advertisement in the […]

google search

Google is chasing other search engines now

Up until very recently, Google Search was the clock when it came to online search. Google Search dominated, and still dominates, search, but the tide seems to be turning, and it is […]

Western Digital informs customers that hackers stole personal data

Western Digital customers who have used the company's Western Digital online store may have had personal information stolen by hackers. The company revealed in early April 2023 that it suffered a security […]

microsoft edge

Microsoft Edge 113 removes Basic Enhanced Security Mode

Microsoft has just released Microsoft Edge 113 Stable for all supported operating systems and platforms. The new version of the browser makes a change to its Enhanced Security Mode, automatic updating on […]

Google is pushing inline ads on Gmail

Some Gmail users are now seeing ads in the middle of their inboxes on the Gmail website. Google has a long track record of displaying advertisement on Gmail. It is not uncommon […]

This ad-supported free TV could come right out of Idiocracy

Remember the movie Idiocracy? It is funny how many of its predictions have come true or may come true in the future. There was one scene in the movie that showed a […]

Zoho launches Ulaa, a web browser with specialized browsing modes

Zoho has launched Ulaa, a new web browser that it claims is private, secure and "superfast". Ulaa is available for all major desktop and mobile operating systems. Interested users may download it […]

Is Microsoft teaming up with AMD to develop AI chips?

A report by Bloomberg suggests that Microsoft is working with AMD to develop chips specifically for AI applications. The report bolsters an The Information report from April 2023. The magazine stated back […]

google pixel fold

Google confirms the Pixel Fold with a teaser

After numerous rumors and leaks surrounding Google's first foldable device, the company has now confirmed that it is indeed working on the Pixel Fold device. The Made by Google account revealed first […]

1Password: Passkey support is coming in June

1Password revealed plans this week to launch passkeys support in June 2023. The announcement was published on the same day that Dashlane, another password service, announced support for passwordless sign-ins as well. […]

Brave update improves script blocking and Google Sign-In privacy

Brave Software published a new version of its Brave web browser today. Brave 1.51 adds several privacy-focused features to the browser or improves existing ones. The new version of Brave browser is […]

Password Manager Dashlane wants to eliminate the master password

Password management service Dashlane announced plans to eliminate the master password; this password is used currently to unlock a user's vault at the service. The company announced support for passkeys in its […]

Windows administrators may now receive email alerts about known issues

Windows system administrators who want to stay up to date regarding known issues may subscribe to email alerts know that inform them of updates. Known Windows issues describe problems with different versions […]

Microsoft teases a new OneDrive Experience for work and school

Microsoft has announced the new OneDrive for work and school today. A news post on Microsoft's Tech Community website offers a preview of some of the upcoming features. At the core of […]

microsoft outlook

Outlook and Teams link ignore user defaults and open in Edge by default now

Links in Microsoft Outlook open in Microsoft Edge by default now for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. The change is coming to business subscribers and the Teams application as well. Microsoft […]

Google has announced its new features, including a heat alert system, to help communities fight with climate change.

Google Chrome 113 is here with 15 security fixes and WebGPU support

Google has released Chrome 113 today. The new stable version of the Chrome web browser is a security and feature update. It addresses 15 unique security issues in the browser and introduces […]

Mozilla acquires fake review detecting service Fakespot

Mozilla announced the acquisition of Fakespot, a service to detect fake reviews and scams, on May 2, 2023. User reviews are a cornerstone of the Internet shopping experience. Other customers may leave […]

Intel reportedly abandons "Core i" name

Intel's upcoming processor generation Meteor Lake will like appear under a new naming scheme. Intel's head of communications, Bernard Fernandes, confirmed on Twitter that the company will make brand changes after rumors […]

Amazon has already laid off thousands of employees, and the company continues to do so with more than 100 workers in a different division.

Amazon announces free ad-supported Fire TV Channels

Amazon plans to launch Fire TV Channels, a new free ad-supported service for Amazon Fire TV device owners soon. Fire TV Channels may sound like Amazon's Freevee service at first glance. Both […]

Windows 11 gained more than 11% in April 2023 on Steam

Valve Software published the Steam Hardware and Software statistics for April 2023 today. Last month saw Microsoft's newest operating system drop by almost 8% and Windows 10 gaining almost 10%. This month, […]

Google fixes 52 security issues in the May 2023 security updates for Android

Google has just released the May 2023 security bulletin for its Android operating system. It addresses 52 different security issues in Android and components.  The company publishes the security bulletin on the […]

windows 11

Windows 10 kept its dominating lead in April 2023 over Windows 11

Windows 10 continues to be the most popular version of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system, even though Windows 11's usage share continues to climb. Usage statistics tracking service Statcounter published its stats […]