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

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Google: 0-Day vulnerabilities down in 2022, but still higher than average

Google published a summary of 0-day exploits in the wild in 2022 on the company's official Google Security Blog this week. It is the fourth report of its kind and Google uses […]

Opera GX browser can now fake your browsing history when you die

Whether the latest feature of Opera Software's Opera GX browser is useful or not is hotly debated already. The company announced the launch of the "fake my history" feature, which replaces a […]

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ChatGPT is now available for Android

The official ChatGPT application for Android is now available. OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and other AI products, released the application yesterday. It follows the official ChatGPT for iOS application, which OpenAI released […]

Firefox 115.0.3 fixes a Stable to ESR migration bug for Windows 7 and 8.1 systems

Mozilla plans to release a new stable point update for the Firefox web browser today. The new update, Firefox 115.0.3, fixes a bug that affected the migration of Firefox 115.x installations to […]

bitwarden

How to migrate your Bitwarden vaults from US to EU storage

When Bitwarden users sign-up for an account, they have the choice between storing their vault data on Bitwarden's US or EU servers. Many users of the password management service may not even […]

Windows 11 KB5028254 is here, but you probably don't need it

Microsoft has released KB5028254 for Windows 11 version 22H2 today. The non-security preview update for the latest version of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system. It fixes several dozen issues, including issues that […]

Microsoft is enhancing Windows 11's Enhanced Phishing Protection security feature

Microsoft introduced the security feature Enhanced Phishing Protection in Windows 11 version 22H2 to better protect the Windows account password. The feature is now seeing improvements in the most recent Windows 11 […]

Android 4.4 KitKat support is ending in August 2023

Android users who run devices with Android 4.4 KitKat will no longer receive Google Play updates from August 2023 onward. The decision to end support for the ancient version of Android comes […]

Microsoft still desperately trying to make Windows 11 Start Menu recommendations more useful

When Microsoft launched Windows 11, it changed the Start Menu of the operating system drastically. Gone were tiles with different sizes, app folders, groups and more features. In fact, the only addition […]

Update all Windows programs with UpdateHub

UpdateHub is an open source tool for Microsoft Windows 10 and up systems that uses the open source tool winget to check all installed programs and apps for updates to install these […]

New Messaging Layer Security standard improves group chat security and privacy

Our private conversations are increasingly moving online through messaging apps, chat services, and social platforms. From one-on-one communications to communications with small and large groups. With communication moving online, malicious groups, governments, […]

Twitter Threads lawsuit

Money grab or spam fighting? Twitter to limit Direct Messages of unverified accounts

Twitter users who don't pay the social media service $8 per month will soon have the ability to direct message other Twitter users restricted. The announcement comes from the official Twitter Support […]

Firefox 115.0.3 is a rare ESR-only update, but you may not need it

Mozilla released an update for Firefox's Extended Support Release channel only today that brings the version to Firefox ESR 115.0.3.  The update addresses a startup crash on Windows for devices with the […]

Microsoft Edge 115 fixes 14 security issues

Microsoft released new versions of Microsoft Edge Stable and Microsoft Edge Extended Stable to the release channel on July 21, 2023. The Microsoft Edge Stable update fixes 14 unique security issues in […]

Future Thunderbird for Android, K-9 Mail, passed security audit with flying colors

Some time ago, the team that is responsible for the Thunderbird email client announced that it has come to an agreement with the maker of K-9 Mail, a mail app for Android, […]

Microsoft Office in trouble in Germany due to GDPR

Not just the font: Office has a new default theme as well

Microsoft unveiled a new font for Office and Microsoft 365 last week, but this is not the only major that is coming to Office products such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. On […]

what-is-microsoft-365

Microsoft 365 Backup and Microsoft 365 Archive announced

Microsoft announced two new products at Microsoft Inspire this week: Microsoft 365 Backup and Microsoft 365 Archive are two data backup solutions for the Microsoft cloud. More than 2 billion documents and […]

Brave Browser 1.56 launches with Off The Record mode and custom shortcuts

Brave Software released Brave Browser 1.56 to the stable channel today. The latest version of the Chromium-based browser adds support for the recently unveiled Off The Record mode, custom keyboard shortcuts and […]

Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is pushing the company to new heights

Netflix claims that its password-sharing crackdown is working and it has the numbers to back it up. The company published its latest earnings report on Wednesday for the second quarter of 2023, […]

Proton Pass password manager apps released as open source

Proton announced today that its password manager Proton Pass is now open source and that the apps have been audited for security. Proton announced its password manager Proton Pass in April 2023 […]

ChatGPT bing search

GPT-AdBlocker for Chrome promises to block all ads, including ads in videos

It was only a matter of time before a developer would come up with an idea to use AI tools for content blocking on the Internet. GPT-AdBlocker is a free browser extension […]

Google Chrome 115: fixes 20 security vulnerabilities, new side panel tools and HTTP upgrades

Google released a new version of its Chrome web browser to the stable channel today. Google Chrome 115 is a major browser upgrade that fixes 20 different security issues in the browser […]

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You may deactivate anyone's WhatsApp account with a simple email

WhatsApp users who lose access to their phones may request a deactivation of their account. The entire process requires just an email and the phone number and it appears that WhatsApp is […]

How to turn off Google Chrome's built-in Advertising features

Google has been working on a massive change that may have a major impact on online advertising and use of the Google Chrome web browser. Pressure from privacy advocates and governments against […]

Malware with faked timestamps on the rise to bypass Windows protections

Microsoft banned more 100 signed malicious Windows drivers just last week after it was informed that malicious actors had joined the company's Windows Hardware Developer Program to create signed drivers with malware. […]

NVIDIA releases firmware update for older graphics card to support DisplayPort 1.3 and 1.4

NVIDIA has released a NVIDIA Graphics Firmware Update Tool for DisplayPort 1.3 and 1.4 Displays update this week that improves DisplayPort 1.3 and DisplayPort 1.4 support on certain older video cards. The […]

linux mint 21.2

Linux Mint 21.2 has been released: here is what is new

A new version of the popular Linux distribution Linux Mint is available. Linux Mint 21.2 is available on download servers, but the official website has not been updated to announce the new […]

Google is tightening business verification on Google Play, but there is a loophole

Google Play Store, the official place to get Android games and applications, has several security protections in place already designed to prevent the release of malicious content on the Play Store. These […]

Reddit protest status

Reddit users lose chat messages before 2023 in latest anti-user move

Reddit users who have used the site's chat functionality prior to 2023 may have noticed that all records of 2022 and earlier are no longer accessible. Reddit keeps records of chat messages […]

There is a new font in town: Aptos replaces Calibri in Microsoft 365

Calibri was the default font in Microsoft Office applications. Microsoft announced this week that it is going to replace Calibri with Aptos. Aptos was formerly known as Bierstadt, one of the five […]

Microsoft sheds light on Windows 11 version 23H2

Microsoft plans to release Windows 11 version 23H2 later this year. The update will be a smaller feature update release, which offers advantages and maybe also some disappointments for users of the […]

ChatGPT vs Bing vs Google Bard

Google Bard is finally available in Europe and Brazil

When Google launched Google Bard, its answer to ChatGPT and Bing Chat, it blocked access to Bard in several countries and regions. European users for one could not use Google Bard, unless […]

Thunderbird 115 is the last version for Windows 7 and 8

The team that is responsible for the open source email client Thunderbird has released Thunderbid 115 earlier this week. The new version of the email client features a new design and several […]

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Malware found in over 100 signed Windows drivers

Yesterday's security updates for Windows and other Microsoft products came with an advisory regarding the malicious use of Microsoft signed drivers. Security researchers at Sophos, Trend Micro and Cisco informed Microsoft about […]

Thunderbird 115 released with updated UI and major changes

The team of the open source Thunderbird email client has been working on a new version of Thunderbird for some time. Today, Thunderbird 115 Supernova has been released, but it is not […]

The Windows July 2023 security updates are here and they patch critical issues

Microsoft released security updates for client and server versions of its Windows operating system today. The security updates address vulnerabilities in all supported versions of Windows and are available via Windows Update […]

Firefox is finally adding a volume slider in Picture-in-Picture

Firefox 115.0.2 fixes a security issue and several crashes

Mozilla has released the second Firefox 115 point release today. Firefox 115.0.2 and Firefox 115.0.2 ESR address a security issue in the web browser, several startup crashes and other non-security issues. Firefox […]

Microsoft warns users that this Windows 11 version is running out of support soon

Microsoft has published a new notification on the official Microsoft Lifecycle website that informs Windows 11 users and also system administrators about the upcoming end of support for the original Windows 11 […]

After months, Microsoft finally fixed an annoying Microsoft Defender Antivirus issue

Microsoft published a fix for an annoying Microsoft Defender Antivirus issue that has been plaguing Windows 11 users for months. The company confirmed the Microsoft Defender Antivirus issue in March 2023, stating […]

windows xp style

Updates for classic Windows versions? Windows Update Restored has you covered

When you try to install a classic version of Windows, and we are not talking about the recently discontinued versions Windows 7 or 8.1, then you may notice that you can't really […]