Technologies

AT&T’s New Lock Option Thwarts Thieves Who Try to Access Your Account

Add another level of security to make sure someone pretending to be you doesn’t get into your account.

AT&T is rolling out a new feature in its MyAT&T app intended to prevent nefarious individuals from accessing customers’ online accounts. Wireless Account Lock, which has been rolling out in waves but will reach wide availability on Tuesday, disables some key actions that are frequently used to circumvent a legitimate owner’s access to their account.

This type of access is different from large data breaches, such as the two incidents that AT&T has recently agreed to settle for $177 million. Wireless Account Lock adds a security step to keep someone from getting access to your account and doing things such as shutting you out or ordering hardware — on your dime — that is then shipped elsewhere.

A new Business Account Lock feature is also now active for corporate customers. AT&T prepaid customers can also engage an account lock with similar blocking features.

Crucially, only the primary account holder and any person on the account that they designate as a secondary account holder can control the Wireless Account Lock. That blocks others on the account from making important changes.

The Wireless Account Lock feature is accessible only through the MyAT&T app. On postpaid accounts, it works on any active AT&T device associated with the account. If that phone is lost, the primary or secondary holder can log in to the app using another device registered to the account. If one is not available, you’ll need to contact AT&T and go through a more rigorous authentication process.

What gets locked down by Wireless Account Lock

The lock feature is designed to protect against someone impersonating you to gain account access. When it’s enabled, the following features require the approval of the account holder(s) to be implemented:

• Changes to billing info, authorized users and phone numbers

• Transferring wireless numbers to other accounts

• Buying or upgrading a device on the account

• Swapping the SIM card or eSIM to another device

• Adding a new line

For the Business Account Lock, account administrators can control which lines are locked and can choose which lock features are implemented.

How to enable Wireless Account Lock

When signed into the MyAT&T app, do the following:

Tap the Services button (the icon with a grid of squares).
Tap Mobile security.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Wireless Account Lock, then tap Continue to get past the explanation of what the feature does.
Tap the checkbox after you’ve reviewed the terms and conditions, and then drag the Swipe to Lock slider.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 4 #611

Here are hints — and the answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 4, No. 611.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one. Movie buffs, this one is calling for you. The answers are all short and easy to unscramble, but if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: F-I-L-M

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Lights, camera, action!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CHAT, CHEAT, HEATS, MOVE, MOVES, MOVIES, MOVIE, BEES, COME, COMES, CARE, CARES, FROM, DUKE, RULE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

HEAT, BABE, CARS, CLUE, JAWS, DUNE, HULK, MILK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FOURLETTERMOVIES. To find it, start with the F that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Technologies

Apple CEO Stepping Down? Tim Cook Is Now 65, Sparking Succession Talk

Here are a few potential candidates reportedly being considered to fill the chief executive role once Tim Cook decides to retire.

Tim Cook turned 65 on Nov. 1, and talks have been growing around the question of who his successor as Apple CEO could be. Cook has made no announcement that he’ll be retiring, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless transition when the time does come.

Cook replaced Steve Jobs in 2011, and after a period of uncertainty, Cook ushered Apple into its most profitable era. Stock-watching website Stocktwits reports that the company’s stock has increased by around 1,800% since Cook took over leading the company.

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Jobs may have introduced devices like the iPhone into everyday use that changed how we interact with technology, but Cook expanded on the Apple experience. Under his guidance, the company built upon Apple’s smartphone by introducing subscription services and more mobile products, including earbuds and wearables.

He introduced Apple Pay, Beats headphones became part of the company’s ecosystem, the Apple Watch launched 10 years ago, and Apple even entered the entertainment business, producing original Oscar-winning movies and Emmy-winning TV shows through Apple TV Plus.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2025: Here’s Which Apple Phone You Should Buy

We should reiterate that the notion of Cook stepping down is pure speculation at this point. We don’t know what Apple’s CEO is currently planning or what his thoughts about retirement may be. That said, there are a handful of contenders who have reportedly been part of the succession conversation.

Potential Apple CEO contenders

Apple likely has «a solid bench of successors» that the company’s board has been developing, says Bryan Ma, VP of Devices Research at IDC.

«But the anxiety gets amplified when there isn’t clear visibility for such a valuable and iconic company,» Ma says. «Compounding the challenge is the fact that the bar has been set by big rock stars like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. The next generation of leaders have very big shoes to fill.»

John Ternus, Apple’s current vice president of Hardware Engineering, was top of Gurman’s list. Ternus has been with the tech giant for more than two decades, so he has the knowledge and experience for a chief executive upgrade. There would be value in having an engineer behind the wheel.

Ternus appeared during the September Apple event to introduce the iPhone Air. At 50, he’s the same age Cook was when he took over as Apple CEO.

Other potential contenders are also being considered, including Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering; Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing; and Jeff Williams, the company’s former chief operating officer, according to a report by Apple Insider. On Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported that Federighi also will soon be overseeing the Apple Watch operating system watchOS, while Ternus will be overseeing Apple Watch hardware engineering once Williams departs at the end of the year.

Federighi has been with Apple for a long time and has the public speaking experience — frequently speaking during Apple Events — that would be vital if he replaced Cook as CEO. Considering his current role, Joswiak has a more marketing perspective and a broader overview of the company and may not be as hands-on with the tech as Ternus and Federighi. And according to Gurman, Williams was viewed as a shoo-in to be Cook’s replacement until his role as COO was announced to be ending. (He’s now Apple’s senior vice president of design, watch and health.) Cook held the position of chief operating officer before he replaced Jobs as CEO in 2011. Sabih Khan will be stepping into that COO role, which also puts his name in the running.

When Cook steps down, Apple will undoubtedly have a pool of qualified talent to choose from to take up the leadership mantle. Who exactly will take the mantle remains to be seen.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Sora Video Limits Got You Down? Pay Up for More, Says OpenAI

Sora has opened to everyone in the US, and OpenAI is now charging for extra AI video generations.

Soon after Sora dropped its invite-only requirement, OpenAI is already moving to monetize the popular AI video social media app. The company has introduced paid «video generation packs,» allowing you to purchase additional AI-generated videos after reaching the daily free limit.

Until now, you could generate around 30 videos a day for free or up to 100 for Pro accounts. Now, anyone who hits that cap will see a prompt to purchase extra «gens» through the App Store.

A small bundle of 10 extra generations costs roughly $4, according to Sora’s listing on Apple App Store, but OpenAI’s support page states that the exact credits used per video range based on factors like the video length and resolution.

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OpenAI’s Bill Peebles confirmed the change in a post on X, citing increased demand and «unsustainable» economics as reasons behind the change. He also confirms the free quota options are likely temporary.

«Eventually, we will need to bring the free gens down to accommodate growth (we won’t have enough GPUs to do it otherwise!), but we’ll be transparent as it happens,» he wrote. «[i]n the meantime, enjoy the crazy usage limits.»