Technologies

How to Gameshare on PS4 While You Wait for Santa to Bring You a PS5

It’s still pretty hard to get your hands on a PS5. In the meantime, there are two ways to share PS4 games digitally with friends. Here’s how.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

Still playing your PlayStation 4 while you cross your fingers for a PS5 this holiday season? You can play games together or share your game library with friends and family members who are also still using their PS4, thanks to a feature called Share Play. (If you do have a friend with a PS5, you can also play their PS5 games on your PS4 with Share Play, too.)

Here are two ways to use Share Play to share digital copies of a PS4 game with another PS4 player. Just note that to use the Share Play feature, both of you will need to have a PlayStation Plus subscription.

How to gameshare on the PS4

One option you can try that’s been around for some time — gameshare — works the same as lending someone a physical disk. That means you can essentially digitally lend someone your game, but you can’t play at the same time. (And no, game sharing is not illegal on the PS4.) Both users need a PlayStation Plus subscription. Here’s how:

1. Log into your PlayStation account on a friend’s PS4 console.

2. Choose Settings.

3. Choose Account Management.

4. Select Activate as Your Primary PS4 and confirm the choice. You might need to deactivate your own PS4 console, but don’t worry, you can reactivate it.

Now player two will see all of player one’s games in their library and they’ll be available for download on your PS4 hard drive.

How to Share Play on the PS4

Here’s how to use the Share Play feature with a friend:

1. On the Invite Players screen, add the friend you want to start a party with by searching for them, or select them from your friends list. Follow the instructions and choose Send Invitation.

2. Load the game you want to play.

3. Press the share button on your DualShock 4 controller.

4. Choose Share Play on your TV screen.

5. Select the friend you want to share your game with from your list. After they accept your invitation, your game systems will link and the 60-minute session will start. After the session expires, you can immediately restart another session and pick up where you left off.

The person you’re Share Playing with will be able to see your screen as well as talk to you if you’re both playing with microphones. After you’re in a session together, you can also let your friend try out the game. Here’s how:

1. Press the share button on your controller.

2. Choose Go to Party for Share Play on the TV.

3. Select Give Controller to Visitor.

4. From there you can choose either Allow Visitor to Play as You or Play a Game Together (if your game has a multiplayer mode). The host will need to be a PlayStation Plus member to do this, but the visitor doesn’t. Playing co-op requires both gamers to be PlayStation Plus members, but only the host needs a copy of the game in both cases.

To go back to basic screen sharing, press the share button on your controller again, select Go to Party for Share Play and choose Take back Controller. This is also the path you’ll take to Stop Share Play.

Read more: These are the best gaming TVs and the best gaming chairs for 2022

For more, check out how to share your Steam library with friends, how to connect your PS4 controller to your iPhone and how to extend the life of your PS4.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 5, #1477

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 5, No. 1,477.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a pretty tough one. I grew up on a farm, so I know the word, but I didn’t put it together right away, even though the letters are common ones. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There is are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter B.

Wordle hint No. 4: Down on the farm

Today’s Wordle answer describes a piece of farm equipment.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a machine for making paper, hay, or cotton into bales.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is BALER.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 4, No. 1476 was CURVE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 30, No. 1472: BLINK

July 1, No. 1473: MOLDY

July 2, No. 1474: INCUR

July 3, No. 1475: POPPY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 5, #489

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 5, No. 489.

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.

The theme of today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t terribly tough, but at least one of the words is unusual and really, really long to unscramble. 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: Every second counts.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Does anybody really know what time it is?

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:

DIAL, SOLE, MOLE, MOLES, SHAKE, CHEEP, ROLE, HOME, LOCK, MEAT, TAME, TAMES, ROLES, ROON, TRON

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:

CLOCK, WATCH, SUNDIAL, HOURGLASS, CHRONOMETER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is TIMEKEEPERS. To find it, look for the T that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind across.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Eliminating Passwords in August: Here’s What You Need to Do to Prepare

Microsoft Authenticator has already stopped autofilling passwords, but the biggest change comes next month.

In June, Microsoft Authenticator stopped letting users create new passwords. In July, it turned off the autofill password function. And in August, the login app will stop supporting passwords entirely, moving to more secure passkeys, such as a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, says that passkeys are a safer alternative to the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, according to a recent survey by CNET.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Using the same password for several accounts or adding personal hints can be a convenient way to remember your login. But that puts you at a big risk for scammers, identity theft and fraud. Here’s more on Microsoft’s plan for eliminating passwords and how to make the switch to passkeys before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator, but here’s a timeline of other changes you can expect from Microsoft.

July 2025: You won’t be able to use the autofill password function.
August 2025: You’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.