Technologies

Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords in 2 Weeks: What to Do Now

If the Authenticator app is your go-to password manager, you’ll need to pick a new one soon.

Microsoft is axing passwords starting in August — and if you use its Authenticator app, you’ll want to be prepared.

For years, Microsoft Authenticator has been a go-to for managing multifactor authentication and saved passwords. However, starting next month, it will no longer support passwords and will move to passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans or facial recognition.

Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it’s a move I’m excited about. I recently uncovered that 49% of US adults have risky password habits that can open the door to scammers getting access to your sensitive data.

If you’re a fan of Authenticator and not sure where to start before the switch, here are other password managers CNET recommends and steps you should take 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.

Starting this month, you won’t be able to use the autofill password function. And next month, 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.

«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,» said Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert.

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.

Other password manager alternatives

Since Microsoft will get rid of all of your passwords in two weeks, you’ll need a new place to store your passwords safely. Tomaschek has a few of the best password manager recommendations after testing and reviewing several.

The top recommendation is Bitwarden for its transparency. It’s open-source and audited annually. From a price perspective, the free plan lets you store infinite passwords across unlimited devices. The free plan also includes features most password managers would charge for, including password sharing and a username and password generator.

Bitwarden’s upgraded plans have other upgraded features that could be worth the cost, too.

Personally, Tomaschek has been using 1Password for a while, and he likes the interface and family plan. Even though it’s second on the list, Tomaschek says it’s just as good as Bitwarden.

Technologies

You Can Now Watch Mini Dramas on TikTok’s Standalone ‘PineDrama’ App

Single Dad Hunt, Cohabitating Romance and other bite-size sugar fixes have earned their own app.

TikTok looks like it’s doubling down on the «pine» in its mini dramas with the new PineDrama app, now available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. It’s free, likely until the company has amassed a large enough content library worth paying for.

At the moment, everything looks like romantic potboilers, but since microdramas are popular and getting more so even as I type, that’s bound to change. You’ve probably seen microdramas and the various apps with which you watch them in your social media ads — they’re short movies or TV shows that last one or two minutes per episode.

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The PineDrama app is fairly basic. There’s a central Home screen with your feed and trending videos, along with access to your history and all videos. Discover offers just slightly larger thumbnails for browsing all or trending videos. Inbox is for system and new follower notifications, and a Profile view shows you your favorites, how many people you’re following, and your followers and likes.

Though a standalone app, PineDrama uses the main TikTok sign-in system, so you still need a TikTok account to access it. Given that the content looks a little like what’s available in the TikTok app, anyone who wants to use PineDrama probably has an account anyway.

Personally, I’m not a fan of miniseries. I’ve never been able to read comics until they’ve been collected into volumes, and can’t stream shows until an entire season — sometimes every season — is out. (None of which makes sense, given I’ve got the attention span of a cat in a room full of laser pointers.)

But sometimes you need a dopamine hit, and PineDrama lets you watch every single episode sequentially. And viewing just the first frame of each is kind of mesmerizing: From kiss to post-coital to packing a suitcase in just three swipes.

We reached out to TikTok for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Jan. 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 17.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? You’ll have to know your regional food specialties in order to solve 8-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «It’s just so-so»
Answer: MEH

4A clue: «Impression, Sunrise» painter
Answer: MONET

6A clue: Ca on the periodic table
Answer: CALCIUM

8A clue: City that’s famous for its lemon pepper wings
Answer: ATLANTA

9A clue: Reality show episode in which cast members gather again to bicker
Answer: REUNION

10A clue: Common wall coverings in a dorm room
Answer: POSTERS

11A clue: Boxing bout enders, for short
Answer: KOS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Snail, clam or squid
Answer: MOLLUSK

2D clue: 2021 Disney movie with the hit song «We Don’t Talk About Bruno»
Answer: ENCANTO

3D clue: Tushes
Answer: HEINIES

4D clue: San ___, city between San Francisco and Palo Alto
Answer: MATEO

5D clue: Private teacher
Answer: TUTOR

6D clue: Complain
Answer: CARP

7D clue: «Dogs are a ___ best friend»
Answer: MANS

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Technologies

ChatGPT Ads Coming Soon for Free and New $8 Go Tier Users

OpenAI says that it won’t serve ads based on sensitive topics like mental health or politics.

OpenAI has announced that it’s testing ads for its free tier and new $8-per-month Go memberships, and the ads will be based on a user’s current conversation.

OpenAI says the ads will be clearly marked and appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers «when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.»

Meanwhile, the company says the new Go tier enables 10 times as many messages, file uploads, and image creations as the free tier, and also remembers more details about you over time. The new $8 Go tier joins ChatGPT Plus at $ 20 per month and ChatGPT Pro at $ 200 per month.

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The company says it won’t show ads on «sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics.» It also said it won’t show ads to users who tell the chatbot they are under 18 or to users the system predicts are minors. Furthermore, the company says it will keep individual conversations private from advertisers and never sell user data to advertisers.

The company also says that users can turn off personalization and can clear the data used for ads at any time.

Last week, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT Health service, which enables users to upload their health data. However, privacy experts warned that the company wasn’t covered by a health provider’s privacy protections.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)