Neowin News Feed for: Passwords

Microsoft is fixing the way Edge stores your passwords

Taras Buria — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:32:01 +0000

Microsoft admitted that storing passwords as plain text in memory is not cool, and a priority fix for Microsoft Edge is already on its way. Read more...

Microsoft says passwords are no longer enough as it pushes passkeys

Taras Buria — Fri, 08 May 2026 11:16:01 +0000

Microsoft is marking World Password Day with a renewed push toward passwordless sign-ins and broader passkey adoption. Read more...

Microsoft reveals job interview scam being used to hack macOS users

Usama Jawad — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:00:01 +0000

A fake job interview, a harmless-looking update, and a hidden trap reveal how hackers quietly infiltrated macOS systems. Read more...

Have I Been Pwned adds biggest trove of breaches, and no, Gmail wasn't hacked

Paul Hill — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 09:46:01 +0000

Have I Been Pwned, a website that lets you know if your passwords have been leaked online, has just added its biggest trove of data ever. Read more...

Dropbox Passwords is being killed off

Usama Jawad — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 04:44:01 +0000

Dropbox has decided to discontinue its password manager and is recommending that customers migrate to 1Password. The price of its subscription is not being reduced despite this removal. Read more...

Microsoft Authenticator users: Your password auto-fill is dying soon - this is what to do

Paul Hill — Fri, 30 May 2025 05:26:01 +0000

Microsoft Authenticator is now warning users that auto-filling passwords will no longer be available from July. Here are your options going forward. Read more...

Microsoft is killing its password manager in Authenticator to make everyone use Edge

Taras Buria — Sat, 03 May 2025 15:00:01 +0000

Microsoft is changing how its Authenticator app works, and you are not going to like it if you use it to store and autofill passwords. Read more...

iOS 18 makes it easier to share Wi-Fi passwords with Android users

Aditya Tiwari — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 17:16:01 +0000

Apple's iOS 18 update brings an easy way to share your iPhone's Wi-Fi passwords with Android users. The feature is part of the freshly-basked Passwords app, available in the iOS 18 developer beta. Read more...

X launches passkeys as a new way to login to its iOS app in the U.S. without passwords

Anushe Fawaz — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 09:14:01 +0000

Last year, X announced that it would remove the 2FA feature via SMS for non-subscribers of X premium. Today, it shared that these users in the U.S. can log in via passkeys on their iOS devices. Read more...

Microsoft Edge to get improved password manager with notes and categories

Taras Buria — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 08:48:01 +0000

Microsoft is preparing a reworked password manager for the Edge browser. The new version will include several new features, such as password categories and notes for extra convenience. Read more...

GitHub adds optional public beta passkey support

Paul Hill — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:56:01 +0000

GitHub has added public beta passkey support. Passkeys are a new login method that removes the need for passwords and two-factor authentication. They are supported on modern browsers and devices. Read more...

There's a connection between Star Wars Day and World Password Day besides the date

John Callaham — Thu, 04 May 2023 12:32:01 +0000

The use of "starwars" as a password is one of the 200 most used in 2022, according to NordPass, and it can be cracked in less than one second, along with most of the passwords on the list. Read more...

Study: Over 721 million passwords were leaked in 2022

Justin Luna — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 14:46:01 +0000

A new research paper discovered 721.5 million credentials exposed online. According to the study, 50% of the data came from botnets that deployed information-stealing malware to victims' devices. Read more...

Moving Past Passwords (At Last!) - Free eBook Download

Sponsored — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:00:01 +0000

Managing unique passwords and logins for hundreds of accounts is unwieldy, leading users to bad password hygiene. It's time to move beyond password-based authentication. Learn how! Read more...

5 Simple cybersecurity tips you can practice in 2023

Justin Luna — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 09:44:01 +0000

As we enter a new year, cybercriminals will develop more dangerous and sophisticated cyberthreats. Thankfully, there are many things you can do to mitigate the risk of falling victim to them. Read more...

UK government agency says sharing streaming platform passwords is illegal

Paul Hill — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:38:01 +0000

The UK's Intellectual Property Office said that sharing your video streaming passwords with others is technically illegal as it breaches copyright protections. You're unlikely to face action, though. Read more...

LastPass confirms another security breach, customer data accessed this time

Usama Jawad — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 03:48:01 +0000

Password management company LastPass has confirmed another cybersecurity incident following the August hack. However, unlike the previous instance, customer data has been accessed this time. Read more...

Google starts bringing passkey support to Android and Chrome

Paul Hill — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:30:01 +0000

Google has started bringing passkeys to Android and Chrome. It's still early in the day for this technology, and this rollout is intended for developers to add support to their products. Read more...

Google Chrome may be getting a new security layer for autofill passwords

Usama Jawad — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 04:22:01 +0000

Google is working on a feature that will add another layer of security associated to autofilling of passwords. Microsoft Edge already has this functionality but it's not the default configuration. Read more...

LastPass confirms breach, says user data is safe

Usama Jawad — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 20:41:36 +0000

Password management company LastPass has announced that its development environment was recently hacked. However, there are no signs of illicit access to user data at this point in time. Read more...

iCloud for Windows can now generate 2FA codes

Taras Buria — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:34:01 +0000

Apple recently updated its iCloud for Windows app with a new capability to generate codes for two-factor authentication, bringing a better connection between Apple and Windows devices. Read more...

Windows 11 22H2 comes with brute force attacks protection enabled by default

Taras Buria — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 14:20:02 +0000

Windows 11 22H2 has many new features, including invisible security improvements. One of such improvements is password brute force attack protection, which is now enabled by default. Read more...

Google no longer allows username and passwords on third-party email applications

Adam Bottjen — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 21:22:01 +0000

People started noticing that apps such as Outlook, Thunderbird, and other email clients were prompting them for their Google passwords. When entered they would be told the password is incorrect. Read more...

Microsoft: Please ditch passwords completely

Usama Jawad — Fri, 06 May 2022 07:24:01 +0000

Microsoft has once again urged customers to let go of passwords completely and instead transition to modern authentication methods such as password-less sign-in via Windows Hello and security keys. Read more...

Apple, Google, and Microsoft plan to expand support for password-less standard

Paul Hill — Thu, 05 May 2022 20:14:01 +0000

Apple, Google, and Microsoft are expanding support for a common password-less standard. The expanded support will allow people to authenticate seamlessly with a nearby mobile device. Read more...

Autofill in Microsoft Authenticator now can generate strong passwords

Taras Buria — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 20:34:01 +0000

Microsoft is taking one more step to make its Authenticator app a full-fledged free alternative to mainstream password managers. The latest update lets you generate strong passwords in autofill. Read more...

Microsoft Edge 99 is here with custom primary passwords and preparations for v100

Usama Jawad — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 05:44:01 +0000

Microsoft has released version 99 of its Edge browser to the Stable channel. The latest build packs support for custom primary passwords, PDF enhancements, and preparations for version 100. Read more...

Chrome may allow you to add notes to saved passwords in the future

Usama Jawad — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:48:02 +0000

Google is considering introducing the ability to add notes to your saved passwords in Chrome. Its use-cases could be storing information about security questions and last modified date of credentials. Read more...

Enabling 2-step verification led to a 50% decrease in Google accounts being compromised

Usama Jawad — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 11:00:01 +0000

To encourage the use of 2-step verification (2SV), Google has stated that there was a 50% decrease in accounts with 2SV enabled being compromised compared to those who don't have it configured. Read more...

Get One Year of LastPass Premium or Family at 30% off

Neowin Deals — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 15:00:01 +0000

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Microsoft follows Google's lead, passwords can be added manually in Edge Canary

Paul Hill — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 03:28:01 +0000

Microsoft's Edge Canary now lets you add passwords to the password manager manually. The move comes just weeks after Google enabled the exact same feature in its Chrome Canary browser. Read more...

Have I Been Pwned gets a password boost from law enforcement agencies [Update]

Paul Hill — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 22:32:01 +0000

Have I Been Pwned has received a database of 225 million passwords from the UK's National Crime Agency. This will help users to see if their details were included in even more breaches. Read more...

The UK's new bill targets security lapses in phones, smart TVs, and IoT devices

Kaarthic Vydya — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 19:06:02 +0000

The new law disallows default passwords in devices, mandates manufacturers to investigate security issues, and applies regulatory oversight to identify and apply penalties for non-conformance. Read more...

Get this Price Dropped Sticky Password Premium Lifetime Subscription for just $18

Neowin Deals — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 18:00:01 +0000

With today's deal, save $181 off a lifetime subscription to Sticky Password Premium. Never forget another password with this award-winning password manager. Get it today via Neowin Deals. Read more...

GoDaddy reports breach to the SEC, says investigation is still ongoing

Paul Hill — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 20:22:01 +0000

GoDaddy has told the SEC that its systems have been compromised since September 6. It noticed the breach on November 17 and is now working to change exposed passwords and other affected data. Read more...

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Twitch suffers massive data breach, sensitive details leaked

Usama Jawad — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 13:16:01 +0000

Twitch has reportedly been the target of a massive data breach. The publicly leaked data contains encrypted credentials, source code for some software, and payout details related to popular streamers. Read more...

You no longer need a password to sign in to your Microsoft account

Usama Jawad — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 13:00:02 +0000

Microsoft has formally announced the death of passwords, at least on its services. Starting today, you can completely remove a password from your Microsoft account and use alternate methods instead. Read more...

The UK government wants you to use passwords made of three random words

Usama Jawad — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 11:18:02 +0000

A UK Government cybersecurity body has explained why it wants people to use combinations of three random words as their passwords instead of reusing complex passwords across the internet. Read more...

SolarWinds attack reportedly compromised accounts of almost 30 US prosecutors

Fiza Ali — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 19:00:01 +0000

The SolarWinds attack may have compromised accounts of nearly 30 US prosecutors, the details of which have been made public now. The cover of several informants could be at risk of being blown. Read more...