Hello to a totally terrific Thursday, friends! Let’s kick things off with our trivia. Over the last three years, emoji use has increased by a whopping 773%. So, what is the most popular emoji used today? Is it … 💗, 🦁, 👍 or 😂? You’ll find the answer at the end.

👊 Do your part to keep this great newsletter free to you by supporting today’s sponsor. You know you depend on antivirus and internet security software. I’ve negotiated the best deal available anywhere: One year of award-winning TotalAV’s security suite for just $19. Btw, if you buy, I get no residuals or kickbacks. Thank you! — Kim

It's bad news almost every time I talk to you about passwords. That’s because we (as in, yeah, all of us) play fast and loose with this critical aspect of cybersecurity.

Woof! Enter the FIDO Alliance

Several big tech companies launched the Fast IDentity Online Alliance — FIDO, for short — in 2013 to build a better system than passwords. Now, we’re seeing more start to roll out their solution, passkeys, and Google’s beta testing of passkeys worked so well that the company just made it the standard way to protect your account.

Before we get to how to use passkeys, let’s do a deep dive into how they work.

A look under the hood

A passkey is a personalized FIDO credential (like your fingerprint or face scan) that lives securely on your device. You use that instead of a username and password to unlock your accounts.

Their unique structure makes them near-impenetrable, unlike passwords, which are notoriously easy to crack.

Another bonus: No more sticky notes with passwords on your monitor. Passkeys eliminate the daily "Which password did I use here?" dilemma. Google says passkeys make it 40% faster to log in.

Want to try it out?

Note: Passkeys are automatically created for Google devices, but you must set them up for any other gadgets you use to access your account(s).

Fear not, Apple folks

You can use passkeys with your iPhone, too. You just need to have the iCloud Keychain turned on and 2FA enabled.

To sign in to an account on your iPhone with a passkey:

Welcome, my friend, to the start of the passwordless future. I’m thrilled to be here.

😂 True story: A scammer called me and said he had all my passwords. I said, “Oh, thank God for that. What are they?” He hung up.

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AI art imitates life: Microsoft added content warnings to its new Bing AI image generator tool. Why? Because it spit out images like Mickey Mouse holding a gun and crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11. The new guardrails may have gone too far, though. One Reddit user says Bing flagged a "cat with a cowboy hat and boots.” They should try this next time: 🐱🤠👢

Digital privacy milestone: Data brokers, beware! The ambitious Delete Act is law in California. Residents now have the right to force companies that buy and sell their personal data to delete all information about them with just one click. Hopefully, this bill will serve as a model for other states.

💰 Get your best Dr. Evil impression ready: Apple reportedly spent over $200 million on the new Scorsese-DiCaprio drama “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The movie comes out in theaters next week and should drop on Apple TV+ by the end of the year. Check out the trailer. I can’t wait to watch it — at home.

Heartbreaking: Some Jewish and Israeli schools are telling parents to delete TikTok and Instagram from their children's phones. Graphic videos and images from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war are everywhere, and some are impossible to unsee. Use these steps to limit explicit content on your feeds.

Say goodbye to your clunky case: Self-healing smartphones could be available as soon as 2028. That doesn't mean you can throw your phone off a balcony and watch it come back together like a killer cyborg in a sci-fi flick. Instead, nanotechnologies on the phone's surface will be able to fill in cracks on the screen. OK, I want this.

Pokémon Go back to training: No surprise this is going viral … Newly released dashcam footage from 2017 shows two LAPD cops ignoring an active robbery to play Pokémon Go. The cops also drove dangerously and disobeyed direct orders in order to, well, catch 'em all. Yeah, the officers were fired after an investigation.

🍕 Eat in case of emergency: Domino's is offering one "emergency pizza" to rewards members until Feb. 11. Get the coupon by placing an order of $8 or more while logged into your Domino's rewards account. What qualifies as an emergency? That's up to you. Keep this in mind the next time you burn a casserole.

A-door-able: Despite concerns about an AI apocalypse or Amazon listening to your conversations, I love a story about tech bringing us together. A California firefighter was surprised at work when his 2-year-old son called him — through the family’s Ring doorbell. The video is very cute, so take a look for a smile.

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Actually, there's a good chance your Halloween decorations are already up and scaring neighborhood kids and dogs. A survey from Lombardo Homes found Oct. 1 to 7 is the most popular time to put up the inflatable ghosts and spiderwebs.

The average amount spent on Halloween decorations: $87. Time spent putting it all up: 3 hours, on average. Yes, spooky indeed.

So, if your decorations are sitting in the garage, get on it! Now, let's look at the most popular decorations nationwide and see which cities really go all out. This will explain why you keep seeing those massive skeletons.

Top 10 decorations (I have seen all these in my ‘hood)

Top 10 cities with the most Halloween spirit

Now, this is based on Google Search trends, so take it with a grain of salt.

🕷️ What do you call a spider with 20 eyes? A spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiider.

I often hear from people who suspect someone is spying in their inbox. The good news here is tech leaves traces.

Instead of walking you through the steps for each provider, I've put together the basics you can find in every email service.

‘Who the heck is THAT?’

Reality check time. Are you sure it wasn't you? Maybe you checked your email from a friend's house or are using a VPN, so your location shows up as a city across the country.

📝 Still worried? Time to take action. Step 1: Change your email password. Step 2: Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for an extra barrier between your account and whoever’s snooping.

I love you, dear reader, from my head to-ma-toes.

The answer: 😂 is the most-used emoji in the U.S., followed by 👍, ❤️, 🤣 and 😥. I was relieved by this list. There’s only one tear, and the rest are happy thoughts.

iPhone users, don’t bother sending the meteor emoji to your Android friends. It won’t have the same impact.

✅ I really hope you take my advice and get TotalAV for the incredible price of only $19. It covers up to five of your (or your loved ones’) devices.

Have a question you’d like to ask me? Reply to this email or drop me a line here. I read every single note you send. Thank you for letting us in your inbox, and I’ll see you tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the world! — Kim