Friday, 9 October 2026

Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, October 10 (game #1720)

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, October 9 (game #1719).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1720) — hint #1 — Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1720) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1720) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1720) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1720) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• T

• R

• C

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1720) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1720 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1720, are…

  • SWEAT
  • THIRD
  • RURAL
  • CLASP

My win streak ended today thanks to some bad luck.

Taking three guesses to get CLASP left me with no margin of error, but at least I came close and would have got there with one more line.

We begin again tomorrow.

Daily Sequence today (game #1720) — the answers

Quordle Daily Sequence answers for game 1720 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1720, are…

  • CARGO
  • BRAVO
  • EXACT
  • STAVE

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #1719, Friday, 9 October: OLDEN, DUNCE, SWATH, HILLY
  • Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
  • Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
  • Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
  • Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
  • Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
  • Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
  • Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
  • Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
  • Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
  • Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
  • Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
  • Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
  • Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
  • Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
  • Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
  • Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
  • Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
  • Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
  • Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
https://ift.tt/2fcM0Fh

Spotifast offers a speedier Spotify experience for Windows, macOS, and Linux

  • Spotifast is a native Spotify desktop app that doesn't eat up all your RAM
  • It stores all of your playlists, allowing you to browse, search, and play music
  • You need Spotify Premium for it to work

I love using Spotify’s desktop app for a handful of reasons, but mainly because it’s a much easier way for me to create and manage my playlists — I’ve always preferred navigating larger screens for the best music streaming services.

Despite this, one of the biggest downsides to using Spotify in its desktop form as opposed to its mobile app is the substantial amount of RAM it eats up (it can use anything from 600MB to over 1GB). That’s where Spotifast comes to save the day.

Spotifast is a new lightweight native desktop app that connects to your Spotify account and imports all of your music. As its name suggests, it’s designed to decrease RAM consumption without compromising speedy performance, which its developer says loads "in well under a second and typically uses 100–250 MB of memory" on Spotifast’s information page.

To get started, you’ll need to be a Spotify Premium subscriber, and will need to grant two approvals; one for access to your Library, and the other to play music on your computer. Free accounts can only browse and search. The app is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, but how similar or different is it to the official Spotify app?

Layout-wise, it’s not far off what you already get with Spotify’s standard desktop app. Your main Home and Search page rests in the center, while your Library and playlists make up the left sidebar and your Queue sits on the right — both of which are collapsible. But there’s more emphasis on design.

The playback bar, which sits horizontally at the bottom of the page, features animated EQ visualizers as a song plays, which you can easily turn on and off. With Spotifast, you also have the freedom to customize how your app looks, giving you the choice between light and dark modes, as well as a selection of custom themes allowing you to make the app your own.

There’s also a strong nostalgia element to Spotifast thanks to its support for the Milkdrop visualizer which, if you grew up being mesmerized by Windows XP music animations, might be the reason you abandon the standard Spotify app. Additionally, the app supports classic Winamp Miniplayer 2 skins, giving the listening experience another nostalgic flair.

What's missing?

Two iPhones with a Prompted Playlist in the Spotify app

(Image credit: Future)

The developers of Spotifast pride themselves on having created a faster alternative to the standard Spotify app, and it already has the stamp of approval from users on Reddit, but there’s a reason why it's so much speedier — it’s sacrificed a lot of native Spotify tools.

For starters you won’t be getting support for lossless audio. Instead, Spotifast supports up to 320 kbps which, for some users, isn’t a dealbreaker (the difference between lossless and hi-res is minimal). The app is also completely stripped of social features.

While you can still create playlists within Spotifast, it takes them back to basics. There are no AI-powered playlist-making tools, so that means no Prompted Playlists, Mixed Playlists, Blends, or Collaborative Playlists. On the bright side, this encourages you to make playlists using your own initiative, rather than relying on an AI to do the work for you.

So far, those who’ve migrated to Spotifast for a smoother experience have been overwhelmingly positive about its speedy performance, but everything comes with a slight caveat, as the developers note on Spotifast’s information page:

"Spotify limits how often apps can ask for information. Spotifast normally shares this allowance with other listeners and several other music players. When that shared connection is busy, your library and search results can take longer to load. The top bar shows a spinner while you wait."

You should also note that Spotifast is an unofficial app, and any changes made in the standard Spotify app can temporarily break features until Spotifast is updated.

https://ift.tt/48HE5PD

Microsoft Teams will soon be able to spot third-party deepfakes on your morning meeting

  • Microsoft is adding impersonation and deepfake detection to Teams in November 2026
  • A third-party platform will be behind detecting AI-generated video and audio
  • Attackers are still targeting voice phishing on Teams

Microsoft is adding two new security features to Teams designed to combat increasingly sophisticated impersonation attacks in an AI-first era.

First and foremost, Microsoft is opening up its platform to enable third-party deepfake detection in the hope of stamping out AI-generated video and audio.

The second of two important security features coming to the video conferencing platform warns users when meeting participants could be misrepresenting their identities to hopefully help participants validate their authenticity.

Teams will soon tell you if the person you're talking to is fake

"Third-party detection solutions analyze meeting media for signs of synthetic or manipulated audio and video and send detection signals to Teams, enabling integrated in-meeting experiences and controls," the company wrote in a roadmap entry.

"When Teams detects a potential impersonation attempt, it surfaces warnings and risk indicators to help users recognize suspicious identities," another entry added.

While both are slated for a November 2026 launch, the finer details including which third-party platforms can support deepfake detection aren't yet public.

What we do know, though, is that Teams has become a hotspot for impersonation attacks, and AI has made it easier for criminals to exploit vulnerabilities. Microsoft has already been on a roll introducing other features like file extension blocking.

And the problem is very real – in a July 2026 report, Microsoft revealed a near 10x increase in weekly malicious Teams voice call attempts in just one year, and an 80% increase in voice phishing attempts.

Still, meaningful progress has been achieved and the company managed to cut phishing activity related to Tycoon2FA, a major phishing-as-a-service platform, by 92% in a year. Looking ahead, the company's roadmap is full of plenty of other Teams announcements, split into some new features and plenty more security updates.

Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'

https://ift.tt/NnAyvTb

Thursday, 8 October 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, October 9 (game #950)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 8 (game #949).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #950) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… That can't be right

NYT Strands today (game #950) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • VIRILE
  • SHAVE
  • BREAD
  • BUILDER
  • DERAIL
  • BEAVER

NYT Strands today (game #950) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 12 letters

NYT Strands today (game #950) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: bottom, 3rd column

• Last side: top, 4th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #950) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 950 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #950, are…

  • BALDERDASH
  • RUBBISH
  • HOOEY
  • DRIVEL
  • NONSENSE
  • SPANGRAM: UNBELIEVABLE
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one, so I spent a few seconds looking for the word “wrong” before abandoning the search and looking for non-game words.

Along the way I stumbled across BALDERDASH, which is a ridiculous word to begin with, but which focused me on words that meant that something was a sham and untrustworthy.

After getting RUBBISH I was on a roll, and finished without needing any hints — a shame, as there were an amazing amount of long non-game words lurking between the bunkum and piffle.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, October 8, game #949)

  • FAME
  • CELEBRITY
  • REPUTE
  • ACCLAIM
  • RENOWN
  • EMINENCE
  • SPANGRAM: LUMINARY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

https://ift.tt/2OlAHYy

Wednesday, 7 October 2026

NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 8 (game #949)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, October 7 (game #948).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #949) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… A star is born

NYT Strands today (game #949) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • MACE
  • CREATE
  • MINCE
  • BRAIL
  • CLUE
  • WINNER
  • TUNA

NYT Strands today (game #949) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 8 letters

NYT Strands today (game #949) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 5th row

• Last side: right, 5th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #949) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 949 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #949, are…

  • FAME
  • CELEBRITY
  • REPUTE
  • ACCLAIM
  • RENOWN
  • EMINENCE
  • SPANGRAM: LUMINARY
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

After the Lady Gaga movie, the first thing today’s theme made me think of was FAME, so I immediately went searching for it in the game and found it lurking on the right-hand edge.

CELEBRITY was the next most obvious word, but from here the synonyms were less obvious — although, thankfully, easy to spot, along with a spangram that was unfashionably short at just eight letters..

Later in my search I found the word ”winner” and was shocked that it wasn’t featured in the game, because, let's face it, the talented folk who can be described as achieving ACCLAIM, RENOWN and EMINENCE are winning at life.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, October 7, game #948)

  • BUBBLEGUM
  • BARBIE
  • SHOCKING
  • QUARTZ
  • FLAMINGO
  • SPANGRAM: TICKLEDPINK

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

https://ift.tt/8tJgY53

Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, October 7 (game #1717)

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, October 6 (game #1716).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1717) — hint #1 — Vowels

How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1717) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1717) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1717) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1717) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• P

• F

• D

• E

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1717) — the answers

Quordle answers for game 1717 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1717, are…

  • PALER
  • FROTH
  • DOZEN
  • ERASE

Two rare occurrences popped up for the second time in the past week — another word beginning and ending in E, and another appearance of a rare letter.

However, despite the rarities, this ended up being an oddly easy game for me, with most of the work done for DOZEN and no other letter working at the beginning for ERASE.

Daily Sequence today (game #1717) — the answers

Quordle Daily Sequence answers for game 1717 on a yellow background

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1717, are…

  • HANDY
  • PUREE
  • SHOOK
  • SATIN

Quordle answers: The past 20

  • Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
  • Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
  • Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
  • Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
  • Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
  • Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
  • Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
  • Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
  • Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
  • Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
  • Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
  • Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
  • Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
  • Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
  • Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
  • Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
  • Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
  • Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP
  • Quordle #1698, Friday, 18 September: MUCUS, MIRTH, APPLE, TILDE
  • Quordle #1697, Thursday, 17 September: CRIER, CHIRP, NEIGH, FREER
https://ift.tt/yHY6JdK

NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, October 7 (game #948)

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, October 6 (game #947).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #948) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Color for the cure

NYT Strands today (game #948) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

  • KING
  • FLIP
  • BARGE
  • LINKS
  • SOCK
  • BULK

NYT Strands today (game #948) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 11 letters

NYT Strands today (game #948) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: right, 8th row

• Last side: left, 3rd row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #948) - the answers

NYT Strands answers for game 948 on a blue background

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #948, are…

  • BUBBLEGUM
  • BARBIE
  • SHOCKING
  • QUARTZ
  • FLAMINGO
  • SPANGRAM: TICKLEDPINK
  • My rating: Easy
  • My score: Perfect

In case you were unaware, today’s theme celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the “Wear it pink” campaign of global fundraising.

The pink aspect became apparent early on, and I was thinking of the phrase “in the pink” when looking for the spangram. That was wrong, but it did help me to locate today's all important color and score another Spangram First with TICKLEDPINK.

I really enjoy games like this, where they fool around with the standard Strands palette — and I’m impressed by how many shades of pink they created.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, October 6, game #947)

  • FLIP
  • UNDO
  • REVERSED
  • OVERTURN
  • BACKPEDAL
  • SPANGRAM: THEOLDSWITCHEROO

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

https://ift.tt/0CDN8dz