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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 Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, February 19 (game #1122).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1123) - 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 #1123) - 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 0.

Quordle today (game #1123) - 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 #1123) - 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 #1123) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• H

• D

• F

• C

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

Quordle today (game #1123) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1123, are…

• HASTY
• DRAPE
• FICUS
• CRAZE

I don’t feel that bad about being defeated by today’s puzzle. I still got three very difficult words – one of which included Z. Plus, I got myself in a bind with a letter combination that led to several incorrect guesses I chose ahead of CRAZE.

But mainly I don't feel bad because I have never heard of the word FICUS (a genus of tropical trees, of course) and would only have got it by chancing it, like we all do sometimes in Scrabble hoping that the random letters we’ve put down are in the dictionary.

Onwards and upwards.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1123) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1123, are…

• CUMIN
• SCENE
• GUEST
• GRAPH

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1122, Wednesday 19 February: ABATE, TROVE, VENUE, DRAPE
• Quordle #1121, Tuesday 18 February: TAMER, SCRUB, BRICK, DRIFT
• Quordle #1120, Monday 17 February: SADLY, WAFER, LITHE, IDIOM
• Quordle #1119, Sunday 16 February: GHOUL, AFIRE, COVEN, FIERY
• Quordle #1118, Saturday 15 February: CREEP, CONDO, GRILL, FANCY
• Quordle #1117, Friday 14 February: MEDIA, ELUDE, THUMB, WIDOW
• Quordle #1116, Thursday 13 February: SCALP, DWELL, AMPLE, TRUNK
• Quordle #1115, Wednesday 12 February: SHOOK, GRADE, POLAR, SEEDY
• Quordle #1114, Tuesday 11 February: HEAVY, CIRCA, PESKY, SCION
• Quordle #1113, Monday 10 February: TWIXT, FRESH, GUISE, TABBY
• Quordle #1112, Sunday 9 February: TAPIR, SHAKE, TOKEN, SEVEN
• Quordle #1111, Saturday 8 February: AFOOT, ALIKE, HUMUS, TOWEL
• Quordle #1110, Friday 7 February: PETAL, ABASE, AMONG, CORER
• Quordle #1109, Thursday 6 February: MADAM, SCAMP, FAUNA, TRACK
• Quordle #1108, Wednesday 5 February: SIXTH, VERVE, BLURB, CACTI
• Quordle #1107, Tuesday 4 February: BIRTH, DRAWN, MILKY, JOIST
• Quordle #1106, Monday 3 February: SLEET, TENSE, SEIZE, SCAMP
• Quordle #1105, Sunday 2 February: LOUSY, PENNE, CHUMP, SALVE
• Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK
• Quordle #1103, Friday 31 January: PARER, SYNOD, BRAWN, BANJO

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, February 19 (game #353).

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 #354) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Together for the present

NYT Strands today (game #354) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• FIVE
• TIED
• NEST
• THAN 
• THEN
• DONE

NYT Strands today (game #354) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Wedding date celebrations

NYT Strands today (game #354) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: bottom, 1st column

Last side: top, 3rd column

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

NYT Strands today (game #354) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #354, are…

• DIAMOND
• GOLD
• FIRST
• PAPER
• FIFTIETH
• SIXTIETH
• SPANGRAM: ANNIVERSARY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Just to wrap up these pairs, PAPER is your FIRST ANNIVERSARY, GOLD your FIFTIETH, and DIAMOND the SIXTIETH.

With people getting married later in life, it feels as if there should be celebrations of wedding anniversaries before you toast 50 years together, especially as you’re less likely to want a party by the time you get to that stage. I propose we go big on Tin – which marks 10 years since your wedding day. It’s also a lot more affordable than getting someone a gold or diamond gift.

Come on Hallmark, let's make this happen. All in on Tin.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, 19 February, game #353)

• ELDER
• STRAW
• HUCKLE
• BLUE
• RASP
• SALMON
• GOLDEN
• BLACK
• SPANGRAM: BERRIES

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and 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.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections 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 Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, February 19 (game #619).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

NYT Connections today (game #620) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ROOSTER
• UMBRELLA
• SLEEP
• STAR
• SOS
• SUNRISE
• STAY
• FLARE
• CIRCLE
• BUNK
• SIGNAL
• DEW
• ALARM
• TRIANGLE
• WORM
• CRASH

NYT Connections today (game #620) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Something you’d sound
• GREEN: Sleepover
• BLUE: First thing in the AM 
• PURPLE: No. 456 picked the hardest

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #620) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: ALERT 
• GREEN: SPEND THE NIGHT (AT) 
• BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY MORNING 
• PURPLE: COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES IN "SQUID GAME" 

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

NYT Connections today (game #620) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #620, are…

• YELLOW: ALERT ALARM, FLARE, SIGNAL, SOS
• GREEN: SPEND THE NIGHT (AT) BUNK, CRASH, SLEEP, STAY
• BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY MORNING DEW, ROOSTER, SUNRISE, WORM
• PURPLE: COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES IN "SQUID GAME" CIRCLE, STAR, TRIANGLE, UMBRELLA

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

I made one mistake today, initially thinking that there was a group that was about ways to wake up. I rashly selected ROOSTER, ALARM, SIGNAL and FLARE before coming to my senses.

Getting the Purple group – COOKIE CUTTER SHAPES IN "SQUID GAME – largely depended on whether you have seen the Netflix series or not, although I guess they're all shapes that might go together anyway. Well, other than UMBRELLA, obviously, which rather complicated things. Still, that aside this was not too tough.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 19 February, game #619)

• YELLOW: STRUCTURES BY THE SHORE BOARDWALK, DOCK, LIGHTHOUSE, WHARF
• GREEN: SMALL IMPERFECTION DENT, DING, NICK, SCRATCH
• BLUE: SOUNDS A CUCKOO CLOCK MAKES CHIME, CUCKOO, TICK, TOCK
• PURPLE: _ TAIL COCK, MOCK, PIG, PONY

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Apple kills small iPhones, the home button and the Lightning ports in one swoop.

Commentary: Apple's often-neglected entry level iPhone is getting a refresh just as new phone buyers could use one, despite a notable price increase from the iPhone SE.

Apple's newest phone is less a successor to the iPhone SE and more a budget iPhone 16, offering value but not as much affordability.

• Meta Connect is coming on September 17 and 18
• The first-ever LlamaCon is coming on April 29, 2025
• Meta is teasing big AI and XR announcements for these events

Meta has announced the dates of its next two events: LamaCon and Meta Connect; in doing so it has potentially told us precisely when we’ll see its next-gen AI glasses, and maybe a sneak peek at what XR tech it has up its sleeve.

Starting with LamaCon as that’s coming up first – on April 29, 2025 – here Meta says it will share updates on its open-source AI collection Llama. This developer conference will seemingly focus more on back-end tools rather than consumer-facing products. However, these tools could be used to create some impressive AI software down the line.

Then there’s Meta Connect 2025, which is scheduled for September 17 and 18. That’s just under seven months away which is a lot more notice than we’re used to for tech events – look at Apple which gave us about a week’s notice for its February 19 event (where it announced the iPhone 16e). Connect, as always, will feature VR, MR, and AI hardware announcements – such as Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses – either as products we'll get our hands on soon or tech that’s coming down the line but is still at the in-development stage.

Meta is remaining tight-lipped on specifics for either event but says it’ll be back with updates in the coming months. I’m pretty sure we already have a good idea of what Meta Connect 2025 will have in store for us based on leaks.

What we expect to see at Meta Connect 2025

(Image credit: Meta)

Meta made sure to specifically call out AI glasses in its announcement, and we’re expecting Meta Connect 2025 is where it will launch at least two new products. The first is Oakley versions of its existing Ray-Ban meta smart glasses; they’ll shift the camera from the edge to the nose bridge in the center, and they’ll reportedly be aimed at athletes and cyclists – which could include some AI-powered fitness tools.

The other launch could be next-gen Ray-Ban specs with a display. This single in-lens screen could let a wearer see phone notifications, a preview of images they capture, and other useful info, allowing the Ray-Ban smart specs to communicate with you visually rather than just relying on audio or your phone screen.

Lastly on the AI glasses front I’m predicting the arrival of Meta’s ‘smartwatch’ which is likely just a simple band that allows your specs to pick up hand gesture controls – which we’ve seen a version of for the Meta Orion AR glasses. We’ve heard rumors Meta is working on such a band and has been trying to decide if it should launch it alongside the next-gen Ray-Bans. I’m leaning towards the band dropping later this year, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s held back until Meta’s proper AR specs.

The old Meta Quest Pro (Image credit: Meta)

AR glasses aren’t likely – based on leaks, consumer versions of Orion aren’t expected before 2027 – however, I think we have a shot at seeing at least two XR devices.

The first is from Asus in a VR headset codenamed ‘Tarius.’ While it isn’t Meta-made it will boast Meta Horizon OS software – Meta’s operating system which currently only powers Quest devices. Meta has said Asus is working on a Horizon OS device, leaks have started to appear this year for it (hinting that a launch could be approaching), and Meta says in its Connect date announcement that the show will include “the latest and greatest Meta Horizon updates” – it doesn’t get much greater than the platform’s first-ever third-party VR headset. Not much is known about Tarius but leaks tease a high-end gaming headset with top-notch displays.

Finally, I think Meta’s ‘one more thing’ at Connect 2025 will be the Meta Quest Pro 2. But much like the original Pro I think we’ll only be getting a teaser of a device we won’t see properly until Meta Connect 2026. While the Quest Pro was ultimately a flop, and rumors have suggested its sequel has been canned twice (or, specifically, that prototypes that were intended to become the Quest Pro 2 both got scrapped) a third attempt is in the works as a showcase of high-end mixed reality glasses. If that's the case then the Quest Pro 2 could be a super intriguing and unique MR headset – but as with all leaks and predictions we won’t know what Meta has in store for Connect 2025 until its keynote (which usually takes place at the start of the first day, so September 17, 2025).

Whatever announcements Meta makes we’ll be here and ready to cover them.

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• A data breach has apparently hit the US Coast Guard
• The paychecks of over a thousand employees have been affected
• The Coast Guard is investigating the incident

A data breach has affected the personnel and payroll systems of the US Coast Guard, and has impacted member pay, and forced the agency to to take systems offline to prevent further intrusion until “at least February 19th, 2025”.

The Coast Guard told Cybernews researchers it is, “investigating the breach of data within its personnel and payroll system, which has impacted the timeliness of bi-weekly pay to 1,135 members.”

The sensitive financial information of service members was reportedly exposed in the hack, meaning they could be at risk of fraud or identity theft - so it could be dangerous for anyone exposed, here’s what we know so far.

Compromised accounts

The data breach was discovered by a junior petty officer, who alerted the agency to irregular activity on their account, and the source of the breach is yet unknown.

The full scope of the breach also hasn’t been determined yet, and the Coast Guard have confirmed it will “ensure it is resolved as soon as possible”.

“Concurrently, the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center and Pay and Personnel Center are expediting pay to any impacted Coast Guard members,” the agency said, calling “the men and women of the USCG workforce our most valuable resource.”

The service’s Pay and Personnel Center, has pulled its Direct Access military pay and benefits system offline while it investigates the issue, but the spokesperson confirmed that members will be paid “as soon as possible”.

The Coast Guard spokesperson reiterated to Cybernews its members “deserve transparency into the causes and resolution of this incident” and that through the “ongoing response and investigation,” the USCG will “continue to provide timely updates to the workforce.”

In April 2024, the Coast Guard Reserve suffered a data breach which exposed the private information of thousands of individuals, including home addresses, employee identification numbers, and names.

With increased cybercriminal activity from rogue nation states across the world, it's unsurprising that critical infrastructure and government agencies are being targeted. In fact, US military and defense contractors have been increasingly attacked by Infostealer malware, with the US Army, Navy, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and others all affected.

Employees at risk

Since Personally Identifiable Information was leaked as part of this breach, there is a risk for those affected. Financial information puts personnel at risk of fraud, such as false credit card claims, so employees should be sure to monitor their accounts very carefully.

With any data breach, a serious danger is the risk of identity theft for families and employees, which these plans can help with. Staying on top of your accounts and your details is the basis of it, but the plans often offer insurance, dark web monitoring, and antivirus software to keep you protected all in one place.

Besides that, social engineering attacks like phishing are a risk, because attackers can use the personal information gained from the breach to construct a specific email (usually) that references family members, websites you use, the company you work for, or another convincing scam.

These will often prompt the victim into action, like clicking a link, entering credentials, or scanning a QR code. Our advice is to never click links or scan codes you don’t 100% trust, and be very, very wary of communications you aren’t expecting.

Banks are unlikely to email or call you out of the blue, and so are the social media companies or communication platforms you use - and they won’t ask for your information either. If you receive an email from one of these you’re not sure about, look up the official email address and compare them, or call the company up to verify.

Make sure you create a strong and secure password and a unique one for all platforms which hold medical or financial information (like banks and messaging apps) - this quarantines any accounts that do suffer a data breach.

Also important, is to enable multi-factor authentication or MFA. Although this can be a bit of a hassle, it's an extra layer of security and gives you a peace of mind knowing that criminals would face an extra barrier to steal your details.

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