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Technology
Apple passkey technology transforms Mac security with biometric authentication, encrypted storage
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Your Mac holds a lot more than just files. It carries your personal information, payment data, messages and every online account you access. Keeping that information safe starts with how you sign in. For years, passwords have been the standard way to protect accounts, but they are also one of the weakest links in digital security. They can be guessed, stolen or reused across multiple sites.
Apple’s introduction of passkeys marks a major step forward. Instead of relying on something you need to remember, passkeys rely on something you have (your trusted Apple device) and something you are, like your fingerprint or face. Together with iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication, passkeys create a seamless and much safer way to secure your Mac and your digital life.
What are passkeys?
Passkeys are a modern alternative to passwords. They use public key cryptography to let you sign in without ever creating or typing a password. When you register for an account using a passkey, your Mac creates two unique keys. One is public and stored by the website or app, and the other is private and stays securely on your device.
The public key is not sensitive information. The private key, on the other hand, never leaves your Mac and is protected behind your device’s security features. When you sign in, Touch ID or Face ID confirms your identity before your Mac uses the private key to authenticate you. This process prevents phishing and password leaks because no shared secret is ever transmitted to the website.
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HOW TO USE PASSKEYS TO KEEP YOUR COMPUTER SAFE
A passkey on your Mac replaces passwords with a faster, more secure way to sign in. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
How Apple keeps passkeys secure
Passkeys are stored and synced across your devices through iCloud Keychain, which is protected by end-to-end encryption. This means that not even Apple can access your passkeys or passwords. iCloud Keychain also has built-in protection against brute force attacks, even if someone were to gain unauthorized access to Apple’s servers.
If you lose your devices, you can still recover your passkeys through iCloud Keychain recovery. To do this, you must sign in with your Apple ID and password, verify your identity with a code sent to your trusted number and confirm using your device passcode. The system limits the number of attempts, and if too many failed attempts occur, the recovery record is locked or destroyed to prevent misuse.
You can also set an account recovery contact to make sure you never lose access, even if you forget your Apple ID password or device passcode. This multi-layered design ensures that your data remains secure even in extreme scenarios, such as a compromised Apple account or cloud breach.
How to set up passkeys on your Mac
Setting up passkeys is simple and requires iCloud Keychain to be enabled.
- Choose the Apple menu, then select System Settings.
- Click your name, then click iCloud.
- Click Passwords. In macOS Sonoma or earlier, click Passwords & Keychain.
- Click Sync this Mac, then click Done.
- When you sign up for a website or app that supports passkeys, you’ll now see the option to create a passkey.
- If your Mac has Touch ID, place your finger on the sensor to confirm.
- If you are using an iPhone or iPad nearby, select Other Options and scan the QR code shown on your Mac to confirm with Face ID.
- You can also replace an existing password by visiting the account settings of a supported website or app and selecting the option to switch to a passkey.
Once created, your passkeys are automatically stored in iCloud Keychain and available on all devices signed in with the same Apple ID.
Major services that support passkeys
Passkey adoption is growing quickly across major tech platforms. As of now, many of the biggest online services already let you sign in without a password.
Some of the key ones include:
- Microsoft
- Apple
- Amazon
- PayPal
- GitHub
- Uber
- eBay
Support for passkeys continues to expand every month as more companies integrate the technology into their login systems. On most of these platforms, you can now create new accounts or switch your existing ones to passkeys for faster, more secure sign-ins.
Each passkey is unique to your account and safely stored in your device’s iCloud Keychain. (iStock)
6 additional steps to keep your Mac safe
Passkeys add a strong layer of protection, but good security habits still matter. Here are more steps to strengthen your Mac’s defenses.
1) Enable two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds another layer of protection to your Apple ID. It works by requiring two forms of verification: your password and a one-time code sent to a trusted device or phone number. This means that even if someone somehow gets your password, they still cannot access your account without also having your device.
10 WAYS TO SECURE YOUR OLDER MAC FROM THREATS AND MALWARE
2) Review your trusted devices and numbers
Regularly check which devices and phone numbers are linked to your Apple ID. On your Mac, click the Apple icon in the upper left of the screen. Then go to System Settings → Apple ID → Devices and remove anything you don’t recognize. Make sure your trusted phone number is still current, since it’s critical for account recovery.
3) Use a password manager
Even though passkeys are replacing passwords, many sites still rely on traditional logins. A password manager helps you create, store and fill in unique passwords for every account. iCloud Keychain can do this automatically across all your Apple devices, but if you want more flexibility, you might want to consider a third-party password manager.
Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our No. 1 password manager pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.
Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com.
4) Be wary of phishing attempts and install strong antivirus software
Phishing remains one of the most common ways attackers try to steal personal information. They may send fake emails or messages pretending to be from Apple or other trusted companies, urging you to click links or provide login details. Always double-check the sender’s address and avoid clicking on links that seem suspicious. Instead, visit the website directly by typing the address into your browser.
While macOS has strong built-in defenses such as Gatekeeper and XProtect, installing strong antivirus software adds another layer of protection against malware, adware and potentially unwanted programs. Strong antivirus software continuously monitors your system for suspicious behavior and can alert you to threats before they cause damage. It is especially useful if you download files from outside the App Store or connect external drives frequently.
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.
Using a passkey with Touch ID or Face ID keeps your information protected from phishing and leaks. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
5) Turn On FileVault disk encryption
FileVault protects everything stored on your Mac by encrypting the entire hard drive. That means if your computer is ever lost or stolen, your data stays locked away from prying eyes. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault to enable it.
6) Keep macOS updated automatically
Apple regularly releases software updates that include important security patches. Cybercriminals often target outdated systems because they contain known vulnerabilities. By keeping macOS and your apps up to date, you make it harder for attackers to exploit weaknesses. To make this effortless, turn on Automatic Updates under System Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates.
7) Back up with time machine
Backing up your Mac is just as important as protecting it. Time Machine automatically backs up your files to an external drive or network disk, keeping your data safe from ransomware, hardware failure or accidental deletion. Make sure your backup drive is encrypted for extra protection.
HOW A SINGLE MACBOOK COMPROMISE SPREAD ACROSS A USER’S APPLE DEVICES
8) Use a data removal service
Even with passkeys, your personal information can still be exposed through data broker sites that collect and sell your details. Using a data removal service can help remove your private data from hundreds of these sites automatically. It’s an effective way to reduce your online footprint and protect your identity, especially when combined with Apple’s built-in security tools.
While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.
Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.
Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.
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Kurt’s key takeaway
Passwords have served us for decades, but they are no longer enough to protect our digital identities. Passkeys make signing in faster, easier and significantly more secure by removing the weaknesses of traditional passwords. Combined with Apple’s encryption, iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication, they represent one of the safest ways to protect your Mac and everything on it.
Have you tried using passkeys yet on your Mac, and what was your experience like? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
I’m back after being waylaid last week by the deadly combo of a moderate cold and the beginning of pollen season. (Twenty-one percent of the District’s acreage is taken up by public green space, and DC is consistently ranked the best city park system in America. Unfortunately, I am allergic to every tree and grass.) If you’ve got tips on anything I may have missed or anything I should know about the upcoming weeks, send ’em to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com.
Do you actually believe anything OpenAI says?
On Monday, OpenAI published a 13-page policy paper addressing the impact that artificial intelligence would have on the American workforce. The company also proposed what it believed was the solution: putting higher capital gains taxes on corporations replacing their workers with AI and using that money to create a bigger public safety net. Its solutions included a public wealth fund, a four-day workweek funded by “efficiency dividends,” and government programs to help transition workers into “human-centered” work, all financed by the abundance that artificial intelligence would deliver.
Unfortunately, it was released the day that The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz published a meticulously reported, 17,000-word-plus article chronicling Sam Altman’s history of lying to everyone around him, including to his Silicon Valley backers, his employees, his board, and — relevant in this case — lawmakers trying to regulate AI. The New Yorker article reinforced a long-standing narrative about Altman, and OpenAI by extension: They may spout idealistic values, but would quickly jettison them for financial and political gains.
On its own, said several people I spoke to, the paper was a net positive to AI governance overall, in that it introduced new ideas into the political discourse around the emerging technology. But unless the company’s policy and political influence made good on those promises, said OpenAI’s critics, it may as well just be a piece of paper.
“My guess is that there are people on the team who care about the stuff, who’ve thought really hard about this document and are proud of it, and did good work, even if it’s not addressing all of the questions that I wish it would address,” Malo Bourgon, the CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), told me. “And there’s still the question of: Are those people gonna find themselves in the position that many previous people at OpenAI have found themselves in, where they thought the company had certain values or aligned with things they cared about, and then ended up finding out that wasn’t the case, becoming disenchanted and leaving?”
With OpenAI proposing policy, it’s worth looking back at its history with the government, which the New Yorker piece details in depth. Altman had been one of the first major CEOs to publicly advocate for federal oversight for AI, going so far as to propose a federal agency to oversee advanced models in 2023 — but privately he worked to suppress the laws containing his own safety proposals. A state legislative aide in California accused OpenAI of engaging in “increasingly cunning, deceptive behavior” to kill a 2023 AI safety bill that it was publicly supporting. In 2025, the company subpoenaed supporters of a California state-level AI bill in an effort to, as one such supporter put it to The New Yorker, “basically scare them into shutting up.” And though Altman had once worked extensively with the Biden administration to build AI safety standards, the moment that Donald Trump became president, Altman successfully persuaded him to kill the initiatives he’d once advocated for.
Nathan Calvin, the general counsel at Encode, an AI policy nonprofit where he focuses on state legislative initiatives, had received one of those subpoenas. “What I’ve seen from their policy and government affairs engagement has just been abysmal,” he told me. While he believed that the team who’d written the OpenAI proposal, primarily from the technical safety research side, was acting with good intentions, he was still reserving judgment. “Will those folks remain engaged as we move from general policy principles towards the many other ways in which lobbying and government influence actually happens? Part of me is hopeful, but a lot of me is also quite skeptical about whether that will happen.” (OpenAI did not return a request for comment.)
A modest, absolutely not craven request:
Next week I plan on running an issue of Regulator cataloging the nerdiest events happening during Nerd Prom, aka the White House Correspondents’ Dinner party circuit. If you’re a tech founder, tech company, or someone that does something related to technology and you’re throwing an event during WHCD week, please let me know what you’re up to! From what I’ve heard so far, the tech world is about to shake up the normal social dynamics of the week — I’ve already caught wind of the Grindr party in Georgetown, and the Substack party, which famed looksmaxxer Clavicular is attending — and I’m so, so excited to pull together the most bonkers “SPOTTED” column that Washington’s ever experienced.
(Again, this is contingent upon whether we’re at war with Iran by the end of April, in which case, I imagine no one will be up for frivolity.)
Speaking of DC reporters, this is very true of all of us:
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After nearly two years on pause, Virgin Galactic is selling tickets again. The catch is the price. A seat now costs $750,000. That number is not a typo. It is also a sharp increase from the company’s earlier pricing, which was $600,000. Now the company is reopening sales with 50 new spots available.
The company says flight testing is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with commercial service starting in the fourth quarter of 2026.
If you are thinking about booking, you are not alone. More than 675 customers are currently waiting for their turn to experience space travel.
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AIR TAXIS IN THE U.S. COULD LAUNCH THIS SUMMER
Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane fires its rocket engine as it climbs toward the edge of space during a suborbital flight. (Virgin Galactic)
What a Virgin Galactic $750,000 ticket actually includes
Buying a ticket does not mean moving to space. These are short suborbital trips that last about 90 minutes. Here is how it works. Virgin Galactic uses a spaceship that launches from a carrier aircraft at high altitude. After release, the spaceplane fires its rocket engine and climbs to the edge of space. Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to Earth. It is closer to a thrill ride than a long mission. Still, for many, the appeal is simple. You get to see Earth from above the atmosphere.
Why space travel ticket prices keep rising
Going to space sounds incredible, but paying for it is a very different story. Building reusable spacecraft is expensive. Testing takes years. Safety requirements are intense. When something goes wrong, the entire program can slow down.
Virgin Galactic knows this firsthand. The company has faced delays, technical challenges and even tragedy. In 2014, a test flight operated by Scaled Composites, the company that designed and built the spaceplane, crashed and killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury. Since then, progress has been careful and at times slow. That helps explain the high ticket price. With only a limited number of flights and passengers, companies rely on premium pricing to stay afloat.
The company’s latest financials highlight that reality. Virgin Galactic reported a net loss of $279 million in 2025 and negative free cash flow of $438 million, underscoring how expensive it is to build and scale commercial spaceflight. CEO Michael Colglazier signaled that pricing could continue to climb as the company ramps up production and testing.
A new generation of spacecraft is driving the timeline
This latest ticket release is tied to a new development phase. Virgin Galactic says it expects its next-generation SpaceShip to enter ground testing in April 2026, with flight testing expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Commercial flights with this new vehicle are still on track for the fourth quarter of 2026.
A second SpaceShip is already in progress and is expected to enter service between late 2026 and early 2027, which is expected to increase flight frequency even more.
“We completed pivotal milestones during the first quarter of 2026, and with assembly of our first SpaceShip nearly complete and ground testing set to begin in April, we have released a limited number of Virgin Galactic Spaceflight Expeditions, each priced at $750,000,” said CEO Michael Colglazier.
That production ramp is key. The company is trying to move from monthly flights to a twice-weekly schedule per ship.
NEW PERSONAL EVTOL PROMISES PERSONAL FLIGHT UNDER $40K
Richard Branson floats in zero gravity during a flight, demonstrating the experience passengers can expect. (Virgin Galactic)
Who is competing in space tourism right now?
The timing of this relaunch is not random. Blue Origin has paused its tourist flights for at least two years. Meanwhile, SpaceX is focused on satellites, cargo missions and government contracts. That leaves Virgin Galactic as the only active option for private individuals who want a ticket to space right now. It is a small market, but for now, it is theirs.
Can space travel ever become affordable?
This is the big question hanging over the industry. Space tourism has been around for more than two decades, yet only a handful of people have actually gone. The dream has always been to make it more accessible. Right now, that dream still feels far away. Companies are trying to scale up. Virgin Galactic plans to increase flights from about four per month to as many as 10. If that happens, prices could eventually come down. But for now, the math is simple. Limited supply plus high costs equals very expensive tickets.
FLYING CAR NOW FOR SALE FOR $190,000
The view from the edge of space shows Earth’s curvature, one of the main draws of space tourism. (Virgin Galactic)
What this means for you
Even if you are not planning to spend $750,000 on a 90-minute trip, this still matters. First, it shows how close space travel is to becoming a real consumer experience. Not for everyone yet, but no longer something that feels out of reach. Second, the technology being developed for these flights often trickles down. Advances in materials, safety systems and aviation design can influence other industries over time. Finally, it is a reminder of how early we still are. Space tourism exists, but it is not mainstream. It is still in the phase where wealthy early adopters help fund the future.
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Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Virgin Galactic reopening ticket sales is a signal. The industry is not fading away. It is evolving and trying to enter a new phase. At the same time, the higher price tag tells a different story. Space is still hard. It is still risky. It is still expensive. For now, the view from above remains one of the most exclusive experiences money can buy.
Would you ever pay for a trip to space if prices dropped enough, or does the risk still outweigh the thrill? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Microsoft first started trying to get rid of the Control Panel in 2012, with the launch of Windows 8. More than a decade later, it’s still working on migrating all the old Control Panel items into the modern Settings app in Windows 11. While there have been hints that the Control Panel might finally go away, the reality is a lot more complicated for Microsoft.
“We’re doing it carefully because there are a lot of different network and printer devices & drivers we need to make sure we don’t break in the process,” explains March Rogers, partner director of design at Microsoft. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first full explanation we’ve had from Microsoft about why it’s taken so long to get rid of the Control Panel.
It looked like Microsoft was about to finally cut the Control Panel in 2024, after years of Microsoft pushing aside the Control Panel in its latest Windows 11 updates. But a support note hinting at the imminent removal of the Control Panel was quickly updated to confirm Microsoft was still in the process of migrating the Control Panel to the Settings app.
Last year Microsoft also migrated clock settings, keyboard character repeat delay, mouse cursor blink rate, and formatting for time, number, and currency into the Settings app. There are also plenty of other mouse settings in the main Settings app that let you avoid the Control Panel these days.
I can’t remember the last time I used the Control Panel thanks to Microsoft’s recent mouse and keyboard improvements to the main Settings app, but a lot of Windows users used to prefer the legacy interface simply because you don’t have to dig into multiple levels to find different controls.
Microsoft is “focusing on design craft in Windows at the moment,” according to Rogers. The Settings interface is being “redesigned for clarity” this month, alongside other improvements to Windows 11 that are part of a broader effort to fix the OS.
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