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Apple expanded the reach of one of its strongest security features to more users this week, following a limited rollout earlier this year.

Apple's two-step verification for its Apple ID account system is now in more than a dozen additional countries beyond the five it launched with in late March, 9to5Mac reports. Some of those newer countries include Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Italy.

The system sends a four-digit passcode by text message to a user's phone and must be used on top of a regular password. In practice, this could keep an account from being compromised by an … Read more

Step right up, kiddies, the carnival is coming to town! And this time, it's bringing robots and lasers.

Well, it will be if the STEAM Carnival successfully reaches its Kickstarter goal and hits the highway with all manner of amusing geeky hijinks under its big tent. Think Maker Faire meets Burning Man, with a decidedly less naked, more kid-friendly slant. The goal is to not only get youngsters pumped about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), but to warm them up to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).

"Our culture isn't doing enough to get kids interested in STEAM," say the creatives behind Two Bit Circus, a collective of builders, inventors, developers, and makers behind STEAM Circus. (They also helped create the wacky Rube Goldberg machine in OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass" video.) The carnival's advisory board also brings some serious geek cred to the proceedings in the form of MythBuster Grant Imahara; Brian Fargo, creator of the video game Bard's Tale; and Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and father of Brent Bushnell, one of STEAM Carnival's masterminds.

… Read more

If you've got $200,000 to spend on a ticket to suborbital space, your spaceship is nearly ready.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, billed as the world's first commercial space plane, notched an important milestone today by firing its rocket engine during flight for the first time.

The test at Mojave Air and Space Port in California saw the passenger space plane detach from its dual-hull mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, at an altitude of 47,000 feet while being piloted by Mark Stucky and Mike Alsbury of builder Scaled Composites.

The pair then ignited the rocket motor, which propelled the craft up to 55,000 feet. During the 16-second engine burn, SpaceShipTwo went supersonic, hitting Mach 1.2. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Virgin America flights allow mile-high flirting.

- Nintendo: Don't expect a big event at E3 this year.

- Next Xbox: Microsoft sets big reveal for May 21.

- Wii outsells Wii U.… Read more

After the Associated Press' Twitter account was hacked into on Tuesday and the accounts of CBS News programs "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" were hacked over the weekend, it's been made clear that Twitter needs to boost security. But, it may be doing just that.

According to Wired's Mat Honan, the social-networking site has reportedly been working on creating a two-factor authentication for user password verification. Honan writes that the company is currently carrying out internal testing before rolling out the new security control.

This isn't a huge surprise considering Twitter posted a job advertisement … Read more

Microsoft started rolling out its two-step verification process on April 17. Also known as two-factor authentication or two-step authentication, the process strengthens your account security by requiring you to enter your password (step 1), then a security code (step 2). The security code can be sent to you by e-mail, SMS, or phone call, or you can use an authenticator app on your mobile device.

Enabling two-step verification on your Microsoft account will enable it across all Microsoft services that currently support two-step verification, like Windows, Outlook.com, Office, and SkyDrive. If you're interested in trying it out, here'… Read more

Apple took a big step in helping Apple ID users in securing their accounts this week with offering two-step verification.

Two-step verification (or authentication as it's commonly referred to) adds an additional barrier of security between would-be hackers and your account. The extra barrier comes in the form of a four-digit code, which will be sent to a device of your choosing via the Find My iPhone app or SMS, after you've entered your password.

Step one: To add the extra layer of security to your account you'll need to visit the Apple ID settings page on … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Check out our interview with B.O.B. and Big Boi for their new game, "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel."

- Mico headphones let your brainwaves choose the music.

- Google Images adds filters for animated GIFs.

- Detroit doctors link garbled texting as first sign of a stroke.… Read more

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most anticipated game launches of 2013, but right now, its actual release date is the subject of debate in the gaming business.

Take-Two Interactive, the company publishing Grand Theft Auto V, announced last week that the title will launch September 17. Soon after, gamers and analysts speculated if the launch delay (the game was supposed to be available in the spring) could have something to do with Take-Two planning to deliver the title to next-generation consoles.

Speculation abounds that either Microsoft or Sony -- or both -- could launch their next-generation consoles … Read more