Passwords have long been the way we would log into online services and accounts, but it’s not necessarily the best way of protecting our accounts. This is because for the sake of making it easy to remember, users tend to use easy-to-guess passwords and reuse passwords they’ve used for other websites and services.
This means that in the event your password is hacked/guessed, the hacker could use that password and log into all your other online accounts, or at least some of them. This is why Microsoft believes that a password-less future is most definitely in the cards. According to Vasu Jakkal, Corporate VP of Microsoft’s Security, Compliance and Identity:
“We are expected to create complex and unique passwords, remember them, and change them frequently, but nobody likes doing that either. Weak passwords are the entry point for the majority of attacks across enterprise and consumer accounts. There are a whopping 579 password attacks every second—that’s 18 billion every year.”
In fact, if you’re interested in having your Microsoft account be password-free, then here’s what you need to do.
Make Your Microsoft Account Password-Free
- Create your Microsoft if you haven’t done so already
- Download the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone
- Launch the app and link it to your current Microsoft account
- Tap your account
- Tap on “Update Security Info”
- Under “Additional Security”, tap “Turn On” for “Passwordless Account”
- Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the setup process
Once you’ve completed the setup, your Microsoft account. So what does this mean for you? This means that instead of having to enter your password when you sign into your Microsoft account, you can instead use the Microsoft Authenticator app. Alternatively, you can also use Windows Hello, a security key, or verification codes sent to your phone or email as a means of authenticating yourself.
In some cases with the use of SMS/email codes, it might seem a tad slower than entering a password, but it might also be more secure since these codes cannot be guessed or stolen unless someone else has access to your email or phone.
Filed in . Read more about Microsoft, Security, Windows, Windows 10 and Windows 11.