The future without passwords – for your Microsoft account

123456 , password or 1q2w3e . These are some of the most common passwords. Needless to say, these passwords are weak and guessable. Therefore, online services usually require a more complex password. They enforce this in various ways – the presence of capital letters, special characters or, for example, a mandatory change of password every three months.

But even that doesn’t usually lead to better passwords. It just gives people wrinkles, they write down the password somewhere or they will use one favorite password over and over again with slight changes. And then when a service leaks a credential database, which happens quite often, hackers go for sure. If you repeatedly use the same or a similar password, attackers will log in to it without major problems.

Microsoft: Try it without a password

A good solution is the so-called two-step authentication. The first step is to log in with an email and password. In the second step, you will use another device to verify that it really is you.

It can be a verification SMS, a code in the application or a special USB key. Experts advise to turn on two-step authentication wherever possible. Fortunately, it is enabled by almost all major services, including Facebook, Gmail, Seznam or Microsoft.
However, it is Microsoft that has now taken two-step authentication even further. It offers to “skip” the first step – the password – and relies entirely on other methods to authenticate the user. That is, if you set this option.

In the past, Microsoft has allowed enterprise customers to sign in without a password. Now it offers this opportunity to everyone. “You can now completely remove your password from your Microsoft account.”

How does it work

In essence, Microsoft took the existing two-step authentication option and omitted the password from step one. The user first enters the name and is then prompted to verify his identity. The main authentication method is Microsoft Authenticator (available for free for Android and iOS ).

Go without a password today with a few quick clicks

First, make sure you have it installed Microsoft Authenticator and linked to your personal Microsoft account.

Next, visit your Microsoft account , log in and select Advanced security options . In section Additional security options will be displayed Account without password . choose Turn on .

Microsoft Authenticator screen showing the option to go without a password.

Finally, follow the instructions on the screen, and then approve the notification from Authenticator. Once you approve your approval, your password will no longer be available!

The Microsoft Authenticator screen showing the password was successfully removed.

If you decide you prefer to use a password, you can add it back to your account at any time. But I hope you try it without a password – I don’t think you want to come back.

Used Source: Microsoft Security Blog

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