Password free accounts for Microsoft users

Microsoft has stated that account holders would no longer be required to use passwords to access their accounts. Instead, customers can use Windows Hello, Microsoft Authenticator, a verification code, or a security key to enter into their accounts. This functionality will be available throughout the whole Microsoft app portfolio.

For a few years, the Washington-based software firm has been experimenting with password-free sign-in alternatives. With Windows 10, the firm first offered the option of passwordless sign-ins, allowing users to sign in using their fingerprints, Windows Hello Face, or PIN instead of their passwords.

In a blog post, Microsoft stated that all users may now delete passwords from their accounts. Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Security, Compliance and Identity Vasu Jakkal wrote in the blog post: ‘We are expected to create complex and unique passwords, remember them, and change them frequently, but nobody likes doing that either. In a recent Microsoft Twitter poll, one in five people reported they would rather accidentally ‘reply all’ – which can be monumentally embarrassing – than reset a password.’

According to Microsoft, 579 password attacks occur per second, totaling 18 billion each year. Two factors contribute to such attacks: hacker nature and human nature. As per Jakkal, people find it challenging to construct a password that is both safe and easy to remember. This makes it simple for hackers to crack passwords that are simple to remember yet insecure.

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Microsoft has also laid out the steps to go password-free. Account-holders would need to log in and go to Advanced Security Options to do so. The Passwordless Account option will appear when you pick Additional Security Options. Once the option is enabled, users may accept the Microsoft Authenticator app notice by following the on-screen steps.

These sign-in options will work with all of Microsoft’s programs, including OneDrive, Outlook, OneDrive, and Microsoft Family Safety. In his blog, Jakkal stated that the upgrade will be sent out to all users in the coming weeks.