Starting today, you can remove a password altogether associated with your Microsoft account and choose to sign in to the company’s services using additional authentication methods.
Microsoft has expressed clear in the past about its plans of getting rid of passwords entirely instead of more reliable authentication methods such as biometric scans, verification codes, authentication apps, and security keys. The Redmond giant has now made it clear that those intentions are no mere platitudes. From now on, you will not need a password to sign in to your Microsoft account.
Starting today, you can obliterate a password from your Microsoft account and simply sign in to the company’s products using additional authentication features such as Windows Hello, Security keys, verification codes, or the Microsoft Authenticator app.
According to Redmond’s tech giant, people reuse passwords across accounts or use simplistic formulas to create new passwords, which make them extremely vulnerable to malicious attacks. Hackers can use password spray attacks and phishing to access these accounts since they are relatively simple to guess. Even the UK government has recently recommended using unique passwords that combine three random words rather than coming up with complex passwords or reusing existing ones.
Here are the steps you need to follow in order to go truly passwordless on your Microsoft account:
Step 1: Install the Microsoft Authenticator app and link it to your account.
Step 2: Select Advanced Security Options > Additional Security > Passwordless Account > Turn it on.
Step 3: On completion of the on-screen instructions, you will be displayed a notification indicating that “you have increased the security of your account and improved your sign-in experience by removing your password.”
Microsoft wants to eradicate passwords, and soon. Passwords can be reconfigured, but the message is clear: Microsoft wants to eliminate them. Changes will begin rolling out today and be available to all within the next few weeks.