Microsoft is ditching passwords: Here’s how you can log in with alternate methods

• Microsoft is adding the ability to log into your account without a password. Here’s how it will work

By The Indian Express Tech Desk, September 16, 2021

Microsoft users will be able to completely remove the password from their account, and instead opt to log in using the Microsoft Authenticator app, or other methods like Windows Hello, a security key or even a verification code sent to your phone. The feature is set to be rolled out over the coming weeks.

The reason behind the move? Microsoft is fed up with passwords because of multiple reasons, as Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Security, Compliance and Identity explains in a blog post.

Passwords are difficult to remember and easy to crack. “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,” Jakkal mentions in the post.

“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,” he adds.

“Passwords are one of the most annoying and least secure things in our lives. A new YouGov survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 30 per cent of people stopped using an account or service because they couldn’t remember their password, and they would rather abandon the account than deal with a password reset,” Microsoft said in a statement.

How to go passwordless and use the Microsoft Authenticator app instead

To drop your password and use the Microsoft Authenticator app instead, users will first need to install the Microsoft Authenticator app. Next, visit your Microsoft account, sign in, and choose Advanced Security Options.

Under Additional Security Options, you’ll see Passwordless Account. Select ‘Turn on’ and you’re good to go. Follow the subsequent on-screen prompts and approve the notification from your Authenticator app and viola! You’re password-free.

You can visit this section of your settings to add a password again if you ever wish to do so.

The above article appeared in The Indian Express, https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/microsoft-is-ditching-passwords-heres-how-you-can-log-in-with-alternate-methods-7511150/?utm_source=newzmate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=technology&pnespid=Wb5yqFlT5CRJilmJ4YCNR01CvUMx0qpxpltDELISNoLKEcM3M9gxRXTO94o3_cOz5NERJV9X