{"id":414356,"date":"2021-09-16T07:56:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T05:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=414356"},"modified":"2021-09-16T08:00:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T06:00:12","slug":"microsoft-accounts-dont-need-passwords-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/414356-microsoft-accounts-dont-need-passwords-anymore.html","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft accounts don’t need passwords anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft has announced it will no longer require users to have passwords to secure their accounts.<\/p>\n

In a post on its account management page<\/strong><\/a>, the company said, “going passwordless was the next generation of account security”.<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks, Microsoft will be rolling out a feature that will let all of its personal account customers remove their passwords and choose from several alternative sign-in methods.<\/p>\n

These include using the Microsoft Authenticator app, physical security keys, and biometrics, with SMS and email codes used as recovery mechanisms.<\/p>\n

Microsoft said these methods were more secure than traditional passwords.<\/p>\n

“Passwordless solutions such as Windows Hello, the\u00a0Microsoft Authenticator app, SMS or Email codes, and physical security keys provide a more secure and convenient sign-in method,” Microsoft said.<\/p>\n

“While passwords can be guessed, stolen, or phished, only you can provide fingerprint authentication, or provide the right response on your mobile at the right time.”<\/p>\n

When turned on, users will be able to log in to services like Outlook, OneDrive, and Microsoft Family Safety, as well as the Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S without requiring a password.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To remove password login from your account, you will need to download and install the Microsoft Authenticator app.<\/p>\n

The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store<\/strong><\/a>, Apple App Store<\/strong><\/a> or Microsoft’s website<\/a> <\/strong>while using a mobile device.<\/p>\n

Once installed, follow the steps below:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sign in to your Microsoft Account<\/strong>\u00a0Additional security options<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Under Password-free account, select “Turn on”.<\/li>\n
  3. Follow the prompts to verify your account.<\/li>\n
  4. Approve the request sent to your Microsoft Authenticator app.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Microsoft said if users lost access to the Authenticator app, they could still access their account via an alternative recovery method like a text message or backup email address.<\/p>\n

    If you have two-factor authentication turned on, you will require access to both of these.<\/p>\n

    Microsoft said certain apps or older devices like Outlook 2010 and the Xbox 360 will still require app passwords.<\/p>\n

    You can also turn password access back on by going to the Passwordless account section and selecting “Turn off”.<\/p>\n

    Now read: Microsoft\u2019s expensive security add-ons for Office 365 are basically ransomware \u2014 software company CEO<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Microsoft has announced it will no longer require users to have passwords to secure their accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":414364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[123,72354,72250,27349,3676],"class_list":["post-414356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-microsoft","tag-microsoft-account","tag-microsoft-security","tag-password-security","tag-passwords"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":414366,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414356\/revisions\/414366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}