If you work with Windows you will have noticed that setting up an account without a password is increasingly difficult. It has always been possible to create local accounts that do not require a password, but in recent times this option was much more hidden and difficult to locate.
The alternative to local Windows accounts is to use a Microsoft account, and these necessarily require the use of a password. Microsoft accounts have an advantage and that is that we can use them to log in not only on our PC, but also on any other Microsoft device or application. Hence the need to have the account well protected with a password.
Passwords are no longer required to access your Microsoft account
As reported by media such as The Verge , since last September 15, users can already log in with their Microsoft account without having to enter any access password . Instead they can use the Microsoft Authenticator app or any other two-step verification method , such as Windows Hello, a security key, or an email / SMS validation code to verify their identity.
This new passwordless access feature was launched in March, but was only available to businesses and schools to facilitate remote logins due to telecommuting and difficulties stemming from the pandemic. However, this is the first time that this functionality has been extended to other commercial Windows and Microsoft users.
How to set up your Microsoft account without a password
If you want to remove the password to log in with your Microsoft account, just go to accounts.microsoft.com . From there locate the advanced security options and enable passwordless validation.
Then it is necessary to approve the change from the Microsoft Authenticator app and we will be ready to forget about passwords forever. Of course, at any time we can go back and recover the key to continue operating as before.
The benefits of using passwordless authentication are clear. In the digital age we live in, we have dozens of accounts for all kinds of services, and all of them are password protected. First we have to create a key complex enough not to be hacked and simple enough so that we can remember it. This means that many times we repeat the same password in different services, which leaves us completely vulnerable when one of them is lost or stolen.
Many of the large companies, such as Google and Apple, are already sailing towards a horizon without passwords where alternative verification methods are gaining more and more weight and reliability when it comes to confirming our identity to use our online accounts.
