In another step toward a future of laptops , Microsoft is planning to make Windows 10 PCs work without passwords. Passwords can be annoying and also hackable so some PC makers have resorted to embedding fingerprint and face recognition technology in their laptops to over come such issues. Microsoft wants to bake this feature natively into windows and has been working on removing passwords from Windows 10 and its Microsoft Accounts for a number of months now, the next major update to Windows 10 next year will go one step further.
Users will soon be able to enable a passwordless sign-in for Microsoft accounts on a Windows 10 device. This means PCs will use Windows Hello face authentication, fingerprints, or a PIN code. The password option will simply disappear from the login screen, if you decide to opt in to this new “make your device passwordless” feature.
If you are still wondering why Microsoft wants people to stop using passwords to log into Windows 10 PCs. It’s really simple: as we said before passwords suck. People love to reuse them across every website and on their personal devices, and although we have a number of two-factor authentication methods available, it’s still difficult to convince people to use them.
Microsoft also says that a PIN code is far more secure than a password, even if it seems more simple to use a four-digit code. This is thanks to unknown variables and the fact that the code is stored on a device and not shared online unlike passwords. Windows 10 stores your private key on a device with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is a secure chip that keeps a PIN local to your device only. Servers can be compromised and passwords stolen, but a Windows Hello PIN wouldn’t be affected.
Microsoft is now planning to allow people to remove the password option entirely from the Windows 10 login screen. Microsoft has been slowly trying to convince Windows 10 users to opt into two-factor authentication processes like basic SMS, a separate Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, or even physical security keys with the FIDO2 standard. Microsoft is now planning to allow people to remove the password option entirely from the Windows 10 login screen.
