Microsoft makes Windows 10 without a password

Microsoft plans to run Windows 10 computers without passwords. While the company has been working for several months to remove passwords from Windows 10 and its Microsoft accounts, the next major update of Windows 10 will go even further. You will soon be able to activate a password-free login for Microsoft accounts on a Windows 10-based device. This means that the computers will use Hello Windows face authentication, fingerprints, or a PIN. The password option will simply disappear from the login screen if you decide to enable this new feature "Free your password from your device".

So, why does Microsoft want users to stop using passwords to connect to Windows 10 PCs? It's very simple: passwords are null. People love to reuse them on all websites and on their personal devices. Although we have a number of two-factor authentication methods, it is still difficult to convince them to use them.

Microsoft says that a PIN is much more secure than a password, even if it seems easier to use a four-digit code. This is due to unknown variables and the fact that the code is stored on a device and not shared online. Windows 10 stores your private key on a device with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a secure chip that keeps a local PIN code on your device only. Servers can be compromised and passwords stolen, but a Windows Hello PIN would not be affected.

Microsoft is slowly trying to convince Windows 10 users to opt for two-factor authentication processes, such as basic SMS, a separate Microsoft Authenticator application, Windows Hello, or even FIDO2-standard physical security keys. With the latest update of Windows 10 May 2019, you can even configure and connect to a Windows 10 PC with only a phone number on a Microsoft account.

Microsoft is now considering allowing users to completely remove the password option from the Windows 10 login screen. This is a step closer to a future where, hopefully, we do not have to worry about remembering complex passwords, having a password manager or avoiding reusing them. If Microsoft, Apple, and Google succeed, we'll use our eyes, our fingers, or the physical keys we have to access our accounts and devices instead of passwords.