You can now log in to a Microsoft account without a password using a security key.

Microsoft simplifies and secures the connection to a Microsoft account today. The software giant now supports FIDO2 standards-based security key devices to allow anyone to log in to their Microsoft account without a username or password. Microsoft enables the Windows Hello security key or support through its Edge browser and is the first company to support password-free authentication using the FIDO2 WebAuthn and CTAP2 standards.

If you have the latest Windows 10 October 2018 update, you will be able to configure Windows Hello or a physical security key from Yubico or FEITIAN that supports the FIDO2 standard. If you have a device with a webcam or Windows Hello fingerprint reader, just look at the Microsoft account settings with Edge and link a Windows 10 computer to your account. in order to avoid entering a password.

This will place a private key on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) in a Windows 10 device that is used in conjunction with the presence of the Windows Hello physical key or biometric authentication to verify it against the key public stored on Microsoft servers. This combination should prevent you from falling into the phishing scam or malware because you will get used to logging in without usernames and password.

Microsoft first allowed users of its account to log in without a password using the company's Microsoft Authenticator iOS and Android application. This was the first step towards loginless login, and the next logical step was to support FIDO2 security keys. Google and Facebook are already using USB keys to secure their accounts, and Microsoft plans to bring the same support to business and school accounts using Azure Active Directory. As Microsoft has adopted the open standards of the W3C and FIDO Alliance standards bodies, Chrome and Firefox will also be able to use these security keys to connect to a Microsoft account once they have supported the FIDO2 standards.