Microsoft has introduced a new method for signing into your accounts: your phones. A new option will be appearing on services from Microsoft that allows users to use the new Microsoft Authenticator app to login to accounts.
The system works in the place of a password, instead asking users to look to their phones to verify a login attempt. All that needs to happen from here is tapping the option to approve the login. No additional steps need take place.
It’s technically an evolution of two stage authentication that does away with the password. According to Microsoft, this method is “significantly more secure than only a password”. Which isn’t technically wrong, but it may not be as secure as using an actual two-stage verification system.
The Microsoft Authenticator app is currently available on Android and iOS; and will require users to first enable the option in their Microsoft accounts. That said, this function does not work with the existing version of the Microsoft Authenticator on Windows Phone.
Microsoft says that Android and iOS received a priority due to the widespread use of the operating systems. There’s no promise that the feature will appear on Windows Phone either, as the company says that it will evaluate the need to add support for its own mobile platform.
[Source: Microsoft]
