As network security experts reported a few months ago, Windows 10 will stop using passwords as the user’s authentication method. This weekend Microsoft will begin rolling out a trial version of its operating system (Build 20H1), available only to members of the Windows Insider program, which has password-free sign-in.
As an advance measure of implementing passwordless authentication, Microsoft removed the recommendation to users about making changes to their access keys on a regular basis. Subsequently, in the Windows 10 update for the month of May, the company announced that users of this system would be increasingly close to a security environment that would not require the use of passwords.
The company confirmed the start of this test on July 10th in the latest update of the official Windows Insider blog, which mentions that “a fraction of the participants of this program will have access to the test”. Microsoft will extend access to this test in periods of approximately one week, so it recommends system administrators and network security experts stay on top of Insider news.
This “fast login” experience can be enabled in the Windows Settings menu by selecting the Accounts option, where you will find the authentication options. By selecting “Biometrics”, the Windows system will start implementing facial recognition of Windows Hello, Microsoft’s biometric recognition platform, which will work together with a PIN code.
According to network security specialists at the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS), PIN usage is still necessary, as Microsoft servers track symmetric keys, a feature typical of a PIN code.
It is not yet known whether the company will include this feature for all potential users in the next Windows 10 update; although this seems unlikely, as this new feature is still in the testing phase for very few Windows Insider members, so passwordless authentication is likely to be available to the more than 800 million Windows 10 users up to the pro next year.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
