In today’s rapidly connected world, one thing that haunts everyone is online security. In the face of modern computer attacks, passwords are no longer enough to protect your valuable information from being stolen. With online accounts being a necessary tool, securing them with multi-factor authentication (MFA) has never been more important. Microsoft Authenticator as an MFA option, out of the box, is another great way to improve security and reduce dependencies on clunky old-school methods.
What is Microsoft Authenticator?
The Microsoft Authenticator mobile app brings two critical security measures together: multi-factor authentication and a password manager. This will allow you to enhance your overall account security for your accounts as well – including Google, Facebook, Dropbox. In other words, any online services that support new standards being provided by many websites such as LinkedIn (which had this capability for a long time) or WordPress — all primarily designed with work/school-use-cases/content-applied scenarios. In addition to using a password, the iOS and Android app adds an extra layer of security for booting up.
Microsoft Authenticator has two key features
How Does Microsoft Authenticator Work?
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) validates the identity of a user by requiring two or more independent identifiers. We can categorize these components into three different groups:
Typically, with Microsoft Authenticator you need something (your phone + app) and knowledge of the password. It functions as follows:
Another feature of Microsoft Authenticator is password-less sign-in. This method removes the weakest link in many existing systems: passwords. Here is how to sign in without a password:
This is easier and safer. It protects against all password-based problems such as lost or stolen passwords, and phishing attacks.
Microsoft Authenticator creates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) that can be used for services that do not have push notifications. The app provides a unique, 6-digit passcode every 30 seconds. This can be used as a second authentication factor, in addition to the regular password. In doing so, this method provides an additional level of security in case a password is stolen; the attacker would still need the TOTP supplied from that special generator on their phone.
Why Microsoft Authenticator is Important for Security
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