Microsoft to end password support in Authenticator this summer
Microsoft is pulling the plug on passwords within its popular Authenticator app and has urged millions of users to export them elsewhere before August.
The tech giant believes the era of passwords is ending with “bad actors” targeting them in huge numbers for fraud and other online hacks.
Microsoft revealed last December that it blocks 7,000 password-related security attacks every second amid a 146% spike in phishing.
Microsoft Authenticator is currently one of the most popular apps for saving passwords, but that will all change by the end of the summer.
Users will no longer have the option to save passwords in Authenticator at some point in June, and all passwords will be purged from the app by August.
To prepare for the changes, users can export their passwords and import them into another app or browser.
Microsoft’s Edge browser will continue to support passwords and can be set as the default password manager on Windows.
Google Chrome and Apple’s Password app are two other options.
However, users can get ahead of the curve by switching to alternative ways of logging into websites and apps.
These include swipeable pin numbers and face recognition.
Microsoft says passkeys “offer an improved user experience by letting you sign in faster with your face, fingerprint, or PIN.”
While they aren’t bulletproof in terms of security, they are a vast improvement on passwords.