14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is one of the largest companies thinking that passwords are so yesterday, and the company truly wants to deliver a more secure means of authenticating in Windows 10.
And with the most recent Insider preview release – build 17093 – Microsoft has started testing a new feature that essentially makes Windows 10 a password-less operating system.
Currently available for users in the Fast ring and only for those running Windows 10 S, this system relies on the Authenticator app available on Android and iOS to make passwords a thing of the past.
With the Authenticator app on your mobile device, you can authorize or block any request, and Microsoft says that passwords would be removed completely from the operating system.
“With the changes in this build, your Windows 10 S PC will automatically make your experience password-free. You will notice that if you have Windows Hello set up, you won’t see passwords anywhere in the Windows experience – not on the unlock screen nor in Sign-in options,” the firm says.
Windows 10 S becoming “S Mode”
Setting up the password-less experience will be easy, and you can do the whole thing as part of the out-of-box experience. You just have to configure Windows Hello and then the Authenticator app on your mobile, and passwords will no longer be required across the operating system again.
In case you’re wondering why Microsoft released this only for Windows 10 S users, it’s because the feature needs to be tested thoroughly before rolling it out to everyone. First, the company has to collect feedback from a limited number of users, and depending on how everything goes, then release it to all insiders. Again, if the feedback is positive, the company can make it available for everyone.
Windows 10 S will soon be integrated in Windows 10 as “S Mode,” so it’ll no longer be offered as a standalone SKU. This means that sooner or later, this password-less experience will be available for everyone, most likely after the release of the Redstone 4 update in the spring.