Microsoft recently released a report at the RSA Security Conference and revealed a startling figure. Engineers at Microsoft said that 99.9% of hacked Microsoft accounts don’t use multi-factor authentication (popularly known as 2FA — two-factor authentication). That’s almost every Microsoft account hacked in a single day. Microsoft states that enabling a simple 2FA on Microsoft Account can easily stop automated account attacks. So to make your online experience safe, we bring you a step-by-step guide on how to enable two-factor authentication on Microsoft account. It will add an additional layer of security and will act as a shield to account takeovers. With that in mind, let’s now go through the steps.
Enable Two-factor Authentication on Microsoft Account
Before we get to our tutorial, here are more articles on 2FA that you should read to secure your other accounts:
- Set Up Your iPhone as a Security Key for Google’s 2FA
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
- Use an Android device as 2FA Physical Security Key
Don’t forget to read the articles linked above and secure your accounts. With that said, let’s get to our tutorial, shall we?
1. First of all, open Microsoft’s Security page and click on “More Security Options“. If you are not logged in then sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. On the next page, it might ask you to verify your identity again. Upon doing so, click on “Set up two-step verification“.
3. Click on “Next” and move forward. Now, select a phone number or email account from the drop-down menu and enter the details. Finally, click on “Next” to complete the 2FA set up process.
4. In case, you lose access to your 2FA account or phone number, it’s recommended to get recovery codes. In such a scenario, recovery codes will allow you to log in to your Microsoft account. Under the “Recovery Code” menu, click on “Replace Recovery Code” and you will get several recovery codes for emergency use. Make sure to store it in a safe place.
Protect Your Microsoft Account with 2FA
So that is how you can enable 2FA on Microsoft account and protect yourself from account takeovers. If you are neck-deep into Microsoft’s ecosystem then enabling 2FA is a must. Apart from that, if you use Microsoft’s app on your smartphone then you can even set up a seamless two-factor authentication using the app, just like Google authentication. Anyway, that is all from us. If you found the article helpful then do comment down below and let us know.
