Even for Microsoft, the time has come to protect its accounts with double identity verification, making it more difficult for hackers and snoopers to try to enter their accounts by stealing their main password. To access and log in to a Microsoft service you can then set up a two-step verification which is practically identical to the same two-step verification for Google and Gmail .
This adds a second level of authentication for user accounts so that login with only username and password is not possible.
If this verification is activated, Microsoft will subsequently request a security code which is generated in real time and is received on the mobile phone or on another email address.
From today it is possible to activate the double check for login with a Microsoft account and activate protection, at the same time also services such as Skype, such as Hotmail, Outlook, XBox Live, Skydrive, Office and also access to Windows 8 and other applications that require access.
Since the Microsoft account, as well as the Google account, is tremendously important for the online and IT life of private individuals and also of companies therefore it is worth protecting yourself immediately.
To get started, navigate to the //account.live.com/proofs/Manage web page and enter your password.
In the Security info section you will notice, in the middle of the page at the top, the possibility to activate the verification in two steps.
Activation requires verification of your mobile phone number and / or verification of another email address.
To access your Microsoft account, after entering your username and password, you can request the security code as an SMS on your mobile phone or via Email (to another non-Hotmail or Outlook address).
If you have an Android smartphone, an iPhone or a Windows Phone, you can use an application so that you always have the code ready when you need it, without having to wait for the reception of SMS, which also works without the smartphone being connected to the internet.
The application to use is Google Authenticator (which can be used both to generate Google, Dropbox and Microsoft security codes) for Android phones and on iPhone .
On a Windows Phone mobile phone like the Nokia Lumia you can instead install the Microsoft Authenticator app that works identically.
To configure 2-step verification using the app, go back to the Microsoft account security page and set up the authentication app.
From your smartphone, open the Authenticator application, press the Menu button and scan the QR code that you see on the screen (or use the manual addition).
Eventually you will have a security code that changes every 30 seconds and that can be used in two-step verification.
This means that if you go to a friend's house and access Hotmail or Outlook.com or XBox Live from his computer using the security code of his mobile phone, even if the friend spies on the access password, he will still not be able to log in without code.
To avoid having to double check each time from your computer, you can enter it in the list of trusted devices .
In case of loss or deactivation of a trusted computer or smartphone, it can be removed from the list and withdrawal of trust from the security settings on the //account.live.com page.
For the double check login in Microsoft applications that do not support this access, you can set a password for the application, that is a disposable password that is valid only for one use.
From the security page of the Microsoft account you can create a new password by pressing the corresponding link.
In case of serious problems, if it is not possible to access the device that generates the codes or the mail account that receives them, you must activate the recovery procedure that imposes a waiting period of 30 days.
This is done to prevent hackers and malicious users from taking control of it.
READ ALSO: Account and password recovery on Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail
