By Paul Thurrott
Publication Date: 2026-01-18 17:26:00
Securing a Microsoft account (MSA) is surprisingly easy. And it should only take 10 to 15 minutes to evaluate how your MSA is configured and make any necessary changes to get it in a good place.
So what does that mean?
A properly configured MSA can be accessed using passwordless methods that are both convenient and secure. It’s that simple. As is how you get there. You will configure the MSA to require two-step verification, a form of multi-step authentication (MFA), using multiple methods, two of which are the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone and a portable passkey in your password manager.
I wrote about this process a bit over a year ago in my book, the Windows 11 Field Guide, and in a standalone article on this site, Tip: Properly Secure Your Microsoft Account. So this guide will be more concise and you can reference those two resources if you want additional information.
Here’s what to do.
Review the configuration of your MSA
Using a web browser on your…
