Configuring the sign-in options

During the installation of Windows 10, if you have a working internet connection, you will be prompted to specify your Microsoft account. If you don't have a Microsoft account, then you can create one or create a local account to use with Windows 10. If you create a local account, then you can create a Microsoft account afterward and link it to the local account or to an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) account.

Microsoft accounts are primarily intended for consumers. With a Microsoft account, you can do the following:

• Access and share photos, documents, and other files, including on OneDrive and Outlook
• Download and install Microsoft Store apps
• Sync Microsoft Store apps with user-specific settings
• Sync apps between your devices

In this section, we will look at several different sign-in options for Windows 10. On the sign-in page, you will see the following methods that are available for Windows 10:

• Windows Hello face recognition
• Windows Hello fingerprint reader
• Windows Hello PIN
• Security key
• Password
• Picture password

  Important Note

  You can browse Microsoft Store even if you don't have a Microsoft account. However, you can't install apps without a Microsoft account.

Whichever method you choose from the preceding options depends on which hardware you have Windows 10 installed on. To access your sign-in options, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options. Let's take a look at these sign-in options individually.

Using Windows Hello

Windows Hello is a two-factor biometrical authentication mechanism that is built into Windows 10. It lets you sign in to your devices, apps, online services, and networks. This is done using your face, iris, fingerprint, or a PIN. Even if your Windows 10 device can use Windows Hello biometrics, you don't have to set it up. When you set up Windows Hello, it's important to know that the info that identifies your face, iris, or fingerprint never leaves your device—Windows does not store pictures of them anywhere.

Windows Hello for Business is the enterprise implementation of Windows Hello that allows users to authenticate to an Active Directory or an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account. Administrators can configure Windows Hello for Business by using Group Policy or Microsoft Intune as an MDM policy.

Some benefits of Windows Hello are as follows:

• It helps strengthen your protections against credential theft. If your computer is stolen, an attacker must have both the device and the biometric info or PIN, so it's much more difficult to gain access without the owner's knowledge.
• Users use a simple authentication method (with a PIN as backup) that's always with them, so there's no risk of forgetting their password.

To turn on Windows Hello, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options, then select the Windows Hello method that you want to set up and select Set up. As mentioned earlier, the methods that are available depend on the hardware of your computer.

To remove Windows Hello and the associated biometric identification data from a device, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options. Select the Windows Hello method you want to remove and then select Remove.

Now, let's move on to the next section, where we will figure out Windows Hello face recognition.

Configuring Windows Hello face recognition

I assume that you are already on the sign-in options page ready to start with the configuration of Windows Hello, so let's get started.

To configure Windows Hello face recognition, follow these steps:

1. Go to Windows Hello Face | Set up | Get Started.
2. Enter your PIN or password to verify your identity.
3. Allow Windows Hello to capture your facial features.
4. Once complete, you are presented with an All Set! message, which you can close.

Now, let's see how to configure our fingerprints with Windows.

Configuring a Windows Hello fingerprint

We will follow the same steps as in the previous section to configure the Windows Hello fingerprint reader:

1. Click on the Windows Hello Fingerprint | Set up | Get Started option.
2. Enter your PIN or password to verify your identity.
3. Scan your finger on the fingerprint reader. You must do this multiple times to give the scanner a good picture of your fingerprints.
4. Once complete, you are presented with an All Set! message, which you can close. Alternatively, you can add another fingerprint by clicking on Add Another.

Let's now move on to adding a Windows Hello PIN.

Configuring a Windows Hello PIN

Up to now, we have seen configuration using your face and fingerprints. We will now configure a Windows Hello PIN.

To configure a Windows Hello PIN, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Windows Hello PIN | Add | Next option.
2. Enter your password to verify your identity and click the Sign in button.
3. Create a PIN that you want to use instead of your password.
4. Once complete, click the OK button.

In the next section, we will look at a security key device that uses your fingerprint or PIN for security purposes on Windows 10.

Understanding the security key device

A security key is a hardware device that you can use instead of your username and password to sign in on the web. Since it's used in addition to a fingerprint or PIN, even if someone has your security key, they won't be able to sign in to the device without the PIN or fingerprint that you added. Security keys are generally available for purchase from retailers that sell computer accessories.

To set up a security key, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options and then follow these steps:

1. Click on the Security Key | Manage option. You will have to insert your security key device.
2. Then, after that, you will have to touch your security key device.
3. Click on Add under Security Key PIN.
4. Fill in the PIN code you want.
5. Click on OK.

To reset your security key, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options. From here, you should follow these steps:

1. Click on the Security Key | Manage option.
2. You will have to insert your security key device.
3. Then after that, you will have to touch your security key device.
4. Click on Reset under Reset Security Key.
5. Click on Proceed.
6. Then, you'll have to reinsert the security key device.
7. And then touch the device twice within 10 seconds for authentication. When you see the Reset Complete message, it means the security key has been removed.

Changing your Windows password

If you think your password has been compromised or your organization's policy requires you to change your password after a certain period of time, you may need to change your password. To change your password, follow these steps:

1. Click on Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options.
2. Click on Change.
3. Follow the simple instructions on the screen to reset your password.

   Important Note

   To change your password on a domain, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then select Change a Password.

Configuring a picture password

The picture password option is one of the many new features offered by Windows 10 to sign in. It is a handy feature for people who may have difficulty typing in letters or numbers on a keyboard, or for those who just want to try something different. To use a picture password on a touchscreen device, a Windows 10 user draws right over a photo with their finger on the screen. On a normal Personal Computer (PC) (that is, not a touchscreen device), the user draws with their mouse.

To set up a picture password, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options and follow these steps:

1. Click on Picture Password.
2. Click on Add.
3. Fill in your password and click OK.
4. Click on Choose picture and browse to the picture you want to use, then click on Open.
5. Drag your picture to position it the way you want.
6. Click on Use this picture.
7. Draw three lines over the picture.
8. Draw the three lines again.
9. On the Congratulations! window, click on Finish.

Now, to change the picture for your picture password, go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options and then follow these steps:

1. Click on Picture Password.
2. Click on Change.
3. Fill in your password and click OK.
4. Click on Choose picture and browse to the picture you want to use, then click on Open.
5. Drag your picture to position it the way you want.
6. Click on Use this picture.
7. Draw three lines over the picture.
8. Draw the three lines again.
9. On the Congratulations! window, click on Finish.

Now, if you want to remove the picture password, follow these steps:

1. Go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options
2. Click on Picture Password.
3. Click on Remove.

Now, let's look at another new sign-in feature of Windows 10 in the next section.

Configuring a Dynamic lock

Another new feature of Windows 10 is using a Dynamic lock. If you are away from your computer and you forgot to lock it, Windows can use the devices that are paired with your computer to automatically lock it shortly after the paired device is out of the Bluetooth range of your computer. To set this up, you will need to use Bluetooth to pair your phone with your computer.

To make use of the Dynamic lock feature, you have to make sure that your device is paired with your computer. We can pair devices with our computer using Bluetooth communication. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Go to Settings | Devices | Bluetooth & other devices.
2. Turn on Bluetooth using the toggle switch on your computer. Also, make sure you turn on Bluetooth on your phone.
3. Next, click on the + button under Add Bluetooth or other device.
4. In the Add a device pop-up window, click on Bluetooth, then choose your device from the list that appears.
5. Prompts should appear on both your computer and phone. Accept them in order to pair the devices.

Now that we have paired our devices, we can activate the Dynamic lock feature on our computer by following these steps:

1. Go to Start | Settings | Accounts | Sign-in options.
2. Scroll down to Dynamic Lock.
3. Check the Allow Windows to automatically lock your device when you're away box. Dynamic lock is now activated.

We now know that Windows 10 has many sign-in options, with the important ones being the Windows Hello features. Deploying Windows Hello for Business is the first step toward a password-less environment. Now that we're familiar with how to set up a security key and picture password, as well as how to activate the Dynamic lock feature, we will look at configuring the mobility settings.