Windows 8 : Determining who’s who through authentication (part 4) - Managing credentials in Windows 8 by using Credential Manager,Configuring a Microsoft account for use with Windows

Managing credentials in Windows 8 by using Credential Manager

As the number of computers and other connected devices increases, the number of passwords and access credentials will also increase. The Credential Manager utility with Windows 8 aids in storing all these user names, passwords, and other identities you use.

To access Credential Manager, complete the following steps:

1. Select the Settings charm.

2. Select Control Panel.

3. Tap or click the User Accounts And Family Safety category.

4. Tap or click Credential Manager.

Credential Manager can store both Windows credentials and web credentials. Credential Manager for Windows is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Managing credentials by using Credential Manager

Windows credentials are used to access servers or services on an intranet on which specific sign-in credentials can be passed by Windows when you access that resource. Three types of Windows credentials can be managed by using Credential Manager:

• Windows credentials User names and passwords for specific sites and applications

• Certificate-based credentials Certificate access to intranet or Internet resources, which will pass the needed sign-in information to the resource when it is accessed

• Generic credentials Credentials stored for nonspecific websites, such as for social media or other items on the web

When you add Windows credentials, the operating system recognizes that a particular resource has a stored credential, and when landing on the sign-in page for that resource, Windows attempts to sign you in. Doing this reduces the number of credentials you need to remember and provides easy access to resources.

Web credentials are similar to generic Windows credentials, but they are collected credentials, and you cannot add them manually. When you browse to a website that asks you to sign in, and your web browser asks you whether you would like to save or remember the sign-in information, the information entered is stored as a web credential in the Credential Manager utility.

After the information is stored as a web credential, Windows can present the stored sign-in information to the websites that you have chosen to remember your sign-in information. However, there are some caveats to this. If the websites you have stored as web credentials change anything about their sign-in dialog box or use different tokens each time the pages are loaded (to increase security), the web credential likely will not work for automating these sign-ins.

Configuring a Microsoft account for use with Windows

Windows 8 can use a Microsoft account as the sign-in account for Windows. Doing this provides SSO access to several Microsoft services, including Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive, and Hotmail. However, you do not have to configure this at sign-in to use the SSO capabilities.

When you convert your local Windows account to a Microsoft account, you can access items kept on Microsoft services directly from Windows without additional sign-ins.

To convert your local account to a Microsoft account, complete the following steps:

1. Access the PC Settings charm, and then select Users.

2. Tap or click Switch To A Microsoft Account.

   Figure 5 shows the PC Settings screen.

   

   Figure 5. Users information in PC Settings

3. Type your current password for the local account and tap or click Next.

4. If you already have a Microsoft account (or a Live ID), enter the email address for the account and tap or click Next.

   Windows validates your Microsoft account email address.

5. Type the password for your account and tap or click Next.

6. Type your phone number and an alternate email address and tap or click Next.

7. Tap or click Finish to convert your account.

When you have changed your local Windows 8 sign-in account to a Microsoft account, you must use your Microsoft account email and password to sign in to Windows.

Some of the applications available in Windows 8 that use Microsoft accounts include:

• SkyDrive Cloud-based storage

• Outlook.com Email

• Photos Photos stored within your Microsoft account

• Calendar Appointments stored within your account

Using a Microsoft account not only reduces the number of user names and passwords you must remember but also provides access to all your cloud-based data directly on your Windows 8–based computer. You can always switch back to a local account if you decide not to link your computer with your Microsoft account.

To change back to a local account, complete the following steps:

1. Access the Settings charm, select PC Settings, and then select Users from the navigation pane.

2. Tap or click Switch To A Local Account.

3. Enter your current (Microsoft account) password.

4. Enter a new password for the local account.

5. Confirm the new local account password.

6. Enter a password hint.

7. Tap or click Sign Out and Finish.

You will be signed out of Windows as part of this process, and the next time you sign in, you will use the new local account.