What is Microsoft Live anyway?
Microsoft Live is the facility in Windows 10, which is part of the initial set-up.
Microsoft Live asks you to set-up a username and password “online”. This may seem innocuous, but it is possibly quite problematic.
The Problem:
Microsoft Live gets you to set-up your machine username and password online, using Microsoft’s Servers. If you forget your username/password, you will be unable to get into your computer. Period, end of story.
We feel that using any 3rd party (not your own locally controlled platform) to store essential and important information like username/password is intrusive. Allowing the release and control for such events could lead to other intrusive events which pertain to accessing to your personal information. We are not saying that Microsoft is looking at your personal data, only that under circumstances like this, they could. The fact that your username/password are stored on their servers (not your computer) and that you need their servers to connect to your computer to unlock it, by definition establishes the fact that they have established a link to your computer for at least this function alone. Where and when that link is limited, we don’t know. You can draw your own conclusions from here.
The greatest problem with Microsoft Live in our opinion is that it is an online event. If your Internet is not operational, you cannot access those Microsoft Servers, which contain your username/password, and you will be unable to get into your computer.
Internet interruptions occur quite often. Are you willing to wait until your Internet is back up before being able to use your computer? We don’t think so. If your Internet is down and your username /password are stored locally, you would be able to turn your computer on and use the “Hotspot” feature on your cell phone to temporarily access the Internet while waiting for your home/business based Internet service to come back up, allowing you to do important work.
The Solution:
Decline the Microsoft Live option and you will be brought to the next menu option, which is to set-up your username/password locally.
Locally means the username/password will be stored on your physical computer (like it used to be) and short of forgetting your username/password you are completely autonomous, controlling your own destiny.
We recommend using a small spiral type notebook to store all of your username/passwords, email address/passwords, etc. Keep this book in a safe place.
We receive calls all of the time from users who have forgotten their login usernames and passwords, even machine usernames and passwords. Fear not. We can still help you to gain access to both your Windows and MAC Computers if you are locked out and unable to get in.
Happy Computing!
Nerdcore computers service centre