It almost pains me to admit it, but Microsoft has gone a long way to restoring my trust in them as a brand and a company to do business with. From the bullshit around Internet Explorer 6 (that I still have to deal with on my websites), to the piss poor security model of pre SP2 Windows XP, they had a pretty big deficit to overcome. How did they do it (in my case at least?)
Yesterday, I got a message that someone suspicious had control of my live.com account. I happen to have a couple, so it took me a while to realize that it was the one that is my Xbox Live account (and uses my gmail address). I haven’t actually logged into the account in a couple of years, and it was really just used to coordinate my activities on my xbox. No email, no other “goodies“, so low risk. Or so I thought.
Sigh, so I go “reclaim” my account. Not too hard as the asshat who scammed the credentials hadn’t done anything to change the main security features. Phew. Fortunately, I have a pretty long history with Microsoft commercially, and I will admit that their business/billing systems are pretty good to work with. No real complaints, clearly they have a good grasp on dealing with the masses (unlike Google, cough. cough) when there are issues.
As has become the custom, I turned on 2 factor authentication. Really annoying to do this for a lightweight use, but c’est la vie. There is an “app” that you can setup to provide the code (or you can just go with the SMS message to your phone”.
Yep, Microsoft uses the Google Authenticator application. Kick ass.
Who would have thought that MSFT would use the Google tool?
Oh, and they acknowledge that a few people do want to use iPhones for their services, so there are really good setup instructions for Apple gear.
Trust not completely restored, but well on the path. Credit where credit is due.
