Microsoft confirmed this week that customers with Windows Live ID accounts will be able to sign into a Windows 8-operated PC, tinker with settings and carry them over to additional Windows 8 devices. Other benefits, such as saved sign-in credentials and automatic log-ins, will also be available to users who choose to sync.
Writing at the Building Windows 8 blog, Group Program Manager Katie Frigon discussed the inherent problems of PC sharing - and how Microsoft plans to address them.
"We know that shared PC usage is common and we've heard from many of you that switching between multiple accounts can be cumbersome," said Frigon. "The difficulties associated with managing multiple accounts often lead to the sharing of a single account on a PC, and a less personal (and potentially less private) experience for each user."
In an effort to work around the "inconvenient and time-consuming" process of getting started with a new PC, Frigon said that those who vouch to assign an account to a Windows Live ID will enjoy a greater degree of personalization on Windows 8. Creating a new email solely to link to a Windows Live ID isn't even necessary, she added. Users can sync general Windows settings, app data and credentials.
Considering the benefits, it's obvious Microsoft is expecting many users to jump aboard:
With Windows 8...you will be able to have your personal Windows experience on any Windows 8 PC you sign in to with your Windows Live ID. Settings such as your lock screen picture, desktop background, user tile, browser favorites and history, spell check dictionaries, Explorer settings, mouse settings, and accessibility settings, among many others are now associated with your Windows 8 account and stored in the cloud. They are kept in sync and come down to each machine you use as they are changed or updated.
To ensure users sync only what they want to sync, Frigon emphasized that Windows 8 would be completely transparent to avoid an accidental mixing of business and pleasure - a specific concern for those who bounce between work and personal systems on a daily basis. Windows 8 will ask users to choose which data should be synced to other computers and which should remain on your primary PC, she said.
Frigon believes Windows 8's enhanced default security, including a "strong" password requirement and secondary proof of identity ("alternative email addresses, mobile phone numbers, and questions with secret answers"), will prevent the illicit cyber shenanigans some instinctively fear from the cloud.
In case the unthinkable does happen and a Live ID is nicked, Frigon said Windows Live ID will label the account "compromised" and limit its capabilities until proper ownership is reacquired.
Several other safety precautions will be implemented to protect sensitive data:
First, we do not roam data over WWAN by default. Second, all user data is encrypted on the client before it is sent to the cloud. All data and settings that leave your PC are transmitted using SSL/TLS. The most sensitive information, like your credential information, is encrypted once based on your password and then encrypted again as it is sent across the Internet. The data stored is not available to other Microsoft services or third parties. Lastly, before the sensitive information can be accessed on a second Windows 8 PC for the first time, you must establish "trust" for that PC by providing further proof of your identity. This further proof can be done by providing Windows with a code sent to your mobile phone number or by following the instructions sent to an alternate email address.
Microsoft is taking cloud security seriously. But will its customers even sync up?
Will you use Windows 8/Live ID syncing? Let us know in the comment section.
