Recently, Mozilla added Windows Hello Support to Firefox for version 66. If you’ve set up Windows Hello on your Windows 10 device to sign into Windows with biometric fingerprint or facial recognition or PIN or through FiDO2 security device, soon you can able to sign in to Microsoft services such as Outlook.com, Office 365 and OneDrive with your Microsoft Account in Firefox browser with your face or fingerprint without passwords.
For the uninitiated, latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Firefox browsers already support Web Authentication API, means, you can log into websites that support WebAuthn with physical security keys. For instance, starting Firefox 60, you can use the Yubi key.
Some third-party password managers for Windows already support the technology, for instance, you can use Windows Hello to unlock 1Password with a simple glance or fingerprint. When you configure 1Password security settings, When you use Hello, you don’t need to type Master Password, but you need to remember it though. Interesting to see whether Mozilla has any plans to offer support for Firefox accounts and the built-in password manager.
Mozilla adds Windows Hello Support to Firefox
Current Web Authentication editor for Mozilla, J.C Jones says in bug “WebAuthn no longer works on Windows insider builds, as compatible security keys are no longer available via USB HID interface. (Basically, u2f-hid-rs [1] will stop supporting Windows 10+).
Sometime this spring, Firefox 66 or 67 (and ESR 60) will need to use Windows Hello API on when available to interact with Web Authentication. Otherwise, no devices will be detected and we’ll have a Windows feature regression.”
Web Authentication bug for Windows Hello support in Firefox for all Windows platforms has been fixed and target milestone set as 66.
If you’ve Fingerprint reader or Web Camera that supports Windows Hello, available, setting up Windows Hello is pretty easy in Windows 10.
1. Click on Start, Settings >
2. Accounts >Sign-in Options, Click Add and follow on-screen instructions.
After all, Passwords can be breached or phished, but that may not happen to in case of your face and fingerprint. In other news, Microsoft released HoloLens2 with Windows Hello support. Do you welcome Windows Hello support in Firefox? Let us know your opinions in the comments below.
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