Windows 11 All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 5

Understanding Microsoft Accounts

IN THIS CHAPTER

Figuring out Microsoft accounts

Deciding whether you even want a Microsoft account

Getting a Microsoft account

Cutting back on Windows 11 syncing through a Microsoft account

Microsoft has been trying to get people to sign up for company-branded accounts for a long time.

In 1997, Microsoft bought Hotmail and took over the issuance of @hotmail.com email addresses. Even though Hotmail’s gone through a bunch of name changes — MSN Hotmail, Windows Live Hotmail, and now Outlook.com, among others — the original @hotmail.com email addresses still work, and have worked, through thick and thin, except now it’s called a Microsoft account. If you picked up an @msn.com ID, @live.com ID, Xbox ID, Skype ID, or @outlook.com ID along the way, it’s now a Microsoft account as well.

In this chapter, I show you what’s involved with a Microsoft account, and why it can be useful. Then, I explore the dark underbelly of Microsoft accounts and give you a trick for acquiring a Microsoft account that won’t compromise much of anything. Finally, I show ...