This breach allegedly exposed up to 2.9 billion records with highly sensitive personal data of up to 170M people in the US, UK, and Canada (Bloomberg Law). This article provides detailed information about the breach, the data exposed, and recommended actions to help you stay safe.

Microsoft Authenticator is a mobile app that helps you sign in to all your accounts without using a password. Microsoft Authenticator is not available for PC or Mac as authenticator apps are typically designed for smartphones for security reasons. Learn more.

On your PC, in the Phone Link, select Messages. To start a new conversation, select New message. Enter the name or phone number of a contact. Select the person you want to send a message to. A new message thread opens for you to begin with.

You can set up an authenticator app to send a notification to your mobile device or to send you a verification code as your security verification method. You aren't required to use the Microsoft Authenticator app, and you can select a different app during the set up process.

Set clip resolution and capture location. Press the Xbox button to open the guide, then go to Profile & system > Settings > Preferences > Capture & share. Note Saving and sharing screenshots on Xbox consoles requires Xbox Game Pass.

Help for admins of small businesses. Contact Microsoft Support. Find solutions to common problems, or get help from a support agent.

Check the Xbox services, games, and apps for any service outages.

This content can help you with your work or school account, which is the account provided to you by your organization (for example, dritan@contoso.com). If you're having problems with two-step verification on a personal Microsoft account, see Troubleshooting verification code issues.

A BitLocker recovery key is needed when BitLocker can’t automatically unlock an encrypted drive in Windows. This key, which is a 48-digit number, is used to regain access to the drive. You might be prompted for the BitLocker recovery key during startup, due to a security risk or hardware change:

There are a number of possible explanations for why verification codes don't always arrive. Read through the list of the most common causes, and see if any of them apply to you, or use our troubleshooter to help guide you. Start. I'm not getting my verification code.