Hi, and welcome to this Managing Microsoft Entra ID User Authentication lesson. My name is Hallam Webber, and I'm an Azure instructor with 25-plus years of experience in the IT industry, and since 2014 I've focused on Microsoft Azure and related technologies.

This lesson is for those students wanting to learn about the pros and cons of the various user authentication methods available with Microsoft Entra ID, as well as students preparing for the SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator exam.

We start with a comparison overview outlining the attributes of the different authentication methods, focusing on security versus ease of use and their various pitfalls. We then move on to an in-depth look at each authentication method and how it operates. While passwords are the weakest form of authentication, they are still the most common by some margin, so we see how Microsoft Entra ID can mitigate password weaknesses.

While this lesson starts with a birds-eye view of authentication, it assumes you’re aware of basic concepts like MFA – multi-factor authentication. We will be looking at how some authentication methods can be configured through the Microsoft Entra administration portal.

It would be helpful if you’ve already viewed the Configuring Tenant-Wide Settings in Azure AD lesson, as it provides complimentary content and context.

When I created this lesson, all information was current. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, or if you notice anything that needs to be updated or corrected, please reach out to us at support@cloudacademy.com.