How to Secure Your Xbox Live Account

You need to secure your Xbox Live account. The importance of your Xbox Live account can be overstated. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console uses this to allow users to play against friends online, buy games and get some free extras. Microsoft’s Xbox One console uses an Xbox Live account to provide television information, purchase video games the day they arrive, connect users to other games, and more. Child accounts are created using their parents’ Xbox Live account.

There has never been a more dangerous time for your Xbox Live account to be compromised. Losing access to it can mean the difference between a weekend playing your favorite games and a two-hour phone call canceling your credit cards and contacting Microsoft Support. Here are some small steps to help you secure your Xbox Live account and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Securing your Xbox Account is easy enough, but it still starts with being able to access your Xbox Account over the web. Xbox Accounts can be made on Xbox One and Xbox 360, but all security features and privacy settings for the service are stored on or on Xbox.com, the consoles’ companion website and community portal.

Online Access to Your Account

Go to your desktop, laptop or 2-in-1 computer and open a web browser. It doesn’t have to be Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer, any web browser will do.

Tap or click on your web browser’s address bar and go to .

Tap or click the button in the upper right corner of your screen.

Now enter the username and password you used to create your Xbox Live Account on your console. Xbox Live Accounts are based on Microsoft Accounts. That’s a long way to say if you have an account for another Microsoft product other than the same username and password. Outlook.com, OneDrive, and Windows Phone all use the same username and passwords.

If you don’t know your password, now is the time to click My Account Can’t Be Accessed at the bottom of the login screen. The prompts allow you to reset your Microsoft Account and get a new password. You will not lose any information by recovering your account, but you will need to change the password that is installed on all your devices connected to your Microsoft Account. This means Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows 8 tablets and Windows Phone smartphones.

Successfully sign in to your Xbox Live account and you will see your Xbox Live profile. Tap or click the option in the bar in the top right corner of your screen.

This is the Account options area. You can do almost anything from here. Create new Xbox Live accounts, manage payment options, and even get rid of devices you no longer own. In this case, tap or click the lock icon labeled.

At the bottom of your screen, tap or click the option labeled Below the page, so you may have to scroll down before you see it. After clicking the link, you may be prompted to provide your password again.

Adding Two-Step Authentication

Welcome to the Microsoft Account area. Here you can control the settings that sync with all the different things Microsoft users have in their Microsoft Accounts. Scroll down until you see the option.

A high level of Two-Step Authentication is like adding an extra password to your account. Once enabled, whenever you or someone else tries to log into your Xbox Live Account, you will be prompted for your username, password and a code sent directly to your mobile phone. With each new sign-in attempt, Microsoft sends a new code to your phone.

Click .

Now re-enter your Microsoft Account username and password.

Let’s start the installation process. If you have a smartphone, Microsoft will ask you to download an app that generates this third password for you. Select the name of the smartphone you have. You can bypass this and have the service send you a text message. That’s exactly what we did for this example.

Before we continue, there is a compatibility issue that needs attention. All of Microsoft’s current consumer products allow users to use two-step authentication seamlessly, but most of the company’s legacy products do not. If you have a device running Xbox 360 or Windows Phone 7, you’ll need to enter what’s called an App Password. App Passwords replace the Microsoft Account password for that product. Microsoft’s Zune Desktop app and Office 2010 also need app passwords. Use this screen to create a few App Passwords to place in the settings of older Microsoft products. For the first few days after making the switch, you will find yourself constantly entering passwords. This is if you use many things made by Microsoft.

Depending on how much information you provided when setting up your Microsoft Account, you may find that you need to enter your current phone number.

Tap or click the button.

There you go, you’ve made your Xbox Live account almost impenetrable. It’s now seriously less likely for someone to sneak up on your Xbox Live account. To be clear, your experience on Xbox One will not change. If you have a Kinect 2 sensor, Xbox One will automatically continue to sign you in. You will still be able to download new television shows and buy games as you did before. Turning on Two-Step Authentication is more about protecting your account online where hackers can get their hands on your information. Again, you may need to enter an app password for many Microsoft products you use every day.