Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) users now have the option of single sign-on (SSO), as well as passwordless authentication, with the public preview of Microsoft’s latest upgrade.
“Today, we’re announcing the public preview to enable an Azure AD-based single sign-on experience and support for passwordless authentication, using Windows Hello and security devices (like FIDO2 keys ),” Microsoft’s David Bélanger explained in a blog post about the new feature’s debut.
According to the public preview announcement of the new cloud security feature, once users install the September cumulative update preview, the features will be available on Windows 10 and 11, as well as Windows Server 2022.
According to Belanger’s post, the latest AVD update will allow users to:
- Enable single sign-on experience for Azure AD-joined and Hybrid Azure AD-joined session hosts when using Windows and web clients
- Use passwordless authentication to connect to host using Azure AD
- Use in-session passwordless authentication when using Windows client
- Use third-party identity providers (IdPs) that integrate with Azure AD to connect to the host
The Azure Academy tutorial for admins on how to deploy new updates said the new SSO option was the “most requested AVD feature ever.”