What is aka.ms?

Why Microsoft uses it

Long settings and sign-in URLs are hard to read aloud, print on a screen, or type on a console. Microsoft shortens them with aka.ms so a setup screen can simply say "go to aka.ms/remoteconnect" instead of showing a web address three lines long. When you open an aka.ms link, it instantly forwards you to the real Microsoft page it points to. The name is usually read as "also known as": the short name is another name for a longer address.

How an aka.ms link works

An aka.ms link is a redirect. When we tested a range of them in October 2026, aka.ms answered each request with a standard "moved permanently" response that names the real destination, and the browser went straight there. Nothing is downloaded from aka.ms itself and there is no page to sign in on at aka.ms. That has two practical consequences:

• The page you end up on is what matters. Read the address bar after the link opens, not the link you clicked.
• A short name that does not exist goes to Bing. In our tests, an unknown name forwarded to a Bing search page rather than an error. If that happens, the link was probably mistyped.

Where aka.ms links can lead

A genuine aka.ms link only forwards to Microsoft, but "Microsoft" covers several domains and even apps. From our checks:

So "it did not go to microsoft.com" is not, by itself, a sign of a fake. live.com, microsoftonline.com and onedrive.live.com are all Microsoft's. What should stop you is an unfamiliar domain, a look-alike spelling, or a page asking for payment or remote access.

Where you run into aka.ms

• In Minecraft on a games console, asking you to link a Microsoft account.
• In Windows itself: during setup, in compatibility checks, and on the BitLocker recovery screen.
• In security prompts for two-step verification or the Authenticator app, especially on work and school accounts.
• In emails, documentation and error messages from Microsoft and from schools or workplaces that use Microsoft 365.

How to check a link before you trust it

1. Type it yourself when you can, rather than tapping a link in an unexpected message.
2. Check the spelling: exactly aka.ms, with nothing added before the dot.
3. Read the address bar once the page has loaded and confirm it is a Microsoft-owned domain.
4. Only enter codes you started yourself, on a screen in front of you.

For a list of common links and where each one went when we tested it, see our directory of common aka.ms links. For red flags, read Is aka.ms safe? and our step-by-step guide on how to use an aka.ms link.