For public computers or for computers in a corporate environment, usernames and passwords are a necessary security measure. But do you really need to enter a username and password for your home machine?
A strong username and password provides a good measure of security for your information. While someone might be able to find your username quickly, a strong password can be a deal breaker when it comes to accessing your private information on your computer.
The flip side of this is convenience. Or lack thereof. Sometimes you might just want to sit down and start surfing the net, or working on the next great novel. You might have a great idea, but it gets lost because you are trying to remember the super-strong, 32 character password that you applied to your system.
In previous versions of Windows, my preferred method of enabling automatic logon was to utilize a registry hack. But that may be a bit deep for the average user, so I’ve included the steps below to achieve the same ends, GUI-style.
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard, and type in netplwiz in the search box, then hit enter.
- In the “User Accounts” window, uncheck the box the is labeled “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer”, then click the Apply button.
- Finally, you’ll be asked to enter a default user name and password that will be used when Windows starts. Enter a valid username and password (in both fields), and you’ll be done.