Enable Auto-Login for Windows 10 Using SysInternals Autologon
Using SysInternals Autologon is the simplest, easiest way to enable auto-login in Windows 10. SysInternals Autologon is a small application provided by Microsoft. There’s a suite of SysInternals tools to help with many things, including troubleshooting Windows. Go to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autologon, download it, and unzip the folder.To disable auto-login later, just open Autologon and select Disable.
Enable Auto-Login for Windows 10 Workgroup PC Through Settings
Maybe we don’t want to use an app to enable auto-login for some reason. That’s okay, this can be done manually, too.Once we’re back in the User Accounts window, select the Advanced tab. Find Require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to login and make sure it’s unchecked. Select OK and on the next login, Windows won’t ask for a password.
How to Enable Require Users Checkbox
What if the checkbox isn’t there? That’s common in Windows 10. There are a few ways to get the checkbox back, but only one way guaranteed to work. It requires editing Windows Registry. Always make a backup of the registry before making any changes.A User Account Control (UAC) window opens asking, Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device? Select Yes.Close the Registry Editor and restart the computer.If the registry key doesn’t exist, it can be created. Open the CMD prompt or PowerShell as Administrator.Enter the command reg ADD “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device” /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f and press Enter. When the response The operation completed successfully appears, restart the computer.
Enable Auto-Login for Windows 10 PC in a Domain
This isn’t recommended for everyday use. Enabling auto-login without the proper security precautions can compromise the domain. It might be useful for a display system though, like in fast-food restaurants or airports. In case of a power outage, the devices would automatically log back in when restarted. The ideal situation is to have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) on the devices.The changes we’ll make can be done as a Group Policy Object (GPO) that can be applied as needed within the domain.Navigate to HKLM > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > Winlogon then choose Select to set that as the path for the key.Repeat steps 5 to 7 using the following values:To set the domain name to be used by autologon:Key Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonValue type: REG_SZValue Name: DefaultDomainNameValue data: YourDomainName – in this example, it’s CORPTo set the default username used by autologon:Key Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonValue type: REG_SZValue Name: DefaultUserNameValue data: YourUsername – in this example, it’s AutoLogonSvcTo set the default password used by autologon:Key Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonValue type: REG_SZValue Name: DefaultPasswordValue data: The password of the user set in the previous keyTo prevent the username from being shown on reboot:Key Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonValue type: REG_SZValue Name: DontDisplayLastUserNameValue data: 1The next time the devices are restarted, they’ll pick up the GPO and apply it within their registry.Notice that the password was stored in plain text. Be tremendously cautious about using autologon in a domain. If anyone can open the Registry Editor, they can read the password and username. They will now have access to anything accessible with those credentials. Two precautions can be taken; prevent anyone from accessing the registry editor and use a service account with limited permissions for the autologon.
Will You Use Auto-Login?
Now that you know how to configure auto-login, what are you going to use it on? Do you already use auto-login? If so, in what scenario and have you come across anything we should be aware of? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
