Security or convenience? It seems that we cannot have both, so we must decide what is most important to us. If it’s convenient and Windows is reasonably secure, being able to automatically sign in to Windows can help. It’s also safer use Windows without a password. We can configure auto-login for Windows 10 computers have joined a domain or independent units.
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Enable auto-login for Windows 10 with 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 Windows Troubleshooting. Go https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autologonDownload and unzip the folder.
- Select the correct Autologon version for your computer. Simple Autologon for Windows 32-bit and Autologon64 for 64-bit windows.
- A User Access Control (UAC) window will open asking for permission to run the application. Option Right.
- The Autologon License Agreement window opens. Read and choose Agree to continue.
- Autologon will be filled in account name and Domain. Import Password for the user and select Allow.
To disable auto-login later, simply open Autologon and select Disable.
Enable auto-login for Windows 10 workgroup PCs through settings
Maybe we don’t want to use an app that allows auto-login for some reason. No problem, this can also be done manually.
- Press Windows Key + CHEAP to open Run dashboard.
- Import
netplwiz
and press enter. The User account window will open.
- Uncheck the reading box User must enter username and password to use this computer. Option ALRIGHT.
- The Auto login A window will open, pre-filled with the username. Import Password and Confirm password.
When we return to the User Accounts window, select Advanced navigation. Find Ask users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to log in and make sure it’s unchecked. Option ALRIGHT and the next time you log in, Windows won’t ask for a password.
How to enable User Requests checkbox
What if the checkbox is not there? That’s common in Windows 10. There are several ways to get the checkbox back, but only one is guaranteed to work. It requires editing the Windows Registry. Always make a backup of the registry before making any changes.
- Press Windows key + CHEAP to open Run dashboard.
- Type regedit and press enter.
The User Account Control (UAC) window opens asking, Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device? Option Right.
- When the Registry Editor window opens, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > Current version > PasswordLess > Device.
- Double click DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion key and change Value data are from 2 arrive 0. Option ALRIGHT.
Close Registry Editor and restart the computer.
If the registry key does not exist, it can be generated. Open CMD reminder or PowerShell like Manager.
Enter command reg ADD “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device” /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0/f and press enter.
When responding Operation completed successfully appears, restart the computer.
- Once the computer has restarted, perform the steps related to using the netplwiz command above. The User must enter username and password to use this computer check box is there.
Enable Auto-Login for Windows 10 PCs in the domain
This is not recommended for daily use. Enabling auto-login without proper security precautions could compromise a domain. However, it can be useful for a display system, such as in fast food restaurants or airports.
In the event of a power failure, the device will automatically re-login upon reboot. The ideal situation is to have uninterruptible power (UPS) on the devices.
The changes we will be making can be made as a Group Policy Object (GPO) that can be applied as needed in the domain.
- On the domain controller, open Policy Management Team and navigate to Domain > Your domain name > Group Policy Objects. Once there, right click on Group Policy Objects and choose New.
- Enter a descriptive name, such as Automatic Login, for the new GPO and select ALRIGHT.
- Right click on Auto login GPO and select Edit…
- The Group Policy Management Editor open. Towards computer configuration > Interests > Install Windows > Registration Authority.
- Right click on Registration Authority and choose New > Subscriptions. We will be generating 5 registry keys with this part of the process. We’ll go through the first one. Repeat the respective steps for the other 4 registry keys with the attributes given below.
- In New registration propertiesleave Work like Update and Hive like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM). Select the ellipsis or ellipsis (…) next to Main path field. The Subscriptions browser window opens.
Towards HKLM > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > Current version > Winlogon then choose Option to set it as the path for the key.
- Come back New registration properties window, enter AutoAdminLogon inside Value name field. Leave Value type default is REG_SZ and enter first inside Value data field. Option 1 means enable AutoAdminLogon. If we wanted to disable it, we would change it to zero (0). Option ALRIGHT to set up registry settings in the GPO.
Repeat steps 5 through 7 with the following values:
To set the domain name used by autologon:
Main Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Name: DefaultDomainName
Value data: YourDomainName – in this example, it’s CORP
To set the default username used by autologon:
Main Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Name: DefaultUserName
Value data: YourUsername – in this example, it’s AutoLogonSvc
To set the default password used by autologon:
Main Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Name: DefaultPassword
Value data: User’s password set in previous key
To prevent username from showing on reboot:
Main Path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value Type: REG_SZ
Value Name: DontDisplayLastUserName
Value data: 1
- Once the keys are generated and in the order shown below, apply the GPO in the Manage Group Policy window by dragging and dropping it onto the desired groups.
The next time the devices are rebooted, they will get the GPO and apply it in their registry.
Note that the password is stored as plain text. Use extreme caution when using autologon in a domain. If anyone can open the Registry Editor, they can read the username and password. They will now have access to anything accessible using those credentials. Two precautions can be taken; prevent anyone from accessing the registry editor and using a service account with limited permissions for the automaton.
Will you use auto-login?
Now that you know how to configure auto-login, what are you going to use it for? Have you used automatic login? If so, under what circumstances and have you run into something that we should know about? We’d love to know about that in the comments below.
