[Ham-Computers] Re: Win XP login window

[jandlmiller at bellsouth.net]

Aaron,  I want to be sure I am following this thread and correctly understanding what is being said..

Do your comments below pertain to WinXP Professional or WinXP Home or WinXP Media Center, or does it make any difference?

The majority of users I know use XP-Home, have only one user account, and never have set a password.  I think I understood some of them to say that with various OS previous to XP-Home they had a miserable experience when they set a password, and then the system refused to recognize it. 

Do you believe that these folks using XP-Home with only one user account and no password are flirting with disaster, or inviting a hijack?

John W0IKT

Message: 3
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:35:36 -0700
From: "Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)" <aaron.hsu at nbcuni.com>
Subject: [Ham-Computers] RE: Win XP login window
To: "I>Ham-Computers" <Ham-Computers at mailman.qth.net>

Just to help clarify as to how Windows XP works RE: auto-
logon...

If there's only one "user" account created when WinXP was
installed, and, if that account was created *without* a
password, then WinXP configures the system to auto-logon with
that one user account. However, once you set a password, auto-
logon is disabled even if you later clear (blank) the
password. If more than one user account exists (not including
the built-in accounts), then you'll get either the "Welcome"
screen or the "Classic" logon prompt (depending on
configuration) even if the accounts have no password. In this
case you'll need to manually configure Windows to auto-logon.

The method I described just changes the way WinXP acts at first
boot. If the "Users must provide a UserID..." setting is
unchecked, Windows will prompt you (when the setting is saved)
for a "default" login ID and password that it will use each
time WinXP starts. This is the exact same setting that WinXP
defaults to when you first installed XP and set a blank
password. The only difference is that you can password protect
the UserID and still have the system auto-logon *without*
prompting for a UserID and Password.

I *HIGHLY* recommend that, if you're using a blank password,
you create a password and then use the proceedure I posted to
configure Windows to auto-logon with the password. It's
*NEVER* a good idea to have a blank password and MS should
never have defaulted to allowing auto-logon with a blank
password. This is one way how people's systems get "hijacked"
as all you need is the login ID (which can be collected fairly
easily using the "Null logon" account that every Windows system
has).


73 all and safe computing,

- Aaron, NN6O



-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 4:23 PM
Subject: [Ham-Computers] RE: Win XP login window

Here's how to do it. But, before we go there, it's best to set
a password even if you don't want to type it in each time you
log on - set the password *FIRST*, then configure Windows to
auto logon.

So, change the password first. Then...


1. Open a Command Prompt and enter the following:

control userpasswords2 (and press enter)

2. In the control panel that comes up, there should be an
option that reads "Users must enter a user name and
password..." - UNCHECK this box.

3. When you click "OK" or "Apply", another dialogue box should
come up that asks you which UserID and password Windows should
use for the auto-logon. Enter them now, then press "OK".


That's it. The next time you restart Windows, it should
perform an auto-logon. If you log off without shutting down,
it will still prompt for a password - the auto-logon only works
at first boot.

73,

- Aaron, NN6O