Auto-login, but with a twist - possible?

[rudicheow]

Hi folks,

Is there a way to enable auto-login on XP Pro, but retain a password on
my user account and have the password prompt appear on the desktop, and
still be secure?

Basically, I was wondering if there was a way I could avoid waiting for
the PC to boot up to the login screen, having to walk to the PC to
login, and then having to wait again until my profile was complete
loaded?

It would be much better for me to turn the PC on, and when I go back to
it my profile and desktop etc is fully loaded but I have to enter my XP
user account password to unlock it. This would mean I could then use
the PC immediately after logging on.

Any ideas?

Hibernating is a good way of doing this, but 2GB of RAM means for a
fairly long hibernation procedure!

And yes, it's not exactly a big deal for me to walk to the PC twice,
but I love streamlining the way I work with my PC and every little
helps.

 

[Dave Patrick]

Give this a go.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315231

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

| Hi folks,
|
| Is there a way to enable auto-login on XP Pro, but retain a password on
| my user account and have the password prompt appear on the desktop, and
| still be secure?
|
| Basically, I was wondering if there was a way I could avoid waiting for
| the PC to boot up to the login screen, having to walk to the PC to
| login, and then having to wait again until my profile was complete
| loaded?
|
| It would be much better for me to turn the PC on, and when I go back to
| it my profile and desktop etc is fully loaded but I have to enter my XP
| user account password to unlock it. This would mean I could then use
| the PC immediately after logging on.
|
| Any ideas?
|
| Hibernating is a good way of doing this, but 2GB of RAM means for a
| fairly long hibernation procedure!
|
| And yes, it's not exactly a big deal for me to walk to the PC twice,
| but I love streamlining the way I work with my PC and every little
| helps.
|

 

[D. Spencer Hines]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315231

This doesn't sound like such a Great Idea.

DSH
------------------------------------------------

"Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft
cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry
Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk."

"If you set a computer for automatic logon, anyone who can physically gain
access to the computer can also gain access to everything that is on the
computer, including any network or networks that the computer is connected
to."

"Additionally, if you turn on automatic logon, the password is stored in
the registry in plain text. The specific registry key that stores this value
is remotely readable by the Authenticated Users group. Therefore, only use
this setting if the computer is physically secured and if you make sure that
users whom you do not trust cannot remotely see the registry."

Give this a go.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315231

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

<[email protected]> wrote:

 

[Alec S.]

Is there a way to enable auto-login on XP Pro, but retain a password on
my user account and have the password prompt appear on the desktop, and
still be secure?

Basically, I was wondering if there was a way I could avoid waiting for
the PC to boot up to the login screen, having to walk to the PC to
login, and then having to wait again until my profile was complete
loaded?

It would be much better for me to turn the PC on, and when I go back to
it my profile and desktop etc is fully loaded but I have to enter my XP
user account password to unlock it. This would mean I could then use
the PC immediately after logging on.

Your best bet is to set up autologin as normal, so that it automatically boots up and logs you in, then have a program autorun (you
could put it in the Startup folder, or better, put it in the HKCU\...\Run registry key) which locks your system until you enter a
password.

One option to lock the system is to use a program specifically designed for this purpose. For example, Mouse Trap is pretty good
for this. I'm sure that you could easily find plenty of others.

Another option is to have Windows itself lock the terminal. You could use any number of programs that can simulate keystrokes to
lock it by having them simulate pressing Win+L. Hotkeymaster is a great program that can do this, but there are plenty of others
(you could use a MACRO recorder/player).

I'm not sure if there's a built in way to have windows lock a workstation, but the screensaver is yet another option. You could set
it to run on startup and require a password.


I can give you specific instructions if you need.


HTH

 

[rudicheow]

Thanks Alec.

I did think of this, but there are these security breaches:

1) Having to type in the (unencrypted) password into the registry to
enable auto-logon

2) Holding down "shift" during bootup or entering safe mode would
bypass the launching of the locking tool

Both are hardly big issues though, to be fair, and if someone wanted to
get into my PC they'd get in regardless. It would just be better to not
make it so easy for someone who is even just marginally competent to
get in.

 

[Alec S.]

I did think of this, but there are these security breaches:

1) Having to type in the (unencrypted) password into the registry to enable auto-logon

Then don't type the password into the registry. If you do it yourself, it will be unencrpyted, but if you use a utility such as the
userpasswords2 control panel applet or TweakUI, they will encrpyt the password before writing it.

2) Holding down "shift" during bootup or entering safe mode would bypass the launching of the locking tool

That's why I recommended putting it in the current user registry auto-run instead of the Startup folder. That's not bypassed.

 

[rudicheow]

Fantastic - great answers. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

What Alec said. In addition, the following command-line will lock the
workstation:

rundll32 user32,LockWorkStation

If Welcome Screen is enabled, then it switches to the Welcome Screen.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Fantastic - great answers. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Alec S.]

What Alec said. In addition, the following command-line will lock the
workstation:

rundll32 user32,LockWorkStation

If Welcome Screen is enabled, then it switches to the Welcome Screen.

Perfect; there you go. Use this .REG file:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"Auto-Lock"="%systemroot%\\system32\\rundll32.exe %systemroot%\\system32\\user32.dll,LockWorkStation"


Give that a shot and let us know how it turns out.


(It's a pretty useful idea too.)

 

[Donald A. Herman]

I do it in my BIOS Setup. I select Unattended Start. It auto logs on but you
have to type in the password to unlock the mouse and keyboard.

This works good for MY purposes anyway.

--
Donald A. Herman
Software - Scheduler Pro, Disk Cataloger, Math Wizard
http://don_herman.tripod.com
Office Extras, Addins
http://don_herman.tripod.com/msoextras
..
..

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Thanks for the .REG file. There is a correction though. If using environment
variables, the value type must be set to REG_EXPAND_SZ. Otherwise, REG_SZ
would be fine.

- - -
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"Auto-Lock"="rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation"

- - -

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

What Alec said. In addition, the following command-line will lock the
workstation:

rundll32 user32,LockWorkStation

If Welcome Screen is enabled, then it switches to the Welcome Screen.

Perfect; there you go. Use this .REG file:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"Auto-Lock"="%systemroot%\\system32\\rundll32.exe
%systemroot%\\system32\\user32.dll,LockWorkStation"


Give that a shot and let us know how it turns out.


(It's a pretty useful idea too.)

 

[Alec S.]

Thanks for the .REG file. There is a correction though. If using environment
variables, the value type must be set to REG_EXPAND_SZ. Otherwise, REG_SZ
would be fine.

- - -
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"Auto-Lock"="rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation"

True, that's probably why it didn't work when I tested it. Of course then it would need to be entered in hex. I think that
systemroot is an exception because I'm fairly sure I've seen it used in simple REG_SZ keys.

Here's the expandable kind:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"Auto-Lock"=hex(2):25,73,79,73,74,65,6D,72,6F,6F,74,25,5C,73,79,73,74,65,6D,33,32,5C,72,75,6E,64,6C,6C,33,32,2E,65,78,65,20,25,73,79
,73,74,65,6D,72,6F,6F,74,25,5C,73,79,73,74,65,6D,33,32,5C,75,73,65,72,33,32,2E,64,6C,6C,2C,4C,6F,63,6B,57,6F,72,6B,53,74,61,74,69,6F
,6E,00