For shared laptops that users borrow mostly for remote access, I usually configure no password for the Administrator login and even set Windows to automatically log in to that user account. Of course, I usually have an image of the base configuration, which makes it easy to restore to our company default settings and apps if users manage to fry the system.

So how do you get Windows XP to automatically log in? Click Start / Run and type the following:
control userpasswords2

In the Users tab of the pop up box, uncheck “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer.” Then click the Advanced tab and also uncheck “Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.” Then click the Apply button. You’ll be prompted to select the user and password that you want to use as your default login (for example, Administrator, leaving password fields blank if you haven’t assigned a password for that account). Then click OK to close the box.

That’s it. If you restart the computer, you’ll see it logs in to the default account you’ve set up for your users. That avoids your having to hand out and manage login information for your shared computers.

CAUTION: There is nothing secure about this setup. This is supposed to make it easy for anyone to use this computer, so it assumes that nothing of consequence is stored on its harddrive. Obviously, you should ensure that users avoid saving confidential information on a laptop that has been configured for auto-login. But even a laptop set up with a Windows login and password is vulnerable. Hacks are widely available that allow clearing or resetting Administrator passwords. So make sure you have a no-local-saving policy (best option) or at least encryption software when deploying laptops with minimal or no password protection.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Security Issues, Microsoft Windows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.