Logging in to the computer is often one of the first things we do every day. Yet the login screen is not directly the most beautiful or informative part of Windows. Every time you have to type in your username and password, you only do so because you have to. Windows 10 offers more options than any previous version of Windows to customize the login to your liking. Personalize the login screen in 13 steps.
Tip 01: Sign up please
In order to keep using the computer as simple as possible, it was not even necessary to log in to Windows with a username and password a long time ago. But that time has passed. Microsoft wants to make Windows more personal and that requires Windows to know who is logged in. That is why, since some Windows versions, logging in with a username and password has been the default. Windows 10 login consists of two parts, there is the Lock screen and Login screen. The first is the screen that Windows displays when no one is logged in or the computer is locked. The Login screen is the screen that comes next, that is the screen where you enter the username and password. Both screens are closely linked and are also known as the login or login screen.
Access control
Username and password are the first step in the process called access control. You identify yourself with the username: you say who you are. The computer checks its list of users to see if you are there. If not, you will not get access and the process will stop here. If you are on the list, you still have to prove that you are really the person you say you are. That's called authentication. The most commonly used proof is the password, but it can also be a fingerprint or a pass that you have, or a combination of these. If the proof is correct, the authentication is complete and you can enter. What you can do next on the computer depends on your role and rights. This falls within the next step of the access control process, the authorization.
Tip 02: Login Options
Depending on the version and the hardware, Windows 10 has various options to adjust the way of logging in and the appearance of the login screen to your own preference. If you are using a new computer or if you are logging in for the first time with a new user account, the latest version of Windows 10 will also ask you a number of questions about this. For example, you can immediately choose to log in with a PIN code or with biometric data instead of a password. Logging in with a PIN is even the new standard method, to configure it all you need to do is click Next one and then choose the PIN. You can always change the method of registration afterwards. You will find the option Login options in the new settings window via Home / Settings / Accounts.
Tip 03: Photo
The first item on the screen Accounts is Your info. Here you will really only find the option to embellish the personal information on the login screen with a photo. click on Camera if you want to take a picture with a webcam, click on Image search if you want to use a photo or image that is already on the computer. Select the image and choose Choose image. The image you use doesn't have to be a photo of yourself, but it does make it easier to use the computer with multiple accounts.
Windows 10 offers more options than ever to improve sign-in Tip 04: Password options
You can find the options for how to sign up by clicking on the left Login options to click. The top option is facial recognition login via Windows Hello. This option will not be available on many computers. However, there is the option to set a pin code. According to Microsoft, a PIN is more secure than a password because it is set per device. You use your password when you log in with a Microsoft account, after all on any device.
If you want to log in with a PIN code from now on, click on Add under the heading Pin. Now enter the current password first and then click To register. Then type twice the code that you want to use from now on to log in to this PC. The PIN must be at least four digits long and not in any particular pattern: more numbers and variety is better. Confirm with OK. To test this, click Start, then on the photo of your account and on Sign out. Open the login screen and see where first password stood, now Pin stands. Enter the PIN code and press Enter to log in.
Hello Windows
In the sign-in options you will repeatedly come across the term Windows Hello. It is the collective name for all the new features in Windows 10 around logging in. Logging in with a PIN is part of Windows Hello, but also logging in with a picture password, with a fingerprint and via facial recognition. Windows Hello makes logging in easier, but unfortunately the possibilities are completely dependent on the hardware. For example, the picture password works best with a touch screen and a corresponding fingerprint scanner is required for logging in with a fingerprint. And for logging in via facial recognition, only a very limited number of webcams and cameras are sufficient, which you will only find in the more expensive notebooks and tablets.
With the Logitech Brio webcam, which you can connect to any computer via USB, logging in via facial recognition is possible. With a price from 175 euros, this 4k ultra-hd webcam is unfortunately not cheap.
Tip 05: Image
Yet another password replacement is the image password. In fact, it's about drawing a fixed pattern over a certain image with the mouse. You can choose the image and the pattern yourself. Click below Image Password on Add. First type the regular password and click OK. Then click Choose image and select an image. click on To open and confirm that this is the correct image via Using this image. Then you have to draw a pattern on the image three times with the mouse, or with your fingers if there is a touch-sensitive screen on the computer. Then repeat the pattern until the picture password installation is successful. Confirm via Complete. You can test the new password again by logging out of Windows and logging in again.
According to Microsoft, logging in with a PIN is more secure than logging in with a password Tip 06: Yes or no email
When you log in to Windows with a Microsoft ID, Windows 10 shows additional information in addition to the account name. That is not very much yet, but, for example, the associated e-mail address can be displayed. That can be useful or just fun, but it also means that anyone who sees your computer when you're logged out can read your email address. If you don't want that, switch on the screen Login options the bottom option called View account details on the login screen from. If you do not find the display a problem or if you find it useful, but you do not see any extra information with the account name on the login screen, then turn this option on.
