auto-login and lockdown
this tip will only work if you are the only one that uses your computer. after you finish these instructions, when you start up your computer it will automatically login and begin starting up your programs, and emediately lock itself. your computer will remain secured, with only a few seconds of open access time during startup, and you can walk away from your computer and get a cup of coffe while it's booting, knowing you will be fully ready to go when you get back.
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instructions
first of all, there are two ways to do this. the first step, making the computer automatically login, is the same in both ways, but locking the computer can be done the easy way, or the hard way. we'll get to this later. you can always completely bypass this method by holding down the shift key during startup, this way the system will not auto-login and you will be able to login on another account.
 in order to set your computer to automatically login, execute the command 'CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2'. to do this, go to start > run, and type in the command. the shortcut key in windows to access the run dialog box, is windows+R. click on the username you use on your computer, and uncheck 'Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer'. you will be asked to enter a password when you click Ok.
using a microsoft fingerprint reader with this method is not possible, as it forces the password to be entered upon startup.
if you are having problems with this method, download the Microsoft Powertoy TweakUI, which has an option for auto-logins. if you are unable to fix the problems, please contact me.
 now you have to decide how you want to lock your pc. in the easy way, we will make a shortcut file in the startup folder, which is quick and easy and will do the job. however, this isn't the fastest method, and it also imposes a massive security threat, as windows will bypass the startup folder if you hold down the shift key during startup (and thus not locking your workstation). the second method works by adding a key to the registry, adding the lock as a standard startup program. it is a little bit harder because it involves editing the registry. you should only go with the easy method if you are really uncomfortable with the windows registry system, or if you simply don't care about security.
the easy method
right click on the windows start button, and click explore. go to programs, startup, and create a new shortcut (using right-click, new). copy and paste the following line:
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
that's all! test it, and if the process fails at locking the computer, try again with the hard method.
the hard method
 open the registry (by entering 'regedit' in the run dialog box), and follow this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Run
make a new string-value using right mouse click, new. name it "!!Lockdown". the "!!" places it above AVG Anti-Spyware (or another program), if you have this installed. in the value data, type this:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
as you can see this is very similar to the previous command, with the exception that you can not use the %windir% variable, so you must enter the right path to your rundll32.exe file here. there is probably a smarter way to do this, but I don't know about it.
This should do it! Shut down your computer and see if it works! Also see my other online tutorial for a very simple tip on improving your computer startup time by minutes!
quick instructions (basic commands only)
- CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Run
- C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
shortcut command:
%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation
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