In a previous article I explained how to remove your ‘Lock’ screen. If you want to take it a step further and speed up Windows 8’s boot time even more, you can bypass the logon screen quite easily.
This procedure will automatically logon to your account without requiring the input of credentials (username and password) each time. It is recommended only if you a lone user. If you have a situation where multiple users might access your computer and you have security concerns, do not bypass the logon screen.
On the Start screen type netplwiz and press Enter. Alternatively, you can press the Win key + R to bring up the ‘Run’ box and type netplwiz then press Enter.
The User Accounts window will open, uncheck ‘Users must enter a name and password to use this computer’ then click OK.
You will now get a ‘Sign In’ box open, type in your user name and password and click OK.
Reboot and you should go directly to the Start screen.
If you want to reinstate your logon page, just go back to the user accounts window and check the ‘Users must enter a name and password to use this computer’ box again.
Thank you, Alan Wade!
But as you noted above “If you have a situation where multiple users might access your computer and you have security concerns, do not bypass the log-on screen…”; an simpler alternative would be to utilize the Windows8 “Picture Log In” feature that provides a rudimentary form of security/protection, with just 3 clicks.
The following link details how to set up the Win8 “picture log-on” >> http://www.ehow.com/video_12253453_log-windows-8-using-picture-password.html#transcript
A few months ago, there was a news article stating that this form of Win8 log-on has already been hacked!
Yet, this picture log-on is better than having no protection at all!
Cheers!
The article above was aimed at auto-login which means if you are sat in front of the computer and turn it on you dont have to login although you still have a password. It was aimed at single user machines who dont want to waste time at the login screen such as mine. If a hacker wants to access my machine via the internet, he/she must still break my password.