Section 110. Enable and Disable Automatic Login

110. Enable and Disable Automatic Login

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

118 Add a New User

SEE ALSO

109 Set Applications to Launch Automatically at Login

112 Switch to Another User

110. Enable and Disable Automatic Login

Automatic login is an option that lets your computer act as though it has only one user on itthe user who primarily uses the computer. It's a useful feature if you're the only person who ever uses the machine; it eliminates the need for you to log in to your account when you boot up the Mac, and it logs you directly in to your working environment.

KEY TERM

Automatic login When you start up a Mac with this option enabled, the computer enters a predetermined user's login session automatically; you don't have to type your password to log in.

If multiple people use your computer, automatic login can be a detriment; after all, you don't want someone else booting up the computer and automatically being dumped into your account. He then has to log out and log in to his own account, or he might decide to just use yoursand you'll come home to find all your icons rearranged and a bunch of new music in iTunes that you know you don't listen to. More dangerously, someone using your account can access any of the websites or online systems protected by the passwords saved in your Keychainincluding your bank account and your private email. The more you think about it, the more the dangers of maintaining a single login ought to be apparent.

Automatic login is enabled by default until you create more user accounts than the primary one you set up when you first turned on your Mac. When you create a second account, automatic login becomes disabled, so that you must choose an account to log in to after booting; you must then re-enable automatic login if you want to continue using it. See 118 Add a New User for more information about working with multiple users.

1.	Open the Accounts Preferences Open the System Preferences application (under the Apple menu); click Accounts to open the Accounts Preferences pane.
2.	Select the Login Options Click Login Options at the bottom of the list of users on the left side of the window. The global options for the system's login behavior appear. NOTE You must be logged in as an Admin user to open the Login Options pane. See 117 About Administrative Responsibilities for more information.
3.	Select the User to Log In As Select the check box next to Automatically log in as and open the drop-down list; all the users on the system are in the list. Pick the one you want the system to automatically boot into instead of presenting the login screen.
4.	Enter the User's Password In the sheet that appears, enter the selected user's password and click OK. The next time you restart the computer, it will boot directly into that user's working environment.
5.	Open the Security Preferences If you're an Admin user, you can also disable automatic login and force the computer to present the login screen when it boots up. To do this, click Show All in the System Preferences toolbar, then click Security to open the Security Preferences pane.
6.	Disable Automatic Login Click the Disable automatic login check box. Automatic login is immediately disabled. To re-enable it, return to the Accounts Preferences pane and follow steps 2, 3, and 4 of this task.