Section 15.4. Logging On

15.4. Logging On

When it comes to the screens you encounter when you log onto a Windows Vista computer, your mileage may vary. What you see depends on how your PC has been set up. For example:

15.4.1. You Get the Windows Welcome Screen

This is what people on standalone or workgroup computers see most of the time (Figure 15-4).

To sign in, click your account name in the list. If no password is required for your account, you proceed to your Windows desktop with no further interruption.

If there is a password associated with your account, you'll see a place for it (Figure 15-5). Type your password and then press Enter (or click the blue arrow button).

There's no limit to the number of times you can try to type in a password. With each incorrect guess, you're told, "The user name or password is incorrect," and an OK button appears to let you try again. The second time you try, your password hint appears, too (Section 15.2.3), as shown in Figure 15-5.

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Tip: If your Caps Lock key is pressed, another balloon lets you know. Otherwise, because you can't see anything on the screen as you type except dots, you might be trying to type a lowercase password with all capital letters .

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15.4.2. You Zoom Straight to the Desktop

If you are the sole account holder, and you've set up no password at all for yourself, you can cruise all the way to the desktop without any stops.

This password-free scenario, of course, is not very secure; any evildoer who walks by your machine when you're in the bathroom has complete access to all of your files (and all of your password-protected Web sites). But if you work in a home office, for example, where the threat of privacy invasion isn't very great, it's by far the most convenient arrangement.

Setting it up requires a few extra-techy steps. They're described in a free bonus document that await on this book's "Missing CD" at www.missingmanuals.com.

15.4.3. You Get the "Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to Begin" Dialog Box

If you work in a big corporation, you may encounter a message, when you turn on the PC, instructing you to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (the "three-fingered salute") to begin.

This is the most secure configuration, and also the least convenient, as described in the box.