Much like in Windows Vista you’ll find a graphical login screen for Windows 7. This has a much nicer look and feel to it than the old login prompts of Windows XP and its predecessors but it at the expense of security. Anyone attempting to infiltrate your system will have access to all the possible usernames and will merely have to guess the passwords. If the users are not using secure passwords then they will easily be compromised.
So how can one protect their system from this type of attack? Aside from using secure passwords you can also go a step further and enable the classic logon screen as used in the earlier versions of Windows. This will force the user to not only guess the password but the username as well.
- Press start
- Type: local security policy
- Press enter
- Expand local policies
- Click Security Options
- Double-click “Interactive Login: Do not display last user name”
- Check Enabled
- Click OK
Now close all open windows and restart the system. After it is done booting you will now be prompted to enter both the username and password, without being provided with a list of available users.
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i hate the “new” look of MSN and even more I hate BING!!
“This has a much nicer look and feel to it than the old login prompts of Windows XP and its predecessors . . .”
Maybe you think so, and you need to see a cartoon charaterization of yourself on a flowered wallpaper background when you login, but many of us are adult professionals who just want a login screen ala W2K or the “Classic” XP. Apparently Microsoft is staffed with children who think this desire is unreasonable.
I’m sure corporate America just is itching to install W7 so that their users can spend hours searching for their favorite avitars and wallpapers. Get real or Windows 7 will be a big disaster like Vista.
@Steve Ronsen – Sounds like someone needs a hug. No one is stopping you from using Windows XP for the rest of your life.
What about versions of win 7 that dont have group policy (Home Premium)?
@Steve Ronsen: You could try using this Windows 7 Logon Screen Editor to at least modify the image and background for the login screen.
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/323/2/1/Windows_7_Logon_screen_editor_by_bcubing.exe
I certainly would like at least the *option* of having the old-school login screen back, rather than be force-fed the new one.
This kind of illustrates one great thing about rolling your own OS as with Linux, you can tailor your login and interface however you like, and not be subject to the whims and fluffy ideas pimped by Microsoft’s or any other corporation’s marketing crew.
@FettesPS
“No one is stopping you from using Windows XP for the rest of your life.”
If you called “Win XP not being supported” as no one is stopping Win XP use, I don’t know what is.
@XReader – How is that stopping you from using WinXP? When was the last time you called support? Besides, MS has announced that with SP3 they will be supporting it until 2014.