Auto Login and Lock Windows 7

Windows allows users to disable the logon screen but this open up security issues so it is still better if Windows ask for a password before showing the desktop. But with the logon screen enabled, it takes some time to load windows drivers, services and all other startup programs. So what setup makes boot time faster without sacrificing security? Your system should auto login but at the same time auto lock Windows. This can be achieve through the Auto Logon & Lock tweak, so that when you hit the Power button and return a few minutes later to login, you won't need to wait for all those startup programs to load.


Some of the benefits from this tweak:
- Faster boot time.
- Automatically resume downloads etc. when your PC reboots due to a power failure or crash.
- It password protects Safe Mode as well. Existing auto logon methods leave Safe Mode unprotected.
- It locks the desktop before Explorer is started. Other methods auto-lock using an autorun/start up entry which leave the PC logged on and unlocked until the autorun entries are executed (which can even take several minutes).

To install the tweak on your system, follow these steps:
1. Download Auto Login and Lock tweak app.
2. Run "Lock.exe" from the archive to test if the application runs without errors. If successful, your desktop should be locked. Logon again and Windows Explorer should be open.
3. Copy the files "Lock.exe" and "LockCMD.exe" to your Windows directory. (Ex: C:\Windows).
4. Run "lockcmd.reg" from the archive and click Yes in the dialog box. You must run this while logged on to the account which you want to enable auto logon for.
5. Click Start and type "netplwiz.exe" on the Run dialog then press Enter.
6. Uncheck the checkbox "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" and click OK. Enter the Username and Password of the account you want to enable auto logon for.
7. Restart your PC to test it.

Auto Login and Lock is tested on Windows Vista (32-bit & 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit & 64-bit).

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