Picture Passwords
Picture passwords were introduced in Windows 8, and Windows 10 extends this new way to log in to your computer. Picture passwords are designed to be used with touchscreen PCs and tablets so you don't have to type in characters. Instead you choose a picture, draw a combination of three gestures on the picture that become your “password,” and then save those combinations with that picture. You use those gestures to gain access to your computer, much like what happens when you type in a password on your keyboard.
You set up a picture password through the Accounts area in Settings. Click on the Sign-in options link and then click Add to display the Create a Picture Password dialog box (shown in Figure 4.5). Type your user password and click OK to verify your password. Now you're now ready to select a picture and set up gestures to create the picture password.
Figure 4.5 Creating a picture password.
Click Choose Picture and select a picture you want to use. Click Open to see the picture. Figure 4.6 shows an example of a picture that can be used for setting a picture password. If you are happy with your choice, then click the option “Use this picture.”
Figure 4.6 Use any picture, like the ones shown here, for your picture password.
It's time to draw the gestures to create the combination you want to use for the password. You can draw any combination of these three gestures: taps, circles, and straight lines. Remember the following when you set up the gestures:
● Position of the gestures
● Size of the gestures
● Direction of the gestures
● Order in which you make the gestures
For example, on a picture of the flag of the United States, the following are suggested gestures:
● Draw a circle around three stars on the flag.
● Tap the lowest white stripe.
● Draw a straight line from the top-right corner of the blue border down to the bottom of the lower red stripe.
As you draw each gesture, Windows does two things. First, it shows each gesture using a white outline arrow for straight lines, a white circle outline for circles, and a white dot for taps. Second, it shows the sequence of each gesture as 1, 2, or 3.
If you make a mistake, click Start Over and restart the gestures.
After you complete the gestures once, you must confirm them before they're saved. Simply repeat your three gestures. If you forget one, click Start Over and redraw the gestures – and be sure to remember your gestures this time!
When you successfully redraw the gestures in their correct order, click the Finish button, shown in Figure 4.7. You're returned to the Users screen of PC Settings.
Figure 4.7 Windows confirms that your picture password is complete.
After you create a picture password, test it soon to commit the gestures to memory. To do this, return to the Windows Start and sign out. Sign back into your account, this time using the gestures on the picture that displays. After you draw the correct gestures of your picture password, you're presented with the Windows desktop and Start menu.
Types of User Accounts
Windows 10 offers five basic types of user accounts: the built-in Administrator account, user accounts with administrative privileges, standard accounts, the Guest account, and Microsoft accounts, which can be used to access Microsoft resources and services such as Office 365 and the Family Safety features of Windows 10. They vary in how much privilege they grant to the person using the account.
Family Safety and family accounts are discussed in Chapter 5.
With Windows 10, you also have the choice of setting up the user accounts as local or Microsoft accounts. You can read about these types of accounts in the following sections.
With Microsoft accounts, you have the greatest flexibility for taking advantage of many of the newest Windows 10 features. To set up a Microsoft account, you must use a valid e-mail address. You can use an existing account, such as one you use at your office or a third-party account such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, or something similar. If you don't have one, you can set up an e-mail account during the Windows 10 user account setup.
A Microsoft account provides the following features:
● Allows you to log in to a computer on which you haven't previously set up a user account. (Conversely, with local accounts, you must set up a local account on each computer on which you want to log in.)
● Provides access to Microsoft services like Office 365, Windows Phone accounts, and OneDrive.
● Enables you to download apps from the Windows Store.
● Syncs settings across multiple computers. For example, if you work on two or more computers, logging in with the same Microsoft account on each one enables you to keep your favorites, history, sign-in info, and languages synced between the two computers.
● Enables you to access your files and photos from multiple computers.
If you don't have an e-mail address, you can set one up as you create a new Microsoft user account. First, click the Accounts panel in Settings. The accounts options panel is displayed as shown in Figure 4.8.
Figure 4.8 The Microsoft account page.
To add a new Microsoft account, click Other users and then click Add a work or school user from the menu options on the right. This page is shown in Figure 4.9.
Figure 4.9 Other user accounts page.
Now click the Add someone else (+) button to this PC link. The option to choose how this person will sign into Microsoft appears as shown in Figure 4.10.