Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

Don’t have your username appear automatically in the logon dialog

By default Windows 2000 keeps track of the last account used to log on and automatically enters the username for that account in the logon dialog box at startup or when you log off. Knowing a valid username is half the challenge of breaking into a system so keeping your account name secret (at least as much as possible) can go a long way toward preventing brute force break-ins or other security compromises. Hiding the username from the logon dialog is one step in keeping your account secure.

Don’t save last logon name

You configure Windows 2000 to not display the last username in the logon dialog box through the security policy, either at the local level or at the domain level. If both are defined, the domain security policy takes precedence.

The following steps assume you are configuring the setting through the local security policy:

1. Open the Local Security Policy console and open the Local Policies\Security Options branch.

2. Double-click the setting “Do not display last username in logon screen.”

3. Configure the setting as Enabled, click OK, and close the Local Security Policy console.

The next time Windows 2000 displays the logon dialog box, the username field will be blank.