Microsoft KB Archive/180017

Pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE Not Required to Log On to Windows NT

PSS ID Number: Q180017 Article last modified on 04-01-1998

WINNT:5.0

winnt

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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the “Restoring the Registry” Help topic in Regedit.exe or the “Restoring a Registry Key” Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

= SUMMARY =

You may not be required to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to begin the logon process on computers running Windows NT Workstation.

= MORE INFORMATION =

On a computer running Windows NT, the CTRL+ALT+DELETE key combination is used as the Security Attention Sequence (SAS). The SAS is used by Windows NT to initiate the logon process.

The SAS can be used to make Windows NT users accustomed to not typing a Windows NT password without first pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE. In other words, users learn that when they log on to Windows NT their password should be supplied only after pressing CRTL+ALT+DELETE. Other programs that require user passwords, or even programs written to capture passwords, do not use the CTRL+ALT+DELETE SAS and are not confused with the Windows NT logon process.

In this version of Windows NT Workstation, the SAS is disabled by default. Disabling this feature does not decrease the security of Windows NT. To gain access to the computer, users are required to log on to Windows NT with a valid user name and password. The Windows NT logon process suspends all other user-mode processes to protect the logon process and is the only process that can create the access tokens used by the Windows NT security system. Administrators have the option of enabling or disabling the CRTL+ALT+DELETE SAS.

Note that CRTL+ALT+DELETE is enabled by default when a Windows NT Workstation is logging into a domain, and CRTL+ALT+DELETE encrypts the domain password since it is a network resource.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the “Changing Keys And Values” Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the “Add and Delete Information in the Registry” and “Edit Registry Data” Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To enable the CRTL+ALT+DELETE SAS, set the data value of the DisableCAD value to 0 in the following registry key:

HKLMNT

= Additional query words: 5.00 =

Keywords : kbui ntboot ntsecurity ntui NTWkst Version : WINNT:5.0 Platform : winnt Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.