Mac OS X 10.5 Help
Changing the way users log in
You can set up your computer to ask for a password when users log in, or you can set up automatic login, which automatically logs in a specified user each time the computer starts up.
Important: If you are concerned about the security of information on your computer, you should disable automatic login. Someone can restart the computer and have immediate access. If automatic login is enabled then be sure the computer will not start up in an account with administrator privileges.
You can configure the login window. The login window can show a list of users with a picture next to each name and a space to type their password, or require users to type both their user name and password.
To change the way users log in:
If some settings are dimmed, click the lock icon and type an administrator name and password.
Click Login Options.
To require users to log in when the computer starts up, choose Disabled from the “Automatic login” pop-up menu.
To have the computer automatically log in to a particular account when the computer starts up, choose the account from the “Automatic login” pop-up menu, enter an administrator password and click OK.
In the ”Display login window as” section, select the way you want the login window to appear (a list of users or a dialog asking for their name and password).
If you turn automatic login on for yourself, the computer opens your account when it starts up. If you log out, other users see a login window to log in to their user accounts.