Hide Account Usernames in Windows for Extra Security
If you use online banking, you may have noticed when you get your password wrong that the error in response is pretty generic i.e. “Wrong user name or password.” These error messages are pretty unhelpful; however, this is by design. If someone tries to compromise your account, do you really want them knowing they got the user name right and now just need to tackle the password? Probably not. The harder we make it to get in to our accounts, the less chance we have of opportunists getting to places we don’t want them to be. With that said, this guide will show you how to disable user name display on the Windows logon screen, for additional security.
Note: To learn set a password for your (and all other accounts) on your PC, follow this guide.
Pictured above is similar to how your logon screen looks now. To hide user names, you’ll either need to use Group Policy or the Registry Editor. Group Policy is available only with Windows Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. If you are using a Starter, Home, or Home Premium edition, please follow the Registry Editor method.
Disable User Name Display Using Windows Registry Editor
Note: If you are unfamiliar with making changes to the Windows Registry, please read this guide.
- Click Start, type regedit, and press Enter to pen the Windows Registry Editor
- Navigate to key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
- Modify (or add) DWORD DontDisplayLastUserName and set the value to 1
- Log off to see changes
Note: To view user names again, follow steps 1-2 above and set the value to 0 in step 3.
Disable User Name Display Using Group Policy
Note: If you are unfamiliar with making changes via Group Policy, please read this guide.
- Click Start, type local, and click Local Security Policy
- In the left-hand pane, click on Local Policies > Security Options
- In the right-hand pane, double-click Interactive Logon: Do Not Display Last User Name (or right click and select Properties)
- Select Enabled and click OK
- Log off to see changes
Note: To view user names again, follow steps 1-3 above and select Disabled in step 4.
