Over the years, Microsoft has incorporated various security measures into its desktop operating system to provide a secure login experience. One such measure is the secure login feature, which adds an extra layer of security to the login process and keeps hackers at bay.
If you want to use the secure sign-in feature on Windows 11, we’re here to help. Before checking out the steps to enable or disable Windows Secure Login, let’s first understand how this feature protects your login credentials.
What is secure connection in Windows
Malware or code on your computer can steal your data in different ways. For example, it might display a fake login screen on your Windows computer to steal your PIN or password. This is precisely the problem that Secure Sign-In aims to solve.
When the secure connection is activated, Windows asks you to press the key combination Ctrl+At+Delete to access the connection field. This helps you verify that the login screen you see on your computer is genuine.
Once you have set the secure connection, let’s see how to enable or disable this feature in Windows 11.
1. Enable or disable secure connection by changing user account settings
The easiest and fastest way to enable or disable the secure login feature in Windows is through the user account settings. So let’s start with that.
Step 1: Right-click the Windows icon in the taskbar or press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu and select Run from the list.
2nd step: In the Open field, type netplwizand press Enter.
Step 3: In the User Accounts window, switch to the Advanced tab.
Step 4: Under the Secure Login section, check the box next to “Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete” to enable secure login on your PC. If you want to disable the feature, uncheck the box.
Step 5: Click Apply and then OK.
2. Enable or Disable Secure Connection Using Registry Editor
Registry files on your PC contain important configurations for Windows. You can edit these registry files to enable or disable features such as secure login. But we do not recommend making any changes to registry files before backing up all registry files or creating a restore point just in case.
Since editing registry files is slightly risky, proceed only if you are familiar with the registry editor. If so, follow these steps to configure the secure connection feature using the Registry Editor.
Step 1: Click the Windows search icon in the taskbar, type registry editor in the search box, then select Run as administrator from the results.
2nd step: Select Yes when the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears.
Step 3: In the Registry Editor window, paste the following path in the address bar at the top and press Enter.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon
Step 4: In the Winlogon key, find the DisablCad entry in the right pane.
If you don’t see the DisablCad DWORD, right-click the Winlogon key in the left sidebar, select New, and choose “DWORD (32-bit) Value” from the submenu. Name the DWORD DisableCad.
Step 5: Double-click DisablCad DWORD and enter 0 in the Value data field to enable secure connection in Windows. If you want to disable the feature, enter 1 instead.
Then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor and restart your PC to apply the changes.
3. Enable or disable secure connection with local security policy
Another way to configure the secure connection feature in Windows is to use Local Security Policy in the Group Policy Editor. However, it is important to note that the Group Policy Editor is only available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. So if you are using Windows Home, this method will not work for you. However, you can try the previous solution.
Step 1: Press Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog box. Type secpol.msc in the text box and click OK.
2nd step: When the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears, select Yes to continue.
Step 3: In the Local Security Policy window, double-click the Local Policies folder in the left pane to expand it.
Step 4: In the Local Policies folder, select the Security Options folder.
Step 5: In the right pane, double-click the “Interactive login: does not require CTRL+ALT+DELETE” policy.
Step 6: On the Local Security Settings tab, select the Enabled radio button to disable the secure connection requirement. You can also select the Disabled radio button to enable the policy. Press Apply followed by OK.
Secure your computer
Enabling the secure login feature on Windows is a handy way to protect your login credentials from harmful programs. However, if you prefer not to go through an extra step during the login process, you can always disable this feature using one of the methods listed above.