By default, when you set up user accounts in Mac OS X, you have to supply a password which will be used every time to log the user into the system. However, if you are the only user of your machine and it seldom leaves your house, entering the password can sometimes be quite a troublesome task.
For this purpose, you can set up OS X to automatically log in a user on startup. Follow the steps given below to enable automatic login for a user:
1. Open up “System Preferences” from the Apple Menu.
2. Select “Users & Groups.”
3. Click on the Lock icon in the lower-left corner. Enter your password when prompted.
4. Click on “Login Options.”
5. From the Automatic Login drop-down menu, you can select the user you want to log in automatically when you boot up the system.
If you have a system set up for presentation or media center services, you may want the same app to start up when you fire up your Mac. If that’s the case, follow the steps below:
1. Navigate to “System Preferences -> Users & Groups”. Click the Lock icon to make changes.
2. Select the user account which you’ve set up to log in automatically.
3. In the “Login Items” tab, select the app(s) you want to start automatically when the system is turned on.
Note: If you didn’t see your app in the app list, simply click the “Plus” icon at the bottom of the list. In the new window that opens, navigate to the Applications folder, and select the desired app.
Remember to use Automatic Login responsibly, as it will give anyone who has physical access to the system entry to the machine’s contents. Passwords will still be required to log in to the system through network services like file-sharing and remote log-in through SSH and other Terminal services.
You can also disable Automatic Login by simply navigating to “System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> Login Options” and select “Off” from the Automatic Login drop-down list.
Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier's resident Mac tutorial writer. He's currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube
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Doesn’t using auto login defeat the security aspect of a login???
You may be the only one using the system but, if the computer is connected to the Internet, it can be hacked by any one of millions of hackers. Or is OS/X such an obscure operating system that nobody will bother hacking it? Is the convenience of saving couple of seconds needed to type in a password worth having the computer hacked and possibly turned into a “zombie”?
I don’t see how autologin vs. manual login affects internet originated crack attempts.
Autologin for the console is mainly security for console access from casual
people who have physical access to the machine, like family members and friends
who might casually try to use your machine when you walk away for a few minutes.
If you’re not concerned about physical access, then autologin is probably fine.
Internet crackers won’t be thwarted by your window manager’s login screen;
they’ll be trying to come in by other means, such as throwing dictionaries at
remote login servers like ssh (which have nothing to do with autologin),
web browser related attacks via java/flash/etc invoked by clickbaiting,
dns poisoning, etc, or feeling up your machine’s network ports for inbound
obscure network services that may have buffer overrun issues, open sharing
for file serving, or try to merge into established network connections by hijacking
connections in progress, and attempting to invoke their own code.
Since I installed yosemite- it has asked for a password when I turn on my mac.
But my automatic log in area in system preferences is grey- set to off- & I can’t select another option. I have no idea why.. Can anyone help?
I’m having the same issue after Deploying the image. Haven’t found a permanent fix, but found that if I restart in safe mode it is no longer greyed-out