Windows Makes Me Log On All the Time

Windows offers two ways to return to life from its swirling and churning screen saver. Windows can return you to the opening screen, where you must log back on to your user account. Alternatively, Windows Vista can simply return you to the program you were using when the screen saver kicked in.

Some people prefer the security of the opening screen. If the screen saver kicks in when they are spending too much time at the water cooler, they are protected: Nobody can walk over and snoop through their e-mail. Other people don't need that extra security, and they simply want to return to work quickly. Here is how to accommodate either camp:

1. Right-click a blank part of your desktop and choose Personalize and then click Screen Saver. Windows Vista shows the screen saver options, including whether or not Windows should wake up at the opening screen.
2. Depending on your preference, remove or add the check mark from the On Resume, Display Logon Screen box. If the box is checked, Windows Vista is more secure. The screen saver wakes up at Vista's opening screen, and users must log on to their user accounts before using the computer.
   If the box is not checked, Windows Vista is more easygoing, waking up from the screen saver in the same place where you stopped working.
3. Click the OK button to save your changes.

If you don't ever want to see the opening screen, then use a single user account without a password. That defeats all the security offered by the user account system, but it is more convenient if you live alone.