How to Create Hidden User Account (Hide User Account from Welcome Screen) in Windows
Windows operating system including Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP allows multiple user accounts to be created on the computer, be it administrators or standard users. When there is more than one user accounts been defined and created on the PC, Windows will display Welcome Screen, with all available user accounts listed so that user can click and login.
However, showing and displaying of user accounts on the Welcome Screen is probably a weakness in the security point of view, more so if the user account is intended to be a hidden or backup user account. In fact, there is trick to make user account or administrator account that normally been listed on the Welcome Screen to be hidden from view.
In order to hide a user account (which also means create a hidden user account) in Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7, just go to Control Panel User module and create an additional user as usually do (Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts in Windows 7 and Windows Vista). If you already have an existing user that wants to be made hidden, invisible or disappeared from Welcome Screen, then go straight to guide below.
- Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe).
- Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
Note: If SpecialAccounts and UserList is not found, create new sub-key and name them accordingly.
- Select UserList, and in the right pane, right click on any blank space, and point to New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name the new DWORD registry value name as the exact same name that match the name of the user account to be hidden.
For example, if the user ID of the user account is John, the name the registry value as John.
- Double click on DWORD registry value, and set the value data to 0 in oder to hide the account from Welcome Screen.
Tip: To display the user account on Welcome Screen again so that it’s visible again, delete the registry entry, or set the value data to 1.
- Exit Registry Editor.
- Log off or restart computer to make the change effective.
Tip: In order to login into Windows using an user account that has made hidden and invisible, just press Ctrl+Alt+Del to bring up Windows Logon dialog, and then type in the user name and password manually.
Related Articles
- Unhide the Administrator Account in Windows XP
- Turn Off or Disable User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista
- Reveal All Hidden User Folders In “Send To” Right Click Menu in Windows 7
- Windows 7 User Account Control Slider Bar Settings Definitions
- Trick to Enable Show Hidden Files and Folders in Windows
- Set 3D Rotating User Account Picture in Vista with Ave 3dUserPic
- Hide Unread Email Messages Notification on XP Logon Welcome Screen
- How to Create Email Account and Receive Mail for Abuse and Postmaster in Google Apps
- Activate, Enable and Show Administrator Account in Vista Welcome Screen
- Customize Vista User Account Control Feature With UAC Snooze
Entries (RSS)
October 29th, 2009 18:19
I ran into the same problem. The fix I found is to first go in to the local group policy editor (gpedit.msc) and go to Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Credential User Interface and change “Enumerate adminstrator accounts on elevation” to “Disabled.” This causes UAC to prompt for a Username and Password rather than list all the adminstrator accounts. This way you can type in the name of the hidden account and use UAC.
October 26th, 2009 07:38
For those who couldnt get the “runas” command below to work properly, navigate on ANY account to System32/Redgedit32.exe.
Hold Shift and then Right Click it, then select the “Run as a different user”. You can then manually type in the user/pass of the hidden account, and undo the changes you made.
September 21st, 2009 21:37
For those who locked themselves out like myself and Green Airplane and wind up here via google search, I have a suggestion. To start regedit as an administrator and undo the damage that you did do the following:
1. Start a command prompt and type “runas /user:Admin cmd”. This will open a new command prompt running as your administrator user
2. In the new command prompt type “regedit.exe” and click yes when the UAC prompts you. There is no need to select a user and put in a password as you are already logged in as the administrator
September 18th, 2009 16:26
For a method that works all the time, type in secpol.msc into the start menu search box and then navigate to Local Policies \ Security Options.
Find the setting for “Interactive Logon: Do not display last user name” and change it to enabled.
This will activate the classic login screen.
September 9th, 2009 10:35
how about you give the person some space jk ummm does cntl alt del work on vista?
¤ø„¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º°¨
¨°º¤øHaHaHaø¤º°¨
¸„ø¤ºHaHaHa`°º¤ø from the US!
September 5th, 2009 06:06
Same problem as Green Airplane. Take this stupid “tip” down, you’re just borking people’s machines.
September 2nd, 2009 14:22
nice..
August 25th, 2009 02:59
No special accounts folder in windows 7 for me….
August 14th, 2009 16:29
@Green Airplane
In XP you must hit ctrl+alt+d;t twice to get the dialog.
I don’t know how it’s done in Vista though
August 2nd, 2009 22:19
Great. I have created the respective keys in the registry. Worked like a charm.
I have two administrator accounts and one normal user. The two admin accounts have vanished from the welcome screen. There is only one problem – the ctrl+alt+del shortcut won’t bring up the old style login dialog. I can only log in as the restricted user. What’s more, any time I try to run some administrative application, UAC jumps at me and asks me to type in administrator password. But the modification seems to have hidden the admin accounts from the UAC dialog as well. I am now completely locked out of a system I have just installed, even though I know passwords for two different admin accounts. ANY suggestions?
August 2nd, 2009 21:41
Tried this in a fresh installation of Windows 7, got as far as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
there si no SpecialAccounts ‘folder’ there. Just AutoLogonChecked and GPExtensions. Any suggestions?
August 2nd, 2009 11:06
Worked like a charm under Windows 7.
July 12th, 2009 23:01
I created a hidden account in windows vista but when I try Ctrl+alt+del it does not work how do i acces my hidden account on the welcome screen?
June 26th, 2009 21:17
thank you very much.
at least this help in hiding that extra admin account i made.. but what i really want is that the administrator account will be disabled or will be deleted. how can i do that?
May 15th, 2009 10:39
Or in Vista click start and search Local Security Policy
- Local Policies
-Security Options
Then in the right hand pane look for Interactive Logon: Do not display last user name
-Right click on it and enable it
April 9th, 2009 00:56
I guess the difference between regedit and TweakUI is knowledge. TweakUI does it for you, but what if it does something wrong. At least this way you are beginningto comprehend and understand the changes you are making. At a low level. The way of comp. techs and net admins have leaned to heavy on GUI’s and wizards. THis is a great way of doing it. Thanks for an insightful post and tidbit of knowledge. I am off to screw with my co-workers who do not respect the tech.
March 23rd, 2009 03:12
How about the desktop computers that don’t have delete sign or Ctrl+Alt+Del does not work?
March 9th, 2009 13:12
This does indeed hide the account from the welcome screen in any of the Windows versions listed, however with Vista (pretty sure with Windows 7 as well), you can no longer log into the system as that user. You can run applications as this user still when using the RunAS command, however logging in by using ctrl+alt+delete does not work (only in XP).
February 23rd, 2009 19:43
but after creating the hidden account in vista we are not able to login in the hidden account on pressing cont+alt+del…. if u could then plz help me
February 22nd, 2009 00:36
This is different from making user inactive though. The user is still active and enabled.
February 21st, 2009 22:31
couldn’t you just use “net user {accountname} /active:no” ?
February 21st, 2009 11:10
I prefer using registry editor or group policy .
thank U very much.
February 21st, 2009 08:02
Or just use TweakUI to hide the account!