If you are familiar with early Windows versions like Windows XP or Windows 2000, you might remember their classic logon dialog. It came with user name and password fields. As an additional protection, those operating systems had the ability to turn on the CTRL + ALT + DEL requirement before signing in to your user account. In Windows 10, the login screen is again completely reworked by Microsoft, however, it is still possible to turn on the Ctrl + Alt + Del requirement. Here is how it can be done.
To enable Ctrl + Alt + Del logon requirement in Windows 10, you need to do the following steps.
- Open Registry Editor
- Go to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Tip: How to jump to the desired registry key with one click.
- Create or modify the DisableCAD DWORD value. Even if you are running 64-bit Windows, you still need to create a 32-bit DWORD value. Set its value data to 0 to enable the secure attention sequence with Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Alternatively, you can do the same using the control userpasswords2 command.
- Press Win + R shortcut keys together on your keyboard. This will open the Run dialog.
Tip: See the ultimate list of all Windows keyboard shortcuts with Win keys. - Type the following in the Run box:
control userpasswords2
- The User Accounts window will be opened. Switch to the Advanced tab and tick the checkbox Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Del to enable the secure attention sequence.
If you use Winaero Tweaker, you can enable the enable Ctrl + Alt + Del logon requirement by ticking the appropriate option under the Boot and Logon section:
It is very easy and doesn't require any additional commands or Registry editing.
The reason why Ctrl + Alt + Del is secure is because Windows does not allow any other app to send this keystroke combination.
That's it.
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“The reason why Ctrl + Alt + Del is secure is because Windows does not allow any other app to send this keystroke combination.”
Also most programs can’t intercept this keystroke combination, as can be seen on any RDP or VNC software.