Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Passwords are protection from unauthorized account access. Hotmail can remember your password for you; I'll show you how and why you might not want it.
How do I avoid having to put in my password every time I log into Hotmail?
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Usually, I get variations on the opposite question, how to stop logging in to Hotmail automatically.
I'll describe the most common way to avoid having to specify a password each time you go to Hotmail.
But first, I want you to think long and hard about whether you really want to do this. I'd hazard a guess that many accounts are hacked and permanently lost due to using these techniques inappropriately.
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Automatic Login as a Security Risk
The technique I'll describe below has serious security implications.
In short, it allows anyone to walk up to your machine and access your Hotmail account as if they were you.
Anyone.
And once logged in as you, they can not only read your mail and send email looking like it came from you, but they can also do more damage by possibly changing your password, monkeying with various account security options, or even getting your account locked.
It's also possible that they can learn your password.
Please think carefully about whether you really want to do this. The inconvenience of having to type in your password is nothing compared to the trouble a hacked account can be.
Hotmail's Remember My Password
The most common approach is simply to tell Hotmail to remember your password when you login:
Simply check both the Remember me and Remember my password checkboxes before you click Sign in, and Hotmail will simply remember both for you. The next time that you go to Hotmail.com, you'll be logged in automatically.
Undoing Hotmail's Remember My Password
If you find that you're being automatically logged in without needing a password and you decide that that's not what you want, it's a one-step process to undo it:
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Sign Out
That's all there is to it.
Click on the Sign out link in the upper right of the Hotmail window. The next time that you return to Hotmail, you'll need to specify your password.
If you clear cookies, you'll also need to specify your password as well. In fact, the cookie that Hotmail uses to remember your logged-in state (not your actual password, but the fact that you are logged in) expires after a certain amount of time; when that time passes, you'll need to login again as well.
And, of course, if you change your Windows Live password using a different computer, the first computer will need to login again with the new password.
Article C4766 - March 17, 2011
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I never never log into anywhere anything, anywhere without a password when needed.
Posted by: Snert at March 22, 2011 11:30 AMSaves me problems.
COA or lose it.
Some of these comments give me the impression that Roboform automatically fills in you sign on information. I use KeepPass and on that you have to use three different key combinations for the URL, User name, and Password and copy and paste them into the site. Considerly more work.
Posted by: duane at March 22, 2011 12:17 PMComputer does not save Hotmail password.
Posted by: Pedro neto at April 25, 2011 6:49 AMWhere am I going to write password.
It also does not keep more than one Hotmail login so the last
I have Windows 7.
This and 9 in Explorer, Mozilla, Google chome them all Hotmail save the password is blocked
Login other than Hotmail to keep this (example Gamil, aeiou,) without guard problem
If you know help me
Thanks
What you have said:
Simply check both the Remember me and Remember my password checkboxes before you click Sign in, and Hotmail will simply remember both for you. The next time that you go to Hotmail.com, you'll be logged in automatically.
simply doesn't work for me. Why? Thank you for your help.
14-Jul-2011
Posted by: Slimane Gueddi at July 10, 2011 7:44 PM
My sign in has remember my password, but does
Posted by: Frank Colaguori at January 28, 2012 8:48 AMnot have remember me. I always check remember my password. I emptied the cache, I still have to sign-in every time.