Most users are
accustomed to supplying alphanumeric passwords to gain entry to PCs.
When you install Windows 8, it asks you to supply a password, and you
use the Sign In screen described in the previous section to enter your
password. Changing your password is easy to do.
If you want to boot directly to the tile-based
interface Start screen without logging in to your account, Windows 8
makes this easy; it’s a setting on the User Account screen.
The Can’t Access Your Account link
lets you reset your password through your Microsoft account, a feature
that is new to Windows 8. It takes you to the Microsoft account reset
password feature. If you’ve set up the Microsoft account login, you can
regain access through this mechanism.
Password access can be cumbersome on a
touch-based device like a phone or tablet. Windows 8 has a new method
for gaining access to your system or logging in: the “picture password.”
It’s fast to use and simple to set up. You provide a picture and then
define a set of gestures that you perform over the picture to provide
entry to Windows 8. Gestures can be taps, swipes (lines), and enclosures
(circles).
A PIN is a Personal Identification Number, a four-digit number that you can use to log in to Windows 8, if you so choose.
To change your current password
1. Press 
+C to open the Charms bar, and tap or click the Settings icon.
2. Tap or click Change PC Settings, and then tap or click the Users link to view your account .
The Users settings let you change your password, create a picture
password, create a PIN login, and even boot into your computer without
logging in at all.
3. Tap the Change
Password button, and then enter your old password and your new password
(twice to confirm) into the Change Password dialog box . Click Next.
The Change Password dialog box
To boot into Windows 8 without a password
Enable the feature by clicking the Any User
Who Has A Password Must Enter It When Waking This PC section and then
clicking the Change button .
The direct boot with no login option
You should use this feature only when you are the only person who uses this PC, because it removes your system’s security.
To set up and use a picture password
1. In the tile-based interface or on the Desktop, press +C or swipe from the right edge to open the Charms bar.
2. Tap or click the Settings charm, tap or click Change PC Settings, and tap or click the Users link to view the Your Account screen .
3. Click the Create A Picture Password button, and then enter your account password into the Create A Picture Password dialog box .
Enter your account password to begin creating a picture password.
4.
On the Welcome To Picture Password screen, tap or click the Choose
Picture button to open a file picker. Select the picture you want to
use, and then click Use This Picture.
5. With the picture selected , perform three gestures (tap, line, or circle).
Perform your gesture twice to set the picture password.
6. Confirm your entry by repeating the three gestures, and then click Finish.
On your next login, the picture appears and you can perform your gestures to gain entry to your system.
Or you can click the Switch To Password button to use the standard Sign In screen.
To create a PIN login
1. On the Your Account screen , click Create a PIN.
2. Log in to your account in the Create a PIN dialog box.
3. Enter the PIN twice in the Create a PIN dialog box, then click Finish.
If you decide to remove either your picture password or your PIN, click the Remove button and that login is canceled.
Tip
If you make a mistake when you gesture using
the picture password login, click the Start Over button and try again.
You get five chances before Windows 8 switches back to the alphanumeric
password login.
