24 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONALNOTE IF YOUR COM...

1-24 Chapter 1 Introduction to Windows XP Professional

Note If your computer is not part of a domain, the Log On To option is not available.

Windows XP Professional Authentication Process

To gain access to a computer running Windows XP Professional or to any resource on

that computer (whether the computer is configured to use the Welcome screen or the

Log On To Windows dialog box), you must provide a user name and possibly a pass-

word. (You will learn more about using passwords effectively in Chapter 7.)

The way Windows XP Professional authenticates a user depends on whether the user

is logging on to a domain or logging on locally to a computer (see Figure 1-8).

1Logs onLocal securitydatabase23AccesstokenLogging on locally

F01US08.eps

Figure 1-8

Windows XP Professional grants an access token based on user credentials during the

authentication process.

The steps in the authentication process are as follows: