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Incomputer security,logging in (orlogging on,signing in, orsigning on) is the process by which an individual gainsaccess to acomputer system or program byidentifying andauthenticating themselves.
Typically,usercredentials consist of ausername and apassword.[1] These credentials themselves are sometimes referred to asalogin.[2] Modern secure systems often require asecond factor, such asemail orSMS confirmation for extra security.Social login allows a user to use an existing cell phone number or usercredentials from another email orsocial networking service to sign in or create an account on a new website.
When access is no longer needed, the user canlog out,log off,sign out orsign off.
Logging in is usually used to enter a specific page, website, platform or application, which trespassers cannot see.
Once the user is logged in, the login token may be used to track what actions the user has taken while connected to the site.
Logging out may be performed when theuser takes an action, such as entering an appropriatecommand or clicking on an external link. It can also be done implicitly, such as by the user powering off their workstation, closing aweb browser window, leaving a website, or not refreshing a website within a defined period.
A login page may have a returnURL parameter, which specifies where to redirect back after logging in or out. For example, it isreturnto= on this site.
In the case of websites that usecookies to track sessions, when the user logs out, session-only cookies from that site will usually be deleted from the user's computer. In addition, the server invalidates any associations with the session, thereby making any session handle in the user's cookie store useless.
This feature comes in handy if the user is using apublic computer or a computer that is using apublic wireless connection. As a security precaution, one should not rely on implicit means of logging out of a system, especially not on a public computer; instead, one should explicitly log out and wait for confirmation that this request has taken place.
Logging out of a computer, when leaving it is a common security practice preventing unauthorized users fromtampering with it. Some people choose to have a password-protectedscreensaver set to activate after some period of inactivity, thereby requiring the user to re-enter their login credentials to unlock the screensaver and gain access to the system.
Methods of Logging In
They include:
The terms "login" and "logon" became common with thetime sharing systems of the 1960s andBulletin Board Systems (BBS) in the 1970s.
Earlyhome computers andpersonal computers did not generally require them untilWindows NT,OS/2 andLinux in the 1990s.
The termlogin comes from the verb(to) log in and by analogy with the verbto clock in.
Computer systems keep alog of users' access to the system. The term "log" comes from thechip log which was historically used to record distance traveled at sea and was recorded in aship's log orlogbook.
Tosign in connotes the same idea but is based on the analogy of manually signing a log book orvisitor's book.
While there is no agreed difference in meaning between the termslogin,logon andsign-in, different technical communities tend to prefer one over another – Unix, Novell, Linux, and Apple typically uselogin, and Apple'sstyle guide says"Users log in to a file server (not log on to)...".[3]
By contrast, Microsoft's style guides traditionally suggested the opposite and prescribedlog on andlogon.
In the past,Microsoft reservedsign-in to access the Internet,[4] but fromWindows 8 onward it has moved to thesign-in terminology for local authentication.[5]
