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{{Selfref|To log in on Wikipedia, go to [[Special:Userlogin]], or see [[Help:Logging in]].}} |
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{{Other uses}} |
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{{refimprove|date=November 2012}} |
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[[File:Screen Shot 2014-02-07 of English Wikipedia login form.png||thumb|A screenshot of the English Wikipedia login screen]] |
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In [[computer security]], a '''login''' or '''logon''' or '''sign in''' refers to the credentials required to obtain access to a computer system or other restricted area.<ref name="Oxford dictionary">[http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/login Oxford Dictionaries], definition of ''login''.</ref><ref name="LINFO">[http://www.linfo.org/login_def.html The Linux Information Project], detail and definition of ''login'' and ''logging in''.</ref> '''Logging in''' or '''on''' and '''signing in''' or '''on''' is the process by which individual [[Access control|access]] to a [[computer system]] is controlled by [[Proof of identity|identifying]] and [[Authentication|authenticating]] the [[User (computing)|user]] through the [[credential]]s presented by the user.<ref name="LINFO" /> |
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Once a user has logged in, they can then '''log out''' or '''log off''' or '''sign out''' when access is no longer needed. To ''log out'' is to close off one's access to a computer system after having previously logged in. |
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==Procedure== |
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[[File:Finger Print Login latest banking security application.png|thumb|left|Finger Print Login, a recent banking security application]] |
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Logging in is usually used to enter a specific page, 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 explicitly by the [[User (computing)|user]] taking some actions, such as entering the appropriate [[Command (computing)|command]], or clicking a [[website]] link labelled as such. It can also be done implicitly, such as by the user powering off his or her workstation, closing a [[web browser]] window, leaving a website, or not refreshing a webpage within a defined period. |
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In the case of web sites that use [[HTTP cookie|cookies]] 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, making any session-handle in the user's cookie store useless. This feature comes in handy if the user is using a [[public computer]] or a computer that is using a [[Hot spot (Wi-Fi)|public 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 the confirmation that this request has taken place. |
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Logging out of a computer when leaving it is a common security practice, preventing unauthorized users from tampering with it. There are also people who choose to have a password-protected [[screensaver]] set to activate after some period of inactivity, requiring the user to re-enter his or her login credentials to unlock the screensaver and gain access to the system. There can be different methods of logging in that may be via image, fingerprints, eye scan, password (oral or textual input), etc. |
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==Etymology== |
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The noun ''login'' comes from the verb ''(to) log in'', which was formed by analogy with the verb ''to clock in''. The expressions may also have a more literal origin{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} — computer systems tend to keep a record, called a ''log'', of users' access to the system; hence, to log in is to prompt an entry into the system's log by accessing the system. Signing in connotes the same idea, in that providing the credential that authenticates a user's right to entry is akin to a signature.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} |
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The terms began to enter common usage among [[computer user]]s with the origin of the computer [[Bulletin Board System]] (BBS) in the 1970s. |
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==See also== |
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{{Wiktionary|login}} |
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{{Wiktionary|log in}} |
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{{Commons category|Login screens}} |
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* [[User (computing)|Account]] |
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* [[Computer security]] |
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* [[Login session]] |
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* [[Login spoofing]] |
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* [[OpenID]] |
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* [[Password]] |
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* [[Password policy]] |
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* [[Personal identification number]] |
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* [[utmp|/var/log/wtmp]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Authentication methods]] |
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[[Category:User interfaces]] |
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[[Category:Computer access control]] |
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