Windows 10 login from USB?

[CrowTheRobot]

Hey everyone, I'm looking for help on a project.  I've built a new PC for my grandfather for Christmas, and I'm trying to prep it to be as easy as possible for him moving forward, as he and my grandmother both seem to be entering at least the very early stages of dementia/Alzheimers.  What I'd like to do is set up Windows 10 to allow him to login using a USB key for authentication so that he won't have to remember a password.  I'm a technician for a local school district and do extra tech work on the side, so I have a handful of spare drives lying around, but everything I've found by searching points to:

 

1.  Locking/Unlocking a PC once it's logged into Windows

2.  Soldering extra stuff onto the PCB

3.  Buy a Yubikey

 

Is there a way that I can just set it up so that he gets to the Windows 10 login screen and just inserts the drive and it takes him to the desktop?

[rcmaehl]

The Yubikey is probably your best choice. It's $20 for the non-NFC version and Windows 10 has mostly native support for it.

 

Even a USB rubber ducky that would automatically enter his password for him would be twice as much and not as secure. Alternatively you can just get a device with Windows Hello biometrics and that will allow sign in without a password.

[TheJedi]

21 minutes ago, CrowTheRobot said:

Hey everyone, I'm looking for help on a project.  I've built a new PC for my grandfather for Christmas, and I'm trying to prep it to be as easy as possible for him moving forward, as he and my grandmother both seem to be entering at least the very early stages of dementia/Alzheimers.  What I'd like to do is set up Windows 10 to allow him to login using a USB key for authentication so that he won't have to remember a password.  I'm a technician for a local school district and do extra tech work on the side, so I have a handful of spare drives lying around, but everything I've found by searching points to:

 

1.  Locking/Unlocking a PC once it's logged into Windows

2.  Soldering extra stuff onto the PCB

3.  Buy a Yubikey

 

Is there a way that I can just set it up so that he gets to the Windows 10 login screen and just inserts the drive and it takes him to the desktop?

I just did a quick google of "How to make a yubikey?"

Try that and see if it works.

[The Torrent]

21 minutes ago, CrowTheRobot said:

Hey everyone, I'm looking for help on a project.  I've built a new PC for my grandfather for Christmas, and I'm trying to prep it to be as easy as possible for him moving forward, as he and my grandmother both seem to be entering at least the very early stages of dementia/Alzheimers.  What I'd like to do is set up Windows 10 to allow him to login using a USB key for authentication so that he won't have to remember a password.  I'm a technician for a local school district and do extra tech work on the side, so I have a handful of spare drives lying around, but everything I've found by searching points to:

 

1.  Locking/Unlocking a PC once it's logged into Windows

2.  Soldering extra stuff onto the PCB

3.  Buy a Yubikey

 

Is there a way that I can just set it up so that he gets to the Windows 10 login screen and just inserts the drive and it takes him to the desktop?

Do you really need a password? Is he gonna really be keeping sensitive information on there which people in the house would want to try and get access too? I'm assuming the usb stick would be kept in a really obvious place as well so its kinda back to square one.

 

Can u avoid a password all together?

[dilpickle]

Yeah do you really need a password? Just have it auto login.

[CrowTheRobot]

17 minutes ago, CloudPC said:

I just did a quick google of "How to make a yubikey?"

Try that and see if it works.

 

Weird, I swear I remember doing that.  Maybe it was a day when I ended up suddenly busy.

 

15 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

Do you really need a password? Is he gonna really be keeping sensitive information on there which people in the house would want to try and get access too? I'm assuming the usb stick would be kept in a really obvious place as well so its kinda back to square one.

 

Can u avoid a password all together?

 

He's very much into security on multiple fronts, which I think comes from his history with the Air Force.  He always insists on passwords, and burns a weekly backup DVD of his current cheap prebuilt so he never risks losing anything.  I've built the new system with an eye for automating or simplifying a lot of what he usually worries about, like a small RAID 1 setup with a small additional drive for weekly scheduled backups, and an intention to make logins easier for him so he's not trying to remember a bunch of passwords.  I'm willing to bet if there wasn't a password or something similar, he'd be really bothered by it.