From the course: Windows 10 Essential Training

Understanding the login account

From the course: Windows 10 Essential Training

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Understanding the login account

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- [Instructor] If you are setting up your Windows computer for the very first time, you should decide what type of user account you will use. You will need some account, a username and a password which you will use each time you sign into your computer. So first, what is this user account all about? Well, on one hand, it's the security barrier for your computer. Nobody can use your computer without your account password. Another reason for accounts is that you can set up multiple accounts on the same computer so different people can use the computer while keeping their files configurations and other information separate. Most people only have one user account on their computer but multiple accounts are a good option to have. So you do need to have an account but the real question is, what type of account do you want to use? And there are two options. First you could choose to link your computer to a Microsoft online account. Then you will use your email address and password from your Microsoft online account, each time you sign into your computer and you may already have a Microsoft online account or you may need to just set one up. This account gives you an identity on Microsoft online services. It gives you access to an outlook.com email account a free cloud storage tool called one drive and access to many other online services. When using a windows computer, a Microsoft online account is required to make purchases in the Microsoft app store. It's also required to use some features of the bundled apps and services in windows. This is the option that Microsoft recommends for computers being used by individual people. Now, the other option is to set up a basic username and password that is used to sign into your computer, but has no connectivity or identity with Microsoft's online services. This is also known as a local account. You might do this if you don't want this computer to be tied to the identity of a specific person, if you need to work anonymously or if you're setting up several computers that will be used in a public space, like a computer lab or a school. And some people just prefer the local account because it's simpler and they don't want to manage an online account with Microsoft. Just remember, if you decide to use a local account, there are lots of services and windows that will not work for you because they require the connection to an online account. If you do not have a Microsoft online account and you want to use one you can create a new account@outlook.com or you can create a new account when you go through the first time set up on your computer. But you may already have a Microsoft account which you set up for some other service. If so, you don't have to set up another new account. Existing accounts that you might have include an outlook.com account X-Box live or an office 365 account. If you already have any of these accounts, you can use it to sign into Windows. If your computer is already set up I hope you have a better understanding of what type of account you have and what that means to you. And if you're setting up a computer for the first time you will need to decide which type of account you'll use.

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