Howto Enable Automatic login for Gnome and KDE

It often very convenient to set up a Linux computer so that a user can boot it (i.e., start it up) and have it proceed directly to a GUI without any need for manually logging in. A good example would be: you are setting up a computer for your kids at home.

Gnome instructions:

Open the main menu (Alt-F1). Under Administration, click on Login Window. Then click on the Security tab, switch on "Enable Automatic Login" and choose the user-id in the drop-down box.


Note:

The settings for XFce is very similar to Gnome:  Applications > settings > login window.

KDE instructions:

Open your main menu (ALT-F1). Choose system settings. Click on the Advanced tab. At the bottom select Login Manager.


You have to click on three items here:

• Switch on "Enable Auto-Login"
• Switch on "Enable Password-Less Logins"
• Choose user-id.

Click Ok.


Conclusion:

You don't have to be concerned that this trick will somehow lessen your security. Anybody with linux experience will be able to bypass the login security. If you want security look into encryption, eg Bcrypt, Ncrypt, Pad, GnuPG and EncFS.