Setting a unique password is the first toward customizing and also towards the protection of your PC. A strong password that is not easy to guess can go a long way to protect your PC and restrict its use to only authorized personnel.
To add to that, a password becomes a necessity especially when you are either working in a co-working space or have multiple user accounts on a single computer.
Now, there are two types of user accounts that can use a Windows computer, a Microsoft account or a local user. A Microsoft account user, by default, will need to log in using the password they had set up for the account. However, a local user might or might not have a password to secure their account.
Thankfully setting a password is a very simple process on Windows and will only require a couple of minutes of your time. Moreover, instead of a traditional password, you can also set up Windows Hello which uses bio-metric, facial recognition, or a PIN to log in to your user account without typing in the password. Along with that, Windows also allows you to sign in using a physical security key.
Before you head on to set a new password for your device, it is imperative that you know how to create a strong password that is not easily cracked.
How to Create a Strong Password
You might have probably read or heard this many times when creating a new account for any digital services including but not limited to email, cloud storage, e-commerce websites, and so on; if you have certain elements in your password, it can make it exceptionally difficult to crack it.
The first and foremost thing you can do to create a strong password is to make sure it is reasonably long; anything above 9 characters can be considered a long password. The second most important thing your password should have is a blend of the lower and uppercase letters along with at least two special characters.
Moreover, do not make your publicly available data a part of your password; your publicly available data may include your birthdate, first, middle, and last name, a pet’s name, or even your educational institution/ organization name you are associated with. As anybody with these simple details can try and guess your password, though the probability of getting into your account is minuscule, it is always best to exercise caution.
Now that you know how to create a strong password, let’s get on with how to set one on your Windows 11 machine.
Setting a Password for your Local User Account from the Settings App
As mentioned earlier, setting a password is a very simple process on a Windows computer. All you need is a couple of clicks and you are good to go.
To do so, first, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ app tile present under the ‘Pinned apps’ section to continue. Otherwise, type ‘Settings’ in the menu to perform a search for it. Alternatively, you can also press the Windows+I keys together on your keyboard to open the app.
After that, on the Settings window, click on the ‘Accounts’ tab present on the left sidebar to proceed.
Next, from the right section of the window, scroll down to locate and click on the ‘Sign-in options’ tile to continue.
After that, on the next screen, scroll down to locate and click on the ‘Password’ tile to expand the section. Once expanded, click on the ‘Add’ button to change the password. This will open a separate window on your screen.
Now, on the separately opened window, you will need to enter the password that you have created for yourself in ‘Password’ and ‘Confirm password’ fields. Then, if you wish to receive a hint regarding the password for the time you forget it, enter an appropriate text (do not type in your password in the hint box, as this information will be visible to all). Then, click on the ‘Next’ button to proceed.
On the next screen, Windows will display the user account for which the password has been set. Now, click on the ‘Finish’ button present in the bottom left corner of the window to close the window.
That’s it, the password has now been set on your Windows device. On the next login, you will be required to enter the password you just set to log in to the account.
Once you have secured your account using a password, you can also use Windows Hello to quickly log in to your account using either a biometric scan, facial scan, or a PIN which completely eradicates the need to type in your password, again and again, to log in.
How to Set Up Windows Hello on Windows 11
Setting up Windows Hello (Biometric, Facial, or PIN) for your user account is a very straightforward process. In fact, once your user account is set up with a password, it will only require you a couple of clicks to set up.
To set up Windows Hello on your Windows 11 device, first, head to the Start Menu and click on the ‘Settings’ app tile present under the ‘Pinned apps’ section to continue. Otherwise, type Settings in the menu to perform a search for it.
Next, from the Settings window, click on the ‘Accounts’ tab present on the left sidebar of the window to continue.
Then, from the right section of the window, scroll down to locate and click on the ‘Sign in options’ tile to proceed.
Now, on the next screen, locate the ‘Ways to sign in’ section. Then, locate the available option for Windows Hello, the available options will vary depending on your device. The options that are not currently supported will display ‘This option is currently unavailable.’ Once located the available option, click on its tile to expand the section. After that, click on the ‘Setup’ button to proceed. This will open a separate window on your account.
Now, first, you will need to verify yourself. Hence, enter your user account password in the text box and click on the ‘OK’ button to authenticate yourself. This will again open a separate window on your screen.
Then, from the separately opened window, enter your new PIN and confirm it by entering one more time in the respective fields. By default, the PIN only includes numbers, however, if you wish to include letters and symbols, click on the checkbox preceding the ‘include letters and symbols’ option. Moreover, to understand what could be a PIN, the character limits for the PIN, click on the ‘PIN requirements’ option. Once you have generated a PIN according to the requirements, click on the ‘OK’ button present in the bottom section of the overlay window to apply the changes.
And that’s it you have successfully set up Windows Hello on your PC.
There you go folks, using this guide, not only you will be able to set up a password on your Windows PC, but you will also be able to set up Windows Hello for your device for easy and fast login.
