Submitted by ggarron on Tue, 05/20/2008 - 16:11
I think this should work for any Linux operating system using Gnome, I have tested on Debian and Ubuntu.
Well, automatic login will let you avoid to enter your login and password each time you turn on your PC, this could be insecure, but if your computer is physically secured it is Ok to enable this, that could make your booting more smooth.
How to do it?
On Gnome go to:
Systems->Administration->Login Window, you will be prompted for the administrator password, enter it and then select Security tab, once in there select Enable automatic login and select the user you want to be automatically logged in, each time you turn on your PC.
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Someone with physical access to the machine can easily boot in recovery mode, or from a boot CD. Hard disks can be disassembled from the computer and read in external cases. Passwords will not protect from malicious attackers. On the contrary: They can even add to a false sense of security, leaving valuable data on the drive without further protection.
Consider to have your hard drive encrypted. This is the only way to protect private data even if it has been stolen. If you are the only user of your computer, you can then enable automatic login without limiting security.