When you set up a local account with a password via Settings, you are required by default to select and answer security questions.
Security questions provide an extra layer of protection for your local account in case you forget your password. These security questions are used to verify who you are so you can reset the password of your local account on the sign-in screen if needed.
Available security questions for a local account:
If wanted, you can disable the use of security questions for local accounts preventing them from being able to reset their password on the sign-in screen.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the use of security questions for local accounts in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
When you set up a local account with a password via Settings, you are required by default to select and answer security questions.
Security questions provide an extra layer of protection for your local account in case you forget your password. These security questions are used to verify who you are so you can reset the password of your local account on the sign-in screen if needed.
Available security questions for a local account:
You can change or update the security questions for your local account at anytime if wanted.
This tutorial will show you how to update your security questions for your local account in Windows 11.
You can change your local account or Microsoft account password if you know its current password.
If you do not know or forgot your local account password, an administrator account can change your password if you are unable to reset the password.
It is recommended to change your password regularly with a strong password to help keep your device more secure.
This tutorial will show yo how to change the password of a local account and Microsoft account in Windows 11.
Having different accounts on a shared PC lets multiple people use the same device, all while giving everyone their own sign-in info, plus access to their own files, browser favorites, and desktop settings.
You can add a local user account (an offline account) or Microsoft account for a user to sign in to the PC with.
This tutorial will show you how to check if a user account is either a local account or a Microsoft account in Windows 11.
You can sign in to Windows 11 with a local account or a Microsoft account. However, you can easily switch between using a local account or a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11.
Signing in to Windows 11 with a Microsoft account lets you:
Signing in to Windows 11 with a local account means:
This tutorial will show you how to switch to a Microsoft account from a local account to sign in to Windows 11 with instead.
You can sign in to Windows 11 with a local account or a Microsoft account. However, you can easily switch between using a local account or a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11.
Signing in to Windows 11 with a Microsoft account lets you:
Signing in to Windows 11 with a local account means:
This tutorial will show you how to switch to a local account from a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11 with instead.
Having different accounts on a shared PC lets multiple people use the same device, all while giving everyone their own sign-in info, plus access to their own files, browser favorites, and desktop settings.
You can add a local user account (an offline account) or Microsoft account for a user to sign in to the PC with.
Signing in to PCs with a Microsoft account lets you:
Signing in with a local account means:
When you create a new local account, it will be a standard user by default. You can change the account type to be an administrator if wanted.
This tutorial will show you how to add a local account as a user on the PC in Windows 11.
Yubico Login for Windows application provides a simple and secure way for YubiKey users to securely access their local accounts on Windows computers.
The primary benefits of Yubico Login for Windows include:
Yubico Login for Windows is designed to provide strong MFA for logging into local accounts on Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 computers. It is not suited for logging into any of the following accounts: Azure Active Directory (AAD), Active Directory (AD), Microsoft accounts.
See also: Yubico Login for Windows Configuration Guide | Yubico support
Once you have Yubico Login setup and configured for a local account on the computer, the user will be required to connect the YubiKey security Key before typing their user name and password credentials to log in to Windows.
This tutorial will show you how to set up Yubico Login to login to a local account with a YubiKey security key in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.