Enable Ctrl+Alt+Del Requirement at Logon in Windows 7

When you start your Windows 7 computer, a logon screen is presented to you where you can enter your login credentials. For extra security, you can enable the requirement of pressing the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del before a user can see the logon screen. Not having to press Ctrl + Alt + Del leaves users susceptible to attacks that attempt to intercept their passwords. Here is how you can configure a Windows 7 computer to require pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del at logon :

Enable Ctrl + Alt + Del to logon

  1. Press the keyboard shortcut Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit in the Run dialog and press Enter to start the Registry Editor.

    Start Registry Editor

  3. In the Registry Editor navigate to the following key :
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
  4. Right-click anywhere in the right side pane and select New → DWORD (32-bit) value to create a new DWORD value. Give the new value a name DisableCAD.

    Create a DWORD DisableCAD

  5. Though the Registry Editor assigns a value of 0 to all newly created DWORD values, yet if you find its value is non-zero then you can double-click on the newly created value DisableCAD and change its value to 0 as shown.

    Enable Ctrl + Alt + Del to logon

  6. That’s it. The next time you start Windows, you will have to press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del before you can log on to your user account.