How to I set a user to automatically log in?

Question

I'm setting up a computer running Ubuntu for my mom, so that she will be able to read e-mail, surf the Internet and use Skype. She is the only person accessing the computer.

Is it possible to set it up so that she doesn't have to log in?

Answer 1

1. Click on System > Administration > Login Window.

   

2. Enter your password.
3. Click on the "Security" tab.
4. Check "Enable Automatic Login".

5. Select your mom's account for "User" in the "Enable Automatic Login" section.

   

6. Click "Close".

Answer 2

Yes it is.

Find the Control Center in the Menu
(If you don't have Control Center, go to System > Administration > Login Window.)

Select Login Window. Under the Security tab, check Enable Automatic Login.

Answer 3

You can also do it without any graphical interface by simply adding the following two lines in the section [daemon] of the file /etc/gdm/gdm.conf-custom:

...
[daemon]
AutomaticLoginEnable=true
AutomaticLogin=<your user name>
...

Answer 4

Using the GUI:

In the system menu, go to login manager. In there, select a user and select "log in automatically". You can also specify how long do you want to wait before logging in as that user.

PS: I am not in front of an Ubuntu machine right now, and I am mostly quoting from memory. So there might be subtle differences.