Login To Windows 10 Using Only A USB Stick

It doesn't matter what type of computing tasks you perform, there will be some element of sensitive Information that you'd need to protect. Be It logging Into your email account every now and then, or your personal photos stored on the hard disk, It's Imperative to prevent anyone from gaining unauthorized access. As such, In this tutorial, I will show you how to login to Windows 10 by only using a USB Stick.


If you've already added a local user account password on your PC and believe that this will stop users from logging Into your computer, think again. Believe It or not, the Windows administrator password can be reset using a very powerful tool named Microsoft DaRT, In less than 5 minutes! That's correct, It'll be reset and not cracked- meaning the nature of the password (complex or not), Is of no relevance whatsoever.

The same can be said when using a Microsoft Account to sign In. I'm sure you've shared your email address to friends and online services, hence your account Is 50% hacked already! All that's required Is your password, which can easily be compromised using social engineering or Infecting your PC with a keylogger.

Due to these Insecurities, I will demonstrate how to securely sign Into Windows 10 using a USB Stick. This acts as a security key, and only those who have It (namely yourself), can login and access your system. To achieve this, I will use a neat little tool named Rohos Logon Key Free that can be downloaded from the official website, or via this reputable source. So without further ado, let's rip Into this tutorial.

Step One:

Once you've downloaded Rohos Logon Key Free, It must be Installed on your computer. Double-click the executable file, and hit Next to continue.

Step Two:

Next, follow the onscreen prompts until completion. Make sure the Launch Rohos Logon Key checkbox Is marked, and click Finish to finalize the process.

Step Three:

The tool will now execute, so plug In your USB Stick that will be used to login to your computer. Then click on Setup authentication key as shown below.

Step Four:

If you see the message of Key (Drive Letter):\ has been found, you're good to go. Leave the password field empty, and click on Setup the key.

Step Five:

A message will be returned, confirming that your authentication key has been successfully configured, so hit OK to finalize the process. The USB Stick Is now ready to use as the login device for your computer. I'll put It to the test In the next couple of steps.

Step Six:

I've purposely unplugged my USB Stick, and rebooted my PC. As you can see, a message of the key Is not Inserted Is displayed. The Key Is my USB Stick. Essentially, I cannot login without It.

Last Step:

I've now plugged In my USB Stick, and It has been Instantly Identified as per the message of Login by the key. To login, simply hit the arrow as outlined In red.

Final Thoughts:

There are quite a number of ways to authenticate the login of your Windows 10 operating system, such as a PIN or Picture Password and (obviously) the password Itself, however most have their weaknesses. Even some fingerprint scanners can be bypassed, by accessing the BIOS and turning off the biometric feature, thus disabling It altogether.

When logging In with a USB Stick, this Is the only available option to boot Into the Windows environment, hence must be used to login. And that's what makes It so effective.