page_title: Login
section_title: History and etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Login / History and etymology
caption_attribution_description: English: IBM AIX 4 login prompt. AIX is IBM's version of Unix. The computer terminal appears to be in poor condition.
context_page_description: In computer security, logging in is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system by identifying and authenticating themselves. The user credentials are typically some form of "username" and a matching "password", and these credentials themselves are sometimes referred to as a login. In practice, modern secure systems often require a second factor such as email or SMS confirmation for extra security.
  When access is no longer needed, the user can log out.
context_section_description: The terms became common with the time sharing systems of the 1960s and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) in the 1970s. Early home computers and personal computers did not generally require them until Windows NT, OS/2 and Linux in the 1990s.
  The noun login comes from the verb (to) log in and by analogy with the verb to clock in. Computer systems keep a log of users' access to the system. The term "log" comes from the chip log historically used to record distance travelled at sea and was recorded in a ship's log or log book. To sign in connotes the same idea, but it's based on the analogy of manually signing a log book or visitors book.
  While there is no agreed difference in meaning between the three terms (login, logon and sign-in), different technical communities tend to prefer one over another – Unix, Novell, Linux and Apple typically use login, and Apple's style guide says "Users log in to a file server (not log on to)...". By contrast, Microsoft's style guides traditionally suggested the opposite and prescribed log on and logon. In the past, Microsoft reserved sign-in to when accessing the Internet, but from Windows 8 onward it has moved to the sign-in terminology for local authentication.
caption: IBM AIX Version 4 console login prompt
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