C# Login Automation of Windows (XP, Vista, Etc..)

Question

I have an authentication key (USB dongle) that I would like to use in place of logging into windows. The dongle is not just a simple thumb-drive it is a specialized dongle made for software authentication.

I've seen tutorials on how to do this with Phidgets RFID kit, however I can't seem to find that tutorial anywhere now.

Basically I need something that looks for this key on start up. I already have the code to look for the key, I just need to be able to actually tell the system log in.

How would I go about that?

Answer 1

might this be what you're looking for?

Answer 2

I doubt you'd want to be writing something like this in C#, but the basics of how to customize the logon experience is outlined in this article. Note that the mechanism changed between XP and Vista, so you'd probably need to write two different components if you wanted to support both.