MyLogon: User's Guide
MyLogon is intended to make the process
of connecting to a LAN quick and easy, even if you normally work
away from the network for most of the time, and only occasionally
connect.. It is mainly aimed at users who have exclusive
ownership of their computer, and wish to connect to one or more
networks as-required. -Or for situations where a computer is
provided to a pool of users, to perform a specific and unchanging
task.
A key difference between MyLogon and
the Microsoft logon is that with MyLogon, the act of connecting
to the network will not change your desktop's appearance, or alter any
other settings on your own computer. In other words, it will not reprofile your computer. It may, however, impose company policies as far as your computer's settings and software are concerned. If in doubt about possible effects on a privately-owned computer, ask first about these.
Connecting to the Network
On the main screen, you can enter
any username-and-password combination that exists on your
network's server.
To make the choice of username permanent, press Save.
Click the "Connect to Network" button to start the logon process.
Following a successful logon, you will find that network-resources
have become available. Exactly what these consist of will depend
on how your admin has set-up the network, and on the level of trust
associated with the username you entered. Typically you may find
that extra drive-letters have appeared in My Computer,
representing the available space on the server's disks. You may
also find (for example) that other resources such as printers have
become available, and that your computer's time has been automatically
corrected, and its antivirus definitions updated.
Leaving the Network (or shutting-down)
When leaving the network, you have the options of closing your
desktop-session completely as per Microsoft norm, but you also have the
option of only disconnecting
from the network, and keeping your computer running. This is very
handy for laptop-users, but do take note that no checks are made
for open files, so if you haven't closed network files properly before
disconnecting, you may lose them.
Standalone Working
When starting your computer away from
the network, or if the server is offline for any reason, what happens
will depend on which mode of operation has been selected by your
admin. If 'secure mode' has been set, MyLogon will appear
at startup and demand a password. Normally you can enter
either the last network-password you successfully logged-on with,
or else a distinct standalone-use password which is determined in
MyLogon's user-settings. Pressing the "Work Standalone"
button will take you straight to the desktop instead of trying to
contact the server.
Tip: At the startup logon-screen, you can press Enter to logon,or Esc to work standalone instead of using the mouse.
Multiple Networks
If your admin has set-up this facility,
you may select from two or more networks according to which site you
are on. The available networks are in a drop-down list. The
username and password you enter must of course suit the selected
network.
Connections
If you connect to the network from a
remote location, often referred-to as teleworking, you might need
to activate a remote-access connection so as to establish a link to the
server, before the logon-process can proceed. Selecting a
Connection other than "Direct Connection" will automatically
launch that connection before logging you on. Note that the
"Connection" drop-down lists all the remote-connections on your
computer. Not all of these will be intended for connection to a
remote LAN. Some may be for Internet access or the like.
Therefore please make sure you are using the appropriate Connection for
any given network.
In case of Difficulty
The "Info..." button (or
Tools->Network Info menu item) will give you information about the
selected network, and will test for a 'visible' connection to its
master server. If no connection is found then you may have a
cabling (if direct) or remote-access problem, rather than a problem
with your username/password.
Menu Items:
Action
Duplicates the Shutdown options of the Start Menu - with one addition, allowing disconnection without shutdown.
View
Selects which window-layout is best-suited to requirements.
Tools
Test the connection to the server
Test the standalone password (Enter the password, then select this item)
Configure MyLogon. (
Help here)
Change your Network Password (If your Administrator has activated the password-change module)
Help
Provides this, the brief form of the User Manual. The full Admin Guide is available online.
About.. gives you version info, etc.
Some menu-items (help, for example)
may not be selected until a valid password has been entered. This is by
design, and is to limit the amount of assistance given to a potential
intruder.
Notes:
Screensaver and Hibernation Passwords:
Unless your admin has restricted this option you can set a password for
exiting from standby-conditions as usual, however please note that the
password required to get out of standby and screensavers is the local
password, not your network password. If you don't know what this
is, then beware of locking yourself out of the computer. If in doubt,
ask your admin first.