# Login session

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Login_session
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{{Short description|Time spent logged into a computer system}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2026}}
[[File:Kubuntu_8.04_login_screen.png|thumb|A login screen in [Kubuntu](/source/Kubuntu) 8.04.]]
In computing, a '''login session''' is the period of activity between a user [logging in](/source/login) and logging out of a (multi-user) [system](/source/system).<ref>{{Cite web |title=LSA Logon Sessions - Win32 apps |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthn/lsa-logon-sessions |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=learn.microsoft.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

On [Unix](/source/Unix) and [Unix-like](/source/Unix-like) operating systems, a login session takes one of two main forms:
* When a [textual user interface](/source/text_terminal) is used, a login session is represented as a [kernel](/source/kernel_(operating_system)) session — a collection of [process group](/source/process_group)s with the logout action managed by a [session leader](/source/session_leader).
 	
* Where an [X display manager](/source/X_display_manager_(program_type)) is employed, a login session is considered to be the lifetime of a designated user process that the display manager invokes.

On [Windows NT](/source/Windows_NT)-based systems, login sessions are maintained by the kernel and control of them is overseen by the [Local Security Authority Subsystem Service](/source/Local_Security_Authority_Subsystem_Service) (LSA). <code>[winlogon](/source/winlogon)</code> responds to the [secure attention key](/source/secure_attention_key), it requests the LSA to create login sessions on login, and terminates all of the processes belonging to a login session on logout.

==See also==
* [Booting process of Windows NT](/source/Booting_process_of_Windows_NT)
* [Architecture of Windows NT](/source/Architecture_of_Windows_NT)
* [Booting](/source/Booting)
* [Master boot record](/source/Master_boot_record)
* [Power-on self-test](/source/Power-on_self-test)
* [BootVis](/source/BootVis)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web
 | url    = http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/779885d9-e5e9-4f27-9c14-5bbe77b056ba1033.mspx
 | title    = How Interactive Logon Works
 | work    = Windows Server 2003 Technical Library
 | author    = Microsoft
 | access-date    = 2006-05-24
 | archive-url    = https://web.archive.org/web/20060507050136/http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/779885d9-e5e9-4f27-9c14-5bbe77b056ba1033.mspx
 | archive-date    = 2006-05-07
 | url-status    = dead
 }}

Category:Operating system technology

{{operating-system-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Login session](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Login_session) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Login_session?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.