Wikipedia:How to log in

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Why log in to Wikipedia?

See Wikipedia:Why create an account? for more reasons than you can shake a stick at. Most importantly, all your edits will be attributed to your name.

How to log in

First, make sure cookies are enabled in your browser. (see also m:draft privacy policy)

Click on the Log in link here, or at the top right of the page. You will then be prompted to enter your username and password. If you haven't logged in before, you will need to enter your password twice.

You may also give your email address if you like. Other users will be able to send email to the address, but they won't be able to find out what the address is.

If you click the check box Remember me, you will not have to log in again when accessing Wikipedia from the same computer. This feature was formerly known as "Remember my password across sessions". Note that some firewall and ad-blocking software may interfere with the cookie that Wikipedia uses to keep a person logged in. If a user encounters problems remaining logged in, these programs may be a cause.

Log in problems

If you appear to be able to log in, but as soon as you try to look at a page after the 'Log in successful' page you appear logged out again, it is very likely to be a cookie problem. If you are certain that cookies are enabled, make sure that you haven't inadvertently listed wikipedia.org on a list of sites to never allow cookies for. (This feature is available in (at least) Mozilla Firebird (Firefox) 0.6 and above and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 and above). Also make sure your computer's date and time are set correctly; if they are not, cookies may expire before they are supposed to.

A user may occasionally find him/herself "automatically " logged out in between beginning an edit and saving it, or when switching between multiple Wikipedia pages open in multiple windows. This can be a result of your browser's cookie, cache, or firewall settings, but due to the nature of the MediaWiki software, some user ID information is stored in the servers; sometimes, especially during heavy server load, the system can "glitch" and your ID information will be misplaced, resulting in a logout. Regardless of the reason for the logout, the simplest solution to the problem is to check the Remember me box. If you do this on a computer that can be accessed by more than one person (i.e. at the library, at work, at school), please find and erase your user ID cookies after your editing session.

Keeping your account secure

Users, especially administrators, should keep their accounts secure. If someone accesses your account and causes malicious damage, your reputation could be in trouble! Below are some tips on keeping your account secure:

  1. Never give your Wikipedia password to anyone, not even users claiming to be staff!
  2. Only enter your password on a Wikimedia site. Beware of fake sites.
  3. Keep your computer up-to-date with the latest anti-virus software.
  4. Your password should be easy to remember, but hard to guess.
  5. Do not log on using public computers.
  6. If you decide to log on using a public computer, remember to log out when done.
  7. Be careful when running user scripts. Some scripts can be programmed to steal cookies and thus compromise accounts.


How to set preferences

Click on the Preferences link at the top right of the page for various options, including:

  • Changing your password.
  • Changing the skin, which changes the way that the web pages look.

Your User page and User talk page

As a logged in user, you will be able to create your own user page and user talk page. When you are logged in, you will see your username displayed at the top right of the page. Click on this to get to your user page, which you can edit in the same way as any Wikipedia page.

Most users write a little bit about themselves and their interests on their user page.

You also have a User talk page. You can access this by clicking on the Talk link next to your username at the top right of the page. Other people may write messages in your user talk page by editing it, and you can respond. See Wikipedia:User page and Wikipedia:Talk page for more.

How to log out

You can log out any time by clicking on the Log out link at the top right of the page.

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