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Logging in with your online profile for Microsoft would then also log you into all of the online services, such as OneDrive for cloud storage, Skype for messaging, and email through or Hotmail. Windows 8 introduced the construct of logging into Windows with a Microsoft Account.
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Business customers could also have an Active Directory domain, which would allow workers to log in with one set of credentials on any approved domain joined workstation.
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In all versions of Windows up to and including Windows 7, you would create a local account on the computer with a username and password, and log in.
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