Disable User List and Preselect User in KDM Login Manager

Another KDE related post. How ’bout that. This article outlines how to disable the user list and/or the preselect user feature of the KDM login manager. The end result here is for the Login Manager to not display a list of users or pre-populate the username field with the previously logged in users. If you are the type that dislikes Face Choosers and the like, you’ll appreciate these changes.

Login Manager – KDE Control Module

The configuration for the Login Manager are found in the System Settings menu. Launch or navigate to the System Settings. Click the “Advanced” tab, and find the Login Manager button. This should prompt you for administrative privileges.

Once in the Login Manager configuration you’ll be presented with a number of tabs. The tabs we’ll deal with here are the “Users” and “Convenience” tabs, on the far right.

To disable the list of users (this really only applies to machines that have multiple users), uncheck the “Show list” button in the left-hand pane of that window. Once you apply these settings a list of users will no longer be displayed at login.

To disable the “convenience” of auto-populating the username, you’ll need to select the “Convenience” tab. Again, in the left-hand pane of this window you can check the box “None” in the “Preselect User” section.

On next login your username field will no longer be populated with the username from the previous login.

It seems that every major desktop environment is defaulting to Face Choosers and making it easier to login to your machine. Maybe I’m old-school, but I prefer to not present would-be-attackers with any information about my machine, including my username.

If you have any other tips regarding the Login Manager, please share in the comments section.