What is Interactive Logon?

Question

hi,
Can somebody explain to me exactually what interactive logon is, I don't know what it has to do with logging in from the logon screen.from what I've read it sounds like its more about services and scheduled tasks being able to interact with the desktop/session.
I know there are security policies for allowing/denying interactive logon so it must have something to do with using the login screen.
I know that in windows you can logon to a computer if the account isn't stored on that computer, through a domain for example. but I'm not sure what this 'interacting with the session' means
I also know that a console task can run as a separate user/credential and I know that a user account can have a different profile impersonating it but the files from that account still stay put, in the same locations.
Does this have anything to do with it?
Regards, Rocklore

Answer 1

... 1. If there is just one computer with one account that can host a domain and can switch over to a workgroup then:
Isn't logging in interactively to that account either to its domain or its workgroup just the same as using the welcome screen, if not whats the difference? ...
I do not get your question on "one account that can host a domain and can switch over to a workgroup". Anyway, referring back to the same diagram,
Local user accounts  User accounts defined on a local computer are called
local user accounts. Local user accounts have access to the local computer only, and they must authenticate themselves before they can access network resources. You create local user accounts with the Local Users And Groups utility.
Domain user accounts  Users accounts defined in Active Directory are called
domain user accounts. Through Single Sign-On, domain user accounts can access resources throughout the domain. Domain user accounts are created in Active Directory Users And Computers.
If you are asking whether logon via Welcome Screen is considered Interactive Logon, the answer is yes (even though Ctrl + Alt + Del does not apply).
... 2. What is the difference between classic logon and interactive logon ...
You cannot compare classic logon with interactive logon. Interactive logon is the method that you use to logon to a computer. Classic logon or Welcome Screen logon are the user interface that Microsoft provides users for to carry out Interactive Logon.
The Welcome screen provides a list of accounts on the computer. To log on with one of these accounts, you click the account and type a password (if one is required). Note that the Welcome screen does not display all the accounts that have
been created on the computer. Some accounts, such as Administrator, are hidden from view. The Welcome screen is convenient because it displays a list of available accounts.
The Classic Logon screen requires users to type a logon name rather than selecting an account from a list of available accounts. The Logon screen has several features that you can control. By default, the name of the last user to log on
is displayed in the User Name field of the Log On To Windows dialog box. You can improve security by hiding the user name of the last user to log on. Instead, users will need to know a valid account name for the computer.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Tas Chew