Likely Normal

Remember when computer security meant your little brother totally couldn’t get past your ultra-secure Windows 98 login screen? Those were simpler times – back when password protection was more of a polite suggestion than an actual barrier. The whole system operated on an honor code that nobody honored. You’d boot up the family PC to be greeted by that ominous password prompt, its pixelated authority undermined by one glorious loophole: the almighty Cancel button. One casual click and you were in, no credentials required – like a nightclub bouncer who lets everyone through if they just say “I’m with the band.” Microsoft’s idea of cybersecurity was essentially a digital Keep Out sign taped to an unlocked door.

This was security through the power of wishful thinking. Parents would set passwords like 1234 and feel confident their kids couldn’t access the dial-up internet, while any child with basic motor skills could bypass the whole charade in seconds. The password field itself was purely ceremonial – less about protection and more about letting users cosplay as hackers from a 90s movie. That little password prompt wasn’t defending anything; it was just there to make you feel like you were living in the high-tech future. Today we’ve got fingerprint scanners and facial recognition, but none of them capture the beautiful absurdity of a security system that actively helped you circumvent it. The Windows 98 login screen wasn’t protecting your files – it was protecting your right to pretend you had something worth protecting.