Logout

To logout (also: log out , log-out , sign-off , sign off ) refers to the process of ceasing use of a computer system by removing the user credentials. It is the opposite of login.

Logging out may be done explicitly by the window or leaving the site or not refreshing a webpage within a defined period.

In the case of web sites that use HTTP cookie to track sessions, when the user logs out, session-only HTTP cookie from that site will usually be deleted from the user s computer. In addition, the server invalidates any associations with the session, making any session-handle in the user s HTTP cookie store useless. This features comes in handy if the user is using a public computer.

The terms signon and similar are originally IBM parlance.