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Q190005: A Site Set Up for Anonymous Access Prompts Users for Password

Article: Q190005
Product(s): Internet Information Server
Version(s): 3.0,4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 01-MAR-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Internet Information Server versions 3.0, 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Users are prompted for a user name and password when logging on to a Web site
that has been set up for anonymous access.

CAUSE
=====

The anonymous user account (by default, IUSR_<computer_name>) may need to
be resynchronized. In other words, the password listed for the anonymous account
under User Manager for Domains, and the password again listed for that anonymous
account in the Internet Service Manager (ISM), do not currently match.

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, do either of the following (each option is
described in more detail below):

- If you are running Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 and using anonymous
  user accounts defined on the local computer, consider enabling Automatic
  Password Synchronization.

  -or-

- Manually set the password for the anonymous user account in both the Internet
  Service Manager (ISM) and the User Manager for Domains to the same value. The
  procedure for doing this differs, depending on whether you are using IIS 3.0
  or 4.0. The instructions for each version are given below.

Turn on Automatic Password Synchronization in IIS 4.0
-----------------------------------------------------

Synchronization may not work on a backup domain controller (BDC), or when the
original anonymous account has been deleted and re-created. Furthermore, it
should not be used with remote computers. The following information is taken
from the Online Help in IIS 4.0 is about automatic password synchronization, and
it further explains when it should be used.

  Enable Automatic Password Synchronization:

  When you create a new anonymous account, you must make sure that your
  Web site and Windows NT password settings are identical. Select this
  option to automatically synchronize your anonymous password settings
  with those set in Windows NT.

  Important:

  Password synchronization should only be used with anonymous user
  accounts defined on the local computer, not with anonymous accounts
  remote computers.

To turn on automatic password synchronization, perform the following steps:

1. In the ISM, open the Web Properties for your web site.

2. On the Directory Security tab, under Anonymous Access and Authentication
  Control, click Edit.

3. Under Allow Anonymous Access, click Edit.

4. Verify that the correct user name is listed, and then select the Enable
  Automatic Password Synchronization check box.

IIS 4.0 Instructions to Manually Synchronize Passwords
------------------------------------------------------

If you choose not to enable automatic password synchronization in IIS 4.0,
perform the following steps to manually synchronize the user name and password
used by both User Manager for Domains and the ISM:

1. In User Manager for Domains, set the password for the anonymous account.

2. In the ISM, open the Web Properties for your Web site.

3. On the Directory Security tab, under Anonymous Access and Authentication
  Control, click Edit.

4. Under Allow Anonymous Access, click Edit.

5. Set the user name and password to the same settings you specified in User
  Manager for Domains.

  NOTE: The Enable Automatic Password Synchronization check box must be cleared
  in order to manually set the password.

IIS 3.0 Instructions to Manually Synchronize Passwords
------------------------------------------------------

1. In User Manager for Domains, set the password for the anonymous account.

2. In the ISM, open the WWW Service properties.

3. On the Service tab, under Anonymous Logon, set the user name and password to
  the same settings you specified in User Manager for Domains.

(c) Microsoft Corporation 2000, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Kevin
Zollman, Microsoft Corporation.


Additional query words: login logon sign id pass word machine_name MMC machinename username anonomous akz

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbiisSearch kbiis400 kbiis300
Version           : :3.0,4.0
Issue type        : kbprb
Solution Type     : kbpending

=============================================================================

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