Storing network passwords in Windows

Every once in a while I run across some feature of Windows that somehow has escaped my attention over the years. Usually this realization is followed immediately by slap to the forehead, followed by wondering if I'm the last person to discover this feature. I had one of those moments this week.

What I learned (from a co-worker, this time) is that Windows allows you to store a user name and password association for a network server (and web site, though that's less interesting for me). To do this, you go to Control Panel/User Accounts. Pick the account to modify, then select "Manage my network passwords" from the "Related Tasks" panel on the left. Click the Add button, and you can enter the name of the server, along with the user name and password to associate with the server.

This list is automatically added to if you browse to the server, are prompted for credentials, and select "Remember my password". However, there are times when you aren't prompted and the connection simply fails, so it's handy to be able to pre-associate the credentials with the server.

1 Comment

  • I had one of those moments a few weeks ago. I was wanting to work on a .NET project on my laptop, and sync the changes back to my home PC. While just clicking around, I hit the right mouse button on the desktop and noticed something that I had seen a thousand times, but had never even thought about using since Windows 95. It was the Briefcase.



    I actually had to click on "Start/Help" to read up on how to use this thing. It turns out that the Briefcase support is a lot better than it was back in '95. In XP/2003, you can create a new Briefcase that acts just like a folder in every way, except that any file you drag into it can be syncronized by right-clicking the folder and clicking on Update All.



    It works very well, and I've been using it for a few weeks now with no problems. Very nice.



    Anyway, I know how you feel.



    - Joshua

Comments have been disabled for this content.