Dial-up credentials

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Dial-up credentials

Credentials are required to successfully connect to the Internet using dial-up connections. Your credentials are the combination of your ISP account name and password. Your computer user profile identifies your account as either an administrator account or a user account. If you log on using user credentials, you will have two options for how your credentials are saved when you create a dial-up connection. If you log on with administrative credentials, you will have three options for how your credentials are saved when you create a dial-up connection. If you have account profiles with both administrator and user credentials, only the credentials for the account that you have logged on with will apply.

If you log on with user account credentials, you can create only dial-up connections for My use only. These connections will be successful only when you are logged on to the computer, and they will not be accessible to any other users. When creating user account dial-up connections, you can either save your credentials as Me only (for your use only) or not save your credentials. If you save your credentials as Me only, and you are logged on to the computer using the account you used when you created the connection, your credentials will be automatically supplied when using the connection. If you do not save your credentials, a dialog box will be provided for you to enter your credentials each time you are logged on to the computer using the account you used when creating the connection and you attempt to connect to the Internet.

If you log on with administrative credentials, you can create connections for either Anyone's use or My use only. If you create a connection for My use only, the connection options are the same as those created by anyone with a user account. Connections created for Anyone's use can be seen by any user who logs on to that computer, but connection success to the Internet is affected by how credentials were saved. When creating a connection for Anyone's use, you can save your credentials so that they will be supplied automatically for Anyone who logs on to this computer or Me only. You can also choose not to save your credentials.

If you save your credentials for Anyone who logs on to this computer, your saved credentials will automatically be supplied for any user who has logged on to the computer and attempts to connect to the Internet using that connection or on-demand dialing. If you save your credentials but do not make them available for Anyone who logs on to this computer, then your saved credentials will be automatically supplied only if you are logged on to the computer. Other users will see a dialog box that prompts them for your user name and password; they will be unable to connect to the Internet using this connection unless they can provide your credentials. If you do not save your credentials, a dialog box will appear and prompt you or any other user to enter your credentials before the connection to the Internet can be completed.

The following summarizes the experience of a user logging on with user credentials and experience of a user logging on with administrative credentials:

Logging on with user credentials

Connection type created Credential save options Local computer access
  • My use only

  • Me only

  • Not saved

This connection will work only when you are logged on with the account that you used when you created the connection. If you did not save your credentials, you will be prompted to supply them every time you use the connection. You cannot configure Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), or Windows Firewall on this connection. If you want to enable ICS or configure ICF or Windows Firewall, you should log on with administrative credentials before you create the dial-up connection because only administrators can access the Advanced tab. If you want to enable ICS, ICF, or Windows Firewall on a dial-up connection that was created with user credentials, the user who created the connection must be promoted to an administrator.

ICS client Internet access through My use only ICS connections

Users of ICS client computers can connect to the Internet through connections on the ICS host computer that are saved for My use only if:

  • The user who created the connection saved credentials and is logged on to the ICS host computer.

  • The user who created the connection did not save credentials but that user or another user can supply those credentials when prompted by the ICS host computer to do so.

Logging on with administrative credentials

Connection type created Credential save options Local computer access
  • My use only

  • Me only

  • Not saved

This connection will work only when you are logged on with the account that you used when you created the connection. If you did not save your credentials, you will be prompted to supply them every time you use the connection. You cannot configure Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), or Windows Firewall on this connection. If you want to enable ICS or configure ICF or Windows Firewall, you should log on with administrative credentials before you create the dial-up connection because only administrators can access the Advanced tab. If you want to enable ICS, ICF, or Windows Firewall on a dial-up connection that was created with user credentials, the user who created the connection must be promoted to an administrator.

  • Anyone's use

  • Anyone who uses this computer

  • Me only

  • Not saved

All users can see the Internet connection. If you saved your credentials for all users, any user who is logged on to the computer can connect to the Internet. If you saved your credentials as Me only, the connection is automatically completed only if you log on to the computer as the administrator who saved the credentials when you created the connection. If you did not save your credentials, when you or another user attempts to connect to the Internet, your credentials must be supplied when prompted in order to complete the connection. You can access the Advanced tab to enable ICS or configure ICF or Windows Firewall because you logged on as an administrator when you created the dial-up connection.

ICS client Internet access through Anyone's use connections

Users of ICS client computers can connect to the Internet through connections on the ICS host computer that are saved for Anyone's use only if:

  • The administrator who created the connection saved credentials for use by anyone who uses the computer. (This attempt will succeed whether a user is logged on to the ICS host computer or the ICS client computer.)

  • The administrator who created the connection saved credentials as User only and is now logged on to the ICS host computer with the same credentials.

  • The administrator who created the connection did not save credentials, but a user can supply those credentials when prompted by the ICS host computer.

You must enable on-demand dialing in order for programs to automatically initiate dial-up connections to your Internet service provider. For more information, see Enable ICS on-demand dialing.

You must enable ICS in order for computers on your network to share a common Internet connection. For more information, see Connecting to the Internet in a home or small office network.

Notes

  • As a security measure, you should log on using user credentials rather than administrative credentials.

  • Internet Connection Firewall is included only in the original releases of Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

  • Internet Connection Sharing and Network Bridge are not included in Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition; and the Itanium-based versions of the original release of the Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

  • Windows Firewall is not included in the original release of the Windows Server 2003 operating systems.