Knowledge Base

FrontPage Explorer does not accept blank password

Article ID: 163587

Article Last Modified on 6/25/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q163587
For a Microsoft FrontPage 2000 version of this article, see 205672.
For a Microsoft FrontPage 98 version of this article, see 194233.

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to leave the Password box blank in the "Name and Password Required" dialog box, FrontPage Explorer repeatedly prompts you to type a name and password.

CAUSE

Microsoft FrontPage Explorer requires that you provide a name and password to determine whether or not you have administrative and/or authoring privileges in a given Web.

Privileged accounts with blank passwords are security threats. FrontPage Explorer is designed not to support them.

RESOLUTION

Use the Windows NT User Manager to add a password to the account. When FrontPage prompts you for your name and password, type the password that you used in the Windows NT User Manager.

Note When you change security information in Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), stop and restart all IIS services. This procedure makes sure that the server is not validating cached information.

WORKAROUND

Important This workaround exposes the server to potential security issues.

To work around this problem, enable Windows NT Challenge/Response (NTLM). If the Windows NT account lets you use a blank password, and if the account is granted author or administrative permission to a FrontPage Web site, you are not asked to enter a password. If the Windows NT account is not granted permission to the FrontPage Web site, FrontPage prompts you for a valid user name and password.

Note If you are prompted for credentials, the account that is entered must have a non-blank password.

MORE INFORMATION

The fact that FrontPage Explorer does not support blank passwords is not generally an issue with servers that are not derived from IIS since FrontPage Explorer does not allow you to add an account that does not have a password. Servers related to IIS can use the Windows NT account to validate your rights to a Web. When FrontPage Explorer manages rights to a Web on servers related to IIS, password information is never specified. While it is possible to log on to a Windows NT account with a blank password, FrontPage Explorer will not pass validation information unless the password field is completed.

The following servers are derived from IIS:

Additional query words: FP97 fp97

Keywords: kbprb kbusage KB163587


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