Windows 10: Windows Credentials and File Sharing is Fundamentally Broken

A picture paints a thousand words. Let me give this a run down. I have two machines, both activated, running like a sheep with my little Microsoft logins enabled some of it's OK but it doesn't give you that pride of ownership that XP did and all I wanted to do was some basic file sharing, remote desktop. Simple stuff. Had been doing it for years.


Oh, the "Users" mess -- started as a regular non-Microsoft login, I'll get Skype later etc, and a standard username. Let's Call it "Fido" an Administrator yes maybe he should be a standard user, but don't further complicate this! On another system, we have a username "Slate." His Windows machine is called ECHO.


Both Fido and Slate have had Windows passwords forever. Windows has tried to gimmick them to the recesses of your memory, so we adapt and make sure password managers keep track of these things. Some people even have the same Windows password as their Microsoft password! In fact, most, would, it makes sense, doesn't it. And shouldn't this be about making sense?


So -- it would then make sense to say to oneself "Oh, my Microsoft accounts, and my Windows User accounts, they must be merging or something. Surely this is to serve no subscription software purpose of commerce, it's surely going to be about making the experience of computing even better. You know what, I'm gonna tell Windows 10 that they can go ahead and turn my dull old offline only User account named Fido into an online, fully Microsoft integrated experience.

Now, if I'm to be remembered correctly, I can't forget my old Fido password, but must start using my fancy Microsoft password. Although that doesn't matter because of PINS. And Authentication software. And fingerprint scanners. And some naff thing where if you hold up a photo of *something* you get in. Well, Microsoft, *hello.*


Well, I thought to myself, this will make file sharing and RDP a breeze, because we've been authenticated in three or four different ways with just one User account.


Well, imagine my shock:




This is a screenshot of trying to get access to a shared file on ECHO, that was shared specifically to Fido. In fact, when sharing that folder, and typing in the name FIDO, Windows promptly changed it to the @outlook.com official looking address. Woah, this will be seamless!


It wasn't. Imagine staring at that input box.

"Nah type in Fido and then your old password, the one before you used your microsoft password."

"Oh yep, I can kind of remember it."

INCORRECT

"Hmm ok try Fido again, but use your Microsoft password, duh why didn't we think of this like all of the time once?"

INCORRECT

Hmm Fido, this time try your PIN, long shot I know ...

INCORRECT

Fido let's just forget about using fido. Let's use your microsoft account email address. It's like *** Email address is removed for privacy ***. whack that in there with your Microsoft password, and it will work straight away! I'm surprised we didn't do this from the get go, except we totally did.

INCORRECT

Maybe your old Fido password? No?


IT DOESN'T WORK and so far not many online have come up with any solution -- there's talk of going back to SMB1, disabling firewall altogether, making credentials for yourselves that don't work, and that you never had to do before.


My cousin's iPad can use an app called File Extreme to browse his brother's shared directories. Good luck he has an iPad not Window 10 or he'd be missing that totally awesome directory. Oh, but he could just watch by using RDP -- it seems to go OK iPad to Windows 10. But dare thinking about establishing an RDP from Win 10 to Win 10 and the response is:


Who are you, what's your name, what's your other name, your password, but not your pin or any pre-authneticated info we have on you. Ok thank you, please hold:





Microsoft. I am a joker. I like to throw sarcasm into complaints such as this. But the truth is: You have stuffed up badly, and have made no apparent effort to communicate with your customers about the issue. People are relying on blogs, disabling this, disabling that, hacking up the registry, stuffing around with encrypted credentials, while you as a company couldn't really care less, because, let's get down to this, WE'RE NOT ON ACTIVE DIRECTORY.


Your operating service needs to start operating as a system again, quickly. At the price of hardware now, it wouldn't be hard to change to Apple for millions of begrudging customers. Apple's ecosystem will never let them go. You're losing them over this, and other issues, I guarantee it. They won't come back. As for workplace contracts? Work from home? I'd prefer an Apple setup please boss I find it's less frustrating. As for their hardware flaws, well I won't cry about them the same reason a Mercedes Benz driver doesn't lose any sleep about her notoriously unreliable car. I bet however, that her key fob lets her in so she can use it.


Please fix the problem.

:)

 

SHARING FILES WITH WINDOWS 7

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

• Have you made any changes on your PC?
• Did you perform any Windows update recently?
• Are you connected to Domain network?

I suggest you to try the below steps and check if that helps.

1. To share files over file explorer refer the following
   
   article.
2. Refer article for
   file sharing over a network.

Hope it helps.

Let us know if you got the help you needed by clicking, Yes or No.

Sandeep Kumar M

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Network Sharing prompts for password (Password protected sharing turned off) - Windows 10

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



As you’ve already turned off password protected sharing, this issue could be due to the incorrect cached credentials stored on the PC. I suggest you to try the steps listed below and check if it works.

• Open Control Panel and categorize to view by
  small icons.
  
• Click on User Accounts and choose your
  User Name.
  
• On the left pane, click on Manage your credentials.
  Under Windows Credentials, remove the shared computer credentials and save the changes.
  
• Exit Control Panel and restart the machine to see if the issue persists.
  

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

 

Scheduled tasks run with elevated privileges can't access stored Windows credentials

It seems that after Creators update scheduled tasks run with elevated privileges ('run with highest privileges' option) can't access stored Windows credentials. Is that a bug or an intentional change and is there a recommended workaround?

Here's one way to reproduce the behaviour:

• Start Credential Manger and add some Windows share credentials.
• In a console window type 'cmdkey /list', which should list the added credentials
• Create a task in a task manager:
  • Trigger: on user logon
  • Action: run cmd.exe
  • Tick the 'run with highest privileges' option
• Reboot the machine and log in
• In the console window (let's call it 'console 1') opened from the scheduled task type 'cmdkey /list'. This most likely won't display the credentials added in step 1 and properly listed in step 2. ->
  This looks like a bug
• Now, without closing 'console 1' open another console window as an administrator (let's call it 'console 2') and type 'cmdkey /list'. This will properly list credentials added in step 1.
• Switch to 'console 1' and type 'cmdkey /list' again. This time the credentials are listed properly, unlike in step 5. It looks like an access to Windows credentials was somehow 'unlocked' by step 6.