FP2000: FrontPage Does Not Accept Blank Password

ID: Q205672

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft FrontPage 2000

SYMPTOMS

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

CAUSE

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

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

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, use the method appropriate to your situation.

Method 1: With Windows NT Challenge/Response (NTLM) Enabled

If your Windows NT account allows you to use a blank password, and your account is granted author or administrative permission to a FrontPage Web, you will not be asked to enter a password.

If your Windows NT account is not granted permission to the FrontPage Web, FrontPage will prompt you for a valid user name and password. In this case, FrontPage will not accept a blank password, even though the Windows NT account considers it valid. At this point, select either of the following options:

If you are using a blank password, log into the network using the Windows NT account that has permission to access the FrontPage Web.

-or-

Use Method 2.

Method 2: With Windows NT Challenge/Response (NTLM) Disabled

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 on an Internet Information Server (IIS), stop and restart all IIS services to ensure that the server is not validating cached information.

MORE INFORMATION

The fact that FrontPage does not support blank passwords is not generally an issue with servers that are not derived from IIS, because FrontPage 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 manages rights to a Web on servers derived from IIS, password information is never specified. While it is possible to log on to a Windows NT account with a blank password, FrontPage will not pass validation information unless the password field is completed.

The following servers are derived from IIS:


   Microsoft Internet Information Server
   Microsoft Peer Web Services for NT 4.0 Workstation
   Microsoft Personal Web Server

Additional query words: FP2K


Keywords          : kbdta fpiis 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 1, 1999