Guest Account Cannot be Used When Anonymous Access Is Disabled (251171)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q251171

SYMPTOMS

When a Web application on Internet Information Server (IIS) is configured to allow Basic authentication and at the same time has Anonymous access disabled, the built-in Guest user account cannot access the Web application. Also, if you rename the built-in Guest user account to another name, the new name cannot be used to access the Web application.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design. If you disable Anonymous access to the Web site, the SID of the default Guest user account is also refused access. Even if you rename the built-in Guest user account, the SID is the same.

WORKAROUND

If you want to use a user named Guest to access your Web site, follow these steps:
  1. Rename the original Guest user account to another name (for example "OldGuest").
  2. Create a new user named "Guest" using the Copy function of the User Manager on the "OldGuest" account.
This new user will not have the limitation of the default Guest user account.

REFERENCES

163846 SID Values For Default Windows NT Installations

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/10/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB251171
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.