Setting a Blank Password More Secure than Most Passwords Users use on Windows XP

I came across an article from Microsoft a few weeks back that claimed setting a blank password is more secure than setting simple passwords that most users choose.

This feature is new to XP. The theory behind this feature is not to allow remote access to accounts with blank passwords. Remote Desktop will not be allowed, the use of run as feature for these accounts, and scheduled tasks are disabled for users with no passwords. Accounts with blank passwords can only be logged on interactively only when you have physical access to the computer.

Obviously blank passwords are not ideal for all situations. If you have a mobile computer or a machine that is part of a domain it is not recommended to use blank passwords. In those cases choose a strong password that can't be easily guessed. But for situations like most home computers on high speed Internet using blank password is actually preferred.

A nice little tip.

billp
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http://www.outervillage.com

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