Hotfix that lets you control whether a user can save a password for Remote Desktop Connection sessions to a terminal server in Windows XP or in Windows 2000

This article describes a hotfix that lets you control whether Windows XP or Windows 2000 users in your organization can save passwords in a Remote Desktop Connection session to a terminal server.

Connection settings for Remote Desktop Connection sessions are saved to the hard disk as Remote Desktop (.rdp) files. An .rdp file contains all the information for a connection to a terminal server. For example, if a user clicks to select the Save my password check box on the General tab in the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, the user's password is saved to an .rdp file.

A new policy setting is available in Windows XP and in Windows 2000 that you can use to control whether users can save passwords in a Remote Desktop Connection session. After you apply the hotfix that is described in this article, you can configure the "Do not allow passwords to be saved" policy setting to either allow or not allow users to save passwords in a Remote Desktop Connection session. You can use Group Policy to apply the policy setting to Windows XP and Windows 2000-based computers in your domain environment. Or, you can apply the policy setting locally.

To configure this policy setting, follow these steps:

1. Open the appropriate policy object, and then use one of the following methods:
   • To apply the policy to the computer, expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, and then expand Terminal Services.
   • To apply the policy to users, expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, and then expand Terminal Services.
2. Click Client.
3. In the right pane, double-click Do not allow passwords to be saved, and then use one of the following methods:
   • To enable the policy setting so that users cannot save passwords, click Enabled.
     
     Note After you enable the "Do not allow passwords to be saved" policy setting, the Save my password check box on the General tab in the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box is not available (appears dimmed).
   • To disable the policy setting so that users can save passwords, click Disabled.
4. Click OK.

The policy setting is stored in the DisablePasswordSaving registry entry in the following registry subkey: When you enable the "Do not allow passwords to be saved" setting so that users cannot save passwords, the DisablePasswordSaving registry entry is set to 1. When you disable this setting so that users can save passwords, the DisablePasswordSaving registry entry is set to 0 (zero).

Note

• Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 (SP4) cannot save passwords in a Remote Desktop Connection session to a terminal server. Apply this hotfix or apply Update rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4 to enable the feature.
• Remote Desktop Connection 5.1 for Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1) cannot save passwords. Apply this hotfix to enable the feature.
• Remote Desktop Connection 5.2 for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) can save passwords.
• Remote Desktop Connection 5.2 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and for Windows Server 2003 SP1 can save passwords.
• Only Windows Server 2003 with SP1 supports authentication in this scenario and has a Security tab where you can set options.

Windows XP

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported feature that modifies the default behavior of the product is available from Microsoft. However, this feature is intended to modify only the behavior that this article describes. Apply this feature only to systems that specifically require it. This feature might receive additional testing. Therefore, if the system is not severely affected by the lack of this feature, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this feature.

If the feature is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the feature.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific feature. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the feature is available. If you do not see your language, it is because the feature is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows 2000

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

This hotfix requires Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4).

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. For additional information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: