On Computer Passwords

Published Sep 23, 2021 | Posted in Authentication

Computer accounts have passwords. Here's some facts about them. Read Article

About Steve Syfuhs

Steve Syfuhs is a developer on the Windows Cryptography, Identity, and Authentication team at Microsoft building authentication stuff for all your favorite operating systems.

A Bit About the Local Security Authority

Published Aug 5, 2021

The Local Security Authority is what oversees the security in Windows.

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MFA is Hard to do Right

Published May 7, 2021

MFA is critical to securing the world, but it's hard to do right. Here's why.

Read Article | Authentication

Killing NTLM is Hard

Published May 5, 2021

The NTLM authentication protocol just won't die.

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Lessons in Disabling RC4 in Active Directory

Published Mar 2, 2021

Customer lessons learned when disabling RC4 in Active Directory.

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Protecting Against Credential Theft in Windows

Published Feb 12, 2021

Going passwordless is an integral part of eliminating credential theft. Here's why.

Read Article | Authentication

How Managed Service Accounts in Active Directory Work

Published Feb 4, 2021

Managed Service Accounts in Windows allow administrators to automate password management for accounts. Here's how they work.

Read Article | Active Directory

OPS108: Windows authentication internals in a hybrid world

Published Feb 2, 2021

I recently recorded a presentation on the internals of hybrid Windows authentication. Go watch it.

Read Article | Windows

Identity Delegation in Active Directory

Published Jan 26, 2021

Active Directory delegation is an often misunderstood technology. Here's an in-depth look at how it works.

Read Article | Security

Preventing UAC Bypass through Kerberos Loopback

Published Jan 21, 2021

User Account Control is a local authorization mechanism. Can you bypass it by going through the network? No. Here's why.

Read Article | Windows

Hybrid Authentication with FIDO

Published Jan 19, 2021

FIDO is how we're tackling passwordless authentication. Have you ever wondered how it works?

Read Article | Windows

Kerberos FAST Armoring

Published Jan 16, 2021

FAST Armoring is a Kerberos extension intended to improve the security of the Kerberos protocol.

Read Article | Kerberos

Should I Turn off NLA?

Published Dec 30, 2020

Network Level Authentication is critical for secure RDP connections. Don't turn it off.

Read Article | RDP

A Strategy for Protecting Privileged Access

Published Dec 22, 2020

Let's talk a bit about how Microsoft does Privileged Access.

Read Article | Security

How Windows Defender Credential Guard Works

Published Dec 1, 2020

Have you ever wondered how Credential Guard works?

Read Article | Windows

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