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is it possible to remove a user's password using the net command?

I tried "net user <name> *" and just hitting return twice, but this does not work as expected. Is there any other way to do this? (I'd gladly take non-net commands, as long as they are built-in in XP SP3)

Best regards, MB

Edit: Seems, I did not make my intention clear. I don't just want to change the password, but remove it completely (so that the user may log in without having to supply a password).

I'm familiar with the "net"-reference and have searched online for several hours, but could not find a hint on how to do this.

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Is this for local accounts or for domain accounts? – MDMarra Mar 22 '10 at 21:12
local accounts (btw.: my statement was correct in the beginning, but <name> was swallowed because I used angle brackets instead of &lg and &gt) – Markus Bruckner Mar 22 '10 at 21:21
net user <name> * --> <Enter> --> <Enter> – kev Sep 4 '11 at 5:52
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4 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

The command to set a password to blank is simply this:

net user username ""

Note: There's a nice vbs script that tests which account has a blank password here.

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Sorry, but this doesn't work neither (tried it before I posted the question and again just now in case I had had a typo before) – Markus Bruckner Mar 29 '10 at 10:36
@markus.bruckner: Well, I tried it before I posted, and it did work for me. Are you sure that system policies allow blank passwords? – harrymc Mar 29 '10 at 11:06
@harrymc: There is no such system policy. I will look into it again. – Markus Bruckner Apr 9 '10 at 11:03
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up vote 0 down vote

the command is 

net user USERNAME PASSWORD

if you leave the password blank it may remove the password, however I have a minimum password policy on this machine and I cant set a password with 0 characters

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Tried this already. Since the password is optional, the processor cannot know if one supplies no or an empty password. – Markus Bruckner Mar 22 '10 at 21:12
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up vote 0 down vote 
net user <username> passwordreq:[yes or no]

Used to determine if the account needs a password. Not sure it works. Maybe this will do?

You also might find this interesting: Net.exe reference

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Sadly, this doesn't work neither. This option just states that the user doesn't have to have a password. Btw.: The link you provided seems to target a server os, and not Windows XP. – Markus Bruckner Mar 22 '10 at 21:17
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up vote 0 down vote

You nearly got it: you need to specify the user's username on your command:

net user <username> *

That should prompt them for a new password and confirm it. Or do you just need to remove the password and not set a new one?

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Exactly, I need to set no password at all. – Markus Bruckner Mar 22 '10 at 21:18
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protected by nhinkle♦ May 1 '11 at 0:22

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