Turning Off Call Security Using DCOMCNFG

Call security can most easily be turned off by using Dcomcnfg.exe to modify the registry. However, using Dcomcnfg.exe to turn security off will only work if both the client and the server do not call CoInitializeSecurity. The reason for this is that when CoInitializeSecurity is called, DCOM ignores the registry settings and using the values supplied to CoInitializeSecurity instead.

To turn security off with Dcomcnfg.exe, both the client and the server must set their Authentication Levels to None. The following steps must be completed:

1. Run Dcomcnfg.exe.
2. On the Applications page, select the application that represents the server. Click the Properties button (or double-click the selected application).
3. Click the General tab.
4. From the Default Authentication Level list box, select (None).
5. Click the Apply button to apply changes; however, changes are not applied to any running instances of the application.
6. If the client appears on the list on the Applications page, repeat steps 2 through 5, choosing the client instead of the server for step 2. Then click the OK button.

   If the client is not on the list, then you have two choices. You can either set the client's Authentication Level to None on a machine-wide basis using Dcomcnfg.exe, or you can set the client's authentication level to None programmatically. To use the first method, follow the step-by-step procedure below. (For more information about the second method, see Turning Off Call Security Programmatically).

    To set the Authentication Level to None on a machine-wide basis:

Warning  Setting the machine-wide Authentication Level to None is extremely unsecure.

1. Run Dcomcnfg.exe.
2. Choose the Default Properties tab.
3. From the Default Authentication Level list box, choose (None).
4. Click the OK button.