Contents of CONNECT.DAT, <USERNAME>.PWL, and SHARES.PWL Files (90210)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1
- Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
This article was previously published under Q90210
3.10 3.11
WINDOWS
kbsetup kbusage
SUMMARY
The first time you run Windows for Workgroups after running the Setup
program, the application creates three binary files in your Windows
directory:
- CONNECT.DAT
- USERNAME.PWL (where USERNAME is your logon name)
- SHARES.PWL
This article describes the purpose of these files.
MORE INFORMATIONCONNECT.DAT
CONNECT.DAT lists the connections that Windows for Workgroups
automatically makes for you when you log on. When you make a new
connection and select the Reconnect At Startup option, Windows for
Workgroups adds that connection to CONNECT.DAT. When you disconnect
from a share, Windows for Workgroups deletes that connection from
CONNECT.DAT. The NET USE command, which you type at an MS-DOS command
prompt, also manipulates CONNECT.DAT.
CONNECT.DAT uses a simple encryption scheme to prevent users from
editing the file with a text editor. If you edit the file with a text
editor, you receive the following error messages when Windows for
Workgroups attempts to restore network connections:
An error occurred while trying to reconnect (local identifier) to
(shared resource) SYSXXXX.
If you delete CONNECT.DAT, your automatic connections will not be
restored the next time you log on. You must manually reconnect to each
share.
USERNAME.PWL
USERNAME.PWL (where USERNAME is your logon name) is a password list
file (PWL). It records passwords to resources on the network and uses
them to reconnect to those resources so you don't have to type the
password again. Whenever Windows for Workgroups prompts you for a
password (except for your logon password, which secures the PWL file
itself), the resource name and password are saved in your PWL file for
future use. Windows for Workgroups stores passwords for shares on
share-level security servers (including Windows for Workgroups
machines); passwords for user-level security LAN Manager servers; and
LAN Manager domain passwords (used if your logon is validated on a LAN
Manager domain).
Because these passwords are sensitive information, the file is
securely encrypted. If you delete this file, you must type the
password for each password-protected resource next time you connect to
it.
SHARES.PWL
SHARES.PWL is similar to other PWL files in internal file format. It
contains information about all shares for which you select the Reshare
At Startup option. SHARES.PWL contains the share names, the names of
the shared directories, share comments, and share passwords. This file
is securely encrypted, using the same top-level encryption method used
to secure other PWL files.
If you delete SHARES.PWL, you must manually re-establish all your
shares or restore SHARES.PWL from a backup copy of the file. Windows
for Workgroups does no default sharing, so if you don't explicitly
share a resource, nobody can access it on your machine). This means
that no security breaches occur if you delete SHARES.PWL.
There is no limit to the number of shares you create, but SHARES.PWL
is limited to a file size of 64K bytes. If you reach this limit, you
cannot share any more printers or directories.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 10/13/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB90210 |
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