Script Tips

Logging on with Your Alter Ego

Make a WMI or ADSI connection with alternate credentials via this week's script.

• By Don Jones
• 02/27/2006

Here’s a handy function you can use to collect a password from the command-line (it only runs on XP or 2003 and assumes the script is being run from CScript, not WScript):

Function GetPassword(strUsername)
   Dim objScriptPW, strPassword
   Set objScriptPW = CreateObject("ScriptPW.Password")
   WScript.Echo "Input password for " & _
      strUsername & " and press Enter:"
   strPassword = objScriptPW.GetPassword
   GetPassword = strPassword
End Function

I’ve used this function below to make a WMI connection using alternate credentials (that is, credentials other than those my script is executing under):

Dim objLocator, objWMI
Set objLocator = CreateObject("WbemScripting.SWbemLocator")
On Error Resume Next
Set objWMI = objLocator.ConnectServer("Server1", _
   "root\cimv2", "Administrator", _
   GetPassword("Administrator"))
If Err <> 0 Then
   WScript.Echo "Error: " & Err.Description
Else
   'you're connected - use objWMI.ExecQuery
   'to execute a query
End If

And a similar trick works for ADSI connections:

Const ADS_SECURE_AUTHENTICATION = 1
Dim objRoot, objDomain
Set objRoot = GetObject("LDAP:")
On Error Resume Next
Set objDomain = objRoot.OpenDSObject(_
   "LDAP://dc=company,dc=com", _
   "cn=AdminDon,ou=Admins,dc=company,dc=com", _
   GetPassword("[email protected]"), _
   ADS_SECURE_AUTHENTICATION)
If Err <> 0 Then
   WScript.Echo "Error: " & Err.Description
Else
   'you're connected - objDomain, in this
   'example, represents the domain
End If

These are both handy bits to keep in your library of reusable script snippets.