Overview

Most GFI Software products can be configured to use an alternative username and password to connect to a Workgroup computer. An incorrect setup might result in errors like “access denied,” although an account with sufficient permissions was specified. This article provides the steps to address this issue.

Process

The best way to resolve this is to create a new service account on the remote machine and add this account to the local administrator group of the GFI server. Ensure to give the user a name that does not exist on any other computer, like administrator, but use a name like “GFIServiceAccount123”.

The series of steps below will configure a Workgroup computer for WMI/SMB/Remote registry administration:

1. Open the 'Start Menu' > type CMD > right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Type the following commands to create GFI Service Account Users:

   1. net user GFI <yourpasswordhere> /Add

   2. net local group administrators /add GFI

3. Type Regedit to open up Registry Editor.
   • Go to File > Export > Type a name for your backup and hit Save.
   • Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   • Create a new DWORD 32bit named LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy.
   • Double click on the newly created registry key and set the value to 1.
4. Close the Registry Editor.
5. Type services.msc into the Command Prompt and ensure the following services are running and set to automatic:
   • Microsoft Windows update
   • Server
   • Workstation
   • Remote Registry
   • Microsoft Remote Procedure Call
   • Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation
   • Microsoft Application Experience (set to manual startup)
6. Open Control Panel and select Windows Firewall.
7. Click Advanced Settings.
8. Open Incoming Rules > Click on New Rule... 
9. Select Port > Click Next > enter the following ports: 135, 137 - 139, 161, 445, 1072
10. Select "Allow the connection."
11. Select the type of network the computer is assigned to (public or private).
12. Assign a name for the rule and click OK to finish.