psexec: "Access is Denied"?

Add the following registry DWORD to the remote computer and it should fix the issue.

reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\system /v LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Problem Solved.

It turns out that, by default, Windows won't let you remote in with a user account with an empty password. For the purpose of experimenting with PSExec I had changed the password of the admin account on the target machine to nothing, thinking that would reduce the amount of typing needed. Turns out, that was my problem, and once I put a password back, it all worked perfectly.

However, this set off another investigation - If anyone wants to use PSExec with an empty password, here's what you need to do (under Windows XP MCE, anyway):

• In the Control Panel, open Administrative Tools.
• Open Local Security Policy.
• Navigate to Local Policies -> Security Options
• Change "Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only" to Disabled

I think PSEXEC relies on being able to open the ADMIN$ share, so check that with the same credentials,

net use \\otherComputer\ADMIN$ /user:otherComputer\adminUser *