INFO: How to Allow Anonymous Logon in NFS and in Windows Server 2003 or in Windows Storage Server 2003 (NAS)

In the Windows Server 2003 family, the Everyone group no longer includes the Anonymous Logon group.

This article discusses the following:

• How to add ANONYMOUS LOGON to the access list
• How to add an ANONYMOUS LOGON account (or other Windows account) as owner of an object
• How to transfer ownership

How to Add ANONYMOUS LOGON to the Access List

To allow anonymous access by the Everyone group on Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then click either Local Security Policy or Domain Security Policy (on a domain controller).
2. In Security Settings, double-click Local Policies, and then click Security Options.
3. Right-click "Network access: Let Everyone permissions apply to anonymous users", and then click Properties.
4. Apply permissions as follows:
   • To allow permissions that are applied to the Everyone group to apply to anonymous users, click Enabled.
     
     -or-
   • To prevent permissions that are applied to the Everyone group from applying to anonymous users, click Disabled.

Note There is no command-line method for this procedure.

How to Add an ANONYMOUS LOGON Account (or Other Windows account) as Owner of an Object

Taking Ownership

To take ownership of a file or folder, follow these steps:

1. Start Windows Explorer, and then locate the file or folder you want to take ownership of.
   
   To start Windows Explorer, right-click Start, and then click Explore.
2. Right-click the file or folder, click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
4. In the Change owner to box, do one of the following:
   • To change the owner to a user or group that is listed, click the new owner.
   • To change the owner to a user or group that is not listed, double-click "Other users and groups", and in "Enter the object name to select (examples)", type the name of the user or group, and then click OK.
5. (Optional) To change the owner of all subcontainers and objects in the tree, select the "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" check box.

How to Transfer Ownership

You can transfer ownership in two ways:

• The current owner can grant the Take ownership permission to others. This permission allows those users to take ownership at any time.
• A user who is granted the Take ownership permission can take ownership of the object or assign ownership to any group that the user is a member of.

Also note the following about transferring ownership:

• A user who has the "Restore files and directories" privilege can double-click "Other users and groups", and then select any user or group to assign ownership to.
• An administrator can take ownership of any file on the computer.
• In the Windows Server 2003 family, the Everyone group no longer includes the Anonymous Logon group.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.