What are the different Windows Logon Types that can show up in the Windows event log?
Logon Types are logged in the Logon Type field of logon events (event IDs 528 and 540 for successful logons, and 529-537 and 539 for failed logons). Windows supports the following logon types and associated logon type values:Logon Types are logged in the Logon Type field of logon events (event IDs 528 and 540 for successful logons, and 529-537 and 539 for failed logons). Windows supports the following logon types and associated logon type values:Logon Types are logged in the Logon Type field of logon events (event IDs 528 and 540 for successful logons, and 529-537 and 539 for failed logons). Windows supports the following logon types and associated logon type values:
- 1: Interactive logon—This is used for a logon at the console of a computer. A type 2 logon is logged when you attempt to log on at a Windows computer’s local keyboard and screen.
- 2: Network logon—This logon occurs when you access remote file shares or printers. Also, most logons to Internet Information Services (IIS) are classified as network logons, other than IIS logons that use the basic authentication protocol (those are logged as logon type 8).
- 3: Batch logon—This is used for scheduled tasks. When the Windows Scheduler service starts a scheduled task, it first creates a new logon session for the task, so that it can run in the security context of the account that was specified when the task was created.
- 4: Service logon—This is used for services and service accounts that log on to start a service. When a service starts, Windows first creates a logon session for the user account that is specified in the service configuration.
- 5: Unlock—This is used whenever you unlock your Windows machine.
- 6: Network clear text logon—This is used when you log on over a network and the password is sent in clear text. This happens, for example, when you use basic authentication to authenticate to an IIS server.
- 7: New credentials-based logon—This is used when you run an application using the RunAs command and specify the /netonly switch. When you start a program with RunAs using /netonly, the program starts in a new logon session that has the same local identity (this is the identity of the user you are currently logged on with), but uses different credentials (the ones specified in the runas command) for other network connections. Without /netonly, Windows runs the program on the local computer and on the network as the user specified in the runas command, and logs the logon event with type 2.
- 8: Remote Interactive logon—This is used for RDP-based applications like Terminal Services, Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance.
- 9: Cached Interactive logon—This is logged when users log on using cached credentials, which basically means that in the absence of a domain controller, you can still log on to your local machine using your domain credentials. Windows supports logon using cached credentials to ease the life of mobile users and users who are often disconnected.