How to login to Windows using PIN code programmatically

Question

In Windows 8 a new authentication method for non-domain users has been introduced: using PIN set in Control Panel.

Currently our application supports Windows logon by pre-saved password using LogonUserW() and now requires support of PIN as well.

How can we achieve that from .NET application, directly or by P/Invoke?

Answer 1

So all that stuff is governed by the ICredentialProvider hive of interfaces - for Windows 8, they added an extension in ICredentialProvider2, mainly to tie credential providers to individual user accounts.

I'm no expert here, but I did dig up some references:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163489.aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb776042(v=vs.85).aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb776029(v=vs.85).aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh706912(v=vs.85).aspx

My gut says you could probably create a slim wrapper for the COM interfaces (probably the ICredentialProviderProvider and ICredentialProvider interfaces), and invoke them that way...but I'm mostly guessing here.