Question - How do I use SQL authentication for connecting to SQL server

Applies to

• ASP.NET 2.0

Answer:

If you cannot use Windows authentication to SQL Server, you must use SQL authentication. To use SQL authentication:

• Use a least-privileged user ID to connect to SQL.
• Use a strong password for the SQL user account.
• Protect the channel between the Web server and database server because credentials are passed in an unencrypted format. For example, use SSL or IPSec.
• Protect the SQL connection string, which contains plaintext credentials.

If you connect to a SQL Server database using credentials (user name and password), your connection string looks like the following.

SqlConnectionString = "Server=YourServer\Instance;
                     Database=YourDatabase;uid=YourUserName;
                     pwd=YourStrongPassword;"  

Additional Resources

• For more information on using SQL authentication for accessing SQL server, see "How To: Connect to SQL Server Using SQL Authentication in ASP.NET 2.0." at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag2/html/PAGHT000010.asp
• For more information on protecting database connection strings, see "How To; Encrypt Configuration Sections Using DPAPI" at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag2/html/PAGHT000005.asp
• "How TO: Encrypt Configuration Sections Using RSA" at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnpag2/html/PAGHT000006.asp

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