raiseactivationauthenticationlevel: How to Raise DCOM Level

Increase your DCOM authentication level in no time

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

DCOM authentication is an alternative to the default anonymous authentication. The latter uses a username and password to authenticate an application. The higher the level of authentication, the more access with how apps communicate with each other.

In addition to offering better security than anonymous authentication, DCOM authentication offers more flexibility. This is because it lets you specify which users can access your applications. A lot of people are increasingly embracingremote softwareso it is recommended to stay secure at all times.

What is DCOM authentication level?

TheDCOM (Distributed Component Object Model)is a protocol for remote method invocation. It is a Microsoft technology that allows software to be called remotely.

The DCOM authentication level controls how much information DCOM provides about itself when it attempts to connect to another application and is based on COM.

COM is an object-oriented programming standard that was developed by Microsoft to allow applications written in one language (for example C++) to be used by applications written in other languages.

A COM object can be used by any application supporting the standard, provided that it implements the required interfaces. This approach makes it easier to reuse code and share data between applications and software components.

In general, DCOM is a technology that enables remote procedure calls (RPCs) between clients and servers. It provides a mechanism for applications to communicate across the network without having to expose their internal data structures and functions to other applications.

Some of the benefits of enabling DCOM include:

While DCOM has immense benefits, unfortunately, it also has its downsides. These include:

How can I raise the DCOM authentication level?

If you get a message such asThe server-side authentication level policy does not allow the user %1%2 SID (%3) from address %4 to activate DCOM server. It means that you need to raise your DCOM activation authentication level.

Also, you can only edit the registry if you have the KB5004442 Windows update.

How do I check if DCOM is enabled?

DCOM can be enabled by default on some systems, but it can also be disabled by default or manually. To check whether DCOM is enabled, follow the steps below.

By enabling DCOM you expose your system to security vulnerabilities. This can allow attackers to remotely execute code on your computer. If you are not using the protocol, it is best to disable it.

For more information onhow to manage the DCOM changes, refer to Microsoft’s page. You may also run into aDCOM error 10016so be sure to check out our guide on how to bypass this issue.

We’d love to know what authentication level you have applied if you have enabled DCOM and why. Share in the comment section below.

raiseactivationauthenticationlevel: How to Raise DCOM Level#

What is DCOM authentication level?#

How can I raise the DCOM authentication level?#

How do I check if DCOM is enabled?#

raiseactivationauthenticationlevel: How to Raise DCOM Level

What is DCOM authentication level?

How can I raise the DCOM authentication level?

How do I check if DCOM is enabled?