Setting the Machine-Wide Impersonation Level

The impersonation level, set by the client, determines the amount of authority given to the server to act on the client's behalf. Setting the machine-wide impersonation level for the whole computer determines the impersonation level to be used when a particular client doesn't specify an impersonation level programmatically. For overview information, see Impersonation Level.

To set the machine-wide impersonation level

1. In the console tree of the Component Services administrative tool, right-click the computer whose machine-wide impersonation level you want to modify and then click Properties.
   
   
2. Select the Default Properties tab.
   
   
3. Ensure that Enable Distributed COM on this computer is checked.
   
   
4. In the Default Impersonation Level box, select the impersonation level you want.
   
   
5. Click OK.

The new machine-wide impersonation level is available the next time an application on the computer is started. Applications that are currently running are not affected until they are restarted.