Using a SecureString password in an automated script?

Question

Hello all,
I've been having issues getting a secure string to work with an automated script.
Basically, a piece of software we use can accept commands via powershell/command shell but requires a password for the commands to be run.
I've spent a fair amount of time researching the ConvertFrom and ConvertTo methods and tried without success. (When trying to use the ConvertFrom/To methods the software gives back incorrect password errors).
Can anyone please assist?

Answer 1

Hi Jonathan,
you can simply use the $SecurePassword variable from Basty's example (if you need a secure string) and pass this as Password. Please note though, this will only work if the account writing the credentials to file is also the same account used to read it
from file.
If you need to encode it for another account (like local system), you can use the
Encrypt-Credential function-script (The example on how to retrieve a clear-text password in memory will also work with Basty's $cred object).
On a final note:
Encrypted or not, try to avoid writing passwords down if you can somehow avoid it. If possible, assign permissions to the account running the task, if the service you are accessing supports windows authentication and privileges.
Cheers,
Fred
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