Document Number: OSUP1050
Product: Observer 9.x and 10.0
Date: 10-12-2004
Title: Probe authentication failed - Unable to connect remote probes to Observer console

Keywords: Probe authentication failed, Unable to connect, Probe redirection, Probe authentication, DES3, Master Cryptographic Key Block

SYMPTOM:
A Probe configured to automatically connect to an Observer console fails to connect, and the following error message is logged and displayed at the bottom of the Observer main window:

Probe authentication failed [IP Address Of Probe]. Potential reason: mismatch in security settings

REASONS:
The system password for the user attempting to login was changed from a separate system account with administrative priveleges. For example, if Bill logs in using an administrative account (such as Administrator) and changes the password for user Ted, any subsequent Observer login attempts by Ted will fail. This is because Microsoft associates a Master Cryptographic Key Block with each user's system password. If user Ted had changed the password settings himself, the Master Cryptographic Key block association would have been maintained.

Once an administrator changes a user's system password, that user's Master Cryptographic Key Block is irrevocably changed (there is no way to restore the original key). This is a security feature of Windows 2000 and higher.

SOLUTIONS:
Login with administrative privileges, and either create a new system account for use with Observer (ObsUser, for example), or delete the account of the user whose system password was changed. Then crreate a new account for that user to establish a new Master Cryptographic keyblock.