Credential Provider - how to skip SAS?

Question

I implemented my own custom Windows credential provider following the Windows SDK example which should let a remote application connect to a server and perform logon automatically.

The problem is: the SetUsageScenario event is not called until a user presses the SAS combination (Ctrl+Alt+Del), therefore my credential provider isn't able to automatically perform the login until that happens.

How does RDP do the login automatically without me pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and logging in automatically? How do I do the same with my custom credential provider?

Answer 1

SAS can be skipped for Console session only if You turn it off manually in the registry/policies.

RDP session always skip SAS and direct You to enter credentials.

Moreover modern RDP client asks for credentials prior to establishing connection to remote server. It serialize your credentials and send them to remote server. On server authentication is done using this serialized data.