File Transfer without Windows password

Hi @peter_g,

When you connect to another computer using the Remote Control mode, TeamViewer will simply show you whatever is on the remote computer's screen. So if the remote computer is logged into a Windows account, you'll see the remote user's desktop and whatever programs are open on their screen. If the remote computer is logged into a Windows account but subsequently locked (via Win+L), you'll see their Windows lock screen. And if the remote computer is not logged into an account at all, you'll see their Windows login screen.

If it's locked or not logged in, you will, of course, need to know the credentials of the Windows account of the remote computer in order to unlock or log into the remote computer again. Just as you would if you were physically standing at the remote computer. But if it's already logged in and showing the user's desktop, then you don't need to enter any Windows credentials to connect and see the desktop. The fact that you know the remote computer's TeamViewer permanent password - which is required for unattended access - proves that you have the permission or right to access that computer.

When it comes to using the File Transfer mode, a similar principle applies. If the remote computer is already logged into a Windows account, then you will be able to access its files and folders with the File Transfer window. This will also be the case if the remote computer is logged into a Windows account and subsequently locked, because even though it's locked, it's still logged into the Windows account. And you are connecting to it using its permanent TeamViewer password.

However, if the remote computer is not logged into any Windows account at all, then you will not be able to use the File Transfer mode. If you try, you'll get this error message on your computer:

TeamViewer's permanent "Personal Password" is what gives you the authority to connect unattended to the remote computer. Therefore it's important that only authorised, trusted people have access to the Personal Password. But even when you know the Personal Password, you're still restricted in what you can do if the remote computer is not logged into a Windows account. In that case you will also need to know the credentials of the remote Windows account in order to sign into that account.

It would also be advisable to protect your own TeamViewer account with two-factor authentication, which ensures that your account can't be compromised by someone else. Info on how to set that up can be found here:
https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/Two-factor-authentication-Activation-and-Deactivation/ta-p/66

Hi @zsroga,

What you could do in this case is configure the Access Control setting on the remote computer, to either block or require confirmation of the File Transfer mode.

To do that, on the remote PC, go into the Advanced page in TeamViewer's options, and look for the Access Control settings within the section called "Advanced settings for connections to this computer".

Change it to "Custom settings", then click the Configure button underneath. Then you can set the "Transfer files" value to either "After confirmation" or "Denied".

If you set it to "After confirmation", it means the person using the remote computer will see a confirmation box on their screen when you try to start a file transfer connection to their computer. They'll have 30 seconds to confirm it. Therefore, if nobody is using the remote computer at the time, you won't be able to use the File Transfer mode. But you could still use the Remote Control mode to connect to the remote computer as per usual.