I have written a .NET console app that fetches some values from an intranet web app using System.Net.WebClient with UseDefaultCredentials = true. The web app uses Windows Authentication and allows all users logged into the network and denies anonymous users:
<authentication mode="Windows"/>
<authorization>
<allow users="*" />
<deny users= "?"/>
</authorization>
The console app works fine when I run it on my PC by double-clicking on the program's EXE file. It does what it's supposed to do.
However, when the same program is run on the same PC as a scheduled task using TaskScheduler, it cannot establish communication with the intranet web app.
The console app is set to run under a particular user account —my own— the same account I'm using when double-clicking on the program's exe, and it is set to run whether the user is logged in or not. I have also tried with "Run with the highest privileges" enabled and disabled.
When configuring the task, TaskScheduler asks for the run-account password, which I supply. The option to prevent the password from being stored is not checked.
Is the problem here in the context of TaskScheduler that my WebClient subclass is set to use UseDefaultCredentials = true?
P.S. I should also add that the program's Main() routine is testing for command line arguments and assuming that if they exist, args[1] and args[2] contain particular values it needs and if not, it uses default values. Does TaskScheduler supply any command line arguments to the executables it launches? I am assuming that it does not do so.