Enabling anonymous access on MOSS 2007 / WSS 3.0 web applications

To enable anonymous access for a web application within SharePoint:

1. Go to Central Administration >> Application Management >> Authentication Providers.

  • make sure to pick correct web application from the drop-down list at the top-right corner of the page.
  • select the Membership Provider (most likely it will be "Default") and enable check "Enable anonymous access" checkbox.
  • click OK to save the settings.

2. The step above will usually enable anonymous access in IIS Manager, but just be sure:

  • open IIS Manager
  • right-click on your website and click on "Edit" under Authentication and Access Control
  • make sure "Enable anonymous access" is checked

3. We now need to explicitly enable anonymous access on our website(s)

  • browse to the website
  • click Site Actions >> Site Settings >> People and Groups >> Site Permissions
  • click on Settings >Anonymous Access and enable anonymous access for the site

* Anonymous access will be also enabled on all subsites that inherit security settings from the parent site.



Related resources: