What is Windows Authentication in SQL Server?

What is difference between SQL Server authentication and Windows Authentication?

Connecting Through Windows Authentication SQL Server does not ask for the password, and does not perform the identity validation. Windows Authentication is the default authentication mode, and is much more secure than SQL Server Authentication.

How does Windows Authentication connect to SQL Server?

Open SQL Server Management Studio. In Connect to Server, select Database Engine, enter your SQL Server name, and enter administrator credentials to connect to the server. Select Connect. In Object Explorer, expand the SQL Server, expand Security, right-click Logins, and then select New Login.

What is Windows Server authentication?

Windows Authentication is a mechanism to authenticate a user. This article explains Windows Authentication in details including Basic Authentication, Digest Authentication, Integrated Windows Authentication, UNC Authentication, and Anonymous Authentication.

Why would you use Windows only authentication mode?

If you work in an Active Directory environment, Windows authentication is recommended to use. If you work in a non-Active Directory environment, you can utilize SQL Server authentication for database connections. Windows authentication does provide more security and flexibility for managing logins in SQL Server.