Machine Key generation feature not exist in latest IIS Version

Question

Answering one of the recent question on SO, i encountered this anomaly.

This msdn blog suggests using IIS to generate machine key, which looks more secure to me as Micr

Answer 1

As for mentioned by @ryanulit, you can just copy the script directly to your PowerShell window

Steps :

1. Open powershell window (anywhere is fine)
2. Copy the script from the microsoft link and paste in your powershell window and press enter
3. Type Generate-MachineKey -validationAlgorithm SHA1
4. That's it. Your machine key description will show up in the window. PowerShell image sample from my PC

Script Link from Microsoft http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2915218#AppendixA

Answer 2

Make a copy of the administration.config file in C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config. Then, in the <moduleProviders> node under <!-- ASP.NET Modules--> remove the MachineKey node. Then run iisreset. Re-open IIS and see if the ASP.NET area is present. If it is, put the MachineKey node back in the administration.config file (or just re-instate the original config file) and run iisreset again.

Answer 3

I know I came to very late to provide this answer. Hope this helps for any others.

I'm using the latest IIS 10(which is the latest)

By default, the Machine Key feature is not installed when enabling the Internet Information Service in the windows features.

You need to install ASP.NET XX from the World Wide Web Service

After installing this, you can generate your keys from the Machine Key Option.

Answer 4

See https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2915218#AppendixA for information on how to generate a <machineKey> element. There's a script there that you can copy & paste into a Powershell window.

Reminder: only use keys that you generated yourself on your own machine. Never use an online generator.