How to change the default account Windows uses when connecting to a network share (samba)?

Question

I have my Windows setup with a single local admin account with no password, so it logs in automatically after boot. I do this as a security practice, as blank passwords are not allowed for elevation or remote access by default. Local / physical access is not my concern.

The problem is, when I try to access a network share (samba), Windows uses my current logged-in account, and it would fail because of the blank password. It will work if I manually add another credential in Windows' built-in Credential Manager, but I'll have to do this for every network address.

I wonder if there is a way to tell Windows to use another (stored) credential by default for accessing any network share.

Answer 1

I just found out that when adding a Windows credential with the Credential Manager, you can use a single asterisk "*" for the "Internet or network address" field, and Windows will use it for connecting to any network address.

Unfortunately, you can't mask part of the address (e.g., 192.168.1.* would NOT work).