How to clear login credential for network share in Windows

In a networked environment, Windows 11 users can access shared folders across various machines. The user can allow the operating system to remember the credentials once authenticated to the network shares, enabling smoother future access. However, there might be instances where you want to clear the saved login details for security reasons, to use a different account, or to troubleshoot connection issues.

Login information that you use to log in to other computers for network shares is stored in Windows's Credential Manager and cached in applications such as File Manager. You can use Credential Manager to manage the saved username and passwords, or if you're one of the more advanced users, you can use the command-line tool, cmdkey

1. Launch Credential Manager from the Windows search bar.
2. Click on the Windows Credentials tab.
3. Click on the dropdown icon for the server or computer that you want to remove from the Credential Manager.
4. Click on the remove link.
5. Click on the Yes button to confirm deletion.
6. Edit or delete other servers or computers from Credential Manager if necessary.

   It might take a while for the credential to be removed from caches. You can either wait or reboot the system.

1. Open the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
2. List all the stored credentials.

   $ cmdkey /list
   
   Currently stored credentials:
   
       Target: WindowsLive:target=virtualapp/didlogical
       Type: Generic
       User: 02erbobtpesylcou
       Local machine persistence
   
       Target: Domain:target=10.1.11.11
       Type: Domain Password
       User: admin

3. Find the credentials associated with the network share from the list.

   Target: Domain:target=10.1.11.11

4. Remove the saved credentialusing cmdkey

   $ cmdkey /delete:10.1.11.11
   
   CMDKEY: Credential deleted successfully.