In the Windows environment, managing and retrieving stored credentials is a critical task for system administrators. Stored credentials are often used to automate tasks, access network resources, and manage user authentication securely. PowerShell, a powerful scripting language and command-line shell, provides cmdlets to handle credentials efficiently. One such cmdlet is Get-StoredCredential.

However, it is important to note that Get-StoredCredential is not a native cmdlet in PowerShell. Instead, it is part of the Credential Manager module, which can be installed from the PowerShell Gallery. This article will guide you through the process of installing the Credential Manager module and using Get-StoredCredential to retrieve stored credentials in Windows.

Examples:

1. Installing the Credential Manager Module: To use Get-StoredCredential, you first need to install the Credential Manager module from the PowerShell Gallery. Open PowerShell with administrative privileges and run the following command:

   Install-Module -Name CredentialManager -Force -Scope CurrentUser

   This command installs the Credential Manager module for the current user.

2. Retrieving Stored Credentials: After installing the module, you can use the Get-StoredCredential cmdlet to retrieve stored credentials. Here is an example:

   Import-Module CredentialManager
   $credential = Get-StoredCredential -Target "MyNetworkResource"

   In this example, replace "MyNetworkResource" with the target name of the stored credential you want to retrieve. The $credential variable will hold the retrieved credential object.

3. Using Retrieved Credentials: Once you have the credential object, you can use it in scripts to authenticate against resources. For example, to map a network drive using the retrieved credentials:

   $username = $credential.UserName
   $password = $credential.GetNetworkCredential().Password
   New-PSDrive -Name "Z" -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\NetworkShare" -Credential (New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($username, (ConvertTo-SecureString $password -AsPlainText -Force)))

   This script maps a network drive to \\NetworkShare using the stored credentials.

4. Storing New Credentials: You can also store new credentials using the New-StoredCredential cmdlet from the Credential Manager module:

   New-StoredCredential -Target "MyNewResource" -UserName "username" -Password "password" -Persist LocalMachine

   Replace "MyNewResource", "username", and "password" with the appropriate values. The -Persist parameter specifies where the credential is stored.