Internet, Networking, & Security Web Development Creating a SQL Server 2008 Database Account Use Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication by Mike Chapple Writer Former Lifewire writer Mike Chapple is an IT professional with more than 10 years' experience cybersecurity and extensive knowledge of SQL and database management. our editorial process Twitter Mike Chapple Updated on December 23, 2019 reviewed by Ryan Perian Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. our review board Article reviewed on Jun 30, 2020 Ryan Perian Web Development SQL CSS & HTML Web Design Tweet Share Email SQL Server 2008 provides two methods for creating database user accounts: Windows authentication and SQL Server authentication. In Windows authentication mode, you assign all database permissions to Windows accounts. This has the advantage of providing a single sign-on experience for users and simplifying security management. In SQL Server (mixed mode) authentication, you can still assign rights to Windows users, but you can also create accounts that exist only in the context of the database server. slungu / Getty Images How to Add a Database Account Open SQL Server Management Studio. Connect to the SQL Server database where you want to create a login. Open the Security folder. Right-click on the Logins folder and select New Login. If you want to assign rights to a Windows account, select Windows authentication. If you want to create an account that exists only in the database, select SQL Server authentication. Provide the login name in the text box. You can use the Browse button to select an existing account if you chose Windows authentication. If you chose SQL Server authentication, you must also provide a strong password in both the Password and Confirmation text boxes. Customize the default database and language for the account, if desired, using the drop-down boxes at the bottom of the window. Click OK to create the account. Be sure to use a strong password if you are creating a SQL Server login. If you want to remove an existing account (using either SQL Server authentication or Windows authentication), right-click on the account in the Logins folder and select Delete. Creating an account does not create database permissions. The next step of the process is to add permissions to the account. SQL Server authentication is only available if you have selected mixed mode authentication for your SQL Server instance.