How to validate domain credentials?

Question

I want to validate a set of credentials against the domain controller. e.g.:

Username: STACKOVERFLOW\\joel
Password: splotchy

Method 1. Qu

Answer 1

C# in .NET 3.5 using System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement.

 bool valid = false;
 using (PrincipalContext context = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain))
 {
     valid = context.ValidateCredentials( username, password );
 }

This will validate against the current domain. Check out the parameterized PrincipalContext constructor for other options.