title: Username/password dialog from batch script
body: <p>I need to prompt for a username and password from a batch script subroutine and I have the following requirements:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Must be user-friendly (i.e. not on the command line, but from a
  dialog box). </li>
  <li>Must mask the password.</li>
  <li>Must not require customized settings or installation before I run the batch script (no AutoIT or odd IE settings).</li>
  <li>Must be compatible with Windows XP, 2008, and 7 (though if variations on a theme are appropriate I can check the specific OS).</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I'm assuming that I may need to use VBscript, which I can easily create from within the batch script and then delete afterward.  I did find <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2005/02/04/how-can-i-mask-passwords-using-an-inputbox.aspx" rel="nofollow">this link</a>, with two different VBScript options, but the first one violates requirement 1 (console based), and the second violates requirement 3 (default IE settings aren't allowing dynamic content these days).  Any other ideas?</p>