Convert a String Variable to a Secure String

When you are working with cmdlets that want passwords, the cmdlets require the password to be a secure string rather than a regular string. A secure string is encrypted in memory. When you read data from a csv file, it is automatically imported as a regular. To read a password from a file and use it, you need to convert it to a secure string.

To convert an existing string to a secure string use the following:

$SecurePass = ConvertTo-SecureString $UnsecurePass -AsPlainText -Force

After converting to a secure string, you can use it as a password when create user accounts with New-ADUser or as part of credentials you are passing to a cmdlet.

For more information about working with passwords, secure strings, and credentials see the following TechNet article: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/4546.working-with-passwords-secure-strings-and-credentials-in-windows-powershell-en-us.aspx