- Virtual accounts (beginning with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7) are *managed local accounts* that provide the following features to simplify service administration. The virtual account is auto-managed, and the virtual account can access the network in a domain environment. If the default value is used for the service accounts during [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)] setup, a virtual account using the instance name as the service name is used, in the format **NT SERVICE\\***\<SERVICENAME>*. Services that run as virtual accounts access network resources by using the credentials of the computer account in the format *<domain_name>***\\***<computer_name>***$**. When specifying a virtual account to start [!INCLUDE[ssNoVersion](../../includes/ssnoversion-md.md)], leave the password blank. If the virtual account fails to register the Service Principal Name (SPN), register the SPN manually. For more information on registering a SPN manually, see [Manual SPN Registration](https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ms191153.aspx).
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