Configuration --> authorization section--> get users returns * when its not present

Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
Dim config As Configuration = DirectCast(WebConfigurationManager.OpenWebConfiguration("~"), Configuration) Dim root_section As AuthorizationSection = DirectCast(config.GetSection("system.web/authorization"), AuthorizationSection)
Dim i As Integer = 0 Dim j As Integer = 0 For i = 0 To root_section.Rules.Count - 1 For j = 0 To root_section.Rules.Get(i).Users.Count - 1 Label1.Text += root_section.Rules.Get(i).Users.Item(j) + "<br/><br/>" Next Next
End Sub

What happens is that although there is a single node present in the authorization section, the above code shows that user and another *. Why is this?

Further, if I remove all nodes from the authorization section then still I can see * as output of my progr ...