Enhanced Password Protection Installation and Configuration Guide

Password Policy Management
Password Policy Management
Overview
A system administrator can enforce the following rules on user passwords
using the Windows policy management system for a domain:
• A minimum password length – requires passwords to contain at least a
certain number of characters (0 to 14 characters)
• Password complexity – enforces simple rules on the password, such as
the following:
• Cannot contain all or part of the user's account name
• Must be at least six characters in length
• Must contain characters from three of the following four categories:
– English uppercase characters (A through Z)
– English lowercase characters (a through z)
– Base 10 digits (0 through 9)
– No alphanumeric characters (e.g.,!, $, #,%)
• Maximum password age – forces users to change their passwords
regularly. You can define a maximum expiration date between 0 to 999
days.
• Password history – stops the reuse of a defined number of old passwords.
You can set the number between 0 to 24 passwords.
• Minimum password age – stops users from changing their password
before the defined expiration occurs. You can define a minimum
expiration date between 0 to 999 days.
You can also set Local Security Policy from the Administrative Tools dialog
box as documented in the following section.
Enhanced Password Protection Installation and Configuration Guide 4–7