• Password Policy: Enforce Password History

    by  • July 31, 2009 • Configuring Vista Security

    his security setting determines the number of unique new passwords that have to be associated with a user account before an old password can be reused. The value must be between 0 and 24 passwords.

    This policy enables enhanced security by ensuring that old passwords are not simply reused every time a user is required to periodically change or update their password.

    Defaults:

    • 24 on domain controllers
    • 0 on stand-alone servers.

    Note: By default, PC’s on a network domain follow the configuration of their domain controllers.

    Enforce Password History should be used in conjunction with the Minimum Password Age policy setting to ensure that users do not simply create password after password immediately in order to bypass the Enforce Password History setting and reuse an old password sooner. For information about the minimum password age security policy setting, see Minimum Password Age.

    About

    Tony has driven security policies and technologies for antivirus and incident response for Fortune 500 companies, and he has been network administrator and technical support for smaller companies. He has written for a variety of other Web sites and publications, including BizTech Magazine, PC World, SearchSecurity.com, WindowsNetworking.com, Smart Computing magazine, and Information Security magazine. Tony is a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and ISSAP (Information Systems Security Architecture Professional). He is Microsoft Certified as an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) and MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) in Windows 2000 and an MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) in Windows NT. Tony has been recognized by Microsoft as an MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Windows security since 2006. In addition to his Web site and magazine contributions, Tony was also tech editor of PCI Compliance (ISBN: 1597491659 ) and author of Essential Computer Security: Everyone’s Guide to E-mail, Internet, and Wireless Security (ISBN: 1597491144), coauthor of Hacker’s Challenge 3 (ISBN: 0072263040) and a contributing author to Winternals: Defragmentation, Recovery, and Administration Field Guide (ISBN: 1597490792), Combating Spyware in the Enterprise (ISBN: 1597490644) Syngress Force 2006 Emerging Threat Analysis: From Mischief to Malicious (ISBN: 1597490563), Botnets: The Killer Web Applications (ISBN: 1597491357), and AVIEN Malware Defense Guide for the Enterprise (ISBN: 1597491640).

    http://www.tonybradley.com