Password Policy: Password Must Meet Complexity Requirements

Configure Vista Password Policy Settings

This security setting enforces password complexity to ensure that users create strong passwords that are not easily guessed or cracked.

With Passwords Must Meet Complexity Requirements enabled, passwords must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Must not contain the user's account name or parts of the user's full name that exceed two consecutive characters
• Must be at least six characters in length (or the length specified in Minimum Password Length if that setting is higher than 6)
• Must contain characters from three of the following four categories:
  • Uppercase characters (A through Z)
  • Lowercase characters (a through z)
  • Base 10 digits (0 through 9)
  • Special symbols or non-alphabetic characters (for example: !, $, #, %, etc.)

Complexity requirements are enforced when passwords are changed or created.

Defaults:

• Enabled on domain controllers
• Disabled on stand-alone servers

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