{"id":1484,"date":"2018-11-16T11:44:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T11:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.RiptideHosting.com\/blog\/?p=1484"},"modified":"2020-05-03T18:35:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T00:35:26","slug":"always-use-complex-usernames-and-passwords-for-user-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.RiptideHosting.com\/blog\/always-use-complex-usernames-and-passwords-for-user-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Always use complex usernames and passwords for user accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><u>Utilize complex usernames\/passwords<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s very important to use mix of special characters, numbers, upper &amp; lower case letters, non-words and require longer length.\u00a0 Don\u2019t use standard usernames such as administrator, user, user1, test, admin, etc.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t use usernames that are first names only such as dan, john, tom, etc.\u00a0 Avoid creating passwords that include your name, dictionary words or reusing passwords from other accounts.\u00a0 \u00a0You may want to increase the default minimum length beyond 6 characters.\u00a0 Using simple passwords is the easiest way for someone to compromise your server \u2013 do NOT use simple passwords that are vulnerable to brute-force and dictionary attacks.<\/p>\n<p>You can enforce strong\/complex passwords and policies at Local Security Policy<strong>, <\/strong>Security Settings, Account Policies, Password Policy, see policies including \u201cpassword must meet complexity requirements\u201d\u00a0 (or this can be done via gpedit.msc, Computer Configuration -&gt; Windows Settings -&gt; Security Settings -&gt; Account Policies -&gt; Password Policy) \u2013 the password complexity policy should be enabled by default on Windows Server 2016 but you should verify and adjust policies if needed (such as keeping password complexity enabled but increase the password length policy to a higher number of characters).\u00a0 After changing policies, you should always test your changes.<\/p>\n<p>Also, please note that the\u00a0\u201cuser much change password at next logon\u201d selection box in user properties does not work with RDP sessions.\u00a0 A workaround is to have users manually change their password upon logon by pressing control-alt-<u>end<\/u> and following the change password prompts within a desktop session.<\/p>\n<p>See following links for additional info:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/technet.microsoft.com\/en-us\/library\/hh994562(v=ws.11).aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/technet.microsoft.com\/en-us\/library\/hh994562(v=ws.11).aspx<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/device-security\/security-policy-settings\/password-must-meet-complexity-requirements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/device-security\/security-policy-settings\/password-must-meet-complexity-requirements<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Make sure to keep this policy Disabled, \u201cStore password using reversible encryption\u201d, as described here: \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/technet.microsoft.com\/en-us\/library\/hh994559%28v=ws.11%29.aspx?f=255&amp;MSPPError=-2147217396\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/technet.microsoft.com\/en-us\/library\/hh994559%28v=ws.11%29.aspx?f=255&amp;MSPPError=-2147217396<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Utilize complex usernames\/passwords It\u2019s very important to use mix of special characters, numbers, upper &amp; lower case letters, non-words and require longer length.\u00a0 Don\u2019t use standard usernames such as administrator, user, user1, test, admin, etc.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t use usernames that are first names only such as dan, john, tom, etc.\u00a0 Avoid creating passwords that include your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.8 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Always use complex usernames and passwords for user accounts - Riptide Hosting - superior uptime and support\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"RiptideHosting\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.RiptideHosting.com\/blog\/always-use-complex-usernames-and-passwords-for-user-accounts\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.8\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Riptide Hosting - superior uptime and support - Access your programs and files from anywhere! 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