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Updated on 2024-04-15 GMT+08:00
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How Do I Set a Proper Password Complexity Policy in a Windows OS?

A proper password complexity policy would be: eight characters for the length of a password and at least three types of the following characters used: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, digits, and special characters.

Perform the following steps to set a local security policy:

  1. Log in to the OS as the user Administrator. Choose Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools. In the Administrative Tools folder, double-click Local Security Policy.

    Alternatively, click Start and type secpol.msc in the Search programs and files box.

  2. Choose Account Policies > Password Policy and perform the following operations.

    • Double-click Password must meet complexity requirements, select Enable, and click OK to enable the policy.
    • Double-click Minimum password length, enter the length (greater than or equal to 8), and click OK to set the policy.

  3. Run the gpupdate command to refresh your system settings. After the refresh succeeded, the settings will take effect in the system.
Parent topic: Unsafe Settings