In this project, you view where to create account policies in Windows Server 2003/Server...

In this project, you view where to create account policies in Windows Server 2003/Server 2003 R2 and Server 2008/Server 2008 R2. You need an account with Administrator privileges for the project. Also, Active Directoryshould already be installed.

To view where to create account policies in Windows Server 2003/Server 2003 R2:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and click Domain Security Policy.

2. Double-click Account Policies in the tree if the items under it are not already displayed.

3. Click Password Policy in the tree and notice the policies that you can configure and how each is presently configured.

4. Double-click Minimum password length in the right pane. Be certain that Define this policy setting is checked. Set the characters text box to 8 and click OK, as shown in Figure 10-18.

5. Click Account Lockout Policy in the left pane and notice the options in the right pane.

6. Click Kerberos Policy in the left pane. What options are available for Kerberos?

7. Close the Default Domain Security Settings window.

To view where to create account policies in Windows Server 2008/Server 2008 R2:

1. Click Start and type mmc in the Start search box (for Server 2008) or the Search programs and files box (for Server 2008 R2).

2. In the Console1 - [Console Root] window, click File and click Add/Remove Snap-in.

3. Click the second Group Policy Management selection under Snap-in as shown in Figure 10-19 (the window is identical for Windows Server 2008/Server 2008 R2). Click Add >.

4. In the Welcome to the Group Policy Wizard, click the Browse button.

5. Click Default Domain Policy in the Browse for Group Policy Object box. Click OK.

6. Click Finish in the Select Group Policy Object dialog box.

7. Click OK in the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box.

8. Click Default Domain Policy in the tree in the left pane.

9. In the middle pane, double-click Computer Configuration.

10. Double-click the Policies folder in the middle pane.

11. Double-click Windows Settings in the middle pane.

12. Double-click Security Settings in the middle pane.

13. Double-click Account Policies in the middle pane.

14. Double-click Password Policy in the middle pane and notice the policies that you can configure and how each is presently configured.

15. Double-click Minimum password length in the middle pane. Ensure that the box for Minimum password length is checked. Set the Password must be at least box to 8 characters (see Figure 10-20).

16. Click Account Lockout Policy in the left pane (if necessary drag the right boundary line for the pane to view all of the options in the left pane) and notice the options in the middle pane.

17. Click Kerberos Policy in the left pane. What options are available for Kerberos?

18. Close the Console1 window. Click No so that you do not save the settings.