220-1102 Question 474
Single answerLengthA help desk technician is trying to create a password policy for a small business using Windows local security settings on standalone PCs. Management wants a setting that most directly increases password complexity by requiring more characters in users' passwords. Which policy should the technician configure?
- A
Minimum password age
- B
Minimum password length
- C
Account lockout threshold
- D
Maximum password age
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best answer is Minimum password length because the scenario specifically asks for the policy that most directly requires more characters in user passwords. In Windows Local Security Policy, password policies include settings such as minimum password length, minimum password age, maximum password age, and password history. Of these, minimum password length is the control that directly enforces longer passwords. This aligns with standard security best practices and Microsoft password policy guidance, which identifies password length as a key factor in password strength. The other settings are useful for account security but address password reuse, expiration, or lockout behavior rather than length.
- A. Incorrect.
Minimum password age controls how long a user must keep a password before changing it again. This helps prevent users from rapidly cycling through passwords to reuse an old one, but it does not directly require longer or more complex passwords.
- B. Correct.
Minimum password length is correct because it sets the fewest number of characters a password can contain. Increasing this value directly enforces longer passwords, which is a core best practice for improving password strength in Windows security policy.
- C. Incorrect.
Account lockout threshold determines how many failed sign-in attempts are allowed before an account is locked. This protects against brute-force attacks, but it does not affect how many characters a password must have.
- D. Incorrect.
Maximum password age defines how long a password can be used before the user must change it. Regular password changes may be part of a security policy, but this setting does not enforce password length.