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This recent Cool Solution reminded me of a Universal Password Policy solution I created for our environment: Universal Password Policy Change GUI Tool.
We have a default Universal Password policy applied to our users' OU. However, there's always exceptions to the rule. And if you have very many exceptions, it can be a pain managing the password policies - primarily because you can not associated Password Policies to groups. That's too bad.
However, if you utilize JRB Utilities - and you should! - I've come up with a quick way to apply (re-apply) a specified Password Policy to group members.
As a long-time advocate of JRB Utilities, I've often said, if you don't have these tools in your toolbox, you're working too hard! JRB Utilities provide a powerful suite of utilities that make doing en masse change quick and easy.
So, using my environment as a working example, I created a group, Universal_Password_Exceptions, that have certain user account as members to the group. During the cut-over to Universal Password, I was able to generate a list of those users that either were not required to have a password, using JRB's setrest.exe utility (password required = no):
getrest.exe * pr=n
or accounts that did not have password expiration set (password expiration interval = none):
getrest.exe * pei=none
From these lists, I can populate the Universal_Password_Exceptions group with those users:
grpadd Universal_Password_Exceptions @users.lst
yeah, yeah, I know, why do I have any accounts that don't require a password?!?! Rest assured, it's not a security concern for reasons I won't go into
Next, I create a separate Universal Password policy that does not require the user accounts to change their passwords (and/or any other different password policy I want to apply) which I call Universal Password (no expire). Conversely, you could have a Universal Password policy that has very restrictive, strong password policy, and associate it to your admin-equivalent accounts.
Now, I use setrest.exe to apply the password policy to all members of the group Universal_Password_Exceptions:
setrest.exe .Universal_Password_Exceptions.vop pwp "Universal Password (no expire).Password Policies.Security.."
Of course, I could apply this less-restrictive password policy to members of any other named group:
setrest.exe ".Special Users.cc.vop" pwp "Universal Password (no expire).Password Policies.Security.."
so members of either groups will not be required to change their password.
Add these lines to a simple script file, UniversalPasswordExceptions.cmd, and I'm a command away from applying (or re-applying) special Universal Password policy to specified group members.
A FINAL NOTE ABOUT JRB:
Another advantage of having JRB in your toolkit, is the excellent support and quick response you'll get. In pursuit of this solution, John Baird (JRB Utilities) updated setrest.exe to accommodate password policies by adding a new switch/function, pwp. It's nice having the developer be so eager and responsive to make his tools better and meet (my) needs.
Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).
It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.
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User Comments
JRB Group
Submitted by geoffc on 23 June 2009 - 3:47pm.
I love JRB. I think you are totally correct, if you have not seen it, you will like it, and will want to buy it! Dirt cheap in consideration of all that it does.
I figured you were going to use the I think it is -h switch, which most of the tools support, that allows you to apply the command to all the members of the specified group object!
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JRB Utilities
Submitted by becvaj1 on 14 July 2009 - 2:34am.
I cannot imagine my daily admin's life without JRB utilities. This toolbox of great value saved me many hours and days of hard work in the past (and many gray hairs too)!!!
Every admin should try it!
My thanks to New Zealand!
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