Monitoring Local Security Settings

Using Windows Vista, you can view and monitor local security settings with the Local Security Settings tool to ensure that computer users are adhering to the organization’s security policies. For example, you can set user account and password options to require computer users to create complex passwords of a specific length and change them on a regular basis. A complex password contains characters from at least three of the four following categories: uppercase (A through Z), lowercase (a through z), numbers (0 through 9), and nonalphanumeric (!, $, *, etc.). In addition to setting security options, you can also monitor, or audit, the success or failure of security related events, such as account logon and logoff activities, user account changes, and program launches. When an event that you have chosen to audit is triggered, it appears in the Event Viewer in the Security node.

Change Password Policies

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Administrative Tools icon in Classic view.

Double-click the Local Security Policy icon.

Click the arrow next to Account Policies.

Click the Password Policy folder.

Double-click the policy you want to change.

Change the policy setting.

Click OK.

You can continue to change other password policies.

When you’re done, click the Close button.

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Audit Policies

Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Administrative Tools icon in Classic view.

Double-click the Local Security Policy icon.

Click the arrow next to Local Policies.

Click the Audit Policy folder.

Double-click the audit policy you want to change.

Select the Success and/or Failure check box.

Click OK.

You can continue to change other audit policies.

When you’re done, click the Close button.

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Did You Know? You can change registry settings. Windows Vista manages all its internal settings with a database called the Registry. If you are an administrator or seasoned veteran of Windows and know what you want to change in the Registry, you can fix a problem with your system or a program, or you can enhance the functionality of Windows. Click the Start button, point to Programs, click Accessories, click Run, type regedt32, click OK, open the folder and double-click the item you want to change, and then click OK. When you’re done, click the Close button.