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BECKHOFF IPC-Security User Manual

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Setting

Description

Enforce

Password

history

Remembers the n last used passwords so that you cannot set them again

Maximum password
age

Sets the amount of days a password may be used before the system forces the user
to change it

Minimum

password

age

Sets the amount of days that a password must be used before the user can change it

Password

must

meet

complexity

requirements

Complexity requirements are described in chapter A.4.1.2.

Store password us-
ing reversible encryp-
tion

This option shouldn’t be used because a reversible encryption always means that the
password can be re-calculated according to some decryption algorithm. However, in
some scenarios this needs to be possible, for example when using CHAP with Remote
Access

Additionally, you can configure settings that will automatically lock the user account, if a user repeatedly
enters a wrong password. All of these settings can be made in the Local Security Settings.

Please note: The complexity requirements defined by older version of Microsoft Windows define a minimum
count of 6 characters. Today, many sources recommend using at least 8 characters. Please see chapter
A.4.3.3 for a Step-by-Step guide and A.4.1.2 for more information about strong passwords.

3.2.3.4. Security templates

Microsoft Windows deploys a set of pre-defined security templates with every Windows XP or Windows 7
installation. These templates can be customized to meet different security requirements. As soon as you
apply a template to your system, it will automatically configure the system according to the security settings
defined in the template. There are four different template categories:

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