WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS

1. Chapter 6 WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS

2. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS CHAPTER OVERVIEW • Understand the differences between local user and domain user accounts. • Plan, create, and manage local and domain user accounts. • Create and manage user accounts by using templates, importation, and command-line tools. • Manage user profiles. • Understand the purpose and function of profiles. • Troubleshoot user authentication issues.

3. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS UNDERSTANDING USER ACCOUNTS • Local user accounts stored in the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database on that system • Can be used only on that system • Domain user accounts • Stored in Active Directory on domain controllers • Can be used on any system in Active Directory

4. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS WORKGROUPS • No centralized database of user accounts • User account must exist in the SAM of each system the user accesses • Impractical in environments with more than 10 users

5. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS DOMAINS

6. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS PLANNING USER ACCOUNTS OVERVIEW • Account naming • Choosing passwords • Designing an Active Directory hierarchy

7. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS ACCOUNT NAMING • Account names can be up to 256 characters • Account names authentication credential can be between 1 and 20 characters (letters and/or numbers). • For names longer than 20 characters the first 20 must be unique. • Account names are not case sensitive. • The following characters cannot be used in the account name: • " / \ [ ] : ; | , + = * ? < > @

8. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS STRONG PASSWORDS • Cannot be easily guessed or broken by a password cracking program. • Use password policy: • Enforce strong password (PASSFILT.DLL) • Must be six characters long • At least three (3) of the following four (4) classes: • Upper case • Lower case • Westernized Arabic numeral (0 – 9) • Special characters • Cannot contain user name or any part of full name • Example: Up2Lower5

9. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS ACCOUNT PASSWORD POLICY

10. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS DESIGNING AN ACTIVE DIRECTORY HIERARCHY • Create an organizational unit (OU) structure • Place users in appropriate OU • Provides for features such as group policy

11. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS WORKING WITH LOCAL USER ACCOUNTS

12. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS CREATING A LOCAL USER ACCOUNT

13. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MANAGING LOCAL USER ACCOUNTS

14. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS WORKING WITH DOMAIN USER ACCOUNTS

15. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS CREATING A DOMAIN USER ACCOUNT

16. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MANAGING DOMAIN USER ACCOUNTS • From the Action menu, you can: • Reset a user account password. • Rename, disable, and delete an account. • Modify group membership. • Send e-mail and open a user’s homepage.

17. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE GENERAL TAB

18. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE ADDRESS TAB

19. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE TELEPHONES TAB

20. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE ORGANIZATION TAB

21. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE ACCOUNT TAB

22. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE PROFILE TAB

23. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE MEMBER OF TAB

24. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE TERMINAL SERVICES PROFILE TAB

25. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE ENVIRONMENT TAB

26. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE REMOTE CONTROL TAB

27. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE SESSIONS TAB

28. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE DIAL-IN TAB

29. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS THE COM+ TAB

30. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MANAGING MULTIPLE USERS

31. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MOVING USER OBJECTS

32. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS CREATING MULTIPLE USER OBJECTS • Using object templates • Using Csvde.exe • Using Dsadd.exe

33. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING OBJECT TEMPLATES • Can be an existing user account or an account created specifically for copying. • Not all properties are copied. • A new SID is generated for the new object • Generic user object templates should be assigned a password and disabled to prevent use of the account.

34. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS IMPORTING USER OBJECTS USING CSV DIRECTORY EXCHANGE • Useful for creating large numbers of users at a time. • Step 1: • Create a comma-separated value (CSV) text file of user information. • Step 2: • Use Csvde.exe to import the user information from the CSV file into Active Directory.

35. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS CREATING USER OBJECTS WITH DSADD.EXE • Command-line utility • Can be used in batch files or scripts • Can be used to add other objects as well as users

36. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MODIFYING USER OBJECTS WITH DSMOD.EXE • Command-line utility • Can be used in batch files or scripts • Can be used only to modify existing objects

37. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MANAGING USER PROFILES • Allows each user to have a customized working environment • Preserves application settings, shortcuts, and preferences • Ensures that users do not affect each other’s work environment

38. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USER PROFILE CONTENTS • User-stored documents and files • Application configurations and settings • Desktop and environment settings • Control Panel settings and configurations

39. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USER PROFILE DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

40. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING LOCAL PROFILES • Stored on the local system • Available only when the user logs on to that system • Can be modified by the user as needed

41. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING ROAMING PROFILES • Allows a user to have the same working environment from any client computer she logs on to. • Central storage provides for easier backup.

42. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING MANDATORY PROFILES • Can be either local or roaming. • User can make changes, but changes are not saved when user logs off. • Renaming Ntuser.dat to Ntuser.man designates profile as mandatory.

43. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS MONITORING AND TROUBLESHOOTING USER AUTHENTICATION • Using password policies • Using account lockout policies

44. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING PASSWORD POLICIES • Provides a mechanism to control password use in the organization. • Should strike a balance between usability and security. • Creating a password policy that is too demanding increases password-related support calls.

45. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS USING ACCOUNT LOCKOUT POLICIES • Account Lockout Threshold • Account Lockout Duration • Reset Account Lockout Counter After

46. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS ACTIVE DIRECTORY CLIENTS • Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 include full Active Directory client capabilities. • Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows NT 4 require additional client software to gain full Active Directory functionality.

47. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS AUDITING AUTHENTICATION • Allows you to track failed and successful logon attempts • Can form part of a security policy • Creates minimal system overhead in all but largest environments

48. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS SUMMARY • Local user accounts are stored on the local system and can provide users with access only to local resources. Domain user accounts are stored on Active Directory domain controllers and can provide users with access to resources all over the network. • User objects include the properties related to the individuals they represent. • A user object template is an object that is copied to produce new users. If the template is not a “real” user, it should be disabled. Only a subset of user properties is copied from templates. • Windows Server 2003 includes command-line tools that you can use to create and manage Active Directory objects, including Csvde.exe, Dsadd.exe, and Dsmod.exe.

49. Chapter 6: WORKING WITH USER ACCOUNTS SUMMARY (continued) • A user profile is a collection of folders and data that make up the desktop environment for a specific user. • Windows Server 2003 generates an individual user profile for each person who logs on to the system. Local user profiles are stored on the local drive, whereas a roaming user profile is stored on a network server. • A mandatory user profile is one that never changes, providing the same desktop configuration each time the user logs on. • Auditing for authentication allows you to track logon activity for the network.