Reset account lockout counter after
Applies to
- Windows 11
- Windows 10
Describes the best practices, location, values, and security considerations for the Reset account lockout counter after security policy setting.
Reference
The Reset account lockout counter after policy setting determines the number of minutes that must elapse from the time a user fails to sign in before the failed sign-in attempt counter is reset to 0. If Account lockout threshold is set to a number greater than zero, this reset time must be less than or equal to the value of Account lockout duration.
The disadvantage of a high setting is that users lock themselves out for an inconveniently long period if they exceed the account lockout threshold through sign-in errors. Users may make excessive Help Desk calls.
Possible values
- A user-defined number of minutes from 1 through 99,999
- Not defined
Best practices
Determine the threat level for your organization and balance that against the cost of your Help Desk support for password resets. Each organization will have specific requirements.
Windows security baselines recommend configuring the Reset account lockout counter after policy setting to 15, but as with other account lockout settings, this value is more of a guideline than a rule or best practice because there's no "one size fits all." For more information, see Configuring Account Lockout.
Location
Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Account Policies\Account Lockout Policy
Default values
The following table lists the actual and effective default policy values. Default values are also listed on the policy’s property page.
| Server type or Group Policy Object (GPO) | Default value |
|---|---|
| Default domain policy | Not defined |
| Default domain controller policy | Not defined |
| Stand-alone server default settings | Not applicable |
| Domain controller effective default settings | Not defined |
| Member server effective default settings | Not defined |
| Client computer effective default settings | Not applicable |
Security considerations
This section describes how an attacker might exploit a feature or its configuration, how to implement the countermeasure, and the possible negative consequences of countermeasure implementation.
Vulnerability
Users can accidentally lock themselves out of their accounts if they mistype their password multiple times.
Countermeasure
Windows security baselines recommend configuring the Reset account lockout counter after policy setting to 15.
Potential impact
If you don't configure this policy setting or if the value is configured to an interval that is too long, an attacker could attempt to sign in to each user's account numerous times and lock out their accounts, a denial-of-service (DoS) attack might succeed, or administrators might have to manually unlock all locked-out accounts. If you configure this policy setting to a reasonable value, users can perform new attempts to sign in after a failed sign in within a reasonable time, without making brute force attacks feasible at high speeds. Be sure that you notify users of the values that are used for this policy setting so that they wait for the lockout timer to expire before they call the Help Desk.