* Quest Password Reset Manager
Forgotten passwords are one of the major reasons why users call help desks. Automated password reset – especially self-service password reset – is one of the most cost effective services you can provide on your network. Study after study have shown that password reset services lead inexorably to smaller and more productive help desk staffs. That means more satisfied users, happier help desk personnel and a very happy CFO. All that satisfaction and happiness can mean that you’ll be an ecstatic network manager. Here’s a new product that can help.
Quest Software’s Password Reset Manager allows end users to reset forgotten passwords securely, allowing administrators to implement stronger password policies while reducing the help desk load. That’s right. In addition to reducing reliance on the help desk you can also institute a policy of requiring stronger passwords.
Users always balked at strong passwords, saying that they had trouble remembering something like “i424YO8MCjIss1zU” rather than “Fido.” As a result, they’d either have to call the help desk every day (an expensive proposition) or write down the password and stick it to their monitor (a bad security risk). With Password Reset Manager, though, they can change their own password whenever they need to (such as when they forget it).
The other problem with trying to have a strong password policy has always been how to enforce it. Quest Password Reset Manager can help you here, also.
Historically, administrators have been restricted to a limited number of generic security policies available natively in Windows. Password Reset Manager provides a rich set of additional, enforceable password policies. Examples of these password policies include:
* Forbidding particular combinations, such as those that are part of the user’s name.
* Checking proposed passwords against a dictionary of forbidden words and phrases.
* Enforcing rules about password reuse, whether the password is reset natively in Windows or through the self-service application.
Password Reset Manager also makes it easier for users to create strong passwords by providing online help that explains which password policies are in force for that particular user. If a non-complying password is attempted, the user is given a detailed description of which rules were not met, and guidance on how to create an acceptable password. The user is also given the option to generate a random password that will automatically comply with all applicable policies. It’s almost as if you were standing next to the user, instructing them every step of the way.
This is a good tool, a money-saver and a security-enhancer. Head over to Quest’s Web site (https://wm.quest.com/products/PasswordResetManager/features_and_benefits.asp) and check it out. And pick up the free evaluation version while you’re there.
