RE: Highlighting weak password dangers

["Simon W. Hall" <mail4anub15 () gmail com>]

1.
The Administrators account does not have a lockout policy!
You can just run passwords after passwords on it.
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/4639940c-74b3-46c8-b4
97-cdb7666f1e461033.mspx?mfr=true
Rename the administrators account... (security by obscurity)
That will help a bit for outside threats.

2.
To my knowledge, there is no good way to do a password audit on a windoze
box.
Unless you are going down the rainbow tables path, breaking hashes.
Set up a good password policy, that way you ensure passwords meet a minimum
requirement.
Make your users change passwords after the policy is in place.

Simon

-----Original Message-----
From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On
Behalf Of WALI
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 6:16 PM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Highlighting weak password dangers



I want to highlight the danger of using weak passwords on servers and users 
admin desktops. I have tested TSgrinder with a basic dictionary Brute Force 
to access Remote Desktop exploit on both servers and desktops. The problem 
here is that when connected to domain, the Account Lockout feature disables 
the account quite soon. I can only show the exploit on machines not 
connected to the domain where Domain Security policy doesn't flow down.

What are other interesting and intriguing ways to present this problem? I 
also need a system to do Passwords Audit on my domain and make then 'secure 
password' policy compliance.