Windows offers many security features such as login password, minimum and maximum password age etc. which are essential for any operating system. The main problem comes when a PC with a single administrator account manages a lot of user accounts. A minimum password age prevents users from changing password too frequently as it can lead to user forgetting passwords more often, which leads to more headache for the administrator. And if the PC is used by a lot of users or children such as in the case of a PC in Computer lab, you need to prevent users from changing the password in Windows 10 as they can set a password that won’t let other user logins into that PC.
One of the best features of Windows 10 is that it allows the administrator to prevent other users from changing their account password. However, it still allows the administrator to change, reset, or remove their account password. This feature is handy for guest accounts or child accounts, anyway without wasting any time let’s see How to Prevent Users from Changing Password in Windows 10 with the help of the below-listed tutorial.
Note: You need to sign in with the administrator account to prevent other user accounts from changing their password. You will also only be able to apply this to local user accounts and not to administrator accounts. Users using Microsoft account will still be able to change their passwords online at Microsoft website.
How to Prevent Users from Changing Password in Windows 10
Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.
Method 1: Prevent Users from Changing Password using Registry Editor
1. Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter.
2. Navigate to the following Registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
3. Right-click on Policies then selects New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name this new DWORD as DisableChangePassword then double-clicks on it to change its value.
5. In the value data field type 1 then hit Enter or click OK.
6. Reboot your PC to save changes.
Finally, you have learned How to Prevent Users from Changing Password in Windows 10 using Registry Editor, if you want to continue to the next method, it will override the changes made by this method.
Method 2: Prevent Users from Changing Password using Local Users and Groups
Note: This method only works in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education Edition.
1. Press Windows Key + R then type lusrmgr.msc and hit Enter.
2. Expand Local Users and Groups (Local) then select Users.
3. Now in the right window pane right-click on the user account for which you want to prevent password change and select Properties.
4. Checkmark “User cannot change password” then click Apply followed by OK.
5. Reboot your PC to save changes and this How to Prevent Users from Changing Password in Windows 10.
Method 3: Prevent Users from Changing Password using Command Prompt
1. Open Command Prompt. The user can perform this step by searching for ‘cmd’ and then press Enter.
2. Type the following command into cmd and hit Enter.
net users
3. The above command will show you a list of user accounts available on your PC.
4. Now to prevent user from changing password type the following command:
net user user_name /PasswordChg:No
Note: Replace user_name with the actual account username.
5. If in future you want to give password change privileges to the user again use the following command:
net user user_name /PasswordChg:Yes
Note: Replace user_name with the actual account username.
6.Reboot your PC to save changes.
Method 4: Prevent Users from Changing Password using Group Policy Editor
1. Press Windows Key + R then type gpedit.msc and hit Enter.
2. Navigate to the following path:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Ctrl+Alt+Del Options
3. Make sure to select Ctrl+Alt+Del Options in the right window pane double-click on Remove change password.
4. Checkmark the Enabled box then click Apply followed by OK.
This policy setting prevents users from changing their Windows password on demand. If you enable this policy setting, the ‘Change Password’ button on the Windows Security dialog box will not appear when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del. However, users are still able to change their password when prompted by the system. The system prompts users for a new password when an administrator requires a new password or their password is expiring.
5. Restart your PC to save changes.
Recommended:
- Enable or Disable User First Sign-in Animation in Windows 10
- How to View User Account Details in Windows 10
- Limit the Number of Failed Login Attempts in Windows 10
- How to Change User Account Name in Windows 10
That’s it you have successfully learned How to Prevent Users from Changing Password in Windows 10 but if you still have any queries regarding this tutorial then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section