Article ID: 283198 - Last Review: January 15, 2006 - Revision: 1.2

Logon Screen Appears to Stop Responding After Several Unsuccessful Password Attempts

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This article was previously published under Q283198

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SYMPTOMS

After you enter an incorrect password for your user account several times in a row, the logon screen appears to stop responding (hang) for a period of time, and then functions again. This behavior happens after you enter an incorrect password six times in a row.

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CAUSE

This behavior occurs to prevent dictionary attacks on user accounts. Dictionary attacks encrypt an entire dictionary and attempt to match the password at high speed.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, the bad password will eventually time out and you can then enter the correct password.

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STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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MORE INFORMATION

When this behavior occurs in a single logon session, the period of the timeout increments each time. Administrators can override this behavior. For example, the administrator can set a policy to lock out a user after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts.

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