Active Directory, the beating heart of many Windows domains, holds the keys to user accounts and their vital passwords. But what happens when a user forgets their password, locking them out? Panic? Fear not, for PowerShell, the Swiss Army knife of Windows administration, offers a swift and secure solution.
In this blog, we'll delve into the art of resetting domain user passwords using PowerShell, empowering you to unlock accounts and restore user access.
Prerequisites:
- Administrative privileges: You'll need to run PowerShell as an administrator to interact with Active Directory.
- Active Directory module: Ensure the Active Directory module for PowerShell is installed and imported (
Import-Module ActiveDirectory).
___________________________________________________
Set-ADAccountPassword 'test' -Reset -NewPassword $password
'test' is the username
now enter the desired password--> confirm the same and enter.
___________________________________________________
Our champion in this password reset quest is the Set-ADAccountPassword cmdlet. This versatile tool allows you to set or reset passwords for various account types, including domain users. Let's explore its key parameters:
- -Identity: Specifies the user whose password you want to reset. You can use various identifiers like username, distinguished name, or security identifier.
- -Reset: This flag indicates you want to reset the password, prompting the user to change it on their next login.
- -NewPassword: This parameter defines the new password. Remember to prioritize strong, unique passwords and avoid storing them in plain text! Use
ConvertTo-SecureStringto securely convert cleartext passwords.
Don't forget run gpupdate command after change the password.
