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Q296680: User Accounts Are Not Excluded from Password Synchronization

Article: Q296680
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 2.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv
Last Modified: 18-MAY-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX, version 2.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

The user accounts that are supposed to be excluded by the Password
Synchronization feature may not be excluded, and password changes to these
accounts may occur unexpectedly.

CAUSE
=====

This problem can occur if a UNIX administrator adds the "SYNC_USERS=-root -pat"
line to the Sso.conf file so that all user passwords are synchronized, except
for the "root" and "pat" user passwords. However, the exclude delimiter, the
minus (-) symbol, is ignored (not recognized), which enables Password
Synchronization to occur for the "root" and "pat" user passwords.

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, use either of the following methods:

- Explicitly list the users in the Sso.conf file by using the SYNC_USERS field.
  The plus (+) symbol delimiter is used to explicitly add a user, for example:

  SYNC_USERS=+fred +leon +ralph

- Add the excluded users to a special group called "PasswordPropDeny" in either
  Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows NT. These users can be added by
  using Active Directory Users and Computers in a Windows 2000 domain or User
  Manager on a Windows NT 4.0 domain.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kbenv 
Technology        : kbWinServiceUNIX200 kbWinServiceUNIXSearch
Version           : :2.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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