The dictionary rule rejects passwords that match dictionary words or their parts.
The dictionary rule compares user passwords against a list of words stored in the QPMDictionary.txt text file (this file must use UTF-8 encoding). Depending on how you configure the rule settings, user passwords that partially or fully match dictionary words are rejected by Password Manager.
The QPMDictionary.txt (dictionary file) is located in the following folder: '\\<Domain Controller>\SYSVOL\<Domain>\31EB75A4-CD1A-4F67-94DA-9F8F5DF1F5C1', is deployed when user installs Password Policy Manager (PPM).
The dictionary file is never cached. During each password validity check, the dictionary file is read from the Password Manager server, or from the user's domain controller.
On the Policy Rules tab, click Dictionary Rule to expand the rule settings. Click Edit Dictionary File to edit or add new words to dictionary. After editing the file, click Save to save the changes. When user edits the dictionary file, the changes are saved in QPMDictionary.txt file, which is in SYSVOL folder in Domain Controller. Service accounts must have access to this file from machines, where Password Manager is installed.
When modifying the dictionary file, ensure that you begin every new word on a new line. It is recommended to maintain alphabetical order.
The dictionary rule is not case-sensitive which means that, on the one side, you can use either uppercase or lowercase when adding or modifying dictionary entries; and, on the other side, user input will undergo validity check irrespective of whether users use capitals or small letters in their passwords.
To configure the dictionary rule
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Follow the steps outlined in Configuring Password Policy Rules.
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On the Policy Rules tab, click Dictionary Rule to expand the rule settings.
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Under Dictionary Rule, select the Enable dictionary lookup to reject passwords that contain check box. This enables administrators to control a set of rules using the Dictionary Rule feature. These rules can be modified as follows:
|
Option |
Description |
|
Beginning characters of a dictionary word |
Specify number of characters in the password to match with the beginning of a word in dictionary before rejecting it. The characters in the password must be more than the specified number, for this option to work efficiently. |
|
A complete word from the dictionary (QPMDictionary.txt) |
Select this check box to reject passwords that represent an entire word stored in the dictionary. |
|
Detect inclusion of non-alpha characters (pas7swo%rd) |
Select this check box to remove non-alphabetic characters during analysis. |
|
Enable bi-directional analysis |
Select to reject passwords containing an entire dictionary word or its part (depending on which of the other three options you have selected), if read backwards. |
NOTE: Password Policy Manager installation is not necessary, if Password Manager is installed on Domain Controller, and user wants to enable only dictionary rule.