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FREE: NetWrix Password Manager Freeware

NetWrix Password Manager gives end users the ability to securely manage their passwords and resolve account lockout incidents in a self-service fashion without involvement of helpdesk staff.

Submitted by Daniel Pershing

User password management has always been a cumbersome procedure for Active Directory administrators as it implies resolving multiple tasks at once such as enforcing password security requirements through Group Policy, help-desk activities, and batch configuration of user account management options. All these tasks lay a huge burden on the shoulders of help-desk personnel. Moreover, whenever these operations are decentralized, account owners might lose control of their own accounts.

That’s when NetWrix Password Manager will be an indispensable tool that allows organizations to implement strong password policies in Active Directory environments, to meet regulatory compliance requirements and address identity management challenges.

NetWrix Password Manager freeware helps reduce help-desk and administration workload by:

• Providing end-users with self-service web access to common password management tasks

Self-service portal

• Allowing help-desk operators to manage user accounts and view reports on their status through a simple web interface

User Activity Report Example

• Allowing administrators to enforce restrictions on the type of passwords that can be used, and to apply security policies and identity verification procedures to the managed domains.

Administrative Portal Main Page

To achieve the above listed tasks, the following three roles are distinguished:

• End-users
• Help-desk operators
• Administrators

By assigning these roles to groups and single users, one can control who can perform which password management operations.

Roles Page

The product uses the Q-and-A security system for user authentication. First, users enroll by creating their profiles. Once the profile is established, the user can manage the password and account manually by simply supplying the answers from the profile. All account operations are logged for regulatory compliance and easy access by IT personnel monitoring password management activity.

The latest product update introduced many useful features such as integration with Google Apps, support of 10 languages and many more.

The product is available in both freeware and standard edition. The freeware edition supports up to 50 users.

NetWrix Password Manager