How to unlock Active Directory domain accounts?
The following is a comparison between unlocking Active Directory domain accounts with Windows PowerShell and ADSelfService Plus:
With PowerShell
- Unlock Active Directory user one by one
Executing this code will unlock a single user by their samAccountName.Unlock-ADAccount -Identity samAccountName
Copied - Unlock all AD users in a domain
Executing this code will unlock all AD users in the domain.Search-ADAccount -Lockedout | Unlock-AdAccount
Copied
Unlock users by OU and group membership.
No support offered.
With ADSelfService Plus
- For users: Self-service account unlock, i.e., account unlock without admin intervention
- Go to ADSelfService Plus admin portal.
- Navigate to Configuration > Self-Service > Policy Configuration.
- Select Account Unlock.
- Click Select OUs/Groups to granular select which set of users need to be empowered with self-service account unlock feature.
- Click Save.
- For admins: Unlock all users in a domain
- Go to ADSelfService Plus admin portal.
- Navigate to Configuration > Self-Service > Policy Configuration > Advanced.
- Enable Automatically unlocks locked-down accounts in your domain.
- Click Save.
What are the limitations of Windows PowerShell to unlock accounts?
- No support for end-users to unlock their locked out accounts on their own from their Windows login screen or their mobile phones.
- It doesn't allow admins to unlock user accounts based on OU and group memberships.
- Creating multiple automatic account unlock schedulers for different set of users is a highly laborious process. Also, there's always a possibility of admin privilege exploitation if not maintained properly.
Benefits of ADSelfService Plus
- Cost savings
Reduces IT expense by eliminating the number one source of help desk tickets.
- Improves IT security
Offers advanced multi-factor authentication techniques like biometrics and YubiKey for password self-service.
- Universal enforcement
Admins can enforce self-service account unlock for both Active Directory and cloud applications.
- Improves the user experience
Eliminates wait time as it allows users to unlock accounts from multiple access points.
Empower users to unlock their Active Directory and cloud accounts
Get 30-day free trial.
