Security policies on this PC are preventing you from changing this setting


Recommended Posts

Fixed this already, but just a FYI as Google doesn't have this listed:

This appears in the Metro Control Panel under Users after I tried adding an Exchange account to the Mail app, and acknowledged the following security-related dialog without thinking.

With that setting enabled, your PC will lock itself after dimming the screen or after waking it from sleep - your Power Options settings have no effect here. Having your PC prompt you for your password after waking up or idling isn't particularly helpful if you're on a single user desktop at home.

Disabling it is simple but not particularly straight forward at first: go to the desktop Control Panel, User Accounts, and click "Reset Security Policies" on the left. That should do the trick.

  • Like 2

That's a security policy set in place because you've connected to an Exchange account that requires that policy be in place in order to use it. That's not something to fix...that's intended behavior.

Unless I'm not understanding something that you've said.

Is that policy set server-side?

In addition the policy remains even if you remove the Exchange accounts in question from the Mail app, or uninstall the Mail/Calendar/People/Messenger apps.

My point was, this policy seems a bit unnecessary for a non-portable single user desktop that rests at home, especially since the Mail app is the first non-web client to ask about this policy.

Yes, that policy is set server side. The same thing happens with all of my phones when I connect them to my work e-mail via Exchange. It's a way to prevent your work e-mails (and other items) from being read/used by anyone who walks up and tries to use the machine. It's fairly standard practice.

The policy will remain in effect after removal until you tell it to disable the setting. That's a trivial matter to take care of usually. :)

  • 2 months later...

Interesting... so it does continue to work after disabling the security policy.

Perhaps it'll bug you later to enforce it, else it stops syncing.

  • sc302 locked this topic
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Google's new hand-wave reCAPTCHA can be bypassed with a stock photo by Ivan Jenic Image: Screenshot Google is testing a new reCAPTCHA method that asks you to wave at your camera to prove you're human. So, besides solving puzzles and reading distorted text, you can now use your computer’s camera to pass the verification test. When the hand gesture verification is triggered, your browser asks for camera access and prompts you to perform a simple gesture, like a wave or an open palm. Google says it records a short video of the movement and uses AI to extract 21 hand-knuckle coordinates to complete the verification process. The video is then immediately deleted, and Google swears it doesn't keep it. The process alone can be uncomfortable for people who wouldn’t want their biometric data, which hand scans technically qualify as, recorded. But it gets even more nuanced, as early testers discovered that the new hand-waving reCAPTCHA can be passed with a simple stock image. A user on X tested the new challenge using a stock image of a hand fed through OBS Virtual Camera, and it passed. I wanted to verify it, so I tried the same thing. It took me a few tries and a few stock images, but in the end, I was also able to pass the test. I simply had to readjust the stock image of a generic person waving inside OBS, and Google’s mechanism registered it as a legitimate hand gesture. Once again, it didn’t even have to be a video or an AI-generated hand animation. Given the simplicity of the process, the entire action can be automated in minutes. All it takes is a simple Python script to render the new reCAPTCHA method obsolete. And it doesn’t even have to be an AI bot, which is usually used for solving puzzles and other verification methods. The new reCAPTCHA method is still in its early phase, and Google will, hopefully, update its AI to at least reject still images. However, this incident, combined with users’ initial skepticism about Google’s practices regarding user data, likely won’t make too many people wave at the camera anytime soon.
    • 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 "to fund healthcare and tuition" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Who do you think you are talking about, some COMMUNIST? We are better than them, doG bless Murica!!! p.s. I'm from a country where government does exactly that, i.e. not form US.
    • Apparently not. I know it is on Edge for business at the moment, but how long will it be before it become on the home version of Edge?
    • Microsoft details new Edge for Business security features, including AI-powered scareware detection So Edge is adding a "scarecrow." Will it be animated?
    • I have this one and it's great, also paired with a Mac. I like the white back aesthetics of it and ability to have all your wireless usb peripherals under a clean lid. 4K @ 120 Hz and 65W usb-c charging is not bad even at its typical price point. The U series is probably better for commercial photo work though; IIRC one reason this one is priced in a different bracket is because it's not calibrated and verified for optimal color accuracy. Not something I think of in daily use, coding, and light gaming though.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Apprentice
      Asgardi went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • One Month Later
      sunrisea2milk earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      sunrisea2milk earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Snow Day Calculator Alert earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Conversation Starter
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      495
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      251
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!