HOW TO: Limit User Logon Time in a Domain in Windows Server 2003

Change Logon Times for a User Account

• Edit the user account properties from the Active Directory directory service Users and Computers snap-in.
• Edit the user account properties by using the net user command.

Method 1: Using the Active Directory Users and Computers Snap-in

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console tree, click the container that contains the user account that you want.
3. In the right pane, right-click the user account, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Account tab, and then click Logon Hours.
5. Click All to select all available times, and then click Logon Denied.
6. Select the time blocks that you want to allow this user to log on to the domain, and then click Logon Permitted.
   
   A status line under the logon hours table displays the currently selected logon times. For example, Monday through Friday from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M..
7. When you are finished configuring logon hours, click OK, and then click OK in the user account Properties dialog box.
8. Quit the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.

Method 2: Using the Net User Command-line Statement

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type net user username /time:logon_times (where username is the name of the user account, and where logon_times are the days and times that you want to allow access to the domain), and then press ENTER.
   
   Use the following information to help you use the /time switch:
   • Days can be spelled out (for example, Monday) or abbreviated (for example, M,T,W,Th,F,Sa,Su).
   • Hours can be in 12-hour notation (1PM or 1P.M.) or 24-hour notation (13:00).
   • A value of blank means that the user can never log on.
   • A value of all means that a user can always log on.
   • Use a hyphen (-) to mark a range of days or times. For example, to create a range from Monday through Friday, type either M-F, or monday-friday. To create a range of time from 8:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., type 8:00am-5:00pm, 8am-5pm, or 8:00-17:00.
   • Separate the day and time items with commas (for example, monday,8am-5pm).
   • Separate day and time units with semicolons (for example, monday,8am-5pm;tuesday,8am-4pm;wednesday,8am-3pm).
   • Do not use spaces between days or times.

Examples

• To set John's logon time (8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) using 24-hour notation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  net user john /time:M-F,08:00-17:00
• To set John's logon time (8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.) using 12-hour notation, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  net user john /time:M-F,8am-5pm
• To specify logon hours of 4:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, 1:00 P.M. until 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, and 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Wednesday through Friday for Mary, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  net user mary /time:M,4am-5pm;T,1pm-3pm;W-F,8:00-17:00

Change Logon Times for a Group of Users

Step 1: Create a User Account List

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console tree, click the organizational unit, or Users folder that contains the user accounts that you want.
3. On the Action menu, click Export List.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type the file name that you want in the File name box.
5. In the Save as type list, click Text (Comma Delimited)(*.csv), and then click Save.
6. Edit the .csv file by using a text editor such as Notepad to remove entries where you do not want to apply the logon restrictions. The user accounts are listed under a heading with one account on each line. Also, you may have to edit the user names in this file so that they match the user account names that appear when you type Net User at a command prompt.
   
   The following is an example of a this file:

    Name, Type, Description, Joe,User,, Sally,User,Account created for Sally, Betty,User,, Bob,, 

Step 2: Edit Logon Hours by Using the Net User Command

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type the following command, where file_name is the name of the .csv file that contains the exported user accounts, and where logon_times are the days and times that you want to allow access to the domain:
   for/F "skip=1 tokens=1 delims=," %i in (file_name.csv) do net user %i /time:logon_times
   This command is one line. It has been wrapped for readability.
   
   Note In this command, there is a space between %i and /time.

Examples

• To allow the users to log on to the server from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  for/F "skip=1 tokens=1 delims=," %i in (exportusers.csv) do net user %i /time:monday-friday,8am-5pm
• To allow the users to log on to the server from 8:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. on Monday and Friday, and from 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday through Thursday, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
  for/F "skip=1 tokens=1 delims=," %i in (exportusers.csv) do net user %i /time:m,8:00AM-1:00PM;t-th,8:00AM-5:00PM;f,8:00AM-1:00PM

 for/F "skip=1 tokens=1 delims=," %%i in (exportusers.csv) do net user %%i /time:m,8:00AM-1:00PM;t-th,8:00AM-5:00PM;f,8:00AM-1:00PM 

Enforce Logon Time Restrictions Using Group Policy

Step 1: Create a Group Policy object

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console tree, right-click your domain or the organizational unit that contains the domain controllers that you want, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Group Policy tab, and then click New.
4. Type a name for this policy (for example, Account logon restrictions), and then press ENTER.
5. Click Properties, and then click the Security tab.
6. Click to clear the Apply Group Policy check box for the security groups that you want to prevent from having this policy applied. Click to select the Apply Group Policy check box for the groups that you want to have this policy applied. When you are finished, click OK.

Step 2: Enforce Logon Hours Restrictions

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. In the console tree, right-click your domain or the organizational unit that contains the domain controller GPO that you want to edit, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Group Policy tab, select the GPO that you want, and then click Edit.
4. Under Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, expand Security Settings, expand Local Policies, and then click Security Options.
5. In the right pane of the Group Policy snap-in, double-click Microsoft network server: Disconnect clients when logon hours expire.
6. Click to select the Define this policy setting check box, click Enabled, and then click OK.
7. Close the Group Policy snap-in, and then click OK.

Troubleshoot

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type gpupdate, and then press ENTER.
4. Type exit, and then press ENTER.