How to Disable Password Recovery Questions in Windows 10

With the release of Windows 10 v1803 build 17603 Microsoft made security questions mandatory for local user accounts. As it will help local user accounts to reset account passwords. But recently a group of researchers showed how threat actors can use password recovery questions to break into Windows 10 PC. This led to panic among users. Hence, we’ve compiled a list of ways to disable password recovery questions Windows 10.

Once security questions for local accounts on Windows 10 is disabled, you will no longer be prompted to set-up security questions while creating new local user accounts. This means you can secure your Windows 10.

How to disable password recovery questions in Windows 10?

There is no option in Settings app on Windows 10 to disable password recovery questions for local accounts. However, password recovery questions can be disabled through the Registry editor or Group Policy editor.

Let us learn how to use either of the editors to disable security questions in Windows 10.

Disabling security questions in Windows 10:

Before we proceed, check Windows 10 version it should be 1903 or higher. If you are running a lower version of Windows 10 you’ll not see the option, we will talk about under the Group Policy.

Disable Windows 10 security questions using Group Policy Editor

Note: The Group Policy Editor will work only for Windows Pro users logged in as administrator or have administrative privileges.

1. Type gpedit.msc in Windows search bar.

2. Next right click on gpedit.msc under command and select Run as administrator.

3. Now under Local Group Policy Editor click on Computer Configuration to unhide different settings and templates.

4. Here click on Administrative Templates > Windows Components.

5. Now on the right side of the window look for Credential User Interface. Double click on it to look for “Prevent the use of security questions for local accounts“. This policy controls, security questions settings.

6. To disable security questions, double click on the setting and select “Enabled” > click Apply> Ok.

This way you’ll be able to disable security questions in Windows 10 using the Group Policy Editor.

Note: You need to reboot the system to apply the changes, you can also force update group policy by executing gpupdate \force command in elevated Command Prompt windows.

Alternatively, if you are using Windows 10 Home edition, you’ll need to use the Registry editor to disable security questions. For this, you’ll need to create a registry value.

Note: As a caution, we suggest you to backup Windows registry before making any changes to it.

Additional Tip –

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Steps to create a registry value to disable Windows 10 security questions:

1. Type “regedit” in Windows search bar, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator“.
   
2. Next, in the left pane of Registry editor head to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System

3. Next, in the right panel, right-click and select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value“. Name the new value as “NoLocalPasswordResetQuestions” and press Enter.
   
4. Double-click on the newly created value and set the Value Data as “1” to disable security questions.

Once done, click “Ok” to save changes, close Registry editor and restart your Windows 10 PC to bring changes into effect.

Wasn’t it simple? Using these simple steps, you can easily disable password recovery options for Windows 10 and can stop threat actors from accessing your Windows 10 machine.