How to Define Maximum Age of User Account Password in Windows 7?

Base of security in any platform including Microsoft Windows 7 is password and therefore it should be kept with utmost security. Also it is always recommended that a user should change his/her password on a regular basis in order to protect any hacker from guessing it. In complex network scenario where users are not allowed to change their passwords Windows 7 provides a group policy setting using which administrators can define a lifespan of passwords after which the operating system will prompt users to change it. The users will then be enforced to change their passwords failing to which they will not be able to log on to the computer without exceptions. As an administrator you can specify the maximum password page by following the steps given below:

1. Logon to the computer with administrator account.
2. Click on Start button.
3. At the bottom of start menu in search box type gpedit.msc command and press enter key.
4. On Local Group Policy Editor snap-in under Computer Configuration expand Windows Settings and then expand Security Settings.
5. From the opened list expand Account Policies and from the list click on Password Policies.
6. From the right pane double click on Maximum password age and from the opened window in Password expires in box specify the number of days after which the passwords will expire and Windows will prompt users to change them.
7. 
8. Once done click on Ok button to accept and confirm your configuration and close Local Group Policy Editor snap-in.
9. Open Command Prompt and in command window type gpupdate /force to update here computer policy with latest configuration.
10. Close Command Prompt.

More Info:

Under default configuration maximum password age is 42 days.

When this setting is applied user are allowed to change passwords.