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SYS-C0154 · Group Policy & Windows Security

Preparing for NTLM Deprecation

Draft a read of recent logons that mention NTLM. The script does not collect hashes.

Updated 25 October 2026 · How-To

This is an original planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, an official standard, or legal advice. Example addresses use documentation ranges. Review every command before you paste it.

What this hour is for

The generator writes a Security log read of event 4624, filtered to messages that mention NTLM, limited to 200 events. It says the script does not collect password hashes. It does not run.

This is a read on a computer you administer. Do not disable NTLM during the reading. Do not use the output to guess a password. A finding is an application name and a date.

192.0.2.10/24 and example.com are documentation. They stay in the note.

The change you can finish

Apply nothing while you are writing the note. When the lab window opens, it is one change on the host named in the ticket. Read the draft, then the host, then decide.

Rollback is the file, the package version, or the snapshot you saved first. You do not invent a rollback after the only copy is gone.

  1. Name the computer.
  2. Read what the script collects.
  3. Confirm it does not collect hashes.
  4. Do not run it.
  5. Do not disable NTLM.
  6. Stop.

Mistakes that outlive the command

Preparing for NTLM Deprecation goes wrong in a small set of ways. The list is here so the ticket can forbid them before the window.

Decisions to write down

One decision for Preparing for NTLM Deprecation: The script is a read. No hash is collected. NTLM stays as it is. And the computer is yours.

Checks before you call it done

Confirm this before you call the change done: The computer is written. The script is a read of 4624. No hash is collected. Nothing was run. And NTLM was not disabled. If one of those fails, stop.

# A read of logons that mention NTLM.
# It does not collect password hashes.
# Do not disable NTLM during the reading.

Before you leave the host

Preparing for NTLM Deprecation ends when the hostname in the prompt matches the hostname in the ticket. If it does not, you are on the wrong host. Stop. A command that succeeded on the wrong host is not progress.

The draft stays a draft until a person has read the names in it. A generator does not log into the host and does not know which disk is empty. You delete a line that names a host, a path, or an account you did not write down.

192.0.2.10/24, gateway 192.0.2.1, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. They belong in the note. They are not values you leave on a host because a draft included them.

prompt-for-this is a reminder that a secret is missing. It is not a password, a key, or a token you save in the ticket or in git. The real secret stays in the password store.

One change is the window. If two things move and the result is wrong, you will not know which one did it. The next change waits for its own page.

If the same step fails twice, stop for the day. The failure is the result. Adding a forum command beside a half-applied change produces a host nobody can rebuild. Restore the copy you took first.

A second person reads the hostname and the change aloud. If they cannot find them in the ticket, the note is not done. Silence is not agreement. Then leave the host alone.

This page is a planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, not an official standard, and not permission to touch a host you do not administer. You do not disable a firewall, AppArmor, or SELinux to make a check pass.

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