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SY0-501 · Question #442

The help desk received a call after hours from an employee who was attempting to log into the payroll server remotely. When the help desk returned the call the next morning, the employee was able to…

The correct answer is C. Time-of-day restrictions prevented the account from logging in. The employee's inability to log in after hours, coupled with successful login during business hours, indicates that access is restricted based on the time of day.

Submitted by carter_n· Mar 4, 2026Security operations

Question

The help desk received a call after hours from an employee who was attempting to log into the payroll server remotely. When the help desk returned the call the next morning, the employee was able to log into the server remotely without incident. However, the incident occurred again the next evening. Which of the following BEST describes the cause of the issue?

Options

  • AThe password expired on the account and needed to be reset
  • BThe employee does not have the rights needed to access the database remotely
  • CTime-of-day restrictions prevented the account from logging in
  • DThe employee's account was locked out and needed to be unlocked

How the community answered

(39 responses)
  • A
    8% (3)
  • B
    3% (1)
  • C
    77% (30)
  • D
    13% (5)

Why each option

The employee's inability to log in after hours, coupled with successful login during business hours, indicates that access is restricted based on the time of day.

AThe password expired on the account and needed to be reset

If the password had expired, the employee would have been unable to log in at any time until it was reset, not just after hours.

BThe employee does not have the rights needed to access the database remotely

If the employee lacked the necessary rights, they would never have been able to access the server remotely, regardless of the time of day.

CTime-of-day restrictions prevented the account from logging inCorrect

Time-of-day restrictions are a common security control that prevents users from logging into systems outside of specified hours. This directly explains why the employee could not log in after hours but could log in the next morning during business hours, and why the problem recurred the next evening.

DThe employee's account was locked out and needed to be unlocked

An account lockout would prevent login until it was explicitly unlocked, and it would not automatically re-lock and unlock itself daily based on the time.

Concept tested: User account time-of-day access restrictions

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-protection/access-control/active-directory-users-and-computers-management/manage-user-accounts/configure-user-account-logon-hours

Topics

#time-of-day restrictions#access control#account management#authentication

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