# Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password

Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition allows you to protect the configuration of a virtual machine with a custom password.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note**: With Parallels Desktop for Mac 26.1 or newer, some virtual machine settings, including precenting users from changing virtual machine configurations, can now be controlled centrally using the [Management Portal](broken://pages/TGJTDEURG3xnSnT0id8o). Read more [here](/landing/pd-ag/preparing-virtual-machines-for-deployment-and-securing-them/policies.md#vm-settings).
{% endhint %}

When a password is set, even a local Mac administrator will be required to enter it in order to modify virtual machine settings.

### Setting the Password via GUI

To set a password in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface:

1. Open Parallels Desktop and select a virtual machine.
2. On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Configure to open the virtual machine configuration dialog.
3. Select Security.
4. Click the Custom password: Turn On... button.
5. Enter a password, then enter it again to verify and click OK.

To change or remove the password:

* To change the password, click the Change Password button and follow the instructions on the screen.
* To remove the password, click Custom password: Turn Off and follow the instructions on the screen.

If the password is set and the user tries to view or modify the virtual machine configuration, they will be required to enter this custom password.

### Setting the Password via CLI

In addition to the graphical user interface, you can use the `prlctl` command-line utility to set a custom password for editing the virtual machine configuration.

To set the password, type the following command in Terminal:

```
prlctl set "vm_name" --custom-pwd
```

where vm\_name is the virtual machine name in quotes. You'll be asked to enter a password and then confirm it.

To change or remove the password, type the same command as above:

```
prlctl set "vm_name" --custom-pwd
```

You'll be asked to enter the current password and then a new password.

To view the current protection status for a virtual machine, type the following command:

```
prlctl list "vm_name" -i
```

In the output, search for the **Security** section and look at the **Custom password protection** property. It will be either set to "on" or "off".

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note**: To learn more about the command-line utility capabilities, refer to the respective [section](/landing/parallels-desktop-developers-guide/command-line-interface-utility.md) of our Developer's Guide.
{% endhint %}

### Setting the Password Using the Mass Deployment Process

If you are mass deploying Parallels Desktop and one or more virtual machines, you can simply set the custom password in the source virtual machine. When a virtual machine is deployed on Mac computers, the password will be retained.


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