Updates from editor

Author: v-phoebh

support/windows-server/active-directory/accounts-lastlogontimestamp-future-time.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
-title: Accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to future
-description: Helps resolve the issue in which user or computer accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to a future time.
-ms.date: 03/05/2025
+title: Accounts Have the LastLogonTimestamp Value Set to Future
+description: Helps resolve an issue in which user or computer accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to a future time.
+ms.date: 03/07/2025
 manager: dcscontentpm
 audience: itpro
 ms.topic: troubleshooting
@@ -12,23 +12,23 @@ ms.custom:
 ---
 # User or computer accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to a future time
 
-This article helps resolve the issue in which user or computer accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to a future time.
+This article helps resolve an issue in which user or computer accounts have the lastLogonTimestamp value set to a future time.
 
-You have an Active Directory (AD) domain and use AD queries to look for unused accounts. You query attributes like `pwdLastSet` and `lastLogonTimestamp` to determine which accounts are no longer in use.
+You have an Active Directory (AD) domain and use AD queries to look for unused accounts. You query attributes like `pwdLastSet` and `lastLogonTimestamp` to determine which accounts are no longer used.
 
 Although using `lastLogonTimestamp` has its limitations due to Kerberos S4U updating the attribute, you notice that some actively used accounts have the `lastLogonTimestamp` value set to a future time.
 
-## Incorrect time on local DC
+## Incorrect time on the local DC
 
-A domain controller (DC) might run with its system time set in the future. In this situation, if a user authenticates with the DC, the DC compares its local time with the time stored on the user account. Then, the DC updates the `lastLogonTimestamp` value as its current time is much newer.
+A domain controller (DC) might run with its system time set in the future. In this situation, if a user authenticates with the DC, the DC compares its local time with the time stored in the user account. Then, the DC updates the `lastLogonTimestamp` value as its current time is much more recent.
 
-The time on the DC might be incorrect due to a problem with time synchronization from the virtual machine (VM) host, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) infrastructure, or [Secure Time Seeding (STS)](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/askds/secure-time-seeding-on-dcs-a-note-from-the-field/4238810). The DC might also revert to the correct time quickly, so you might not catch the problem in your reporting.
+The time on the DC might be incorrect due to a time synchronization issue with the virtual machine (VM) host, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) infrastructure, or [Secure Time Seeding (STS)](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/askds/secure-time-seeding-on-dcs-a-note-from-the-field/4238810). The DC might also revert to the correct time quickly, so you might not catch the problem in your reporting.
 
-As NTP prevents large time-offsets between DCs from being distributed across the domain, incorrect time-stamps might be kept local to one single DC. However, domain members follow their local DC' time, even when the DC detects a time skew during Kerberos requests. This is why Kerberos transactions still work in this situation.
+As NTP prevents large time offsets between DCs from being distributed across the domain, incorrect timestamps might be kept local to a single DC. However, domain members follow their local DC's time, even when the DC detects a time skew during Kerberos requests. This is why Kerberos transactions still work in this situation.
 
 ## Use the fixupObjectState attribute with LDIFDE to repair the object
 
-For previous versions of Windows, the only approaches to resolve the issue are:
+For previous versions of Windows, the approaches to resolve the issue are to:
 
 - Wait until the actual time surpasses the `lastLogonTimestamp` value of the user.
 - Ignore the `lastLogonTimestamp` value and use other metrics to identify orphaned accounts.
@@ -39,14 +39,14 @@ In Windows Server 2025, there's a new facility to repair broken objects as speci
 > [!NOTE]
 > There's functionality to correct missing `sAMAccountType` and `objectCategory` attributes. For more information, see [Will add link when new article releases].
 
-### Step 1: Identify the object name and the globally unique identifier (GUID)
+### Step 1: Identify the object name and globally unique identifier (GUID)
 
 For example:
 
-- DN: `cn=brokenuser,ou=bad-users,dc=contoso,dc=com`
+- Distinguished name (DN): `cn=brokenuser,ou=bad-users,dc=contoso,dc=com`
 - GUID: `cf2b4aca-0e67-47d9-98aa-30a5fe30dc36`
 
-### Step 2: Prepare an LDIFDE import file with the DN string or the GUID-based syntax
+### Step 2: Prepare an LDIFDE import file using the DN string or GUID-based syntax
 
 - Use the DN string:
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ For example:
     ```
 
     > [!NOTE]
-    > The line with only "-" and the empty line are required for a well-formed LDIFDE import file.
+    > The line with only a hyphen (`-`) and the empty line are required for a well-formed LDIFDE import file.
 
 - Use the GUID-based syntax:
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ For example:
 
     So, the expression of `fixupObjectState: cn=brokenuser,ou=bad-users,dc=contoso,dc=com:LastLogonTimestamp` becomes `fixupObjectState: <guid=cf2b4aca-0e67-47d9-98aa-30a5fe30dc36>:LastLogonTimestamp`.
 
-    To use this syntax with the LDIFDE import file, the text after the first colon needs to be encoded in Base64 format because of the  greater-than (>) and less-than (<) signs:
+    To use this syntax with the LDIFDE import file, you need to encode the text after the first colon in Base64 format because of the  greater-than (>) and less-than (<) signs:
 
     ```output
     fixupObjectState:: PGd1aWQ9Y2YyYjRhY2EtMGU2Ny00N2Q5LTk4YWEtMzBhNWZlMzBkYzM2PjpMYXN0TG9nb25UaW1lc3RhbXA=
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ For example:
     > [!NOTE]
     > The double colon shows the attribute value is in Base64 format. You can use the [Base64 encoder](https://www.bing.com/search?q=site%3Amicrosoft.com%20base64%20encoder&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=site%3Amicrosoft.com%20base64%20encoder&sc=0-33&sk=&cvid=CE994D44ADFC432CA2D3784CEBB3D934&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=) to encode the string directly on the web.
 
-    With the Base64 format used, the import file becomes:
+    After using the Base64 format, the import file becomes:
 
     ```output
     DN:
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ For example:
     -
     ```
 
-### Step 3: Repair the object with LDIFDE
+### Step 3: Repair the object using LDIFDE
 
 Sign in as an Enterprise Administrator, and import the LDIFDE import file (for example, **repair-user.txt**) with the following command:
 
@@ -107,5 +107,5 @@ Then, the object has the `lastLogonTimestamp` attribute value set to the current
 
 For more information about the usage of the `lastLogonTimestamp` attribute, see:
 
-- ["The LastLogonTimeStamp Attribute" – "What it was designed for and how it works"](/archive/blogs/askds/the-lastlogontimestamp-attribute-what-it-was-designed-for-and-how-it-works)
+- ["The LastLogonTimeStamp Attribute" - "What it was designed for and how it works"](/archive/blogs/askds/the-lastlogontimestamp-attribute-what-it-was-designed-for-and-how-it-works)
 - [How LastLogonTimeStamp is Updated with Kerberos S4u2Self](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/coreinfrastructureandsecurityblog/how-lastlogontimestamp-is-updated-with-kerberos-s4u2self/257135)