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Academic and Research Computing
QUICK STUDY #19
February 2003
Changing Your RCS and Windows Passwords
On the Rensselaer Computing System (RCS), your password is the key to
personal and private information. As a result, it is important
to select a good password, keep it to yourself, and change it often.
If you have a new Rensselaer userID, chances are your password
is difficult to type, much less memorize. And even if you're
an experienced RCS user,
it's a good idea to change your password frequently
to protect your account from unauthorized use. When you do change your
password, do so carefully; by choosing a poor password, you put not
only yourself, but the entire Rensselaer community, at risk. So please think
about your password before you actually change it, and make sure that it
conforms to the guidelines below.
- Choose a password that has exactly eight characters.
- Somewhere in the middle of your password, you must include one or
more numbers, symbols, or punctuation marks. Doing this makes your password
more difficult to guess.
- Since RCS passwords are case-sensitive, avoid using
uppercase letters in your password, as they
can cause problems on several platforms, such as Windows 95 and 98 PCs, and
on SGI workstations.
- Choose a password you can remember without writing it down, but nothing
as obvious as a name or any personal information about yourself, or a word
from the dictionary. Make a password complicated enough so that someone who
might be looking over your shoulder cannot easily determine it from your
keystrokes.
Note that when you change your password, it might takek up to 15
minutes for the change to propagate across the various RCS Systems
To change your RCS password on-line via RPInfo:
- 1.
- First, select the Academic & Research Computing link from the
``Computing Services" section of the RPInfo homepage.
- 2.
- From the resulting ARC homepage, click on the RCS Accounts
link, and then Changing Your RCS
Account Password. From the resulting page, click on the
change your password on-line link.
- 3.
- The system will prompt you to verify your identity by entering your
RCS userID and current password.
- 4.
- Follow the directions that appear on the screen to change your
password. (Please note that the system also allows you to test your
potential new password before you actually set it.)
It is also possible to change your password by issuing the UNIX passwd
command. To do this you must have a UNIX window open either by running
SecureCRT on a PC or by left-clicking on the
UNIX: Start a UNIX Window option in the RCS Applications menu on
a UNIX workstation.
- 1.
- When the UNIX window
appears, enter the following command at the UNIX prompt:
passwd
- 2.
- Follow the instructions displayed on the screen to change
your password.
- 3.
- The system will prompt you for your old
password, and then for your new one. Since your
password will not appear as you type, the system will prompt you
for your new password again to ensure you didn't make any
typing errors. The password will be changed only
if the two new password entries match.
- 4.
- Remember, UNIX is case-sensitive, so you must
enter any upper- or lowercase letters in your password in exactly the same way.
(However, also remember that we do not recommend using uppercase letters.)
To make your life easier, we recommend that you change your Windows password
to be the same as your RCS password. To do this:
- 1.
- Double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop.
- 2.
- Next, double-click on the Control Panel icon in the window that
appears.
- 3.
- Finally, double-click on the Passwords icon. A Password Properties
window will appear.
- 4.
- Click on the Change Windows Password... button. The Change
Windows Password window will appear.
- 5.
- Enter your old Windows password and new password, and confirm your
new password, in the appropriate fields.
- 6.
- Click the OK button.
A Microsoft Windows window will appear, confirming that you have successfully
changed your Windows password.
Published by Academic and Research Computing, RPI, Troy, NY 12180
Send comments to consult@rpi.edu.
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