How do I choose a good password?

The password you select for the CS Computer Lab must be a minimum of 8 characters long and contain at least one letter at least one number and at least one symbol.

• Your password should be easy for you to remember and secure enough no one can guess it.
• Your password should not contain any public information such as address, phone number, birthday, pet name, etc. which would be easy to find out or guess.
• Your password should be long and should not contain any commonly known words.
• Your password should contain a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and other characters such as punctuation marks or symbols.
• Keep your password secure. This includes not telling anyone what your password is.
• You should use a different password for every account you access.
• For greater security, passwords should be changed regularly.

See Also:
What are some methods for choosing a good password?
How do I change my CS password?
What should I do if I forget my password?

What are some methods for choosing a good password?

• Choose a word and replace some of the letters with numbers or symbols so that the original word is unrecognizable.
or
• Choose a phrase, such as the first line of your favorite song, use the first letter of each word of the phrase, and insert punctuation marks and numbers.
or
• Choose a common word, but as you type it offset your fingers on the keyboard one or two places up, down, or sideways. The typed word will then look like gibberish.
or
• The possibilities are endless, use your own method.

See Also:
How do I choose a good password?
How do I change my CS password?
What should I do if I forget my password?

How do I change my CS password?

You must change your password on the lab server.

From a terminal session logged into the lab:


1. Type the command ssh ginger and press enter.
2. If you see a message that looks like the following:
   The authenticity of host 'ginger (131.210.12.7)' can't be established. RSA key fingerprint is 89:b8:3b:12:7b:c7:0d:93:09:c2:4b:f8:5f:71:7f:6f. Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?
   Type yes and press enter.
3. Enter your password. Nothing will show up on the screen as you type. This is done for security purposes.
4. You should see this:
   ====================================================
   You may only change your password on this server
   Type Ctrl-D to exit without changing your password
   ====================================================
   Changing password for username
   (current) UNIX password:
   
5. Enter your current password. Nothing will show on the screen as you type.
6. Press enter.
7. Enter your new password. Again, nothing will show on the screen as you type.
8. Press enter.
9. Enter your new password again. Once again, nothing will show on the screen as you type.
10. Press enter.
11. You will see the message passwd: password updated successfully.
12. The connection will close and you will be returned to the lab machine.

See Also:
How do I choose a good password?
What are some methods for choosing a good password?
What should I do if I forget my password?

What should I do if I forget my password?

If you have forgotten your password, contact the CS System Administrator. She will reset your account. You will then have to set a new password. This can be done from a lab computer in the CS Computer Lab or from a CS professor's office computer. If you have any questions, contact the CS System Administrator.

See Also:
How do I activate my CS Account?
How do I change my CS password?
How do I contact the CS System Administrator?