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Passwords

Student e-mail password
WebCT ID and password
Faculty or Staff e-mail password
Group or Department e-mail password
Research or Secure account password
Mainframe password
P-Sync password

How do I choose a good password?

Creating a good password can be a difficult task.  Passwords should be easy to remember but hard to guess.  If you must write down your password, remember to keep it as secure as your credit card number.  Here's some advice on how to make and remember a good password:

• Do not use personal information such as your name, your spouse's names, your street address or your pet's name.

• Do not use common words associated with your place or type of employment.  For example, cashier would not be a good password for those who work in a cashier's office, nor would room32 be a good password for somebody who works in Room 32.

• Substituting numbers for letters is a good way to make passwords.  For example, let P = 4, O = 6, R = 20, then reddog would be 20edd6g.

• The passwords must be six to eight characters that make no sense at all and contain at least one numeral, punctuation mark or special character, such as the pound key (#), an asterisk (*) or a dollar sign ($). An easy way to remember these nonsensical passwords is to create acronyms from phrases that are easy for you to remember. For example:

The Vault

Passwords are a security measure to keep others from using your account.  If someone else uses your account, any of the following things could happen. An intruder can:

• use your class account to submit false assignments in your name.
• steal, modify or destroy information you keep on a shared computer.
• send slanderous, defamatory or otherwise embarrassing e-mail from your account under your name.
• use your account later without your knowledge or password.
• store material on your account that would implicate you in illegal or unethical acts such as software piracy or prohibited electronic game-playing.

The privacy of your electronic mail is also at stake.  If you give your password to someone else who uses your account for anything unethical or illegal, such as sending harassing e-mail or hacking into systems, you will be held responsible .  That's why you should never share your account.