Passwords Defined

by Debbie Garchar

Who needs passwords anyway?

You do. Your password is your prime method to stop someone from gaining access to your computer accounts and files. You may think that your e-mail is so boring that you wouldn’t care who reads it. However, you wouldn’t be happy if someone e-mailed a harassing message under your name to your boss. And you probably wouldn’t be too happy if someone gained access to your computer and deleted the only copy of a report that is due today!

Unauthorized users may do awful things to your account but even worse, they may be able to do awful things to the accounts of other people on the system and can even break in to systems across the world.

Choosing a good password

Choosing a password deserves some thought. You want something easy to remember but difficult for other people to guess.

Good choices include: (Please don’t use any of the following examples as passwords since they now are easily guessed!)

• Taking a favorite phrase, use the first letter of each word, mix capitalizations, add a number or two or some punctuation.

« Example: Three blind mice, see how they run would end up as 3bm,shtr

• Using two short, unrelated words and hold them together with a digit or punctuation mark and use mixed upper and lower-case letters. Try not to begin or end the password with a number or capitalized letter.

« Example: cAn8boAt

• Taking a favorite word, misspell it and add a number or some punctuation

« Example: happy would end up as pAh/py

Bad choices include:

• Your name, the name of your spouse, children or pets
• Anything less than six characters
• All the same letters or digits
• Predictable patterns, like ascending or descending digits
• Personal information such as telephone numbers, social security numbers, the make of your car, the name of the street you live on, etc.

COMPUTER SERVICES PASSWORD NAMING CONVENTIONS

SYSTEM	LENGTH	ALPHABETIC	NON-ALPHABETIC	EXPIRES	CASE SENSITIVE	OTHER
RACF (M204, CICS & Tubes or TPX)	5-8	At least 1	At least 1 (must be a numeric digit)	90 days	No	System remembers previous 5 passwords
CMS	5-8	At least 1	At least 1 (must be a numeric digit)	90 days	No	System remembers previous 5 passwords
Advantage	5-8	At least 1	At least 1 (must be a numeric digit)	90 days	No	System remembers previous 5 passwords
Directory Account (CUE)	At least 6 NOTE that Netscape Messenger will only read up to 8 characters in a password	At least 4	At least 1	Never	Yes	Cannot repeat a character more than 2 times. Your new and old password must differ by 3 characters.
UNIX	6-8	At least 4	At least 1	90 days	Yes	Cannot repeat a character more than 2 times. Your new and old password must differ by 3 characters.

Follow good security measures by never telling anyone your password, never sharing your account and changing your password whenever you suspect that someone else may know it. Because passwords are stored in an encrypted form, even the System Administrator cannot determine your current password. If you forgot your password, contact the YSU’s Help Desk at X1595 to give you a new one; be prepared by knowing your logon ID and the system you are tyring to access, e.g., M204, CUE, etc.