The first time you log into a CS workstation with a temporary password, the login page will help you reset your password. First, enter your username (this will be the same as your Vassar email address, before the @-symbol):

Enter your temporary password, which should have been given to you by your professor or sysadmin:

If there is an error, try again starting with your username. If you enter the temporary password correctly, it will ask you to enter it one more time:

Then, choose a password (see the “Create a Password” section below for guidelines) and enter it twice to confirm:

• Change / Reset linux password (online service). Can only be done from a Vassar network. This web UI will not work from a network (or cell phone carrier) outside of the Vassar College network.

Note: the password reset system is currently operating slowly, and emails may be delayed by a few minutes. If you are not able to use this system to change your password, please contact Toma: tmorris at vassar dot edu

Computer Science linux accounts conform to CIS's password policy:

• Password Information from Vassar College CIS

A strong password contains:

• at least 16 characters
• a mix of letters, numbers and special characters
• mIxED caSE

Creating:

• http://strongpasswordgenerator.com
• pwgen on the Linux command line
  • pwgen 16 1 to create one 16-character password; see man pwgen for help

Login passwords can be changed after you log in using the

                            Menu --> All -->  About Me 

       This pops up a message box "About [Firstname] [Last Name]".
       Click [Change Password].

        Enter the current password and click [Authenticate] to verify. 
        Enter the new password.
        Retype new password.
        Click [Change password]

Once you are notified that this succeeded,

        Click [Close] on the "Change password" pop-up box.
        Click [Close] on the "About me" pop-up box. 
        Log out of the system and back in with your new password.

Changing your password occasionally is a good practice and is something that is enforced in many environments.

Two ways to change password:

• enter passwd on the linux cmd line in a terminal window

Note: When you type your characters are not echoed back to the terminal. You will see nothing, not even a cursor. The entire session, if completed successfully, will look as follows: