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UNIX SHELL ACCOUNT USERS: HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR PASSWORD RECENTLY?
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If not, you should.  The recent hacker attacks (see BCPL System News, 10
Oct 97) brought to light the fact that many account holders are using very
insecure passwords.  Your password is your best defense against hackers,
crackers, and other lowlives, so change your password often and select a
password that is as hacker-proof as possible. 

o Your password must be 6, 7, or 8 characters long.  It can be longer,
  but the system ignores everything after the 8th character.
o At least 2 of the characters must be letters.
o At least 1 of the characters must be a non-letter.
o Letters may be upper or lower case, but you must always enter your
  password in the same case (or combination of cases) used to create it.
  If you set your password to BjOrK7, then bJoRk7 won't work.
o Don't use words that can be found in a dictionary.  Many hackers have
  programs that can figure them out very quickly.
o Don't use anything that refers to you, your family, your occupation,
  your hobbies, or anything else easily associated with you. Such
  passwords are too easily guessed.
o Many people use their first name followed by a number.  That's
  absolutely the least secure way to create a password!
o If you want your password to be easy to remember but not easy to guess,
  use a something that isn't a real dictionary word, but that can be
  pronounced.  Being able to say it will help you to remember it.
o Don't share your password with anyone!

To change your password, simply enter "passwd" (without the quotes) at the
UNIX shell prompt, then follow the prompts.  Here's what it looks like for
user "jdoe":

/u2/jdoe $ passwd                 <-- Enter "passwd" at the shell prompt.
passwd:  Changing password for jdoe
Enter login password:             <-- Enter current password here.
New password:                     <-- Enter new password here.
Re-enter new password:            <-- Enter it again to confirm.
/u2/jdoe $                        <-- You're done!

The passwords won't be echoed to your screen as you type them, so type
carefully!

If you use a login script, PPP dialer, or e-mail program that enters your
password automatically, be sure to change your password there too.

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If you have questions about this, or about anything else related to
your BCPL Internet Account, please contact the BCPL Help Desk.

 Phone:   410-887-3297
 FAX:     410-887-2091
 E-Mail:  help@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us

 Help Pages:            http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/help.html
                        (or enter "help" at the UNIX shell prompt)

 System News Archives:  http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/sysnews.html
                        (or enter "sysnews" at the UNIX shell prompt)