Password Tuesday - All User Passwords Will Expire Feb. 1

In order to ensure the security of the Truman network and computer systems, the time for Password Tuesday has approached again. Just as in September 2004, ITS will be expiring all passwords for individual computer accounts for faculty, staff and students. Beginning at 7 a.m. Feb. 1, users will need to reset their TRUMAN account passwords in order to access the TRUMAN network, TruView, Blackboard and the Student and Employee tabs within TruView (also known as Banner Web). After 7 a.m. Feb. 1, each user will need to change his/her TRUMAN account password in order to access these and other resources.

Since the process to expire passwords will run at 7 a.m. Feb. 1, any users that change their passwords before Password Tuesday will again need to reset their password after 7 a.m. on Password Tuesday. Therefore, the only action faculty, staff or students should take now is to begin thinking about choosing a secure password that they wish to use on that day. The new password must have a minimum of six alpha/numeric/special characters. ITS also recommends that your password include a combination of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and special characters. It should not be an obvious letter or number sequence. A helpful method for choosing a difficult new password and remembering it is to use an acronym of a favorite line of poetry or quote, or even a song or movie title. Even a phrase that has meaning for you can make a great mnemonic for remembering your password. For example, “Harry S Truman called himself the 32nd president” could be used to remember the following password: hStcht32p! What ever you choose, try to pick something that will be easy for you to remember but difficult for someone else to guess.

On Password Tuesday, when you log into a Windows-based campus computer, you should automatically be prompted to change your password. If you do not normally use a Windows-based PC, after 7 a.m. on Password Tuesday, you will need to access the following Web site to change your password: http://secure.truman.edu/password. After changing your password you will then be able to access computing resources such as TruView and Blackboard in addition to others resources.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk at 785.4544.