Creating a Password

 

Purpose:  This guide will help the end user create or modify their Login password for their MacBook.

 

Applies to: Mac OS 10.5.x

 

Before you begin:

You will need the following before you can change your password:

  1. Your current password.

 

Important:  The password for your laptop is a local password.  This means that it is only for your laptop.  It does not need to be the same as the password you use to for your Windows login and your district e-mail.  Changing your laptop password does not change your windows password.  If you would like, you can make them the same password, but they do not affect each other if one is changed.

 

With your current password, you are ready to set your new password, or change the current password.

 

Create or Change Password:

 

  1. Go to the System PreferencesÉ

á        Either launch the System Preferences from the icon in the tray

á        OR go to the Apple Menu and select System Preferences

  1. Select Accounts
  2. Highlight your username on the left side
  3. On the right side click the Change PasswordÉ button
  4. Fill out the Old Password:, New Password:, and Verify: fields.

á        During the laptop rollout, the password was set to blank.  If you have not changed the password since then, leave the Old Password: field empty.

á        Type your new password in the New Password: field and the Verify: field.  You enter it twice to ensure that you have typed it correctly.

á        The Password Hint: field is an optional field where you can enter a clue about your password, in case your forget it.  Remember that everyone can see the password hint, so donÕt enter your password or an obvious clue about your password.

  1. Click Change Password to set the new password.
    1. These are the couple of errors that you could get. 

                                                               i.      If there is a red arrow in the Old Password: field and you see Incorrect password below the field, you have not entered the correct Old Password.

                                                             ii.      If you see a red arrow in the New Password Field and you see Passwords do not match below the field, your New Password and Verify fields did not match.  Enter the password you would like into the New Password and Verify fields again and click Change Password.

 

Hints for Creating a Strong Password

  1. Use a long password. 

á        The more characters you use, the longer it will take someone to crack your password.  Most experts recommend at least 7 characters in your password.

  1. Use a combination of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers and symbols (if allowed). 

á        It is much more difficult to crack a password that contains all of these elements. 

á        You can take a word and ÒspiceÓ it up.  For example the word because could become b3C4u$e.

  1. Stay away from passwords that are all numbers or words in the dictionary. 

á        The most common brute force attack against a password is a dictionary attack.  The attacker tries every word that is in the dictionary (as well as number combinations) as your password when they try to break in.  Not using a common word like teacher as your password makes you immune to such attacks.