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SJC Computer Center
Passwords
In order to assure network security, all users are required to change their password every 90 days. You will receive an email informing you when you have 5 days remaining to change your password and a link to a web page that gives information about what constitutes a valid password. If you forget what your password is, you will need to come to the Computer Center. Please bring your SJC student ID with you.
Click
here to change your password.
What is a Valid Password?
The password cannot be one of the last 10 passwords you have used.
The password is at least 8 characters long.
The password is not a common word.
The password contains numbers or non-alpha symbols.
The password should contain upper and lower case characters.
The password must NOT start with a special character.
Examples of Bad Passwords
A password that has a personal connection to you can be easily obtained.
For example, birthdays, phone numbers, address information, initials,
names of spouses or children and even names of pets do not make good passwords.
Common words found in any dictionary are not good choices. Foreign words
do not make good passwords.
How to Create A Good Password
A good password is one that is easy for you to remember. The longer that
you can make your password, the stronger it becomes. A good password is
7 to 8 characters long and it is less susceptible to cracking.
One way to make up a good password is to think of a short phrase and create the password using the first letter of each word. For example:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth… would become:
fsa7yaofbf
My dad’s birthday is June thirteenth nineteen
twenty two would become:
mdbi6131922
The idea is to choose a phrase that is easy to remember. When the time comes to change your password, you can use the same phrase by changing the order of the letters, rearranging one or two letters within the phrase, adding capitalization in different places, or changing letters and numbers. Once you have a strong password, it is easy to make minor changes and remain familiar with it.
Password Cracking
Strong passwords are essential for keeping unwanted users from obtaining access to your computer, your email, your network drive and SJC shared network resources. Passwords are checked for strength. If your password is "cracked", you will be notified through email that you need to change your password and will be redirected to a web page explaining what constitutes a strong password. To avoid having your password cracked, please pay close attention to the section above on What is a Valid Password.
