You can change your domain password using the following options:
- While logged into your Windows PC (on-campus only): press CTRL+ALT+DEL and click Change a Password. Follow the instructions on screen to set a new password.
- While logged into your Mac computer (on-campus only): go to System Preferences, Users and Groups, highlight your account and click change password, follow instructions on screen to set a new password.
- After changing your password you must log out of your Mac then log back in for the change to take effect. After logging back in, follow the instructions to save your new password to the Keychain.
It’s important that you set up strong passwords - or, ideally, passphrases - that are easy to remember but difficult to guess.
Hackers harvest, weaponise and sell corporate and personal passwords for a number of reasons including financial reward, to damage a reputation and to steal intellectual property. Some 80% of hacks involve the theft or reuse of employee passwords.
Password security policy:
- All passwords must be at least 14 characters and be a mixture of
- UPPERCASE
- lower case
- Digits 0-9
- Non-alphanumeric (%& _ *? and so on)
- Avoid recycling passwords across multiple accounts
- Test the strength of your password using an online strength testing tool by simply searching for 'password strength test'
- Avoid using real words with passwords. Hackers use dictionary attacks which systematically throw every word in the dictionary at the account's login portal
- If you can, change your password when you want to. Rotating your password every 90 days is required.
- You can also use a passphrase, a string of words similar to a sentence used for authentication that is longer than a traditional password, easy to remember and difficult to crack.
You will receive an automated email from ithelp@gcu.ac.uk notifying you when your domain password is due to expire. These emails are sent at 14, seven and three days before your password expires.
This is the only email address you will receive password expiry notifications from. If you receive notification from any other address, please report it to the IT Helpdesk.
