Changing of password is different in different applications, systems, networks, platforms and devices. And in some applications, changing of passwords might involve a bit more than selecting a new password. In email applications for example, there are some programs that can store your password mainly for convenience (for instance Eudora and Outlook Express), so when you change a password in such an application, you will also need to update the program that kept your old password. Before changing a password, there are some basic things that anyone might want to consider in order to enhance security.
Password protection is important to maintain privacy in many applications including emails, Instant Messenger services, routers and many more. Sometimes we may feel the need to change our passwords if we feel they have been compromised and can no longer offer protection that we feel is sufficient.
A good password usually has between 8 to 32 characters. It should not be as simple as your email address or name. You should make it hard for others to guess it but sufficiently easy for you to remember it. And it should not be a word spoken in any of the world’s major languages (e.g. English, Spanish, French, Portuguese etc). You should also avoid selecting a password that forms any major keyboard sequence (e.g. QWERTY). When you have finally settled on a word, try to scramble it using some various combinations. Another suggestion would be to take an easy to remember phrase and turn it into an ellipsis, perhaps based on some fact (thus the phrase “I Love My Children So Much I Would Do Anything For Them” becomes). Then throw in some alphabet or two, possibly the date of your birth or when you got married. Here is a look at various steps taken to change the password of a few selected platforms or applications.
Changing your MSN Password
To do that, you will have to change your Microsoft Passport password, which will also change your MSN password as well as the Hotmail one.
* Go to the “Account Services Home Page” in your Microsoft account.
* Select the “Credentials” menu, and then select “Change your password” option.
* In the textboxes, first enter your old password.
* Then enter your new password twice.
* Press “Continue”, twice.
* Finish by pressing “Done”.
Change of Password on Blueice
This is a guideline for changing a password for computers operated by Computational & Informational Systems Laboratory (CISL).
* Go to the Blueice through your CRYPTOCard.
* Link to the blms using the ssh blms.
* Follow the prompts displayed to change the password.
* After the logout, allow about 45 minutes before logging back to enable the new password to propagate across the cluster.
The above procedure also applies to changing of password in Blue Vista.
Changing of MySpace Password
Go to MySpace Homepage and open the “Account settings’ menu. Click on the “Change Password” option. Enter your current password, and then enter the new password. Enter the new password again and finish the process by clicking on “Change”.
For more information on changing passwords in different applications, read How do I change my password?
