When it comes to supporting our end users I often have occasion to ask someone for their password in order to help them with a problem and I'm often suprised at what they tell me. We are constantly working to improve our network security as well as the security of our information systems. At a system administration level, we keep and maintain (in my opinion) a very strong password policy. In other words, the passwords that you would need to gain access to administer the various computer systems on campus would be impossible to guess. I know, I know...some person could somehow randomly type in the correct password but the chances of that are mathematically impossible. So when I find out that people have not changed their password from the default (we are working to change the default password to something more secure), or their password is extremely easy to guess (it forms a word that is common or resembles some part of their name or is a series of the same exact character) I start to feel very uneasy.
Using a strong password is essential not only to protect your information here at Arkansas Tech but to protect all of your online information including bank accounts, personal websites, etc. I wonder how many people have the same, easy to guess, passwords protecting their bank accounts?! Make sure your OneTech password is secure. Yeah, yeah...you don't want to have to memorize a new password and keep changing it all the time...but I guarantee you that if you knew that people were trying to break into your house with all of your valuable possessions lying around...you would do everything within your power to make sure your home was as secure as possible. Your online security deserves the same amount of thought. Make sure your OneTech password (and all your other passwords for that matter) are secure! Not sure how to come up with a more secure password? See what Microsoft suggests on their following webpage. Strong passwords: How to create and use them.
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