Important information on passwords for staff

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How do I obtain my password in the first place?

At the start of your employment at UWE, you will be sent an email or a letter by post which states your USER ID and initial password for all systems along with your email address.

Your user ID is sometimes referred to as your network login name, systems user ID or username.

What does the password allow you to do?

The USER ID and password issued in the email/letter allow you to log into the PCs and terminals at UWE, and also log in to facilities such as the myUWE portal, Blackboard, Outlook (e-mail) and Outlook Web Access, and any other Active Directory or LDAP based systems.

In addition to this password, you may be provided with passwords by your faculty to access faculty developed resources. These passwords will be managed by the faculty, and you will need to contact your faculty for support in these cases.

UWE Password Manager: setting up a Questions & Answers Profile to be able to change your password

The first time you log in to the UWE network, it is recommended that you set up your Password Manager Q & A profile, and then change your password. This is to allow you to reset your password, should you forget it.

Please set up your profile by double-clicking on the ‘Change Your Password’ icon which may be placed on your desktop or within the Start Menu. This will bring up the UWE Password Manager web interface. Alternatively, you can go straight to the interface by typing https://password.uwe.ac.uk into a web browser.

When you get to the Password Manager interface, type in your username and click OK. In the welcome screen, click “My Questions & Answers Profile”. You will be asked for your current password. Type in your current password and click the Next button. You will then be able to choose from a list of questions and answer personal answers to them. Please use sensible answers that you will remember. The third question must be specified by you. You can enter pretty much anything you like here, as long as you remember what the answer is. Finally, click the Finish button. If successful, you will see a screen saying you have finished setting up your profile.

You can then click “Go to home page” to return to the login screen. Please log in again and use the software to change your password via the “Manage My Passwords” section. Here you will be asked for your current password and then asked to enter a new password twice. Enter your choice of password and click the Finish button. To create a strong password, please see the section below about Complex Passwords.

After you have successfully changed your password through Password Manager, the change will immediately take effect in Windows, the student portal (myUWE), Blackboard, UWE Live Mail and any other Active Directory or LDAP based systems.

If I forget my password… what do I do? – Reset your password

Resetting your password when you have forgotten it is now something all users can easily do themselves thanks to our Password Manager system.

To reset your password, you must previously have registered on the Password Manager website and have chosen three personalised questions and answers. These questions will be asked by the software when you try to reset your password.

To reset your password, first try to log in on a computer by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. Below the log-in dialogue, you should see a bar with a button that says “Forgotten Password”. Click that button and wait for the Password Manager site to open. When asked, type in your username and click the OK button. Once at the Welcome page, choose “Forgot My Password”. (If you do not see this section of the software, you have not set up your Q&A profile and will have to visit the IT Support Centre to continue).

You will be asked to answer two of the three questions that you set up when you registered with the software. Enter your answers and click the Next button. If you answer successfully, you will then be allowed to set a new password. Set the password of your choice, click Finish and close the page. You should then be permitted to log in with your new password.

Alternatively, you can contact the IT Support Centre. They will help you reset your password. Please note that the IT Support Centre can only help reset your “system” password. All other passwords have to be reset by your faculty.The Support Centre may ask you for a proof of identity.

Passcode

IT Support will give you a “Passcode” which you can use to reset your password via the above process. To do this, you would click the “I Have a Passcode” box instead when you access the site. Please note that your Passcode will only be valid for 4 hours from the time of issue.

Password security depends on creating strong passwords and protecting them. For more information, see Related Topics below and opposite. Choosing Complex Passwords and Protecting your Password.

How do I remember passwords?

  • Think of something relevant to you that you will remember
  • Keep it simple while adhering to the rules
  • Don’t change it too often

Should I give my password to anyone?

Only when you have an IT problem, and only to a member of IT Services.

If I think that someone is using my USER ID and password… what do I do?

  • Change your password immediately
  • Notify the IT department i.e. IT Services

Choosing complex passwords

The choice of computer passwords is becoming increasingly essential to protect the IT environment in which we study and/or work.

Users must be vigilant in choosing unpredictable passwords so that non-authorised people do not misuse the network resources, and compromise the security of UWE network and personal data.

For this reason, UWE have adopted a policy of complex passwords for which students and staff have to choose passwords which cannot easily be guessed or copied.

Requirements

Students and staff must therefore meet the following requirements when creating a new password or changing their existing password:

  • Passwords must be at least eight characters long:
  • Passwords must contain characters from all three of the following categories:
  1. English uppercase characters (e.g. A to Z)
  2. English lowercase characters (e.g. a to z)
  3. Base 10 digits (e.g. 0 to 9)
  • Passwords muct not contain five or more characters from a dictionary word.
  • Passwords must not contain three or more repeating characters.

Tip on password

Random combinations of letters and numbers can be difficult to remember. To simplify this, you may wish to use a memorable word and replace key letters with numbers to meet the password complexity requirements; e.g. reMem63r, chAr4cter5, a5tron0My etc…

Protecting your passwords

To ensure security, passwords must be used carefully. The following will help protect your passwords:

  • Never write down your password
  • Never share passwords with anyone
  • Never use your Windows logon password for another purpose
  • Change your Windows password every 60 to 90 days
  • Change your password immediately if you think it has been compromised
  • And keep your Password Manager Q&A profile filled in to allow you to reset your password
  • You should also be careful about where you save your password on your computer. Some dialog boxes, such as those for remote access and other telephone connections, present an option to save or remember your password. Do not select that option.