Portal Password Help
About Portal passwords:
You can change your password as many times as you wish;
After 5 unsuccessful log-on attempts the account will be locked out. The account may be unlock automatically by the system after 5 minutes, or by request to an authorized person who must verify the identity of the requestor;
Portal passwords are case-sensitive, so note which letters you capitalise.
You may not be able to login when your temporary password has expired and you have used all your grace logins.
Password requirements:
Passwords must meet all of the following requirements:- At least 8 characters;
- At least one letter (A through Z, a through z ).
- At least one number (0 through 9).
- Must not be the same as login ID;
- Must not contain white spaces: tab, space;
- Must not contain: ^X, ^U, ^S, ^Q (^ means the control key), the delete
key, or the backspace key.
Use these guidelines to create a secure password:
Create a password that is easy to remember, but difficult for anyone else to guess.
DO NOT
- use your logon name in any form (for example, as-is, reversed, capitalized, doubled).
- use your name or any family member's name (first or last name, spouse's name, or your children's name) in any form.
- use other information easily obtained about you. This includes license plate numbers, telephone numbers, tax file numbers, the brand of your automobile, the name of the street you live on, your birth date, etc.
- use any word from a dictionary (of any language) as most forms of password attack use dictionaries as a basis for password guessing.
- reverse the spelling of a dictionary word.
- use keyboard patterns, or duplicating characters such as qwerty or aabbccdd.
- use dates e.g., September, SEPT1999 or any combination thereof.
Following are examples of some techniques for creating passwords:
1. Use a word with one or two digits and special characters embedded in it.
Examples: HOu32Se#, mON@42d+Y, tA$LE8%
2. Make up an acronym based on a nursery rhyme, a favourite song or movie, or a sentence.
Example: OTGdy4*8 - Only The Good Die Young (Billy Joel)
3. One technique would be to use a two or three word phrase, and replace the 1st character of the 1st word with a special character/number, the 2nd character of the 2nd word with a special character, etc, and uppercase every second character except punctuation.
Example: 3Yc^rSm#lLs - my car smells
Password protection guidelines:
- Never give your password out to anyone, much less to someone over the phone. Your account is for your use and yours alone. You are responsible for all activity that occurs from your account;
- Do not write down your password, include it in any computer file, send it in a mail message or post it next to your computer;
- Do not use the "Remember Password" feature of browsers and do not create a "hot key" for password use;
- Log off the system whenever it will be left unattended and/or unsecured for any length of time;
- Change your password immediately if you suspect that it has been discovered;
- Do not use any of the password examples shown in this document.
- You must change all temporary passwords to more secure passwords.
Changing your password
The system will ask for your old password, and then ask for the new password twice. Passwords don't show on screen, so the new password is requested twice to guard against typographical errors. Your password has not been changed until you see a confirmation message saying "Your password was successfully changed.". If you have not seen this message then your password has not changed.
Secret Question and Answer
The system will also ask you for a secret question and answer. This is in case you forget your password and wish to request a temporary password via the password self service facility. To ensure your own security, use something only you would know the answer to.
What if I forget my password?
If you forget your password, all is not lost.
If you have previously entered a secret question and answer, you can use the password self service facility to request a temporary password. You will be prompted for your surname, student number and date of birth, then your will be asked your secret question. Upon giving the correct answer, you will be issued a temporary password which you will be forced to change once you log into the portal. Please also see the guidelines to create a secure password.
If you did not enter a secret question and answer or you cannot reset your password via the self service facility, you can contact IT Help to obtain your initial MQID password or have your password reset.