Changing Your EHE Password
EHE passwords are good for 90 days, and you will not be able to reuse the same password over and over.
If you do not change your password when prompted to do so (either while on an EHE computer or while using EHE Webmail), your account will be locked and you will need to contact the Service Desk to unlock your account. You will still have to change your password on the next login. This cycle will continue until you have changed your password.
Note for Mac users: Following the directions below, please use EHE Webmail to change your EHE password. Note you will have to do this on a Windows machine using either Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Note for those with encryption on their systems: The next time you reboot your computer after changing your password, you might need to use your old password one more time to get past the encryption boot screen. If you happen to use EHE Webmail (for example, from home) to change your EHE password and then try to get into your work computer, you will also likely need to use your old EHE password to get past the encryption boot screen. Then once you enter in your new password to log into Windows, PGP will be updated with this new password. You'll then use your new password to get past the encryption boot screen the next time you reboot your computer.
If you have any questions about the contents of this page, please contact the Service Desk.
Remember it is a violation of OSU Minimum Computer Security Standards (MCSS) to give your password to anyone for any reason. A single compromised password can lead to compromising more than just your own computer or account.
- Changing your password when logged into a computer on the EHE network
- Changing your password when using EHE Webmail
- Tips on creating a good, strong password
When logged into a computer on the EHE network
1) Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE to bring up the Windows Security window.
2) Click Change Password.
3) In the User name field, type your domain user name (for example, bbuckeye).
4) In the Log on to field, make sure HEC is selected.
5) In the Old Password field, type your old password.
6) In the New Password field, type your new password.
(Note: Your password should be at least 8 characters long and match our minimum requirements. Your new password must not be the same as your old password. Check out our tips on creating a good, strong password at the bottom of this page if you need help creating your new password.)
7) In the Confirm New field, type your new password again.
8) Click OK.
9) When you receive a message that your password has been changed, click OK.
10) In the Windows Security window, click on Log Off.
11) When asked if you are sure you want to log off, click on Log Off again.
12) Log back into your computer (using your new password).
When using EHE Webmail
Tips on creating a good, strong password
Your EHE password must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Cannot contain your account name or parts of your full name that exceed two consecutive characters
- Must be at least eight characters in length
- Must contain characters from three of the following four categories:
- English uppercase characters (A through Z)
- English lowercase characters (a through z)
- Base 10 digits (0 through 9)
- Non-alphabetic characters (for example, !, $, #, %)
Examples of passwords that will not work:
- abc123! - not long enough (needs to be at least 8 characters long)
- abcde123 - only two conditions met (in this case, lowercase characters and numbers)
- ABCDE&*! - only two conditions met (in this case, uppercase characters and special characters)
Examples of passwords that will work:
- a8cD12E! - has upper and lowercase characters, numbers, and a special character
- Z87Q#98! - has uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters
- A9b53Xr0 - has upper and lowercase characters plus numbers
Many people have difficulty in choosing new passwords that can be considered complex enough to be safe. You may wish to try a simple trick that will help you with this. The first step is to pick a song, or movie title that you enjoy. For example, let's say you enjoy the song Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. With that you could use the phrase:
I Love Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
If we then take the first letter from each of the eight words you get
ILSPLHCB
Now, to make it a bit harder, you can substitute some numbers and special characters that resemble the letters in your new password. In this case we will use the number one (1) for the letter I, and the dollar sign ($) for the letter S. We will also make all but the L's lower case. With this we get:
1L$pLhcb
We now have a very complicated but easy to remember password that other people will have a very difficult time guessing, or cracking.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Service Desk.