Change your password

There are two reasons to change your password. First, the system administrator and I currently knows your, and we shouldn't. Second, the existing passwords are too easy to guess, because the contain entirely (or almost entirely) lower case letters and not enough wacky things like !@#$%^&*(). You should choose a password that is at least 8 characters long and that does not contain all letters or all numbers. It should contain at least one wacky character. On the other hand, it should also be something you can remember.

You can use the same password you use on ITS machines if you want, although you should be aware that that means the security of the two systems are then linked. If one gets broken, so does the other.

1.

Type passwd. It will ask you to type your current password and then the new password twice.

Unfortunately, this will have the effect of changing your password only on the machine you are currently logged into.

Also, you should be aware that the password file on alma is considered the master file. Every day at midnight, we take the password file from alma and copy it onto the other machines. That means that any changes you make on other machines will get clobbered overnight.

2.

Type rlogin alma to log into alma remotely. You will have to type your (old) password yet again. Type passwd again to make the change on alma. Tomorrow, this change should have propagated to all four machines.