MC Home - ISC Home - User Names and Passwords

User Names and Passwords

Overview
Change Your Password Using Outlook Web App
Change Your Password on an Office or Lab Computer
Reset Your Password
Secure Your Password
Tips for Creating a Strong Password

Overview

New students receive their user names and initial logon passwords in the mail during the admission process. (As soon as students receive their user names and passwords, they may begin using MC web e-mail and Scot Central. For more information, see Outlook Web App 2010 and Scot Central.)

Faculty and staff receive their user names and initial logon passwords during the hiring process.

Usually, your user name is the first initial of your first name followed by your last name (e.g., jdoe). If another person already has this user name, then a number will be added to yours. For example, if your name is John Doe and Jane Doe already has the user name jdoe, then your user name might be jdoe2.

After you log in using the initial logon password, you should change it. (For more information see Change Your Password Using Outlook Web App and/or Change Your Password on an Office or Lab Computer.)

IMPORTANT! Passwords are case sensitive, must be least five characters in length, and should be unique. (For more information, see the tips for creating a strong password under Secure Your Password.)

Change Your Password Using Outlook Web App

IMPORTANT! When you change your password, be sure to create a new one that can't be easily guessed or hacked. (For more information, see Tips for Creating a Strong Password.)

1. Open a web browser and go to the Monmouth College home page (http://www.monmouthcollege.edu).
2. Click MyMC at the bottom of the page.
   
   
   
   Note: If you are using your personal computer or an off-campus computer, then you will be prompted to log in to the Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway page after you click the MyMC link. To log in to this page, select the public computer or private computer option, enter your Monmouth College user name and password, and click Log On. After you log in, the MyMC page will appear, and you may proceed to step 3.
   
   
3. Click your e-mail link.
   
   
4. Click the Options down arrow in the upper-right corner of the page and select Change Your Password.
   
   
5. In the Current password field, enter your current password.
6. In the New password field, enter your new password.
7. In the Confirm new password field, enter your new password again.
8. Click Save.
   
   

Change Your Password on an Office or Lab Computer

IMPORTANT! When you change your password, be sure to create a new one that can't be easily guessed or hacked. (For more information, see Tips for Creating a Strong Password.)

1. After you log on to an office or lab computer, press the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys at the same time.
2. Click Change a password.
3. In the Old Password field, enter your current password.
4. In the New Password field, enter your new password.

5. In the Confirm New Password field, enter your new password again.
6. Click the right-pointing arrow button.

Reset Your Password

If you forget your password, then can have it reset by bringing your photo ID card to the Information Systems Center.

IMPORTANT! The Information Systems Center will NOT reset your password unless you show your photo ID card.

Secure Your Password

To many people, a password is just another piece of information that needs to be remembered. It’s easy to forget that passwords serve an important function: they protect you, your data, the computing resources you access with it, and even other users on the same network. For example, if someone guesses or steals your password, then that person could:

• Access your files and e-mail.
• Log in to MC password-protected resources (e.g., Moodle) and view or change your information.
• Perform malicious acts in your name, such as sending threatening e-mails, deleting your files, or breaking into the network.

The first step to securing your password is to create a strong one that can’t be easily guessed or hacked. (For more information, see Tips for Creating a Strong Password.)

After you create a strong password, keep it secret. It’s against Monmouth College policy to share your password with anyone—-friends, coworkers, advisors, Information Systems Center staff, etc.

IMPORTANT! If anyone asks you for your password, DO NOT give it to them. If you receive a request for your password in a phone, email, or text message, then it’s a fraudulent phishing attempt. (For more information about phishing scams, see Beware of Phishing Scams.)

Additional recommendations for securing your password are below.

• Don’t write down your password. (If you must write down something, then write down a hint that will remind you of the password and keep it in a secure location, such as your wallet.)
• Change your password periodically (e.g., every 60 to 90 days) or whenever you feel it may have been compromised.
• Don’t select “Remember my password” on any website.
• Don’t choose to save your password if prompted by your browser or other program.
• Don’t enter your password on a shared computer in places with open Wi-Fi access, such as Internet cafes, public libraries, etc.
• Log off and close the web browser whenever you are finished using a site that you had to log in to.

Tips for Creating a Strong Password

Below are some tips for creating a strong password.

• Use at least 14 characters.
• Use a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols.
• Do not use a word or name out of a dictionary in any language unless you significantly alter it in some way.
• Think of a sentence, phrase, or song lyric and then use the first letter of each word to create your password. (For example, a password created from “I was born in Chicago, Illinois on a snowy Friday afternoon” could be Iw*biC$Ioa&sFa.)
• Use a password that is different from prior passwords.
• Do not use a password that is based on personal information, such as your user name, pet’s name, mother’s maiden name, hometown name, birth date, social security number, driver’s license number, PIN number, etc.
• Test the strength of your password with a password checker. Microsoft has a good one at https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx.