Return to Security Checklist

• Instructions for Windows Vista
• Instructions for Windows XP
• Instructions for Mac OS X

1. From the Control Panel, double-click the User Accounts icon.
   
   
   
2. Click on Change your password.
   
   
   
3. Type in your Current password, and what you want the New password to be.
   
   
   
4. Click Change password to finish.
   
   

Top of Page

Warning! If you reset the password for a user account in this manner in Windows XP Professional, the following kinds of information for that user will be no longer available:

• E-mail messages that are encrypted with the user's public key.
• Internet passwords that are saved or remembered by the computer.
• Any files that the user has encrypted.

Requirements:

You will need to be logged into an account with administrative privileges to perform this procedure.

1. Click start and click Run...

2. In the Run dialog box, type "control userpasswords2".

   

3. In the User Accounts window, click the Advanced tab and click the Advanced button. This will open the Computer Management console.

   

4. In the Computer Management console, expand Local Users and Groups and click the Users folder. This will display all users in the right-hand pane.

   

5. Right-click on your account, and click Set Password.

   

6. The following window, Set Password for YourAccountName, will popup. Click Proceed.

   

7. In the Set Password for YourAccountName box, enter your chosen password. The password you type in Confirm Password must exactly match the password you type in New Password.

   NOTE: For the strongest system security, use a password of at least 8 characters, and use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and other characters such as *, ?, or $. Take special care to remember and protect your password.

   Click OK to set the new password and click OK on the Local Users and Groups popup to return to the management console.

   

8. Repeat this process for all enabled accounts in the Users directory. Accounts that are disabled have the following mark:

Top of Page

Part 1: Changing your password

1. Open System Preferences by going to the Apple Menu and select System Preferences.

   

2. Click on Accounts.

   

3. You may need to click the lock icon at the bottom of the window to make any changes to this screen.

4. Click Change Password.

   

5. Type in your old password.

6. Enter your new password. This password should not be easy to guess, not be based on a dictionary word, and not be known by anyone else. It should have both letters and numbers and be longer than seven characters. However, don’t make your password so complicated that you may forget it.

7. Verify your new password to make sure that you did not mistype your password the first time.

8. If you desire, give yourself a hint to remind you of your password that is vague enough for anyone else to be stumped but specific enough that you will remember it. It is usually safer to leave this blank.

9. Click Change Password

   

10. Return to the System Preferences main window.

Part 2: Securing your computer

1. Click Security.

   

2. You may need to click the lock icon at the bottom of the window to make any changes to this screen.

3. Check Require Password to wake this computer from sleep or screensaver.

4. Check Log out after [n] minutes of inactivity, where [n] is however long you prefer.

5. Do not set a master password or turn on FireVault unless you are an advanced computer user or have been instructed to do so.

   

6. Congratulations! You're finished. Close System Preferences.

Top of Page