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Concordia Password Requirements

  • Be at least 10 characters long.
  • Must meet at least 3 of the following requirements
  • Must contain at least 1 upper case letter
  • Must contain at least 1 lower case letter
  • Must contain at least 1 digit (numeral)
  • Must contain at least 1special character (those characters above the number keys on a desktop keyboard, for instance)
  • In addition your new password:
  • Must not contain your username
  • Must be different than your prior password

Security recommendations

  • To help prevent identity theft, personal or fiscally useful information such as Social Security, CTX Banner i.d. or credit card numbers must never be used as a user ID or a password.
  • All passwords are to be treated as sensitive information and should therefore never be written down or stored on-line unless adequately secured using an ITS approved system. NOTE: Do not use the password storage feature offered on Windows or other operating systems. This feature creates a password file that is vulnerable to hackers.
  • The same password should not be used for access needs external to CTX (e.g., online banking, benefits, etc.).
  • Individual passwords should not be shared with anyone, including administrative assistants.
  • If a password is suspected to have been compromised, it should be changed immediately and the incident reported to the ITS through the Helpdesk at 512-313-4357 or ctxhelp@personalsupportcenter.com.

Hints for Creating Passwords

  • Create an acronym from a phrase of your choice: all good boys deserve fudge and ice cream forever becomes: AgbDfic4e
  • Create a base password and then add a suffix or a prefix to the base password to differentiate your various accounts.
  • Still need help? The PC Tools Secure Password Generator (http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/), for example, makes one based on your criteria: how long, include (or don't) mixed case, numbers, punctuation, similar character replacement, etc. It even provides a phonetic pronunciation guide that you use as your mantra while typing the password.
  • Passphra.se located at http://passphra.se/ is another resource to help you find a memorable password. You will need to add the upper case/lower case, numeric and special character to the phrase generated to make it a safe password.