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CHANGE NOW!)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted on )] TJ ET BT 104.045 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(July 06,2012)] TJ ET BT 157.082 664.909 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [( by )] TJ ET BT 171.590 664.909 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(IT Communications)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 61.016 637.420 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Every 90 days your pc prompts you to change your password. )] TJ ET BT 61.016 626.431 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Which in turn makes you sigh with despair, conveniently ignore )] TJ ET BT 61.016 615.442 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(the message and postpone it until the absolute last day. And )] TJ ET BT 61.016 604.453 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(why? Because choosing a password you won't forget after two )] TJ ET BT 61.016 593.464 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(days takes some effort and brain power. Passwords are like )] TJ ET BT 61.016 582.475 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(taxes, municipal fees and ridiculous bank fees - frustrating, but )] TJ ET BT 61.016 571.486 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(necessary. \(ok, maybe they're not all necessary, but you get )] TJ ET BT 61.016 560.497 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(my point.\) Your best solution? Just change it immediately and )] TJ ET BT 61.016 549.508 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(you won't be confronted by a looming "your password expires )] TJ ET BT 61.016 538.519 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(in x days" message every day. To make the process as fast )] TJ ET BT 61.016 527.530 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(and painless as necessary, we have a few suggestions. When )] TJ ET BT 61.016 516.541 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(your pc prompts you to change your password, go directly to )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 505.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 RG 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 504.401 m 181.562 504.401 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 181.562 505.552 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(. Before you change your )] TJ ET BT 61.016 494.563 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(password, log out of your Inetkey and Outlook to make the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 483.574 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(synchronisation easier. If possible, don't change your )] TJ ET BT 61.016 472.585 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(password while connected via wireless. Rather use your network cable and deactivate the wireless. If you only use your )] TJ ET BT 61.016 461.596 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(pc at home and it's not connected to the network, the change of passwords will only apply to your email and Inetkey. The )] TJ ET BT 61.016 450.607 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(initial password on your pc will therefore not be changed unless it's on the network. For passwords to synchronise )] TJ ET BT 61.016 439.618 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(correcly, a pc/laptop has to be connected to one of the US domains. )] TJ ET BT 334.166 439.618 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(This week 6.5 million)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 426.209 439.618 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(LinkedIn accounts were )] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 426.209 438.188 m 530.744 438.188 l S BT 61.016 428.629 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(hacked into)] TJ ET 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 427.199 m 111.029 427.199 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 111.029 428.629 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(and this one again emphasises the necessity for strong passwords.)] TJ ET BT 405.626 428.629 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(In particular take note of the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 417.640 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(following:)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 RG 85.866 400.467 m 85.866 400.879 85.696 401.289 85.404 401.581 c 85.113 401.872 84.703 402.042 84.291 402.042 c 83.878 402.042 83.469 401.872 83.177 401.581 c 82.885 401.289 82.716 400.879 82.716 400.467 c 82.716 400.055 82.885 399.645 83.177 399.353 c 83.469 399.062 83.878 398.892 84.291 398.892 c 84.703 398.892 85.113 399.062 85.404 399.353 c 85.696 399.645 85.866 400.055 85.866 400.467 c f BT 91.016 397.651 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(you can't use your previous 10 passwords again.)] TJ ET 85.866 389.478 m 85.866 389.890 85.696 390.300 85.404 390.592 c 85.113 390.883 84.703 391.053 84.291 391.053 c 83.878 391.053 83.469 390.883 83.177 390.592 c 82.885 390.300 82.716 389.890 82.716 389.478 c 82.716 389.066 82.885 388.656 83.177 388.364 c 83.469 388.073 83.878 387.903 84.291 387.903 c 84.703 387.903 85.113 388.073 85.404 388.364 c 85.696 388.656 85.866 389.066 85.866 389.478 c f BT 91.016 386.662 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(your new password can not consist of your username, name or any variation of your current password.)] TJ ET 85.866 378.489 m 85.866 378.901 85.696 379.311 85.404 379.603 c 85.113 379.894 84.703 380.064 84.291 380.064 c 83.878 380.064 83.469 379.894 83.177 379.603 c 82.885 379.311 82.716 378.901 82.716 378.489 c 82.716 378.077 82.885 377.667 83.177 377.375 c 83.469 377.084 83.878 376.914 84.291 376.914 c 84.703 376.914 85.113 377.084 85.404 377.375 c 85.696 377.667 85.866 378.077 85.866 378.489 c f BT 91.016 375.673 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(your passwords have to consist of 8 or more characters.)] TJ ET 85.866 367.500 m 85.866 367.912 85.696 368.322 85.404 368.614 c 85.113 368.905 84.703 369.075 84.291 369.075 c 83.878 369.075 83.469 368.905 83.177 368.614 c 82.885 368.322 82.716 367.912 82.716 367.500 c 82.716 367.088 82.885 366.678 83.177 366.386 c 83.469 366.095 83.878 365.925 84.291 365.925 c 84.703 365.925 85.113 366.095 85.404 366.386 c 85.696 366.678 85.866 367.088 85.866 367.500 c f BT 91.016 364.684 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(passwords have to consist of at least 3 characters of the following groups: small caps, capital letters, numbers and )] TJ ET BT 91.016 353.695 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(special characters. \(for example %,$,#\))] TJ ET BT 61.016 333.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(When you change your password on )] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 209.588 333.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 RG 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 209.588 332.555 m 330.134 332.555 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 330.134 333.706 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, also change it accordingly on all your other devices)] TJ ET BT 61.016 322.717 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(\(cellphone, tablet, etc.\) If you don't have your other devices with you and they are connected to the internet at home, ask )] TJ ET BT 61.016 311.728 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(someone to switch it off for you while your are changing the password. Also immediately switch off your device \(pc, tablet )] TJ ET BT 61.016 300.739 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(or cellphone\) after you've changed your password successfully to ensure it synchronises successfully.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 289.750 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(If you changed your password and it hasn't updated fast enough on your cellphone or tablet, reset the password to the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 278.761 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(latest one and contact IT to unlock your account. This will prevent you from having to change your password again.)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 267.772 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted in:General,Security | Tagged:Password | With 3 comments)] TJ ET 0.000 0.000 0.000 RG 0.75 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 320.359 492.086 225.750 150.000 re S q 225.000 0 0 149.250 320.734 492.461 cm /I1 Do Q endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 13 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 61.0157 504.7192 181.5617 513.8767 ] >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm) >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 15 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 426.2087 438.7852 530.7437 447.9427 ] >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55590:linkedin-passwords-leaked-after-hack) >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 17 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 61.0157 427.7962 111.0287 436.9537 ] >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55590:linkedin-passwords-leaked-after-hack) >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 19 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 209.5877 332.8732 330.1337 342.0307 ] >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm) >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 300 /Height 199 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5684>> stream JFIF;CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 80 C   %# , #&')*)-0-(0%()(C   (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((," }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?{T*A_4Ԑwvvi2RR]SJ1H HzSRa(iz@E& ?h4UJ:RsHA=E&881LlLPsN1ȦI89ÜN- 據u&xEɰÐ)HMR%3ғwZOΚ3hm!LiT3hg5!j )1 sP΄.}) Se*.*JS8- E))h*g׽ 4cґI ڔPE!i!c#Z HOH}c֐)yNv "v=,6IjaO#B!h4)1Tf "Ci:d1Z~͗ԟmԌ~#}E+hq7J{f+ r?CUa^jp{k0p!&Fznk7:^-rr~ UЏ_XЫXx_=&{<=5N1]L~M48%{rHT_o~w? oxXg:<'NwakKall=[?^H?ؗX;_ !4;<}>h8ʇ)M{s.Aí2x?jȏHdtN k Ghϕ^W㈭5Z==g8(K*玪6.ih4ޝiKM!>L8R3bM$ҚCcIiM4#6!>}4Ӛflca<L'Fl ;Ӄ v3J #[zmBd\^1֥9Px"nY =몓&N| QȭdAl%\dfkxXBuFW5VMg)[i)zFv=ʹ3Ke#FO,:of m흏F(T1_-JVEiDn0G;@nGSJRwndT4hcܜWΑUp*`ɂ{RHQ'tz`5e`qRmlG:\rvgMFf)sTQ[mOJ\PR#F)aM(^=qH"R!G=F(usD5()136N M4SM4 m%)fƓM&i3bLc8 fƱ4Ni&28{S@ } TW 8I;l7%fg4J`ZhO2>&Aamޟx~F;ї28t݄)Vͼ2JIo1L)}LA"^zihE.i`4t!!.z}(p)x%3@A4KIJOM&%M4 Fl0Қi5H͈iRib3N&O֩IC4LZp9Rl &𿇯C~-h$vkǵ+6r"7d`W͢CAFڥR5?^2э:DRzxyspvo92rE3𮝣/{v=U [FDl7"D9׆pؙrgٙb3$c+Hކ#9/MTjŗq])Tɬ M+Y# Vn}**B_ݖư'#}֞>'uq}BI3a^i({gދ!W 9"4JM&hsJ~RL4i$zIFli8RsM&aL5FliQ~iH~tT3{nF S]6дG P?~5|;ݲǓ]4)]s3s[EAl:]',ZC/HXWW@b zn>5R/nET ׵ [As"GqT޻)ьgU$.xJfػMF$d>85o#{g1mۇPVOOkq74Q[ ~uEpf؇ޚO4 Q<8 6i zsOBjS71Gk|5:y}ۧ׵aJ pÑ]$l|vqIi2$FXW^UwÙ5?Pqzkr9m̊ѮWj%R%27Uc"UdKBAkD sW Fsףι=*V|Ttny4h.3VU!ȫ˸VRJenCts֓uP88gCBAᇥu~5[kb[OFۃ"ϩ⹋4/x?Vi>XΤ>R6ՄmNqMި'9:Mh9*X`r~f4QC/.xdU` Ӆv\$}>,SRfYŎ4ɣ4YVFY!S[G5N.x!+hZS:9 j{a8ˉ&j@F7 +T8w&J7sQ9 M9qFG 3E~MiNDn&?w5O!>Ci B-M&O;,IMS$-L'CM&@٨8zSPu<x8)楔5>F[5FEh ZjMlLF{/֛䲶kLMd =.UPRD5bQM=MB<2L晚\1ݩsI3@ΤV©ʘ##>NF99FF^kM[X .~ 7jLRѢc}i њCIAAzi4&,\z׊L'CbHOQITQ(cY{AEhR)(eqGZ(%2Ef(ة",(GՆt4j(m ~EQJƉi>QBqEhi4QMǵ4QL4M&*bM݊(l endstream endobj xref 0 21 0000000000 65535 f 0000000008 00000 n 0000000073 00000 n 0000000119 00000 n 0000000332 00000 n 0000000369 00000 n 0000000507 00000 n 0000000610 00000 n 0000007821 00000 n 0000007933 00000 n 0000008048 00000 n 0000008168 00000 n 0000008276 00000 n 0000008403 00000 n 0000008483 00000 n 0000008611 00000 n 0000008773 00000 n 0000008900 00000 n 0000009062 00000 n 0000009190 00000 n 0000009270 00000 n trailer << /Size 21 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R >> startxref 15122 %%EOF password « Informasietegnologie
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Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Creating strong passwords

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021

Before we pointed out that most people underestimate the importance of having a secure password, and still make the mistake of using simple words and numbers as a password.

Keep in mind that your email and social network accounts contain very personal information about you. You must have a strong password to keep your personal life personal, and not become a victim of identity theft. 

  • Using email or your profile on Facebook, Whatsapp or Google, hackers can and do, extract a huge amount of personal data of your personal “online” life.
  • If you use the same password for multiple online accounts, you run the risk, if this password is hacked, of all your online accounts being compromised.
  • Using a personal name for an online account, the name of the city that you live in, the names of your children or your date of birth, give hackers vital clues for attempting to access your personal data.
  • For an average expert hacker, it is always easy to find passwords that are made up of words from the English vocabulary or other languages, using a basic technique called “brute force” or “dictionary” attacks.

What makes a password safe?

  1. A password at least 8 characters long.
  2. The password does not contain information that is easy to find online, such as the date of birth, the telephone number, your spouse’s name, the name of a pet, or a child’s name.
  3. The password does not contain words found in the dictionary.
  4. The password contains special characters like @ # $% ^ &, and numbers.
  5. The password uses a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.

A trick that the experts use to create secure passwords:

Think of a phrase and use the first letters of the words in the phrase.

  • For example: “In South Africa, a barbecue is called a Braai!”
  • Take the first letters of each word and the password that is created is ISAabicaB!
  • This will be very difficult to guess, but easy to remember.
  • At this point, you can decide to make your the Google password is ISAabicaB!-G,  and Facebook ISAabicaB!-F and your university account  ISAabicaB!-US and so on.
  • There is already a capital letter and a special character (!), so you just need to add a number to finish off a good password like 9-ISAabicaB!-US (9 could be the month you created the password in – for example)

You will have already made your password a lot more difficult to hack, and it can be a lot of fun to create. 

Step Up to Stronger Passwords

Tuesday, October 5th, 2021

Weak and reused passwords continue to be a common entry point for account or identity takeover and network intrusions. Simple steps and tools exist to help you achieve unique, strong passwords for your accounts.

 A password is often all that stands between you and sensitive data. It’s also often all that stands between a cyber criminal and your account. Below are tips to help you create stronger passwords, manage them more easily, and take one further step to protect against account theft.

  • Always: Use a unique password for each account so one compromised password does not put all of your accounts at risk of takeover.
  • Good: A good password is 10 or more characters in length, with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, plus numbers and/or symbols — such as pAMPh$3let. Complex passwords can be challenging to remember for even one site, let alone using multiple passwords for multiple sites; strong passwords are also difficult to type on a smartphone keyboard (for an easy password management option, see “best” below).
  • Better: A passphrase uses a combination of words to achieve a length of 20 or more characters. That additional length makes it’s exponentially harder for hackers to crack, yet a passphrase is easier for you to remember and more natural to type. To create a passphrase, generate four or more random words from a dictionary, mix in uppercase letters, and add a number or symbol to make it even stronger — such as rubbishconsiderGREENSwim$3. You’ll still find it challenging to remember multiple passphrases, though, so read on.
  • Best: The strongest passwords are created by password managers — software that generates and keeps track of complex and unique passwords for all of your accounts. All you need to remember is one complex password or passphrase to access your password manager. With a password manager, you can look up passwords when you need them, copy and paste from the vault, or use functionality within the software to log you in automatically. Best practice is to add two-step verification to your password manager account. Keep reading!
  • Step it up! When you use two-step verification (a.k.a., two-factor authentication or login approval), a stolen password doesn’t result in a stolen account. Anytime your account is logged into from a new device, you receive an authorization check on your smartphone or another registered device. Without that second piece, a password thief can’t get into your account. It’s the single best way to protect your account from cyber criminals.

Resources

 

One password less

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

We have good news for everyone who struggles to remember a plethora of passwords. Soon there will be one less when we simplify AIS/Tera Term’s login procedure.  

This new development means that you will soon be able to log into sun022, the system which, among others, hosts Tera Term, with your standard network username and password.

Phase one of the process is a “soft roll-out”, where SSO (Same Sign On) will be implemented. During this period, you will still be able to log in with your network username or, until it expires, with your existing AIS username. When your AIS password expires, the IT Service desk will not be able to reset it and you will have to start using your network username and password.

The primary AIS usernames of current AIS users (with more than one AIS username) will be connected to their network username.

After SSO is implemented, newly created AIS users’ usernames will be set to their SU number. This also implies that AIS usernames, roles, and functions will not be reused.

Take note that passwords for these functions should not be shared among staff and that, in doing so, the Electronic Communications Policy is violated. The new SSO approach also means that one password will give also give you access to your private Human Resources information. In other words, if you share your password, you also share your personal information.

For any enquiries, please contact the IT Service desk at 808 4367.

What’s wrong with your password?

Friday, October 10th, 2014

Passwords are an important aspect of computer security and your electronic key to the network of Stellenbosch University. But which passwords work best? 

Lorrie Faith Cranor is a security researcher and an Associate Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. In March of this year she presented a TED talk on her study of thousands of real passwords to figure out the surprising, very common mistakes that users — and secured sites — make to compromise security.

Watch her very interesting talk on her research on passwords below. After watching Lorrie’s talk you might also want to change your own password. On how to do that and more password tips, have a look at our wiki or make use of the self help function online.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lorrie_faith_cranor_what_s_wrong_with_your_pa_w0rd

Password synchronisation giving you a headache?

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Every 90 days you receive an email from helpinfo@sun.ac.za asking you nicely to change your password. We all know that, although it’s a bit of a nuisance, it’s also necessary for security reasons. But is there a way to simplify the process?

In 2007 Microsoft Research conducted a study and found that the average user has 6.5 internet passwords, each person has approximately 25 accounts with passwords and has to enter 8 passwords per day.  And this was in 2007 – imagine what the statistics will look like 5 years later.

If you use more than one device, password changes can become a nightmare. But there are a few steps you can follow to make sure it goes a bit smoother.

Switch off all your devices except for one, for example your laptop.

Sign on at http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm, select the Change Password option and select a new password according to the guidelines supplied on the website. Log out of the network with the Logout option given on http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm. Log onto the network with your new password. Make sure you can access all your network applications – email, internet and networkspace. Switch on all the other devices and type in your new password.

Remember, you can change your password any time at http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm with the Change Password option. Try to stick to the guidelines to ensure you have a secure password – it will safe you a lot of effort and frustration in the long run. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can also reset is by browsing to staff portal.

More information and hints on password changes can be found at https://stbsp01.stb.sun.ac.za/innov/it/it-help/Wiki%20Pages/Change%20password.aspx

 

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