3. Access Accounts An Access Account is an assigned userid (user ID) and password that enables Penn State faculty, staff, and students to access information services. The userid is usually your initials followed by a 1-to 3-digit number. The letters are lower case. If you have a PSUVM account, your Access Account userid will most likely be the same. Other than that, there is no connection between your PSUVM Account and Access Account or the passwords associated with them. Access Accounts remain active until graduation or termination of employment. You need an Access Account if you want to do any of the following: -- use email and do not have email on another system; -- connect with a modem; -- post articles to Netnews from an NNTP client on a public machine or a machine not specifically authorized for posting; or -- change your PH directory entry. If you simply want to use Gopher or read Netnews, and your computer already has a backbone connection, you do not need an Access Account. Note that an Access Account alone does not enable you to log onto systems such as PSUVM, PSUADMIN, or the Sun Workstation Cluster. You must apply for a separate account in order to use these systems. The CAC Computer Accounts office can provide more information about CAC Computer accounts. Your department or college can also provide information about internal computer resources and accounts. 3.1 How to Apply Use any one of the following three ways to apply for an Access Account: (1) Fill out an application. Application forms can be found in the printed version of this guide, available at CAC offices in the Computer Building and at 12 Willard Building. Forms can also be obtained through the Computer Accounts office. (2) You can apply for an account in IBM computer labs at University Park and some CES campuses from the DOS menu system or from within Windows. Select "Access Software" from the menu items. Then under the access software menu select "Request Access Userid." In the next panel displayed, enter the requested information. From the Windows environment, click on the "User Access" icon and then click on the "Access Account" icon. Enter the requested information in the next panel displayed. (3) If you have an account on PSUVM, use the CMS command APPLY. After you enter the APPLY command, the screen displays directions and prompts you for information. Upon exit from APPLY, the information is sent to the Computer Accounts office for processing. At locations other than University Park, see your local computer support person. 3.2 Your Userid and Password If you apply for your Access Account from PSUVM, you will receive your userid and password by email. Otherwise, your userid and password can be obtained from CAC staff at any of the following locations: CAC labs, Help Desks in 12 Willard Building or 215 Computer Building, or the Computer Accounts office in 230 Computer Building. You must present your Penn State photo ID to receive the information. Remember your original password because you may need it later to log into the PH server, which does not yet have its password database linked with the other servers. 3.3 Change Your Password The first thing you should do after you receive your Access Account userid and password is change your password. The first time you connect to the Access Server, the server will prompt you to do so. -- If you are using a modem and software obtained from the CAC, the software will dial into the Access Server for you. The first time you connect, the Access Server will prompt you to change your password. -- If you are connected to the backbone, you should telnet to access.psu.edu. The first time you connect, the Access server will prompt you to change your password. In the future, telnet to the Access Server whenever you wish to change your password again. You must change your password at least once every six months. Note that the "Change password" menu items in the Macintosh and PC Eudora programs do not work at Penn State. The only way to change your password is by using one of the methods described above. If you forget your password, you can ask the Computer Accounts office to reset it. You must present your photo ID at 230 Computer Building to make the request. If you're at a location other than University Park, see your local computer support person. 3.4 Password Guidelines A password is private information. All use of the userid (or file) is assumed to be performed by the person assigned to that userid. (The userid is a unique identifier associated with the person assigned to it by the Director of the Center for Academic Computing or designee. On some computer systems it may be called an account.) You are responsible for safeguarding passwords for your userids. Passwords must not be shared. It is against policy and in most cases law to use another's account or file. Failure to conform to these restrictions may lead to suspension of userid or other action as provided by University Policy or law. The following guidelines are based upon experience and common sense. They are explicit for the Center systems. The software used to change passwords will screen for most of these guidelines as an aid in creating secure passwords. This does not relieve a person of responsibility for creating and securing a good password. These guidelines may be tailored as proper for other CAC systems with the written agreement of the Director. 1. It must be at least six characters in length. 2. It must contain at least one alphabetic and one numeric character. 3. It must be significantly different from previous passwords. 4. It cannot be the same as the userid. 5. It cannot start or end with the initials of the person issued the userid. 6. It cannot include the first, middle, or last name of the person issued the userid. 7. It should not be information easily obtainable about you. This includes license plate, social security number, telephone numbers, or street address. Note that Access Account passwords are "case-sensitive." This means that upper and lower case letters are recognized as different characters. For the complete CAC password policy, see the document "Center for Academic Computing Password Policy," available on-line and at CAC Help Desks and offices. 3.5 Your Email Address Your email address is in the form of userid@psu.edu, where "userid" is your Access Account user identification. Mail sent to that address is automatically forwarded to your POP mailbox, which is actually userid@email.psu.edu. We suggest that you give correspondents the shorter address of userid@psu.edu in case you ever want to use a different system for email. 3.6 If You Use Other Systems for Email Mail addressed to you at the general address userid@psu.edu is sent to your POPmail address userid@email.psu.edu. This is because the "email" field in the PH (electronic telephone) directory is set to the POPmail address. If you do not intend to use the POP mail server at email.psu.edu, it is important that you change your email entry so that people who look you up in the PH directory send mail to the correct address. For example, if you prefer to receive mail on your PSUVM account, you should change your email entry in PH to userid@psuvm.psu.edu (where "userid" is your Access Account userid). Use any of the following methods to change your email address entry in PH: (1) Run the PH client on a Macintosh or with the Windows client PHWin, and log in with your Access Account userid and your original password. Simply type over the email field and click "save". OR (2) Telnet to access.psu.edu. Use your Access Account userid and password when prompted. Enter ph for the PH menu item. Issue the commands login and make. A sample session for userid "abc" is shown below. What you see and type Comments -------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ------- -------- ph> login abc server prompts with "ph> " Enter nameserver password: *original* access password 200:abc:Hi how are you? isn't it friendly? ph> make email=abc@psuvm.psu.edu you type make ... 200:1 entry changed. it verifies the change ph> bye you say good-bye 200:Bye! and it is still friendly! OR (3) Contact the Computer Accounts office and request the change (see section 6 for contact information). Remember, your password for the PH database is your original Access Account password unless you've changed it in PH. Changing your Access Account password via the Access Server affects the POP mail server, news server, and the dialup Access Server, but not PH as of this writing.