MCC Daily Tribune

Tech Tip: Don't get 'locked out' - Password Best Practices

One of the worst ways to start a day is not being able to log in. You type in your password--you get an error. You try again – typing slowly and very carefully. It still isn’t right. Try too many times and your account will be locked for 15 minutes as a security precaution against ‘bots’. It’s possible that your password has simply expired; see the College’s Password Policy (PDF). (For employees with past due cyber security awareness training, your password expires every 7 days.)

Put reminder of password expiry in your calendar.

• Log in to myaccount.monroecc.edu and click on Sign In button. 
• Note date/time of your password expiry.
• Put a reminder in a calendar you use daily one week before that expiry to update your password.

Keep your Account Recovery Information up to date.

• Log in to myaccount.monroecc.edu and click on Sign In button. 
• Click on Account Recovery in left-hand navigation
• Make sure that you can access the email listed and that the recovery cell phone number is current.

Use a Strong Password.

• Use a 14+ character passphrase of 3 or 4 unrelated words
• You can separate the words by blank spaces - just don't start or end with a blank space
• Include at least three of the following:
  • an uppercase character (A to Z)
  • a lowercase character (a to z)
  • a number (0 to 9)
  • a special character (for example: !, ?, $, #, *)

To update your password anytime, click on the Technology tile in the portal, and then click on the Change/Reset Password tile.  This will bring you to the Network Account Services page, where you can sign in and change your password.

Questions?  Call Employee Technical Support at (585) 292-8324 (TECH), option 3, Monday through Friday, 8:45am to 4:45pm. 

Ann Penwarden
Computing & Information Technology Services
11/12/2024