Tag: Security

The Password Reset- Error Messages includes screenshots of various error messages that may be seen in MyID when attempting to reset a password.

Note that the https://myid.pepperdine.edu website provides some additional resources, including a link to verify/update your MyID profile, a link which can be used to change a known password, and a short training video.

1. The user’s profile information is blank.

2. The user doesn’t recognize the email or phone number that the PIN was sent to.

3. The system doesn’t recognize the user.

Note: All of these messages direct you to go to: https://myid.pepperdine.edu/help

This URL will:

• Link to our new Password Reset Request Form.
• Generate a help desk ticket for Anytime Support.
• Anytime Support (the Password Reset Group), will help people update their profiles.

The MyID PIN Reset outlines the process for resetting a forgotten password via MyID:

1. Go to: https://myid.pepperdine.edu

2. Click Option 2: Click “Forgot Password”
3. Enter your NetworkID.
4. Type the letters displayed in the picture.
5. Select the check box (to allow PIN text message)
6. Click “Request PIN”

7. You will receive a confirmation message, click “Close”
8. Retrieve the PIN from your alternate email or mobile phone. Enter it here and click “Validate”
9. Enter your new password twice and click “Reset Password”
*Please Note: If your password does not meet our complexity requirements, you will see a red X next to the issues that need to be fixed.
10. Password reset was successful. Please close your browser.
Password Tip: Don’t Get Locked Out!
Update passwords you stored on your mobile devices, too!

Important update:

Password resets are now being handled by MyID.pepperdine.edu rather than NetworkID.pepperdine.edu. Email redirects, directory preferesnces and contact information will still be updated through NetworkID.pepperdine.edu for a few months while those services are migrated to the new MyID.pepperdine.edu platform.

If you haven’t ever setup your NetworkID Services, there’s no better time than now.

Password resets are the number one call we receive at the Help Desk. By logging in now and setting up a NetworkID profile you can later reset your password using either your cell phone, a non-Pepperdine personal email account or the more familiar secret question methods commonly available on websites.

A NetworkID profile provides critical information to verify the identity of any user who has forgotten or needs to change their password.

Benefits of a NetworkID profile:

• Self-Service Password Reset
• Change Verification Method
• Change Email Delivery Options
• Edit Directory Preferences and Contact Information

In addition you can find access to the new Google Apps at Pepperdine. Signing up for this service enables your Pepperdine Email via the popular Google Gmail system as well as offering access to other great Google Apps: Drive (for online collaberation), Calendaring (for scheduling), Google Talk (for chat) and more. Please note that if you chose to use Gmail to manage your Pepperdine email account your email will no longer be available via Webmail.Pepperdine.Edu

You’ve probably seen or heard of the myriad of recent news headlines where popular organizations like Twitter or Evernote have been hacked. These organizations assure us that our data is not compromised, and advise us to change our passwords or they promptly change our passwords for us to reduce the amount of damage a hacker can do. There is often more to the story, and even passwords we think are quite clever may be cracked with relative ease. The blog Ars Technica featured a couple of stories recently about passwords, which I recommend you read. There are a few examples of presumably safe passwords that were cracked with relative ease. The first article described how a blog editor managed to crack passwords with some basic tools, and can be found here. The second is a follow-up article, where the consulting hackers took a shot at the same list. You can view that one here. They are both fairly detailed but I encourage you to read all the way to the end.

There is a convenient graphic that illustrates the complexity of certain passwords, which I also encourage you to read. It can be found here.

Safe passwords are hard(er) to crack. You cannot rely on a website to properly encrypt your password, as we have seen in the news so often lately. Password managers can be a useful tool to generate random passwords for you, if you are concerned you cannot come up with a good password. The downside is that these passwords will be nearly impossible to remember, which then requires a master password that you can remember. There are a number of password applications out there, KeePass and LastPass among the more popular options. Which one you choose is up to you. Be sure to look for apps for your chosen smartphone as well, so you can be safe from whatever device you are using.

Our own Julie Tausend also recently wrote a post on information security. In it, you’ll find links to university services and policies that can be useful to you in securing your information. You can also go straight to the source for passwords and other types of security at community.pepperdine.edu/it/security.

Be safe out there, and be sure to CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS!

True or False: It is against Pepperdine policy to reuse your Pepperdine password for any other web service.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s true, it is against Pepperdine policy to reuse your MyID password for other accounts or sites.

When you reuse your Pepperdine MyID password on Internet sites or accounts, you are making yourself vulnerable to attacks on your Pepperdine account, finances, grades, and more. In 2011 alone, millions of passwords were stolen from Internet sites like Sony Entertainment and Gawker. In 2012, more than 6 million LinkedIn passwords were compromised.

If you use the same password over many sites, the security of your password is only as good as the security of each individual website you use that password. And if one site is compromised, your entire web presence is compromised. Your author actually uses a different 20 digit passphrase for every single website he uses and its actually quite easy to manage using a Password Manager.

Password Managers

A password manager is a software program that securely stores many passwords and IDs with the goal of making multiple passwords easier to access and use. A password manager can be very helpful to people who have lots of passwords. Read more about password managers here.

http://community.pepperdine.edu/it/security/password/passmgrs.htm

If that seems like too much work, its probably because it is, but that all depends on how you value your security. Strong passwords take a hacker with lots of computing power a very long time to guess. And if all your passwords are different, having your password compromised on LinkedIn just means that you only have to change that password and not have to worry about your Pepperdine account, Bank account, or whatever password that you may also be using that password on.

If the thieves find a connection to Pepperdine, they will use your account to send spam or attack your identity. This has already happened at Pepperdine!