Account & Password Security

Technology Services > Security

Account & Password Security

Computer Login Security

ALWAYS LOG OUT of lab computers. Campus lab computers log out after 30 minutes of inactivity.

ALWAYS LOCK your session if you are a full-time employee with a computer in your office.

Instructions for locking your screen

Windows - Lock Computer

On Windows, hold down the Windows key on your keyboard, then press the "L" key to lock your computer.

Macintosh - Lock Computer

Set Screen Saver password:
1. On a Mac, click the Apple logo in the upper left, then click "System Preferences."
2. Choose "Security" and choose "Require a password 5 seconds after sleep or screen saver begins."
3. Optionally, also choose a time for "log out after n minutes of inactivity."
Manually start Screen Saver to Lock your computer:
1. You may also want to go to System Preferences > Exposé & Spaces > Exposé > Set the bottom-right corner to start the Screen Saver.
2. Then, any time you want to lock your computer, just drag the cursor to the bottom right of the screen. The screen saver will start, and after 5 seconds, will prompt you for your password. The 5 seconds gives you time to quit the screen saver if you accidentally moved the cursor to the bottom right of your screen.

Password Security

Use SelfService to update your Flagler College network account password.

Flagler College's Secure Password Requirements

check mark Your password must be between 8 and 16 characters long.

check mark Your password must contain all of the following:

at least one UPPERCASE letter
at least one number
at least one special character, such as: !, $, #, %, etc.

slash mark Your password cannot contain any of the following:

Your username
Your first, middle, or last name
qwerty, asdf, abc, abcd, 123, 1234, flagler

slash mark Your password cannot be the same as your last 10 passwords.

Staff and Faculty must change their passwords every 6 months.

NEVER give out your password to anyone. If you think you have a need to give out your password, contact Technology Services and we will come up with an alternative plan that works for you.

Use a secure password! Even if you think that you don't have anything interesting in your account, if your account is compromised, it can act as a hole into our entire system. Identity theft is also always a risk if your account is compromised. Hacking programs can easily try many passwords per second composed of common words, names, and numbers. Refer to the section below on Secure Password Resources to help you set up secure passwords. The best password is a long, randomly-generated password.

Use a different password for every system! For instance, do not use the same password for your Flagler College network account as you do for your personal email account or social media account, etc. If a program or hacker knows one of your passwords, they will be able to use the same password to access any of your other accounts which use that password. It's understandable that no one can just remember a multitude of complex passwords, but there are tools to help. Refer to the section below on Password Management to help you manage your unique secure passwords.

Change your passwords often. Many websites require this now, but if not, take responsibility and change your passwords every few months.

Secure Password Resources

How Secure is My Password? analyzes your password strength, explains why your password is or isn't secure, and gives you ways to fix any weak passwords.

PC Tools Secure Password Generator

PasswordMaker

Tips on creating secure passwords (and why you need to do so)

Security expert Bruce Schneier explains how password-cracking programs work, empowering you with knowledge for making stronger passwords that thwart such attempts.

"Password strength" entry on Wikipedia

Password Management

With so many passwords to remember, especially if you create secure random passwords using a generator, you need a way to manage and access them all. Keep checking back here for updates, as this is a developing field. For now, here are some password management tools and tips:

How Secure is My Password? analyzes your password strength, explains why your password is or isn't secure, and gives you ways to fix any weak passwords.