Passwords to change every 6 months
As part of improving network and computing security in the School of Medicine computing environment, Medical School Information Systems will be implementing a new level of security requiring the changing of passwords every six months. This step is part of an effort to introduce new procedures that are comparable to industry best practices, as well as those being mandated by various state and federal laws, such as HIPAA, regarding security of information for students, staff, research subjects and patients.

MSIS will begin this change process by grouping users and staggering the dates for resets to avoid having everybody required to change at once. Email notifications will be sent to affected users as groups are identified for change. That email will contain reminder instructions on how to build a new password, as well as information on how to make the change.

When users receive the email, they will have two weeks to change their password or the account will become inactive. Accounts can be reactivated by using the challenge/response page at http://www.med.wayne.edu/msis/email/changepassword.asp or by visiting one of the MSIS service centers to change the password in person. MSIS offices are located in Room 1313, Scott Hall, or Suite 600, 3800 Woodward Ave.

Password may be changed before receiving the reminder email. New passwords should be at least eight characters long with a mix of letters, numbers and special characters, such as #, & or $. For advice on the best way to make a new password that is strong, please visit http://www.med.wayne.edu/msis/news/bulletin/effectivepasswords.asp.

To reset your password on the web, please visit https://owa.med.wayne.edu/iisadmpwd/aexp2b.asp. If your Windows 2000/XP workstation is in the MED domain and you are logged into the MED domain, you can change your password by pressing the CTRL-ALT-DEL keyboard combination. You will see a button that says 'Change Password' listed in the box. Click it and follow the on screen instructions. You can tell if your machine is in the MED domain by pressing the CTRL-ALT-DEL key combination, and looking at the 'You are logged in as...' line. If it says MED\yourusername, you are in the domain. You can also use the challenge and response instructions at http://www.med.wayne.edu/msis/email/changepassword.asp to change your password as well.

For questions or comments, please contact the Helpdesk at (313) 577-1527 or email at helpdesk@med.wayne.edu.