How to change your STFC password

There are a number of ways to change your STFC password. For a Windows laptop/desktop user that is currently using an STFC network connection, the easiest option is:

Press the <Ctrl><Alt><Del> keys together and then click on the “Change Password” option.

For MAC, Linux and PDA users, please contact your local IT Service Desk for assistance as the exact steps may vary based on how your device has been set up. You may need to seek assistance if you use the “visitors” network when at an STFC site.

• How to change your password - away from STFC sites

Facilities users, STFC staff and others with valid STFC Federal IDs and passwords can register via the secure https://access.stfc.ac.uk/ web site to change or reset passwords online.

To use this web site, you will need to know your current STFC username (Federal ID) and password and complete the initial registration process. Just like online banking, the registration process will ask you to provide answers to some basic security questions about yourself that will help identify you in the future.

Once registered, if you need to change or reset your STFC password, you can use the https://access.stfc.ac.uk/ web site, your name and the answers you provided during the registration process to reset your password.

If you have forgotten your STFC password and have registered with this website, you can reset your STFC password to a new memorable value.

Each time an STFC password is changed or reset via this web site, it must follow the new rules on STFC passwords.

• For those who use PointSec or Becrypt encryption on DTFC laptops

If you have recently changed your STFC password, it is possible that it may not be synchronised with the local PointSec password. Please contact you local IT Service Desk for assistance on synchronising these two passwords.

Password Policy

Your STFC password must:

• be at least 10 characters long
• contain at least 8 different characters, each of which is used only once
• contain at least 2 each of:
  • Letters (upper and lower case sensitive) (A-Z a-z)
  • Numbers (0-9)
  • Symbols (!"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{}~)
• your letters must not spell a word or an abbreviation associated with STFC
• not based on your Federal ID

You can test if a new password value meets these rules by visiting https://testpassword.stfc.ac.uk/ web page before you need to set or reset your password. You can also use this web site to test your current password against the new rule anytime.

Further advice on how to select a good password, how to change it etc is available at:

http://www-internal.clrc.ac.uk/staff/computing/security/passwords.html

Alternatively, contact your local IT Service Desk team.