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Change your PSU Access Account Password and College AG password


When an access account is created for you at Penn State, you are automatically assigned a password made up of random letters and numbers. It is possible to change this password to something easier for you to type and/or easier for you to remember. You should always retain your original password in a safe place because there will be times that you may need it again, but for day-to-day operations you will be able to use your own personalized password or pass phrase.

 

College of Ag Science faculty and staff will normally have TWO accounts. They will have a PSU Access Account and a College of Ag Sciences' AG account. Note, some have more. Example: staff that access PSU's IBIS and/or ISIS have an AIS account. And a few have less, some county-paid Extension staff may not have a PSU Access Account at all.

 

In general, faculty and staff will have a PSU Access Account and a College of Ag Sciences AG account. Everyone who is a Penn State paid employee should have a PSU Access Account. AG accounts are in use in the County Extension offices and a number of University Park offices and departments. Userid's in use by each system will match.

 

For security reasons, it is recommended that you change these passwords every 6 months. Both Penn State and the College require that you update passwords at least once a year. If you receive a password reminder for the PSU Access Account, be sure to change it before it expires! If you don't, or you've forgotten your PSU password, you are required to go to an Information Technology Services (ITS) Signature Station to reinstate (reset) the password. The requirement to physically go to a Penn State Campus now includes County Extension staff.

 

If an AG password has expired, you will be unable to change the password for that account. Please submit a Problem Submission form to have the AG password reset, include the UserID of the account in the problem details.

 

When we create AG accounts, we use the assigned PSU Access Account Userid. Here is a list of services used by each account. Your PSU Access Account and College of Ag Sciences' AG account passwords don't need to match. But you may find the password easier to remember/manage if they do. If you use SharePoint or do Web Development, you will need to edit or reenter the new AG password when you login there.

 

Services that use AG Account:

  • Computer Login (for a machine in AG domain)
  • Email (for College Exchange account) **
  • RedDot
  • SharePoint sites
  • Web Development
  • Webtrends

    ** County Extension office email accounts are also AG accounts.

     

    Services that use PSU Access Account:

  • Angel
  • Breeze
  • CASPAR ***
  • eCommerce/ePay
  • Email (for PSU mail account)
  • ESSIC
  • FIT
  • ITS-managed computing labs
  • VPN
  • Web based AIS systems

    *** CASPAR is a College resource that uses the PSU WebAccess Service for login.

     

    Note: If your computer is in the AG domain and you change the AG password, check your Scheduled Tasks folder. Any scheduled tasks will need to be updated to run with your new AG password. If you have an AIS account, they have different password requirements and separate means of updating these passwords.

    Must do before you proceed
    Change your PSU Password
    Change your AG Password Password
    Scheduled Tasks
    Mapped Network Drives
    AG based services
    Guidelines for your new Password
    Other College & University Services

     

    Must do before you proceed

    1. Close all applications and restart your computer.
      • This will ensure that all your recently changed data will be synched.
    2. Login as normal and open only Internet Explorer.
      • All other applications should be closed.
    3. Read the guidelines for your new password. See below.

      Tip: If you are creating a new, more cryptic password or a longer PassPhrase, practice entering it into a Word document several times, where you can see the result. Sometimes keys may stick on a keyboard and not provide the expected results. Practice first. Then you can be sure that the password is being changed to what you expect.

      Tip: When changing a password, do NOT use the numeric keypad to enter numbers. Use the number keys at the top of the keyboard. We have seen cases where the numeric keypad was used ... but the Num Lock key was not pressed. So <null> characters were entered instead of the expected numbers. The person was then unable to use the password as expected (e.g. they were locked out of their AG computer). Once the password has been changed, you can use the numeric keypad to enter numbers.

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    How To Change your PSU Password

    These steps need to be followed to minimize the number of problems you will have logging back onto your computer, after your password has been changed.

     

    NOTE: AG only accounts (examples: county extension office email accounts or county extension office general accounts) should skip this section for changing the PSU password ... they are not PSU Access Accounts.

     

    Note: If you are unable to login at Step 3, please verify that you have an active PSU Access Account by searching for your name on the PSU Directory: http://www.psu.edu/ldap/. If you are still unable to login and are on a PSU campus, you can reinstate it by visiting an ITS Signature Station.


    Note: College of Ag Sciences' County Extension staff with a 'forgotten' PSU Access Account password that are unable to login at Step 3 will also need to go to nearest Penn State Campus ITS Signature Station to reinstate a password. Scroll down in the list of Signature Stations to find the campus nearest your county office.

     

    1. Go to the following website: https://www.work.psu.edu/
    2. Enter your Penn State Access Account UserID and your current PSU Access Account password.
    3. Click Login.
    4. On the left side of the screen, in the 1st column, look for the PasswordExpiration Information section.
    5. Click the Change your Password button in this section.
    6. Read the Password guidelines. Scroll down in the frame to see the fields to change your info.
    7. Enter your Penn State Access Account UserID.
    8. Enter your current PSU Access Account password.
    9. Enter a new password.
    10. Enter your new password again.
    11. Click Change Password.

      Note: You should receive a message that says your password has been successfully changed.

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    How To Change your AG Password

    These steps need to be followed to minimize the number of problems you will have logging back onto your computer, after your password has been changed.

     

    Note: We recommend that you follow these steps during Support's normal business hours of Monday through Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you run into issues when changing the AG password, you may not be able to login to the computer. We can reset AG passwords to a default password to allow you to login.

     

    Note: These steps can also be used to change the passwords for County Extension office email accounts or county extension office general accounts (example: Master Gardeners, Summer Assistant).

     

    1. Go to the following website: http://work.ag.psu.edu/
    2. Click OK or Yes to all security warnings/messages.
    3. Enter your AG UserID.
    4. Enter your current AG password.
    5. Click OK.
    6. Enter your old password (same as in Step #4).
    7. Enter your new password (may be the same as the "new" PSU Password changed above).
    8. Enter your new password again.
    9. Click OK.

      Note: You should receive a message that says your password has been successfully changed.

    10. Close your browser window.

      Note: Steps 11 - 12 assumes that your computer is part of the AG domain. If your machine is not, you can skip these steps. Step 13 assumes that you have a College of Ag Sciences Exchange account. It should use the new password once it is changed.

    11. Restart your computer.
    12. Log in using your new password.
    13. Open Outlook and check mail.

      Final Note: If you have multiple computers, e.g. a travel laptop, remember to put in on your office network and login with the new password as well. Also, if you login to other computers in your offices, e.g. a shared workstation, go to that machine and login.

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    Scheduled Tasks

    Windows Task Scheduler allows you to schedule tasks such as testing for spyware or system tools like the Disk Defragmenter. Task Scheduler starts each time you start Windows, and runs in the background. With Task Scheduler you can schedule a task to run daily, weekly, or monthly. If you have a Scheduled Task that is set to run with your "old" password, you need to update them with the "new" password.

     

    Note: The steps in this section are for College Enterprise computers that are part of the AG domain.

    Note: If you have a Scheduled Task called AppleSoftwareUpdate, you do not need to edit it. It runs with system credentials.

    1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    2. If Control Panel is not already in Classic View, click the Switch to Classic View link on the left.
    3. Double Click on Scheduled Tasks.

      Note: If you have tasks that begin with AT, ignore them for now.

      Note: Older Enterprise computers may have two tasks for Spybot - Search & Destroy and Spywareblaster. These task, along with the Spybot - Search & Destroy and Spywareblaster programs should be deleted. See these How To's for the steps:
      How To Remove Spybot and Spyware Blaster

    4. At this point, if you have a Task other than the ones you were asked to ignore or delete above, Right Click on the 'task' and choose Properties.

      Note: Please verify that the Run as box has AG\Userid listed instead of WIN\Userid. You will not be able to complete Step 5 - 7 if WIN\ is listed. If needed, remove WIN\ and replace with AG\.

    5. Click the Set password... button.
    6. Enter your new password in the fields provided. Click OK.
    7. Click Apply. If the new password is not accepted, enter the password again.
    8. Click OK if the apply command was accepted.

      Note: You can test a task by Right Clicking on its name and choosing Run. If the process starts, you know that the password change worked. You can then Cancel the task.

    9. University Park based faculty/staff or other PSU locations can close the the Scheduled Task control panel window at this point. Go to the Mapped Network Drives section.

      County extension office staff should continue.

      Note: The County Server project provides for scheduled backups of data to the server. These backup tasks will start with the letters AT and then have a number. Ex: AT1, AT2, AT3 or and AT4. Depending on your status, you may need to edit the password of these AT tasks. You will not need to edit them. These backup scipts run with "ag\TskSchAcct" credentials. You can close the the Scheduled Task control panel window at this point. Go to the Mapped Network Drives section.

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    Mapped Network Drives

    If you open your My Computer icon and see Network Drives listed (they will have letters like Z:, Y:, M:, etc.), you should verify that they still work once your password has been changed. If you have a College Enterprise machine and these drives were mapped with your AG credentials, they should work as before. If these mapped drives were created for other services, they may need disconnected and re-connected with the Userid and new password for that service.

     

    1. Open My Computer.

      Note: If you don't have any network drives listed, skip this section.

    2. If you see network drives, double click on a drive letter to open the resource.
    3. If it opens, you can close its window. Return to the My Computer window. If you have additional drives listed, attempt to open them as well. If they all open, skip the remaining steps.

      Note: If you have any network drive that will not re-open, follow the remaining steps.

    4. Write down the path listed (URL connection) next to the Drive Letter. It should list a Folder on a 'Server'.

      Examples:
      IT on 'ictwww.ag.psu.edu\agsciweb\units'
      PestEd on 'web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CasDept'
      Adams on 'web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CoExt'

    5. Right click on the Mapped Drive and then choose Disconnect.
    6. If you have more than one mapped drive, Disconnect them as well.

      Note: You will now recreate the mapped drives with your new password.

    7. From the Tools menu, choose Map Network Drive.
    8. In the Drive box, from the drop-down list , select the same letter for the mapped drive.
    9. In the Folder box, click the drop down list. If possible, reselect the path from the drop-down list.
      If it doesn't appear, you will need to type in the path for the server.

      Note: The path will be the 2 slashes, followed by the server name, followed by a slash, followed by the folder name. Using the same examples from above, here are the paths to be entered.

      Examples:
      IT on 'ictwww\agsciweb\units' 
        \\ictwww.ag.psu.edu\agsciweb\units\it

      PestEd on 'web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CasDept' 
        \\web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CasDept\PestEd

      Adams on 'web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CoExt'
         \\web-server.ag.psu.edu\Casweb_d\Docs\CoExt\Adams

    10. If needed, click the different user name link. Enter the Userid and password for this drive. Click OK.
    11. Select Reconnect at logon. Click OK. Click Finish.

      Note: Windows XP should open a window that displays the contents of the resource you have mapped.

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    AG Based Services

    The College of Ag Sciences has two services that use the AG domain password for user login. Please remember to use the new AG password for the sites if you change it. If you have issues with these services once the password has been changed, see these How To's for help.

     

    1. SharePoint

      You should be able to login to SharePoint with the new password without issue. But if the login fails, you may need to clear the remembered form data. Complete the steps in this How To (Wrong" Information being entered in Internet Explorer Form). You should be able to log in to the needed site and have the "new" information be remembered instead.

    2. Web Development

      If you use Dreamweaver for Web Development and access your folders via FTP, see the How To Re-enter or Update Dreamweaver Password. You need to delete and update the password in Step 6.

      If you use a "Mapped Drive" for your Web Development, you should do nothing. The mapped drive should reconnect automatically with the new password.

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    Guidelines for your new Password
  • Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and at least one special character. Use two numbers or special characters in the first eight characters.

    Examples of permitted special characters are shown here.
    • Dollar Sign $
    • Percent %
    • Period .
    • Caret ^
    • Comma ,
    • Multiplication *
    • Exclamation Point !

    Some special characters may not be used.
    • Space
    • Double Quote "
    • Single Quote '
    • Backtick `
    • Ampersand &
    • Left Paren. (
    • Right Paren. )
    • Bar |
    • Less Than <
    • Greater Than >

     

     

  • It must be at least eight characters in length Longer is  better.
  • Don't use a common dictionary word, a name, a string of numbers, or your User ID. 
  • It should not be information easily obtainable about you. This includes license plate, social security, telephone numbers, or street address.

    Some hints to make your password more secure: 

     

    1. Make sure your password is cryptic. The password given to you when you sign up for PSU's account is a good example of a cryptic password, but you could also combine elements to make up your own.
      • One tip is to take the first letters from words of a phrase and mix them with special characters.
      • For example: 2b0rn2B ( "To be or not to be" )
      • You can also use a mix of capitalized letters in the password

    2. Use a longer "PassPhrase" instead of a shorter password. PassPhrases are strings of 15 characters or more. Longer PassPhrases prevent basic password cracking and guessing and are more secure than a short, complex 8 character password. According to Mark Minasi, a noted security consultant, a 15 character PassPhrase will require a cracking program the following number of computations to break just 15 lowercase letters ... 1,677,259,342,285,725,925,376 possibilities. When you add the additional use of uppercase letters, numbers and a special character, the PassPhrase will be almost impossible to crack.

      One strategy is to create a long "base PassPhrase" from a phrase made up from a book, a quote, or a song. Then add an additional unique string of 3 or 4 characters to make the overall PassPhrase (or password) unique.
    3. Penn State's has tips to Create a strong password and Avoid a weak password.

      Another set of additional best practices and guidelines for setting passwords is found via the Security Operations and Services (SOS) password Web page.

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    Other College & University Services

    Services from other College Departments or Groups
    Several departments at University Park maintain their own mail and/or file servers. If you are in one of these departments (ex: AERS, DAS) follow the procedures as outlined by your department to update your password on their systems.

     

    Services from Administrative Information Services or AIS
    Administrative Information Services provides the University with a number of systems and services. If you have questions beyond what is presented in this How To, you should contact the College's Access and Security Representatives.

     

    Note: When AIS services are accessed via a web browser, they use your PSU Access Account password!

     

    Note: Otherwise, passwords for the AIS Mainframe System and the Data Warehouse are unique to each system and are changed separately.

     

    Note: Here are the AIS password rules. You cannot use a longer PassPhrase for the AIS password.

     

  • A password needs to be 6 to 8 characters in length.
  • You cannot repeat any characters more than twice in a row.
  • You cannot use any special characters in your password.
  • You must include a number in your password.
  • You cannot use any of your four previously used passwords.

     

    AIS Mainframe System
    AIS mainframe systems (Ex: IBIS, ISIS) are accessed via Host Explorer. You will be prompted to change this password when it's due to expire. To change this password at any time, follow these steps:

    1. When logging in to the mainframe, enter your userid and current password.
    2. Then go to the New Password field. Enter your desired new password and press Enter.
    3. Follow the prompts to verify and change the password.

     


    AIS Data Warehouse
    The AIS Data Warehouse has a password separate from all other systems.

     

    1. To change this password, go to this webpage: Changing Your Data Warehouse Password.
    2. Click Change Password.
    3. Enter your User ID, Password, New Password and Confirm New Password.
    4. Then click Submit.

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Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences