NetID Password FAQ

1. How do I change my password?
2. How do I find out when my password is going to expire?
3. What do I do if I forget my password?
4. Why am I being required to change my password?
5. How often must I change my password?
6. Can I change my password to be the same thing?
7. How complex must my password be?
8. Why must my password be so complex?
9. Why do some systems lock me out?

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How do I change my password?

You may change your password at any time online. Instructions for changing your password are available on the Help Desk Center web site.

How do I find out when my password is going to expire?

NetID owners can find out when their password will expire by going to the Aggie Computing Gateway, selecting "NetID Password Management," then clicking "NetID Password Expiration Date." As your password expiration nears, you will receive a reminder via email to change it. Instructions for changing your password are available on the Help Desk Center web site.

What do I do if I forget my NetID password?

If you are on-campus, you simply need to take a picture ID to any Open Access Lab location or to Help Desk Central. If you no in town or otherwise unable to come in person, you may call Help Desk central at 979.845.8300.

Why am I being required to change my password? 

NetID passwords expire on a periodic basis and must be changed to remain valid. Old passwords may not be immediately reused. This policy is in place to comply with University Rule 29.01.99.M1 (PDF) and other administrative procedures. The ease with which a password is broken is directly related to its longevity; an older password is more likely to be broken. By changing passwords periodically, you can also ensure that a compromised password is not reused indefinitely.

How often must I change my password?

Your NetID password may not be over six months old. As your password expiration nears, you will receive a reminder via email to change it. After it has expired, you will be unable to access most systems until you have changed it. Changing your password more frequently is certainly acceptable, and doing so will prevent you from receiving expiration notices.

Can I change my password to be the same thing?

No. The university rules require that a password history be kept to restrict the immediate reuse of old passwords. Practically speaking, you should expect to create a new NetID password at least once every six months.

How complex must my password be?

Currently, passwords must:

• Be at least eight and at most thirty-two characters long
• Begin with a letter
• Contain at least one number
• Contain only the following characters: a-z A-Z 0-9 `~!#%^&*()-_=+[{]}\|:',<.>?/

Finally, your password should not be easily guessed, like your username, derivations of your name, words found in the dictionary, or words like "tamu" and "aggie".

Why must my password be so complex?

Simple passwords are easily guessed. Short passwords or passwords containing only letters or only numbers are subject to such a "brute force" attack by anyone on the internet. Passwords that contain dictionary words or terms easily associated with you are also easily guessed by malicious users attempting to compromise your information.

Why do some systems lock me out?

The university rules require that, whenever possible, a system either disable an account or deny access for a certain period of time after no more than seven failed login attempts. This delay thwarts programmatic attempts to guess user passwords with a password-guessing computer program.