In general, you should not give your passwords out to anyone. If you do need to give a password out to someone, never do it over email-- unless you are using encrypted email, the text of your email messages is transmitted in clear text and although difficult, could be viewed by a hacker.

Your SUNetID and password

Your SUNetID and password is one of, if not the most, important username-password combination you have. Do not tell your SUNet password to anyone. This includes friends, your RCC, and even boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, and partners. It is a violation of the Leland Systems Usage Policy to use another person's SUNetID and password or to grant anyone usage of your own.

Moreover, you should only enter your SUNetID and password into secure and "authorized" login locations. This includes Mac-Leland, PCLeland, the WebLogin page and when you are logging in over a secure connection to one of the Leland servers (elaine, cardinal, etc.). To download and install software to ensure secure logins (through ssh or SFTP), you can visit Essential Stanford Software.

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You might think your birthdate or your girlfriend's first name might be a good password, but it's really not. It's not as inventive as your might think and hackers can and will guess your password more easily. This is just like hiding your house key under the welcome mat or on top of the door frame-- considering we all know about these common hiding places, it essentially defeats the purpose. For example, take a look at this list of common passwords.

When choosing a password, you should avoid using words that appear in the dictionary (many systems, including Leland, won't even let you use a password like that), words or numbers of personal significance that are easily guessable (such as your birthdate), and the longer the password, the better. For more tips on choosing good passwords, visit these suggestions provided by the Leland Systems or this information from SLAC.

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