Passwords

Password types

There's a number of different passwords and passphrases a user of the infrastructure here is likely to encounter. We'll enumerate a number of the different kinds below, but it's worth noting that we're looking to simplify this in the near future. This page outlines the way things exist currently, as well as a plan for moving forward. If you're confused about which password you should use for a given resource, you should search this page for the resource you're interested in. Please report any inaccuracies to systems@mcs.anl.gov.

• Password Guidelines
• Department of Energy Password Guidance
• Argonne Password Guidelines (Internal website only)

Argonne Domain Password

What is it? : Authenticates against the central Argonne Active Directory. It is used for:

• Inside Argonne and other Argonne internal websites
• most administrative applications
• Argonne VPN
• Argonne Exchange e-mail server

Where can I change it?: Argonne Credentials Site

Who can reset it for me?: It varies, depending on your home division, but generally either the MCS Help Desk or the ANL Help Desk.

IMPORTANT: When your Argonne Domain Password is changed

When your Argonne Domain Password is changed (by you or by an administrator), there are numerous places where you'll need to change your password. Below is a list of all the places you'll need to change it.

• Anything that logs into ANL Exchange, such as your mail client, or the iCal/iSync conduit, or your Mobile Device. Also check any saved, inactive mail servers that you might not even be using. (Does not apply to Zimbra.)
• Any LDAP clients using Argonne's LDAP server, such as Mac Mail/Address Book
• Any Jabber clients such as Pidgin, iChat, Trillian or Adium.
• Authenticated wireless password caches.
• Anything using the lab's Exchange server, such as Outlook, mobile clients.

If you neglect to change these passwords, you may find your account gets locked out due to too many bad password tries.

MCS Workstation Password

What is it? : Primary MCS password. It is used for:

• Zimbra (MCS, ALCF, or CELS E-Mail)
• MCS Accounts Page
• Some MCS websites
• Logging in on divisional Mac and Linux machines.
• Most other MCS resources.

Where can I change it?: MCS Account Management

Who can reset it for me?: Anyone in MCS Systems.

OTP

What is it? : One Time Password generator. Some users will be required to use this for access to certain applications. If you have one and don't know how to use it, contact MCS Systems.

Others

SSH Key: SSH keys require the use of a passphrase. This passphrase is unique to your key and is not in any way tied to any particular machines. For details on how these work in MCS, see SSH keys.