Instructions for changing your BuffNET account's password

To keep your account secure, its a good idea to change your password from time to time. Your account is only as secure as your password.

You can change your password right now if you like. It's as easy as...

1. You must be dialed into a BuffNET modem to change your password. If you do not currently have a BuffNET dialup connection setup for your computer, please go back to our Main Tech Support Page.

2. Telnet into buffnet3.buffnet.net
   You may already have a telnet application specified within your browser settings. You can CLICK HERE to see if a Telnet window opens for you on your computer.

   If the link above didn't work and your computer's operating system is... MS-Windows 9x / ME / XP / NT / 2000: Click on <Start> - <Run> in the text field, type telnet buffnet3.buffnet.net then click OK. Windows 3.x, MacOS, FreeBSD, Unix, Amiga, Other: You may need a third-party telnet application. Please visit www.download.com and search for a "telnet client" for your computer's type.

3. Enter your BuffNET login name (username), then hit ENTER

4. Now type your current password then hit ENTER
   You will not see your password on the screen as you type - this is normal.

5. Simply hit ENTER again to accept the terminal type when prompted.

6. After successfully logging into your BuffNET account, you will be presented with a menu of commonly used commands. Type "P" to select the option CHANGE MY PASSWORD! and hit the Enter key.

7. Below are the series of prompts you will see:

   Changing NIS password for "your_user_name" on buffnet1.buffnet.net Old password: Enter your current password here New password: Enter the new password you want here Retype new password: Re-enter the new password you want here

8. At the menu, type "L" to LOGOUT of the remote computer.

PLEASE NOTE:
We recommend a password of at least 7 digits in length consisting of a combination of alphabetical and numeric characters including 2 non-alpha-numeric characters (such as: & , @, % , * , ! or $). The longer the password is, the harder it is to guess or hack.

Here are a few guidelines for choosing a good password:

• Don't just add a digit to a "real" (common dictionary) word or your login id. This is about the poorest method of security and provides ammunition for hackers.

• The poorest methods of security is to use a password of:

  • the word "password"

  • your logon name

  • the name of your ISP (in this case: BuffNET)

  • Any combination of only numbers

• Complete words like football can be discovered through common cracker dictionary programs. If you need to use a common word, try an alternate method of spelling it: Use fut instead of foot - then mix in digits, like 3 and 5, then bal instead of ball.

• If I were a cracker and saw a logon name like Popeye, I would immediately think of OliveOil or SweetPea as choices of the users password. It is best to use something totally unrelated as a password; if you must use something related, try the method of a mixture of unrelated words PLUS digits.

• Our choice for passwords is nothing that makes sense - something like: 8G%-2mwoL - PLUS it is changed often. We have even gone as far as to change it several times a week.

  A GREAT example of a Hard-To-Break password would be the name "KEVIN" spelled as:

  CAPITAL LETTER "K"	THE NUMBER THREE	CARROT (SHIFT-SIX)	EXCLAMATION POINT	LOWERCASE LETTER "N"
  K    3    ^    !    n NOTE! Do Not Use This For Your password! This Is An Example Only!