Password checking

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Password checking
To increase password security, your administrator may have set password checking on your home server. Using password checking, your administrator can prevent reuse of a password and can force you to change your password after a certain amount of time.

CAUTION: Password checking must be disabled if you run Notes from more than one workstation and you use a Smartcard.

To view the password checking dialog boxes, click File > Security > User Security (Macintosh OS X users: Lotus Notes > Security > User Security), click Security Basics, and then click Compromised Password under "Your Login and Password Settings." In the What To Do If Your Password is Compromised dialog box, click Password Checking. The following dialog boxes you see depend on whether or not you have password checking enabled.

If password checking is enabled

If password checking is enabled for you, you see the "Password Checking Settings" dialog box. The "Password Checking Settings" dialog box states that you have password checking enabled and displays any of the following information:

"Change interval" displays the number of days that elapse between the last time you changed your password and the next time you are prompted to change your password.
"Grace period" displays the number of days before the change interval time expires. Once the change interval expires you can no longer access servers, but you have a grace period in which to change your password and regain access before you require administrator intervention.
"Password history" displays the number of different passwords you must use before you can reuse one. For example, if you set your password to "Hello" at one time, and your password history is set to 4, you must use 4 new passwords before you can reuse "Hello."
Whether your home server has password checking enabled for all users. If password checking is disabled on your home server, this means that your password will NOT be checked on that server, regardless of whether your security policy is set up for password checking for you.

If password checking is disabled

If you do not have password checking enabled, you see the "Request Password Checking" dialog box. The "Request Password Checking" dialog box states that you do not have password checking enabled. It also gives you the opportunity to request changes to your personal password settings as well as your home server password settings. If password checking is disabled on your home server, your password will not be checked on that server, even if you have password checking set up for you in a security policy.

To request a change to your password settings

You can send a request to your administrator to change some of your personal password settings.

1. Click File > Security > User Security (Macintosh OS X users: Lotus Notes > Security > User Security. click Security Basics, and then click Compromised Password.

2. Click Password Checking in the "What To Do If Your Password is Compromised" dialog box.

3. In the "Request Password Checking" dialog, click Send Mail next to the section describing your personal settings.

4. Enter the name of your administrator in the To: field. If your administrator's name is available, it appears in the To field when you are connected to the network. Click Address to locate a name in the DominoR Directory or in your Contacts.

5. Enter the changes you are requesting in the Memo field.

6. (Optional) Encrypt or sign your mail message by selecting Encrypt or Sign.

7. Click Send.

To request that password checking be enabled on your home server

You can send a request to your administrator to change the password checking settings on your home server, which would affect other users who use the same home server.

1. Click File > Security > User Security (Macintosh OS X users: Lotus Notes > Security > User Security), click Security Basics, and then click Compromised Password.