After a long summer away from the University, students and faculty logging on to Duckweb might struggle to remember which random set of letters and numbers they need for access. Add to that alpha-numerical soup a library PIN, a long distance code, a PAC number, a student ID number and an e-mail username and password – it can get pretty messy.
That complex process of mentally filing passwords and logins is about to change: A project to upgrade the central computing system at the University is currently underway.
Eventually the project will allow students to use the same username and password to log on to everything from Duckweb to the computers in labs all over campus. The username will be called a “Duck ID,” said Noreen Hogan, Principal Technologist for Information Services at the University.
“The bulk of the changes are in the infrastructure,” Hogan said
There is no exact date set for completion of the project, but phase one will begin this summer with the establishment of a new site where students can manage their University computer account.
“The first time the user will notice the changes will be when they go to change their password,” something that will happen this summer for most students, Hogan said.
Passwords will continue to expire every 180 days, but now, in order to change it, students will be directed to account.uoregon.edu from the current site, password.uoregon.edu.
The requirements for passwords will be different as well in an effort to make it easier for students to find an acceptable one and maintain the same level of security.
“Students have had a hard time finding an acceptable password in the past and so the new requirements should be more clear and easier to understand,” Hogan said.
Until now, the University has used a “big set of dictionary files” along with software that checks for recognizable patterns in the passwords, Hogan said. This system has been streamlined, which simplifies the requirements for an acceptable password.
Security will be maintained by increasing the number of characters required for a password. They will be eight to 16 characters long instead of six to 16, which is secure because a longer password is a safer password, Hogan said.
At the new site, students will also be asked to establish a set of security questions, which will then be used when students forget their password.
“In the future if you forget your password you will just fill out a set of security questions instead of using your PAC number,” Hogan said.
Students also will be able to set e-mail forwards, check quota limits and change spam filtering options at the new site.
“We want it to be one-stop shopping. Anything you need to do with your account you can do in one place,” Hogan said.
Matt Perreault, a University student working at the Computing Center Help Desk, said that the changes in the password requirements will probably make people happy.
“Everyday people come in and ask me to help them make a new password and it takes like 10 tries to find one,” Perrault said. “It’s like the main thing I do.”
However, he cautioned, changes can also cause problems.
“The more you consolidate, the more security issues there will be. Finding a balance between security and convenience is always a big struggle,” Perreault said.
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