PSC password policy

Computer security depends heavily on maintaining secrecy of passwords. Accordingly, PSC passwords are:

  • distributed to authorized users by U.S. mail only.
      Under NO circumstances does PSC reveal any passwords over the telephone, FAX them to any location, send them through EMAIL, set them to a requested string, or perform any other action that could reveal a password.

      If someone claiming to represent PSC contacts you and requests information that in any manner would reveal a password, be assured that the request is invalid and do NOT comply.

  • random strings of at least eight characters.

  • initially identical on all PSC machines for which you receive an account.
      Your initial password is recorded and filed by PSC. In an emergency, we can restore the initial passsword at your request. We won't tell you the password over the phone, however, so you are encouraged to memorize your initial password or store it in a secure place .

  • required to be changed within 30 days of the date on the password sheet.
      If the password for an account is not changed in 30 days, logins will be disabled on the account. Contact PSC User Services to have the password reset and the account enabled again.

      Please note that changing your password on the Teragrid User Portal does not change it on PSC systems and will not prevent your PSC password from expiring.


  • required to be changed at least once per year.
      If a password remains unchanged for more than one year, the account will be disabled. Contact PSC User Services to have the password reset and the account enabled.

Changing your password

PSC uses Kerberos authentication on all its production systems, and your password on all these PSC machines is the same. Changing your password on any of these machines automatically changes it for the others. This password is referred to as your "Kerberos password" or sometimes your "AFS password".

You can change your Kerberos password with the kpasswd command. You can also change it with the web-based AFS password utility written at PSC.