Passwords

Changing your password from home adds some complexities that you would not find if you were changing your password at the office. Cached passwords are the key difference.  What is a cached password? When your computer is off our network (i.e., not connected to TTI either physically by being on TTI’s wifi or a hardwired connection, or virtually through VPN) it keeps a cached password in its memory. The cached password is memorized, or updated, every time you login to your computer while on TTI’s network. The cached password is only intended to allow you to login to your computer when you are off TTI’s network. Why should I care about cached passwords? If your computer is off our network for a long period of time, it has no way of knowing if your password is expired. This poses a significant threat to both your and TTI’s security. On a less threatening note, you might have trouble signing in to VPN, Outlook, OneDrive, MyTTI, SSO, and virtually anything else that requires you to sign into using your TTI email and password. These services are connected to our network and they do know when your password is expired. This is why you might find that you can sign into your computer, but not to any of the services listed above. What’s the fix? First things first, Change your password! Updating Cached Password From Work Updating the cached password is simplest if you are at a TTI office and connected to wifi or a wired connection. All you would do in that case is log out and log back in! Updating Cached Password From Home If you are working from an off-site location, we need to utilize VPN to virtually hop on to TTI’s network regardless of your location. First log in to your machine using your old password then sign in to our VPN Client (Cisco AnyConnect) Be sure to sign into VPN using your newly changed password! Once you are connected to VPN, press the Windows key and the 'L' key on your keyboard at the same time. This will take your computer back to the log-in screen. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL then log in with your newly changed password. Your cached password has now been updated! …

In case you forgot your password or are locked out of your TTI account you can recover your account and create a new password or just unlock your account using the steps below. First, go to https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/ and enter your TTI email and solve the captcha by typing in the characters you see. Your TTI email should be -@tti.tamu.edu, the example below is for Joe Aggie. If you know your password but you are now locked out, this may happen if you entered it incorrectly too many times, select I know my password, but still can't sign in. If you just forgot your password click I forgot my password the following steps will be the same except for changing your password. After you click next you will be asked to verify that you are the user of the account by using a two-factor authentication method attached to your account. You will need to do this twice, one of the times must be using the authenticator app on your phone. If you select to receive a text or phone call you will need to type in the code they send you. Then you will need to verify your account a second time. Finally you will be able to change your password if you forgot it. If you we're just locked out of your account it should now be unlocked. Check out TTI's password requirements when you are making your new password. If you're having any more issues make a ticket or contact the TTI NIS Help Desk. …

Beginning Friday May 31st, 2024, TTI will begin using a new password policy that no longer expires passwords for all accounts. Once your current password expires, the new policy will take effect the next time you change your password. To take advantage of the new policy, feel free to proactively change your password after May 31st using our self-service password reset portal (password.tti.tamu.edu) to do so. Here are the basics of the new password policy: Passwords require three out of fourof the following categories: Uppercase characters Lowercase characters Numbers Symbols Passwords must be a minimum of 16 characters in length, there will be no exceptions for passwords shorter than 16 characters Passwords no longer need to be changed every 6 months  Password updates are only required when requested, or if security incident occurs This updated password policy makes everyone and agency data and resources more secure with the added benefit of relieving the burden of changing passwords multiple times each year. For information on creating a secure password, or even better, a passphrase, here is information from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Administration: Use Strong Passwords | CISA Refer to the complete passphrase policy at https://iso.tti.tamu.edu/controls/IA-05-727.html. Keep It Private Important: Under no circumstances should you share your passphrase with anyone, including students, employees, parents, spouses, other family members or NIS personnel. Because social media has decreased privacy, pass-phrases should not contain personal information. Do not include names of your spouse, children, pets or friends. Pass-phrases should not contain your home address, license plate, phone number or social security number. Keep your passphrase secret. Do not send it through electronic mail or regular mail, or give it out over the phone. Tip: Set up Self-Service Password Reset at https://password.tti.tamu.edu. You can reset a forgotten passphrase on your own without calling NIS. Multiple Pass-phrases Most TTI information systems utilize the TTI single sign-on (SSO) authentication system which allows you to use your TTI network username and passphrase. Other entities (TAMUS Single Sign-On, TAMU Central Authentication Service (CAS), and individual applications) use separate authentication systems for which you must maintain a different username and passphrase. Changes to one passphrase do not necessarily affect pass-phrases on other systems. For assistance with systems maintained by other entities, please contact the help desk of that entity for assistance. TAMUS Single Sign-On / HRConnect TTI Human Resources (979) 317-2055 TAMU Central Authentication Service (NetID) TAMU IT Help Desk (979) 845-8300 Changing Your Passphrase If your passphrase needs to be changed, you can set a new passphrase quickly by simultaneously pressing the Control + Alt + Delete keys on your TTI Windows computer. A Windows logon Information screen will appear. Click the Change a Password button to easily set a new passphrase. You'll need to enter values in the Old Password, New Password, and Confirm New Password fields.  Alternatively, you can browse to the TTI self-service password reset page to quickly change the passphrase yourself. …