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Change Your Password

 

The easiest way to change your email password is by using one of our campus webmail clients, Horde.  Here is an online video tutorial demonstrating how this is accomplished:

Change Your Password with Horde

 

OR you can use the instructions below using a Secure Shell client and command lines. 

Before You Begin:

    Windows Users  |   Mac OSX Users 

 

Step by Step Instructions - Windows  
  1. First, you'll need a client to connect via SSH.
    Putty is a free client and may already be installed on your system. If not, you may download a copy here.
  2. Start Putty by Double clicking the icon on your desktop.
    Once started, you should see a screen similar to the one below.
         

 

3. Now you'll need to provide some basic information to putty.
         1. The host server: sun.westga.edu
         2. The protocol we wish to use: SSH
         3. Click "Open"
           

 

Note: The first time you connect using Putty, you may see a warning similar to the dialog box below. If so, click "Yes" to continue.

           

 

4. At the "login as" prompt, type in your sun user name and press "Enter".
      Your user name is the first part of your email address.
     

 5. Then, as prompted, type in your sun password and press "Enter".
*Note: As a security measure in Putty the cursor will not blink or move to indcated the characters you type.  Please, continue to type as normal & press Enter.
      

 

You are now logged in and ready to change your password!

6. At the new prompt, type in the command "passwd" as illustrated below and press "Enter".
     

This informs the server that you wish to change your password.

REMEMBER: The password change you are about to make is ONLY taking place ON the server. YOU will still need to update any software that is set to "remember" your password.

7. You will now be asked to re-enter your CURRENT password.
      This is the password you just used to login. Enter it exactly and press "Enter".
8. Enter your NEW password.
    The next prompt will ask you for your new password. Remember, it must be at least 6-8 characters long and contain a mixture of numbers and letters. After you've entered the new password, press "Enter".
 9. Re-Enter your NEW password.
     Another prompt will ask you to re-enter the new password. Be sure to enter it exactly as you did before and press "Enter".
     Once accepted, a message will confirm that your password has been changed.
10. Logout:  To logout, simply type "exit".

 

Step by Step Instructions - Mac OSX  
  1. Go to the Applications Folder, and open the Utilities Folder.
  2. Double click the application called "Terminal".
    A window should open with a prompt, something like this-
    my-computer:
  3. At the prompt type
    ssh userID@sun.westga.edu

    Next you will get the password prompt for the mail server-
    password:
  4. Type your current email password.
    You will then be logged into the email server.
  5. At the prompt, type "passwd" to initiate the password command as indicated below:
    sun{userID}: passwd

     The command will be confirmed as indicated below:
    passwd: Changing password for userID
  6. As prompted, enter your existing login password.
    Enter existing login password:
  7. As prompted, enter your NEW password.
    New Password:
  8. As prompted, enter your NEW password again.
    Re-enter New pasword:
  9. Type "exit" at the command prompt to exit the session.