Why You Should Change the Passwords of Your Windows Accounts Periodically?

When it comes to the digital security, the password must be the first layer of protection. The passwords have a critical role to play in deploying the data security, be it on the local machine or in the cloud. Regular computer users understand very well the importance of password, and any further explanation of it might go down as a cliché for them.

With the advancement of technology, the chances of password-sharing or password leakage have been increased. To be on the safe side, it is a common security practice to change the passwords regularly at specified intervals. Microsoft Active Directory and other technologies have even implemented the concept of Password Age, which specifies the number of days after which a password will expire, and the user has to change the password to access the data or system.

Why Changing the Password Matters?

Following are the most common four reasons that specify why the users should change the passwords sometimes manually or regularly at predefined intervals.

1. To mitigate the damage from a compromised password

Data breaches make it to the news quite often, and it is not just minnows who are victims as giants like Yahoo and Deloitte have taken the beating as well. What’s interesting about such breaches is the that it takes 205 days on average for a data breach to be detected[1]. Also, the breached data is not instantly ‘worked upon’. So, even if your password is breached due to some fallacies, changing it on time can save your account.

2. To get rid of passwords saved on devices

While working regularly on the same devices, most users tend to save the password on them for comfortable signing in process. It could even be a result of negligence as well. Changing the password will mean that your account will remain safe if someone gets access to those devices.

3. Written passwords may not be safe

Do not write your passwords anywhere’ is one of the most common warnings, yet some users choose to ignore it and write them on their diaries, notebooks, or even in the notepad at their computers. No matter how fragile your memory is, this practice has a substantial security threat as you can end up ignoring old notebooks/diaries and someone else may get access to them, or still be carrying your passwords. So, change the password and try not to write them again.

4. Compliance Mandates

Even IT regulatory compliances including PCI DSS requires you to change the password of your computers and other accounts after a specified period.

Password Policy of Ace Cloud

At Ace Cloud, security of client’s account is our utmost priority. While we deploy the tested and reliable practices to secure these accounts, there are some responsibilities of the users as well to keep their data protected. Changing the account passwords at intervals is one of the best security practices.

To further enhance account security and protect against potential breaches, users can consider implementing a password manager, which securely stores and manages complex passwords across various accounts and services.

Password Complexity Policy

Owing to the strong security of the password, we advise you to follow password complexity requirements.

Your password must follow all of these rules:

• Your password must be between 8 and 30 characters.
• Your password must contain at least one uppercase (capital) letter (e.g., A, B, etc.).
• Your password must contain at least one digit (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.).
• Your password must contain at least one special character. Special characters can be a punctuation mark or any other symbol on your keyboard (e.g. @ ! $ % * ? +).
• Your password cannot include any actual words (referred to as “dictionary words”). For example, you may not use the word “book” in your password, but you may use“b00k” instead (using zeroes instead of the letter “o”). Certain common names may also be considered words, so please keep this in mind when creating your password.

How to Change Password of Your Ace Cloud Hosting Accounts?

Access your Account Desktop through Remote Desktop. Now, perform the following steps to change the passwords of Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016.

Step 1: Click Start –> Windows Security. OR on Windows Computer, press Ctrl + Alt + End simultaneously. If you are using Mac, press Fn + Ctrl + Alt + Backspace simultaneously. Performing any of the above steps displays the security options of Windows Server.
Step 2: Click on Change a password.
Step 3: Enter the old password, the new password, re-enter the new password and press Enter.

Following images display how the process will work in different Windows servers –

a) Windows Server 2008 R2

b) Windows Server 2012 R2

c) Windows Server 2016

Need Help?

For any assistance related to changing passwords of your Ace Cloud Hosting accounts, you can reach our hosting experts (available 24/7) via 1-800-432-1585 or email us at [email protected]

Reference:
[1] The Bitglass “Where’s Your Data?” Experiment? (PDF)