Knowledge Base
Setting passwords for each type of account may look exactly the same but there are very slight differences in the directions so please read carefully for each.
The best way to set these are in Safe Mode. Some accounts only show up in "Safe Mode".
Administrator Password Setting
- Windows 95/98
- THERE IS NO ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD FOR THIS OPERATING SYSTEM
- Windows Me
- THERE IS NO ADMINISTRATOR PASSWORD FOR THIS OPERATING SYSTEM
- Windows 2000
- Open Users and Passwords
- Click on the Start Menu
- Click on Control Panel and then Users and Passwords
- It will bring up this window:
- Highlight the Administrator account (shown above)
- Click Set Password...
- If no password was set, you will now see a window that will ask for one (see below)
- Enter a password, and then confirm it
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one Number and one Special Character (such as &-_=+, etc.)
- Click OK to set the password
- These steps should be repeated for each account, not just that of the Administrator
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Windows XP
- Open Users and Passwords
- Click on the Start Menu
- Click on Control Panel and then User Accounts
- It will bring up this window:
- Select Change an account under the Pick a Task menu
- If an account does not say "Password protected" next to it, you must:
- Select Create a Password
- Enter the password twice, and then click OK
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one Number and one Special character (such as ]-_=+, etc.)
- These steps should be repeated for each account, not just that of the Administrator
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Mac OSX
- Go to System Preferences
- Click on the apple icon in the top left corner of the screen
- Select System Preferences
- Click on Accounts
- If the lock in the bottom left of the window is closed, click on it to enable changes
- If it is locked, it will ask for an administrator's password to unlock it. It should be your current password.
- Select the account you would like to change (the administrator accounts will have the word Admin under the Type heading)
- Click Edit User...
- Enter the password you would like to have, along with a hint if desired
- A good password will be at least six characters and will have at least one Number and one Special Character (such as $-_=+, etc.)
- This process should be repeated for all the user accounts on the machine in order to secure your machine
User Password Setting
- Windows 95/98
- Go to the Users control panel
- Click on the Start Menu
- Select Settings and then click on the Control Panel
- Double-Click Users
- Select the user name whose password you would like to change
- Click Set Password...
- Enter the password you would like to use in the New Password and Confirm new password fields
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one number and one Special Character (such as @&-_=+ etc.)
- Click OK to set the password
- These steps should be repeated for each account except the Guest account, which should be disabled
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Windows Me
- Go to the Users control panel
- Click on the Start Menu
- Select Settings and then click on the Control Panel
- Double-Click Users
- Select the user name whose password you would like to change
- Click Set Password...
- Enter the password you would like to use in the New Password and Confirm new password fields
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one number and one Special Character (such as @&-_=+ etc.)
- Click OK to set the password
- These steps should be repeated for each account except the Guest account, which should be disabled
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Windows 2000
- Open Users and Passwords
- Click on the Start Menu
- Click on Control Panel and then Users and Passwords
- It will bring up this window:
- Highlight the account you would like to give a password to
- Click Set Password...
- If no password was set, you will now see a window that will ask for one (see below)
- Enter a password, and then confirm it
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one Number and one Special Character (such as &-_=+, etc.)
- Click OK to set the password
- These steps should be repeated for each account, not just that of the Administrator
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Windows XP
- Open Users and Passwords
- Click on the Start Menu
- Click on Control Panel and then User Accounts
- It will bring up this window:
- Select Change an account under the Pick a Task menu
- If an account does not say "Password protected" next to it, you must:
- Select Create a Password
- Enter the password twice, and then click OK
- A good password should be at least 6 characters long and in addition to letters, should contain at least one Number and one Special character (such as ]-_=+, etc.)
- These steps should be repeated for each account, not just that of the Administrator
- This will secure your computer against many of the attacks used by viruses and hackers
- Mac OSX
- Go to System Preferences
- Click on the apple icon in the top left corner of the screen
- Select System Preferences
- Click on Accounts
- If the lock in the bottom left of the window is closed, click on it to enable changes
- If it is locked, it will ask for an administrator's password to unlock it. It should be your current password.
- Select the account you would like to change (the administrator accounts will have the word Admin under the Type heading)
- Click Edit User...
- Enter the password you would like to have, along with a hint if desired
- A good password will be at least six characters and will have at least one Number and one Special Character (such as $-_=+, etc.)
- This process should be repeated for all the user accounts on the machine in order to secure your machine
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