SECURING YOUR DATA

Changing passwords
Passwords prevent others from using your User ID. When your administrator creates your User ID, he or she decides whether it needs a password, and what type of password is required. Once you access IBM® Lotus® Notes® for the first time, you should change your password to something that you can remember but is hard for others to guess.

Your administrator can also set an expiration date for your password, forcing you to change your password periodically. If your password expires before you change it, you can still login to Lotus Notes using your old password, but you cannot access any servers. You can only access local databases. You must change your password to regain server access.

Corporate or government security requirements may require that administrators enforce password requirements that restrict or prohibit the use of any of the following in user passwords:


If this is the case, these restrictions will be downloaded to your Lotus Notes ID the first time you log in to Lotus Notes. Then, the next time you log in, you will be prompted to change your password to meet the new requirements.

If you are using a Smartcard to log in to Lotus Notes, you do not need to use a password. Instead, you use the Personal Identification Number (PIN) for your Smartcard.

Password quality versus password length

Passwords can consist of any combination of keyboard characters. They are case-sensitive and are accepted according to either the quality of protection they can give or to the character length of the password. Your administrator determines whether password requirements are based on quality or length. The "Change Password" dialog box states whether you must create a password according to a required length or required quality level.

For password length, your password must have the number of characters shown in the "Change Password" dialog box.

For password quality, the higher the number shown in the "Change Password" dialog box, the stronger quality your password must be (0 is the lowest, 16 is the highest). The stronger the quality, the harder it is for others to guess your password.

When creating a password, you should use lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks to increase the quality of your password. If you enter a low-quality password, such as words found in the dictionary, common names, or repeating characters, Lotus Notes may reject your password and ask you to enter a new one.

Note The combination of characters you choose for your Lotus Notes password may not work with all features. For example, single-logon with Windows will not work when the Lotus Notes password contains special characters. Check with your administrator to make sure your character combination will work with other password-enabled features that have been enabled for you.

Click any of these topics:


To change your Notes password

If you are synchronizing your Lotus Notes password with your operating system password or with your IBM® Lotus® Domino™ Web/Internet password, the "Change password" dialog box will indicate which passwords are being updated.

1. Click File > Security > User Security.
Macintosh OS X users: Notes > Security > User Security.

2. Click Security Basics, and then click "Change Password" under "Your Login and Password Settings."

3. In the "Change Password" dialog box, enter a new password in the "Enter new password" field, and then enter it again in the "Re-enter new password" field.


4. (Optional) If you are not required to set a password for your User ID, you are able to click "No Password" and Lotus Notes sets your User ID to not prompt for a password.

5. Click OK.

Tip Since your password is stored in your User ID, don't forget to update your backup copies of your User ID with your new password.

Go to top

To change your Domino Web/Internet password

Your administrator may have given you an IBM® Lotus® Domino™ Web/Internet password, which is the password you need for HTTP, POP3, IMAP, LDAP, and DIIOP access, as well as for logging in to Domino Web applications and databases through a Web browser. By default, you can change your Domino Web/Internet password whenever you like. If the following procedure is not available to you, contact your administrator for help on changing your Internet password.

The first time you authenticate with a Domino server, by accessing a database through a Web browser, you may be prompted to change your Internet password automatically.

1. To change your Internet password manually, enter the URL for a Web application and add "?changepassword" after the database name at the end of the URL. For example, http://serverName.acme.com/databasename.nsf?changepassword.

2. In the Change Password screen, enter your old Internet password, enter a new Internet password, and then confirm your new Internet password by entering it again in the corresponding fields. The password quality guidelines are the same as the Lotus Notes password guidelines.

3. Click Submit.

You can use either your old Internet password or your new Internet password for two days after you submit a new password, provided the server you authenticate with, or HTTP, is not shut down. Otherwise, you must use your new Internet password.

Go to top

See Also