Your password/passphrase is the primary mechanism for assuring the privacy of your computing activity and preventing others from using your computer account for disruptive, offensive, or illegal activities. Passwords address our primary concern: maintaining the integrity of your account while protecting the College's computer environment, as well as you, from abuse. This statement is meant to clarify Trinity's reasoning and our methods for governing passwords, describe some procedures that Information Technology has instituted to help you protect your computing account from unauthorized use, and suggest good practices.

Having a login and password gives you access to many powerful services, including electronic college-maintained programs like Office 365, and personal/institutional Web sites. These services are attractive to unscrupulous persons who would like to have free access for activities such as sending large batches of unsolicited e-mail (commonly referred to as spam), illegally distributing pirated software, or lists of stolen login/password pairs, running programs to “crack” passwords or disrupting computer and network operations both here and at other sites.

Password Restrictions

You can reset your Trinity password by going to password.trincoll.edu. Several requirements are imposed with our password change system to help ensure the security of Trinity accounts.

Passwords must be a minimum of 12 characters long, and must include at least three of the following:

  • lower-case characters (a-z)

  • upper-case characters (A-Z)

  • digits 0-9

  • special characters ` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & ( ) * – + = | \ { } [ ] : ; ” ‘ < > , . ? /

Passwords can be changed once a day, and a history is maintained to prevent repeated and predictable use of the same password.

Here are a few tips for creating good passwords.

Dos:

  • Start with a sentence or phrase, and take the first letter of each word and add numbers and/or symbols
    my dog Sparky is four years old and loves to play fetch becomes mdSi4yo&l2pf

  • Use random capitalization:
    EBs45kc becomes eBS45Kc

  • Employ character substitution for sounds:
    waits becomes w8s
    Before becomes b4

  • Incorporate phonetic spellings:
    laugh becomes laf
    weight becomes wat

Don’ts:

  • Include personal information like your initials, name, nickname, phone extension or home number, children’s names, etc.

  • Use of common characters or place names from literature or mythology.

  • Use words that appear in a dictionary.

What else can I do to increase my security?

The recipe for perfect password management is straightforward.

1. Use a password manager.

Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer all have built-in password managers. But if you plan to use your passwords across devices, you probably should use one of these:

  • LastPass (iOS, Android; Chrome plugin works on Windows, Mac, Linux)
  • 1 Password (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)
  • KeePass (Linux, Windows, Mac, Android)

2. Use a strong master password for your password manager.

This is when a passphrase would be especially useful.

3. Use a different passphrase for every site.

Changing Passwords

If you can sign into your account and want to change your login password for your Trinity account, and all linked college accounts (Including Trinity Email, Offie365 Account, etc.), visit Trinity’s Password Reset Page.